The Germans rail an INF and an ARM to Budapest.
The Germans move up in Gibraltar. In China, the Japanese pull some units back from Kunming. A MAR division is diverted from Hong Kong to deal with the Chinese zero strength partisan. In Malaya, a division marches overland from Singora, Siam to Larut, Malaya. I am not happy with how Siam is modeled in WiF; historically Siam only aligned with Japan after Pearl Harbor, necessitating an amphibious invasion of Malaya; here you can just march down the peninsula.
The Japanese put the MAR and a 6-4 INF ashore adjacent to Batavia; they land divisions at Trincomalee, Legaspi, Guam, Wewak, and Rabaul.
The only combats are the Germans obliterating the out of supply CW Mech in Spain and all the invasions. Discovered a new notional unit bug; the program thinks that the hex east of Batavia has a strength of zero when it should be a one. A CW unit there would be out of supply, but a Netherlands unit, which is what the notional should be, can be supplied from Batavia. The Japanese had intended to kill the Chinese zero strength partisan, but MWiF reminded me that since the Chinese moved it into a forrest, it has a defense of 1, not zero, so it will take real units to kill it.
Although all combats were automatic, the program rolled them. The rolls were one 13, two 14s, three 18s, and lastly a five. The Axis has a horrible feeling that the computer used up all the Axis high rolls on these attacks.
The Germans rebase fighters from Germany and France towards Spain. The Allies still have air superiority around Gibraltar. Italy rebases a NAV out of North Africa back to Italy. The Japanese rebase a lot of NAVs and one zero out of China. Japan is not going to be attacking in China any time soon.
Courtenay's solitaire AAR
Moderator: Shannon V. OKeets
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A 41 Allied #3: Weather 2, F, F, F, R, F, F
US attempts to declare war on Germany and Italy, rolls a 6, succeeds. Other things follow:
US attempts to declare war on Germany and Italy, rolls a 6, succeeds. Other things follow:
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I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
I have not been very active the last week in my game, and the next three weeks look bad, too. After that I hope to be able to resume normal play.
US, CW, FR Naval, SU, Ch, Land.
It feels very good not to write US & SU combined!
The Mosquito and a Wildebeast fly to the three box of the Western Med.
The CW decided that it is not in position to reestablish the convoy lanes in the Indian Ocean, so pulls back all CPs east of Cape Town and Malta. This was stupid, as it put Egypt out of supply. Fortunately, the Italians are not in a position to take advantage of this. The US puts ships out to try and close with the Japanese; the submarines move to the Bismark Sea, but are not going to try and fight the NAV that is there. They are just moving to get into better position for next turn. The fleet at Pearl stays there, but most of the US ships move out to sea. MacArthur, a 7-6 ARM, and an ART move to Cape St Vincent. An AMPH with a 5-3 INF is in the middle of the Atlantic (range two, that was as far as it could get). A 4-4 MAR is taken to Pago Pago. An empty TRS is outside Pago Pago. A TRS moves to Eisnehower in New York. The reason he didn't have a TRS with him already is simple: sheer stupidity. An empty TRS moves to the East Coast.
The Allies try to engage the Italians in the Mediteranean. In the Eastern Med, the Allies and the Italians find each other. The Allies get an X and an A, which winds up damaging the Barbiano, while the Italians inflict 2 Ds and 3 As, which damages HMAS Sydney and sends several Allied ships home. The Italians decide they aren't doing any good trading ships, and abort back to La Spezia. In the Eastern Med, neither side finds each other.
Three Russian units, including an HQ, rail towards the Persian border. Hmm. I wonder what thats about?
In the Air rebase phase, the three Russian air-transport bombers head for the Persian border. The US Catalina fly across the Atlantic to Rabat, mainly to show of the fact that that plane can, in fact, do that.
The TRSs outside New York and Pago Pago regorganize the TRSs inside New York and Paga Paga; the Queens likewise
reorganize the TRS in Liverpool. These TRS can bring Eisenhower in New York, a Spitfire in Liverpool, and a MAR in Pago Pago into the battle.
Here is the heart of the US war machine. Without the transports, the US is nothing. There are two AMPH and two TRS in production, and one AMPH in the force pool. I am wondering if I made a mistake scrapping two 3-3 TRS; I may have.
US, CW, FR Naval, SU, Ch, Land.
It feels very good not to write US & SU combined!
The Mosquito and a Wildebeast fly to the three box of the Western Med.
The CW decided that it is not in position to reestablish the convoy lanes in the Indian Ocean, so pulls back all CPs east of Cape Town and Malta. This was stupid, as it put Egypt out of supply. Fortunately, the Italians are not in a position to take advantage of this. The US puts ships out to try and close with the Japanese; the submarines move to the Bismark Sea, but are not going to try and fight the NAV that is there. They are just moving to get into better position for next turn. The fleet at Pearl stays there, but most of the US ships move out to sea. MacArthur, a 7-6 ARM, and an ART move to Cape St Vincent. An AMPH with a 5-3 INF is in the middle of the Atlantic (range two, that was as far as it could get). A 4-4 MAR is taken to Pago Pago. An empty TRS is outside Pago Pago. A TRS moves to Eisnehower in New York. The reason he didn't have a TRS with him already is simple: sheer stupidity. An empty TRS moves to the East Coast.
The Allies try to engage the Italians in the Mediteranean. In the Eastern Med, the Allies and the Italians find each other. The Allies get an X and an A, which winds up damaging the Barbiano, while the Italians inflict 2 Ds and 3 As, which damages HMAS Sydney and sends several Allied ships home. The Italians decide they aren't doing any good trading ships, and abort back to La Spezia. In the Eastern Med, neither side finds each other.
Three Russian units, including an HQ, rail towards the Persian border. Hmm. I wonder what thats about?
In the Air rebase phase, the three Russian air-transport bombers head for the Persian border. The US Catalina fly across the Atlantic to Rabat, mainly to show of the fact that that plane can, in fact, do that.
The TRSs outside New York and Pago Pago regorganize the TRSs inside New York and Paga Paga; the Queens likewise
reorganize the TRS in Liverpool. These TRS can bring Eisenhower in New York, a Spitfire in Liverpool, and a MAR in Pago Pago into the battle.
Here is the heart of the US war machine. Without the transports, the US is nothing. There are two AMPH and two TRS in production, and one AMPH in the force pool. I am wondering if I made a mistake scrapping two 3-3 TRS; I may have.
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I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
What are the downsides to USSR declaring war on Italy at this stage of the game? I am considering it in my AAR
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
ORIGINAL: markb50k
What are the downsides to USSR declaring war on Italy at this stage of the game? I am considering it in my AAR
Nothing, since the US is at war with both the Japanese and the Euroaxis. If that happens, I would DoW Italy with the USSR...
Peter
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
There really are no downsides to the USSR declaring war on Italy. I suppose it is theoretically possible for the Italians to begin a strategic bombing campaign, but not really. Also any Italian air attack on the Soviet Union would almost certainly allow the Soviets to ignore the Nazi-Soviet pact and declare war on Germany. If the US is at war with everyone, a Soviet DOW on Italy is automatic for me.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
-
Zorachus99
- Posts: 789
- Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2000 8:00 am
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
ORIGINAL: Courtenay
There really are no downsides to the USSR declaring war on Italy. I suppose it is theoretically possible for the Italians to begin a strategic bombing campaign, but not really. Also any Italian air attack on the Soviet Union would almost certainly allow the Soviets to ignore the Nazi-Soviet pact and declare war on Germany. If the US is at war with everyone, a Soviet DOW on Italy is automatic for me.
Perhaps a ghost of WIF past, but I thought that there was a peace step, where a DOW could lapse...
Most men can survive adversity, the true test of a man's character is power. -Abraham Lincoln
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
I had intended to be away from the game for a month. This somehow turned into three months. People tell people to "Get a life". Why? Games are more fun....
J/A 41, Axis #4:
Ge air, It Naval, Ja land.
The Italians try and get their TRS out of Toulon, where it was trapped. The CW attempts to intercept,
and rolls a 1. The TRS does not wish to commit suicide, so it stops in the western Med and joins the fleet in the two box. The Italians had intened to make several more naval moves if the TRS had managed to evade the Allies, but since it didn't, those plans were canceled. This move should have been done in the first impulse, when there was less Allied air, but I was not that smart.
The Italians politely decline combat in the Western Med; the Allies impolitely insist. Both side roll a two. The CW picks naval air. The Italians throw in their range 8 bomber. The Allies did not intend to add any more air, but MWiF informed me that the American Catalina could join the fight, and the Allies see no reason to leave it out. In the first round of air combat the Italians roll an 8 for no effect, while the Allies roll a 13, for a DA; the Italians abort their NAV. In the next round of combat, the Italians roll a 9, cleaing a Swordfish through, while the Allies roll a 19, for an AX PX.
The Allies destroy the Italian range 6 fighter and its pilot. At this point the Italian Bomber says "eep", and aborts. The Italans roll 1 die for AA fire, and get a 6. The Catalina aborts, and one point is reduced from the three Allied planes, giving them 5 bombing points. They get an X, a D, and 3 As. The Allies have no doubt whatsoever what the primary target is. The Italian TRS rolls a 5, and goes to the bottom of the Ocean. Unless the Axis can take Gibraltar, there won't be any Axis sealift capacity in the Med for five turns. Of course, the Germans fully intend to take Gibraltar.
This combat shows an advantage of MWiF: I had not realized that the Catalina could join the combat, but MWiF told me that it could. Earlier this turn, the MWiF told me that the Japanese long range transport could make a port attack; I had not realized that, but upon looking at the map, I figured out that the Japanese could kill a CW transport, which I had not realized; the Japanese did so.
I made a mistake last Axis impulse, thinking that the Japanese could just obliterate the Chinese partisan, forgetting that in forrest it had a defense of one, not zero. If I had realized this, the Japanese would have defended the resource in southern China. As it is, because of the weather, the Japanese can't get there and the Chinese can. I will not let the Chinese take the resource; I will assign a Japanese corps to defend the resource hex, and pretend that it is in the hex. I do not like to take advantage of outright rules mistakes, as it is far to easy to make such mistakes in WiF.
The Japanese capture an undefended Kaula Lampur. They also take the Philipine resource and Colombo, flipping divisions to do so. A MECH corps is moved to Hanoi, for use elsewhere. This is not the perfect unit to fight in the Pacific with, but is what was available. The Japanese also firm up there line in south-central China. Yamashita lands next to Batavia.
The Japanese attack Batavia with Yamashita, two corps, a lot of battleships, and two CVPs, getting a +17. They only roll a six, but at such high odds, Batavia falls without Japanese loss.
The Germans move many planes down to within range of Gibraltar and Tangiers. The Italians get a NAV to Cadiz. The Japanese move NAVs out to the Pacific.
J/A 41, Axis #4:
Ge air, It Naval, Ja land.
The Italians try and get their TRS out of Toulon, where it was trapped. The CW attempts to intercept,
and rolls a 1. The TRS does not wish to commit suicide, so it stops in the western Med and joins the fleet in the two box. The Italians had intened to make several more naval moves if the TRS had managed to evade the Allies, but since it didn't, those plans were canceled. This move should have been done in the first impulse, when there was less Allied air, but I was not that smart.
The Italians politely decline combat in the Western Med; the Allies impolitely insist. Both side roll a two. The CW picks naval air. The Italians throw in their range 8 bomber. The Allies did not intend to add any more air, but MWiF informed me that the American Catalina could join the fight, and the Allies see no reason to leave it out. In the first round of air combat the Italians roll an 8 for no effect, while the Allies roll a 13, for a DA; the Italians abort their NAV. In the next round of combat, the Italians roll a 9, cleaing a Swordfish through, while the Allies roll a 19, for an AX PX.
The Allies destroy the Italian range 6 fighter and its pilot. At this point the Italian Bomber says "eep", and aborts. The Italans roll 1 die for AA fire, and get a 6. The Catalina aborts, and one point is reduced from the three Allied planes, giving them 5 bombing points. They get an X, a D, and 3 As. The Allies have no doubt whatsoever what the primary target is. The Italian TRS rolls a 5, and goes to the bottom of the Ocean. Unless the Axis can take Gibraltar, there won't be any Axis sealift capacity in the Med for five turns. Of course, the Germans fully intend to take Gibraltar.
This combat shows an advantage of MWiF: I had not realized that the Catalina could join the combat, but MWiF told me that it could. Earlier this turn, the MWiF told me that the Japanese long range transport could make a port attack; I had not realized that, but upon looking at the map, I figured out that the Japanese could kill a CW transport, which I had not realized; the Japanese did so.
I made a mistake last Axis impulse, thinking that the Japanese could just obliterate the Chinese partisan, forgetting that in forrest it had a defense of one, not zero. If I had realized this, the Japanese would have defended the resource in southern China. As it is, because of the weather, the Japanese can't get there and the Chinese can. I will not let the Chinese take the resource; I will assign a Japanese corps to defend the resource hex, and pretend that it is in the hex. I do not like to take advantage of outright rules mistakes, as it is far to easy to make such mistakes in WiF.
The Japanese capture an undefended Kaula Lampur. They also take the Philipine resource and Colombo, flipping divisions to do so. A MECH corps is moved to Hanoi, for use elsewhere. This is not the perfect unit to fight in the Pacific with, but is what was available. The Japanese also firm up there line in south-central China. Yamashita lands next to Batavia.
The Japanese attack Batavia with Yamashita, two corps, a lot of battleships, and two CVPs, getting a +17. They only roll a six, but at such high odds, Batavia falls without Japanese loss.
The Germans move many planes down to within range of Gibraltar and Tangiers. The Italians get a NAV to Cadiz. The Japanese move NAVs out to the Pacific.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
Good to see you back Courtenay [:)]
Now Maitland, now's your time!
Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
Duke of Wellington to 1st Guards Brigade - Waterloo 18 June 1815
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A 41 Allied #5: Weather 9: F, F, F, St, F, F; advance 1.
The US aligns Mexico.
US combined, UK, France Naval, SU, Ch Land
The US transports Eisenhower to Cape St. Vincent, and picks up Clark from San Diego. The British get
Egypt and Aden back in supply, and move 3 BBs to Cape St. Vincent. Also additional CPs are added to
the North Atlantic convoy route. The CW move a FTR from Liverpool to Cape St. Vincent.
The US subs attempt to find the Japanese in the Bismark Sea. The two side's search rolls add up to 17
for no result.
Extended range strat bombing of an undefended Milan achieves nothing (DR 5).
The Communist Chinese can now shoot their artillery unit, the bug having been fixed. I do so, making sure that it misses, to flip the ART.
The Mexicans rail the 5-4 MOT to Norfolk. The Russian rail more units to Persia.
The Chinese move units around in China; they are threatening to put large parts of the Japanese army out of supply. Actually, this is not a real threat, as there are two many possible paths. Until, that is, the weather turns bad, at which point the Japanese will go out of supply in central China.
Macarthur is unloaded into Tangiers, and Eisenhower to Rabat. The FTR in Cape St.Vincent also goes to
Tangiers. A bomber flies from Britian to Algiers. A US NAV flies to Guadalupe.
The Russians use air transports to reorganize an INF and an ARM on the Persian border.
The US aligns Mexico.
US combined, UK, France Naval, SU, Ch Land
The US transports Eisenhower to Cape St. Vincent, and picks up Clark from San Diego. The British get
Egypt and Aden back in supply, and move 3 BBs to Cape St. Vincent. Also additional CPs are added to
the North Atlantic convoy route. The CW move a FTR from Liverpool to Cape St. Vincent.
The US subs attempt to find the Japanese in the Bismark Sea. The two side's search rolls add up to 17
for no result.
Extended range strat bombing of an undefended Milan achieves nothing (DR 5).
The Communist Chinese can now shoot their artillery unit, the bug having been fixed. I do so, making sure that it misses, to flip the ART.
The Mexicans rail the 5-4 MOT to Norfolk. The Russian rail more units to Persia.
The Chinese move units around in China; they are threatening to put large parts of the Japanese army out of supply. Actually, this is not a real threat, as there are two many possible paths. Until, that is, the weather turns bad, at which point the Japanese will go out of supply in central China.
Macarthur is unloaded into Tangiers, and Eisenhower to Rabat. The FTR in Cape St.Vincent also goes to
Tangiers. A bomber flies from Britian to Algiers. A US NAV flies to Guadalupe.
The Russians use air transports to reorganize an INF and an ARM on the Persian border.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A Axis #6:
Ger Air, It, Ja Naval.
The Italians move most of their remaining fleet to the Italian coast, hoping to maintain supply to Sardinia. They do not attempt to supply Africa.
The Japanese move a corps from Java to the Bay of Bengal. They move a division from New Guinea to Rabaul, one from Rabaul to the Coral Sea, and one from Guam to the Bismark Sea. The reinforce the Bismark Sea, where the US submarines are. The US submarines will attempt nothing for the rest of the turn. The Japanese attempt to engage the small Allied naval forces (a CA and a CP) in the Coral Sea, and roll a 10 for search.
The Japanese attempt to Strat bomb Chungking. The Chinese intercept, and a Zero counter-intercepts. The results are bloody: The Chinese kill a Ki-30, but the Japanese kill the Chinese Mohawk in return. Both pilots survive.
The Germans attempt to ground strike Gibraltar, Rabat, and Tangeirs. The CW puts on fighter over Rabat and two over Tangeirs. The CW think that too many German FTRS are in reaction range of Gibraltar to make fighting there worthwhile. The first attempt at air combat over Tangiers runs into the hidden window bug. At this point I am surprised to find out that I am not using the optional rules I thought I was using; the "Backup Ftr" rule is on, when I had meant it to be off. I had not intended to use this rule, and I will modify the die rolls so that I get the results that would get if I had not used them. I had not noticed this before; I don't think I had enough fighters in earlier battles for it to matter. Over Tangiers, despite the CW aborting the German front fighter in the first round of combat, and the Germans never doing anything to the two British fighters, both German bombers were eventually cleared through. Over Rabat, the CW managed to repulse the German Stuka attempting to bomb Eisenhower. I wish there were a way to change optional rules after the game has begun, in case players decide that they made a mistake.
The CW use their AA gun in Gibraltar, knocking down 2 points from the bombers over Gibraltar, and one point from Tangiers. Despite this, the Germans manage to disorganize all six units in Tangiers and Gibraltar. If the Germans had known they were going to roll this well, they would have picked a different action and attacked Gibraltar this turn. Oh well.
The Germans shuffle air units around, and the Japanese send a NAV to the Kuala Lampoor.
Rommel reorganize a FTR and the two six point Stukas.
Ger Air, It, Ja Naval.
The Italians move most of their remaining fleet to the Italian coast, hoping to maintain supply to Sardinia. They do not attempt to supply Africa.
The Japanese move a corps from Java to the Bay of Bengal. They move a division from New Guinea to Rabaul, one from Rabaul to the Coral Sea, and one from Guam to the Bismark Sea. The reinforce the Bismark Sea, where the US submarines are. The US submarines will attempt nothing for the rest of the turn. The Japanese attempt to engage the small Allied naval forces (a CA and a CP) in the Coral Sea, and roll a 10 for search.
The Japanese attempt to Strat bomb Chungking. The Chinese intercept, and a Zero counter-intercepts. The results are bloody: The Chinese kill a Ki-30, but the Japanese kill the Chinese Mohawk in return. Both pilots survive.
The Germans attempt to ground strike Gibraltar, Rabat, and Tangeirs. The CW puts on fighter over Rabat and two over Tangeirs. The CW think that too many German FTRS are in reaction range of Gibraltar to make fighting there worthwhile. The first attempt at air combat over Tangiers runs into the hidden window bug. At this point I am surprised to find out that I am not using the optional rules I thought I was using; the "Backup Ftr" rule is on, when I had meant it to be off. I had not intended to use this rule, and I will modify the die rolls so that I get the results that would get if I had not used them. I had not noticed this before; I don't think I had enough fighters in earlier battles for it to matter. Over Tangiers, despite the CW aborting the German front fighter in the first round of combat, and the Germans never doing anything to the two British fighters, both German bombers were eventually cleared through. Over Rabat, the CW managed to repulse the German Stuka attempting to bomb Eisenhower. I wish there were a way to change optional rules after the game has begun, in case players decide that they made a mistake.
The CW use their AA gun in Gibraltar, knocking down 2 points from the bombers over Gibraltar, and one point from Tangiers. Despite this, the Germans manage to disorganize all six units in Tangiers and Gibraltar. If the Germans had known they were going to roll this well, they would have picked a different action and attacked Gibraltar this turn. Oh well.
The Germans shuffle air units around, and the Japanese send a NAV to the Kuala Lampoor.
Rommel reorganize a FTR and the two six point Stukas.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A Allied #7: Weather 6: F, F, F, St, F, F
I ignore the stupidest rule in the game, and have the US align Brazil. This costs the US an objective hex, which is absurd; the State department spent the whole war doing its best to get as many declarations of war on the Axis powers as possible. Historically, there was no downside to doing so, and considerable upside.
I ignore the stupidest rule in the game, and have the US align Brazil. This costs the US an objective hex, which is absurd; the State department spent the whole war doing its best to get as many declarations of war on the Axis powers as possible. Historically, there was no downside to doing so, and considerable upside.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
US combined, UK, Fr naval, Ch, SU land
The US evacuates the CP from the Coral Sea. The French CA Lamotte-Picquet in New Caledonia attempts to leave, but the Japanese intercept with a roll of 1. The Lamootte-Picquet goes to the four box of the Coral Sea. A French cruiser goes to the three box of the Italian coast, and four US cruisers sail all the way from Norfolk to the Italian coast, into the one box.
The US attempts to engage the Italians in the Italian coast. No one finds anyone. The Japanese attempt to find the two Allied cruisers in the Coral Sea. The Japanese roll a 7, the Allies a 2. With four surprise points, the Allies get to choose the action type. Instead of choosing "No action", the Allies choose a "Submarine" action. There are no submarines on either side, so there is no fighting, but there is another combat round. This choice lets the Allies abort from the sea area.
The British attempt to bomb an undefended Turin, and this time succeed, rolling a 6; one Italian production point is lost. Italian production points are not worth as much as German ones, but they are worth something, and this attack can be made without risk of Allied loss.
The Russians rail a parachute unit, an HQ and an INF XX towards Persia. The HQ is not needed, except to give the parachute unit someplace to rail to. The US rails an ARM corps to Algiers.
The US moves Eisenhower forward; the Russians move an INF and an ARM into the mountain hexes west of the Caspian Sea, headed for Teheran.
The CW invades the resource hex in Sardinia with a 5-4 MOT, a 1-4 INF XX, and 3 points of shore bombardment. The die roll is a 12; the hex is captured without loss.
More Russian planes head for Persia, while the US NAV in Guadalupe flies to Hawaii. (The plane has the range to fly from Guadalupe to Hawaii, but not from the West coast to Hawaii.)
Turn end roll 7, turn continues.
The US evacuates the CP from the Coral Sea. The French CA Lamotte-Picquet in New Caledonia attempts to leave, but the Japanese intercept with a roll of 1. The Lamootte-Picquet goes to the four box of the Coral Sea. A French cruiser goes to the three box of the Italian coast, and four US cruisers sail all the way from Norfolk to the Italian coast, into the one box.
The US attempts to engage the Italians in the Italian coast. No one finds anyone. The Japanese attempt to find the two Allied cruisers in the Coral Sea. The Japanese roll a 7, the Allies a 2. With four surprise points, the Allies get to choose the action type. Instead of choosing "No action", the Allies choose a "Submarine" action. There are no submarines on either side, so there is no fighting, but there is another combat round. This choice lets the Allies abort from the sea area.
The British attempt to bomb an undefended Turin, and this time succeed, rolling a 6; one Italian production point is lost. Italian production points are not worth as much as German ones, but they are worth something, and this attack can be made without risk of Allied loss.
The Russians rail a parachute unit, an HQ and an INF XX towards Persia. The HQ is not needed, except to give the parachute unit someplace to rail to. The US rails an ARM corps to Algiers.
The US moves Eisenhower forward; the Russians move an INF and an ARM into the mountain hexes west of the Caspian Sea, headed for Teheran.
The CW invades the resource hex in Sardinia with a 5-4 MOT, a 1-4 INF XX, and 3 points of shore bombardment. The die roll is a 12; the hex is captured without loss.
More Russian planes head for Persia, while the US NAV in Guadalupe flies to Hawaii. (The plane has the range to fly from Guadalupe to Hawaii, but not from the West coast to Hawaii.)
Turn end roll 7, turn continues.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A Axis #8:
Ge land (O-chit), It Nav, Ja Land.
This was a tough choice -- go for a combined, and get the German fleet into the action at Gibraltar, or go for an offensive chit against Gibraltar. I have not done the precise calculations, but feel as though the combined is almost as likely as the O-Chit to take Gibraltar, and doesn't cost the O-Chit. However, the O-chit is more likely to succeed, and it allows the Germans to prepare for the invasions of Portugal and Yugoslavia. I decided to go with the O-chit.
The Japanese make a port attack against four cruisers based in Brisbane. They roll a 10, but the Allies roll a seven, so the CW gets three surprise points, not enough to abort the attack. The AA fire only knocks off one point of the Japanese 6 air-to-sea factors. The CW shifts the Japanese combat column down, to 2D+A. The CW rolls ridiculously well on their damage dice, getting 2 10s and an 8, so the only result of the combat was that two cruisers were disorganized. The Axis is bitterly disappointed, because they are convinced that those two 10's were stollen from the German attack roll against Gibraltar.
The Italians, now that they no longer hold the Sardinian resource, abandon the Italian coast.
Germany rails some units to Hungary, and move land units up to the Portuguese border. Guderian, the 9-4 INF, the 3-3 AA gun, and 3-3 ART prepare to attack Gibraltar. The Japanese capture the resource hex north of Singapore.
The Japanese land an INF in Kuala Lumpur, and invade Lae and Port Moresby, without effective opposition.
Ge land (O-chit), It Nav, Ja Land.
This was a tough choice -- go for a combined, and get the German fleet into the action at Gibraltar, or go for an offensive chit against Gibraltar. I have not done the precise calculations, but feel as though the combined is almost as likely as the O-Chit to take Gibraltar, and doesn't cost the O-Chit. However, the O-chit is more likely to succeed, and it allows the Germans to prepare for the invasions of Portugal and Yugoslavia. I decided to go with the O-chit.
The Japanese make a port attack against four cruisers based in Brisbane. They roll a 10, but the Allies roll a seven, so the CW gets three surprise points, not enough to abort the attack. The AA fire only knocks off one point of the Japanese 6 air-to-sea factors. The CW shifts the Japanese combat column down, to 2D+A. The CW rolls ridiculously well on their damage dice, getting 2 10s and an 8, so the only result of the combat was that two cruisers were disorganized. The Axis is bitterly disappointed, because they are convinced that those two 10's were stollen from the German attack roll against Gibraltar.
The Italians, now that they no longer hold the Sardinian resource, abandon the Italian coast.
Germany rails some units to Hungary, and move land units up to the Portuguese border. Guderian, the 9-4 INF, the 3-3 AA gun, and 3-3 ART prepare to attack Gibraltar. The Japanese capture the resource hex north of Singapore.
The Japanese land an INF in Kuala Lumpur, and invade Lae and Port Moresby, without effective opposition.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
The Germans attempt to land a parachute unit in Gibraltar, escorted by a 5 point twin engine FTR. This was a mistake; the Germans had one more single engine fighter than I realized. A CW 3 point CVP intercepted, and the CW got a DA result against the Germans, with no result against the CW. The Germans decide that this is the crucial attack of the game, and abort their only FTR. They then order the Ju-52 to press home the drop. The CW rolls a 10, clearing the parachutes through. To add insult to injury, the Ju-52 rolls a 19, shooting down the CVP. The pilot survived. The commander of the air group, though, is sacked. He should be happy that he is not Russian, or he would have been shot.
The Allies are disturbed to find that only CW ships, not American or French ones, can contribute to defensive shore bombardment. They are even more disturbed to find that the American carrier planes can not intercept the German ground support, although the British can. As a result, they do not even attempt to intercept the German ground support. I can not find any reason why the Americans and French can not contribute, since all three countries cooperate. In the defensive ground support step, the American CVPs even show up in the available unit window, but when I try and fly them to Gibraltar, I get a big 'X'. During defensive shore bombardment. the Americans are not even given the option of doing anything. It looks like a bug to me.
The attack on Gibraltar goes in at 69 to 64, +5 (disorganized) + 2 (HQ), for a +9. THe incremental odds roll was over 900, and fails. The attack goes in at +9, which is a better than 50% chance of taking the hex. The Germans roll a 7, losing two units (the 9-4 INF and the parachute unit), killing a 7-3 white print INF. The Germans are bitterly disappointed. I hate critical 50% chances, and they rarely get more critical than this. I feel an absence of skill, somehow.
The Allies are disturbed to find that only CW ships, not American or French ones, can contribute to defensive shore bombardment. They are even more disturbed to find that the American carrier planes can not intercept the German ground support, although the British can. As a result, they do not even attempt to intercept the German ground support. I can not find any reason why the Americans and French can not contribute, since all three countries cooperate. In the defensive ground support step, the American CVPs even show up in the available unit window, but when I try and fly them to Gibraltar, I get a big 'X'. During defensive shore bombardment. the Americans are not even given the option of doing anything. It looks like a bug to me.
The attack on Gibraltar goes in at 69 to 64, +5 (disorganized) + 2 (HQ), for a +9. THe incremental odds roll was over 900, and fails. The attack goes in at +9, which is a better than 50% chance of taking the hex. The Germans roll a 7, losing two units (the 9-4 INF and the parachute unit), killing a 7-3 white print INF. The Germans are bitterly disappointed. I hate critical 50% chances, and they rarely get more critical than this. I feel an absence of skill, somehow.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
The Axis has had bad luck throughout this game, with the major exception of the German attacks through Spain, which could not have gone better. I will keep going for at least a little while, but it is looking very bad for the Germans, unless they get lucky and take Gibraltar quickly. The odds of taking Gibraltar are not good in any one German attack; but if the Germans don't even try, they face imminent disaster in the Med. If they do try, and fail, things are even worse, but since they are already losing badly, they might as well try, because it is not as if unsuccessful attack swill make their position any worse; a loss is a loss.
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
J/A Allied #9: Weather 1: fair everywhere, even northern monsoon.
US, CW combined, Fr Naval, SU, Ch land.
The US and CW put some more cruisers to sea, and the US swings some CPs from San Diego into the Caribbean. They are not needed in the Carribean; this was just to get them closer to the where they are needed. The US has more CPs than it needs in the Pacific, and can use many more in the Atlantic.
The CW decides not to make an unescorted bombing run against a German fighter with its last strat Bomber.
The Americans rail an ART into Algiers. The CW rails a MECH from Algiers to Gibraltar. The Russians had intended to rail one more CAV to the the Persian front, but they had accidently flipped it the turn before, moving it when out of supply. Oops. They don't think they need it.
A Blenheim in Egypt makes a ground strike against Balbo's hex. It rolls very well, disrupting both Balbo and a MOT in the hex. The British wonder if it is time to attack; then they discover that Wavell is disrupted, so that the attack would be an assault, not a blitz attack. They note that the Italians might not be able to get their units back in supply, so that they will stay flipped, so decide to wait on the attack. The British have just had an example of a +9 attack not working very well. The Allies feel as though they are winning, and if they roll a 5 or a 6 (11% chance), they make Egypt very problematic, so they don't see any reason to risk it. Instead, the CW uses its land moves to take both Sardinian ports.
The Russians finish moving their air force to deal with Persia.
Turn ends on a 1.
Here is the position at the end of the turn (after return to base) in the Western Med:
US, CW combined, Fr Naval, SU, Ch land.
The US and CW put some more cruisers to sea, and the US swings some CPs from San Diego into the Caribbean. They are not needed in the Carribean; this was just to get them closer to the where they are needed. The US has more CPs than it needs in the Pacific, and can use many more in the Atlantic.
The CW decides not to make an unescorted bombing run against a German fighter with its last strat Bomber.
The Americans rail an ART into Algiers. The CW rails a MECH from Algiers to Gibraltar. The Russians had intended to rail one more CAV to the the Persian front, but they had accidently flipped it the turn before, moving it when out of supply. Oops. They don't think they need it.
A Blenheim in Egypt makes a ground strike against Balbo's hex. It rolls very well, disrupting both Balbo and a MOT in the hex. The British wonder if it is time to attack; then they discover that Wavell is disrupted, so that the attack would be an assault, not a blitz attack. They note that the Italians might not be able to get their units back in supply, so that they will stay flipped, so decide to wait on the attack. The British have just had an example of a +9 attack not working very well. The Allies feel as though they are winning, and if they roll a 5 or a 6 (11% chance), they make Egypt very problematic, so they don't see any reason to risk it. Instead, the CW uses its land moves to take both Sardinian ports.
The Russians finish moving their air force to deal with Persia.
Turn ends on a 1.
Here is the position at the end of the turn (after return to base) in the Western Med:
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I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
No partisans appear.
The Russians get a four chit in the defense pool; the Germans decide that they will be tied down in the west for some time to come, and put a 1 and a 2 in the defense pool, and move a 3 from offense to defense.
In production, I run into a bug: The Japanese tried to use saved oil in Tokyo in production, but the program would not let me. When I used points saved in other cities, everything worked fine.
During the stay at sea step, I discovered something important: One can use the convoy display on the global map to see how many CPs are staying at sea; the ones that are returning to base are not counted. This helps immensely in figuring out which CPs have decided to return to base on their own volition. For the first time I did not have redo the stay at sea step because of CPs returning to base that I wanted to stay at sea. I ran into a very bad bug in 1.1.8 beta, where returning a US TRS to port always resulted in an error; fortunately the 1.1.8.2 beta fixed it.
For the first time a large CW fleet is being based in Malta. The US splits its Pacific carriers between Pearl Harbor and Pago Pago; the Japanese have two in Rabaul and one in Ceylon, while five await new CVPs in Japan.
Axis oil is already getting thin. The Germans used four oil, the Italians two, and the Japanese three. The US used five, the French and Russians one, and the CW used no less than seven.
The Russians get a four chit in the defense pool; the Germans decide that they will be tied down in the west for some time to come, and put a 1 and a 2 in the defense pool, and move a 3 from offense to defense.
In production, I run into a bug: The Japanese tried to use saved oil in Tokyo in production, but the program would not let me. When I used points saved in other cities, everything worked fine.
During the stay at sea step, I discovered something important: One can use the convoy display on the global map to see how many CPs are staying at sea; the ones that are returning to base are not counted. This helps immensely in figuring out which CPs have decided to return to base on their own volition. For the first time I did not have redo the stay at sea step because of CPs returning to base that I wanted to stay at sea. I ran into a very bad bug in 1.1.8 beta, where returning a US TRS to port always resulted in an error; fortunately the 1.1.8.2 beta fixed it.
For the first time a large CW fleet is being based in Malta. The US splits its Pacific carriers between Pearl Harbor and Pago Pago; the Japanese have two in Rabaul and one in Ceylon, while five await new CVPs in Japan.
Axis oil is already getting thin. The Germans used four oil, the Italians two, and the Japanese three. The US used five, the French and Russians one, and the CW used no less than seven.
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- SO41A1Egypt.jpg (235.09 KiB) Viewed 192 times
I thought I knew how to play this game....
RE: Courtenay's solitaire AAR
The Italians scrap a range 3 4 point fighter. They do not scrap the range 6.
The Chinese scrap their FTR.
The Japanese do not scrap the bomber they lost. It is a very bad aircraft, but it is still better than most of the Japanese bombers.
The CW CVP that was destroyed was a zero cost CVP; there is never a reason to scrap one of those.
Production:
Ge: 27+5: INF, 2xMIL, 2xFTR-2, 2xNAV-4, 4xPi, finish sub, 4 build points saved;
It: 7+0: FTR-2, NAV-3, Pi, no build points saved;
Ja: 17+0: 2xINF, NAV-3, CVP-1, Pi, finish sub, 4xCP, no build points saved.
The Germans rebuild their 9-4 white print INF. They build a 7 point FW-190, and a 5 point Bf 109 F-1. They finish a 5 attack speed five sub. Finally, they build the two Condors.
The Italians have no TRS. I forgot to build one. One started now would not be ready before J/A 42. The Italians decide that having airplanes now is more likely to hold Africa than TRSs in a year. That is their story, and they are sticking to it. Anyway, they have a TRS completing its first step N/D, which I had not remembered. They get a 4 point range four fighter and a 3 point range 9 NAV.
The Japanese build a 6-3 and a 4-3 INF, a 3 point range 22 NAV (G4M1), a D5N2 CVP (2-5, size 3), and finish a 4 point range 5 SUB.
The Japanese had a problem: they had more resources than they had convoy points to ship them. Next turn they will have the five CPs formerly transporting US resources available, but that will leave them very few reserves. One good Allied turn, and they are in deep trouble. This is why the CW submarines have moved to the Pacific, and why they have build 8 CPs over the last two turns.
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I thought I knew how to play this game....