WiF - The Second Half

[EUBanana]

Mar/Apr 1942. End of turn.


Building and oilfu. All BPs are after some are spent on reorging, which happens a lot.

Germany, 34 BPs. They reorg all the Luftwaffe but only have enough oil to reorg about 2/3rds of the U-boat fleet, the surface ships get nothing. The majority of the fleet is at Brest, need fighter cover here badly.

2 SUB repair
1 FTR-2
1 antitank
3 INF
1 MTN
1 ARM
2 pilots

Italy, 11 BPs, 3 oil saved, everything reorged (they are getting 2 a turn from Germany to keep the Regia Marina going).
1 NAV-3
1 pilot
1 INF
2 naval repair
1 pilot

Japan, 14 BPs, 1 oil saved (they can do better, need more convoys)
2 carrier air
1 CV
4 convoy
2 MIL
1 INF

Vichy, 11 BPs


China, 9 BPs, 1 oil saved
1 FTR (lend lease P40E)
1 Pilot
1 MECH

Commonwealth, 27 BPs, 1 oil saved (lost 2 production and some oil due to convoy issues), everything reorged
4 naval repair (1 BB 3 cruiser)
2 naval construction (cruisers)
4 convoy points
NAV-3
LND-4
2 pilots
1 MOT

USA, 40 BPs, lotsa oil
7 naval construction (2 cruisers, 2 AMPH, 2 TRS, 1 BB)
2 LND-4
1 Carrier air
2 pilots
1 INF

USSR, 34 BPs, lotsa oil
Zhukov
Vatutin
1 ARM
3 FTR
3 pilot
1 INF (the last one in the pool)

Libya conquered by the Commonwealth.

[Centuur]

I would say the allies are in pretty good shape in this game.

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

I would say the allies are in pretty good shape in this game.

Yeah I think they have the edge. Japan is really letting the Axis side down... and I'm not sure how well Barbarossa is going. Kinda so so for Germany but their time is running out. In 1943 there's going to be a lot of strategic bombing going on, and the Soviets are going to be far far stronger.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42

Deployments...

China
1 INF, 1 MECH at Hengyang (both Nationalist)

CW
1 PAR at Southampton
4 convoy points at Liverpool

US
7 convoy points on the east coast
1 convoy point in the PI
CL Denver on the east coast
1 PAR, 1 ARM, 1 MOT on the east coast
MAR DIV on the west coast
NAV2 on the west coast

USSR
GAR at Stalingrad
ART + 2 INF at Kursk
FTR at Kursk
INF at Stalino

Germany
1 SUB at Kiel
2 INF at Konigsberg
1 INF at Breslau
Ju87/Bf110 at Breslau
Bf109 at Konigsberg
Bf109 at Dusseldorf

Italy
Sparviero, PAR and MTN DIV at Taranto
Removed a carrier plane (...no carrier anymore)

Japan
MIL at Kyoto
MIL at Osaka
INF DIV and MIL DIV at Fukuoka
AMPH at Fukuoka

Vichy
TERR at Tripoli, Syria


Axis win the initiative! The Allies try a reroll as they have that option, Axis still have the initiative. Might be decisive at sea.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 1942

Fine weather across the globe.

Japan declares war on the United States! I feel their hand is forced, a US declaration is going to happen any time soon, so doing as much damage as possible to US navy assets in the South Pacific seems wise. Or the buildup here is just going to continue uncontested, may as well contest it. Also it denies the US a surprise round.

Germany takes a land action intent on expanding that bridgehead of theirs, Italy and Japan both go for naval.

Italy sends a Sparviero each to the 3 box of East Med and Italian Coast.

Japan sends a Kate to the 3 box of the South China Sea. The Kido Butai heads to the 3 box of the Bismarck Sea.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 1942 Axis #1

The Japanese slower battleships had to the South China Sea meanwhile and pick up the SNLF who invaded the Dutch East Indies. Transports collect two MAR.

Chiyoda and Junyo rendezvous with the Kido Butai at the Bismarck Sea.

Naka and Kitakami carry a few more DIVs to the South China Sea.

4 Japanese SUBs make it to the Coral Sea but only to the 1 box, they will redeploy in theatre at the end of the turn.

Quite a serious force in the South China Sea, this shoulda happened when they declared war on the Commonwealth last year. Japan has learned a lil, at least.

[EUBanana]

Here's the Japanese force in the South China Sea.



There are a bunch of fast battleships at Truk too, Japan holds these back, just in case. ~60 naval factors worth.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 1942

Part of the Italian fleet heads to the Eastern Med. Despite being quite fast they only make it to the 1 box... due to the presence of CW battleships.

The guys at Malta will have to do their worst, but Italy hopes to keep the initiative as long as possible.

[EUBanana]

Oh man, dumbass. I shoulda had Japan declare war next turn.

Oh well, the US would've just moved anyway. [:'(]

The Japanese clear away a US convoy in the South China Sea, the Italians don't manage to find anybody at sea.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

Germans plan bombing by the lines at the Dnieper and Dvina. Near Vitebsk the Red Air Force comes out to play - ineffectually.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

The Stuka gets some solid hits in as well. The Soviets might pay for having Timoshenko on the end of the line - and for having a fairly turnable line too at that.

[EUBanana]

The Luftwaffe have a good day on the Dnieper too.

[EUBanana]

...and in Bessarabia some hits too. There's a pocket here made after the initial assaults, it would be nice to reduce it.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

Reasonable odds in both places, so the ground troops are going in.

There's also an assault at Riga coming (hence the pre-dreadnoughts in the Baltic last turn) and the pocket in Bessarabia being reduced.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

The Red Air Force tries to stop the attacks at Riga with defensive ground support, but the Luftwaffe fighters are more than a match for the antiquated junk the Soviets are using still.

[EUBanana]

They do better against the Bf110s down south, but that's less important really (bigger battle, air factors less decisive).

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

I rode a tank, held a generals rank, while the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank....

Germany doesn't like those odds so well in some cases after the air battling is done. But they still have the advantage I think. They pick blitz whenever possible.

A roll of 10 at 48,51, which is Yeremenko in the Pripet Marshes, means the defenders are pushed back and half the attackers are disorganised.

An 11 at Riga with poor odds, assaulting across the river, disorganises the attackers but kills the defender. IVth SS Mech goes over in a disorganised state to hold the bridgehead. At the other end of the Dvina line, another blitz at 11 but at higher odds shatters the defenders, disorganises half the attackers, and causes a breakthrough - that's bad news for the Dvina defenders.

A mis-click doesn't quite help the German cause though as 8 factors of mech gets binned instead of 3 of AA guns.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Axis #1

On the Dnieper the Germans get a break, a roll of 18 smashes a big hole in the defenders and tanks pour through it.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun Axis #1

von Bock on the left flank of the Dvina flank reorgs the SS mech that crossed the river and an antitank gun. The Dvina defence looks like it's about to get rolled up if the Soviets just sit there. Not that they will.

[EUBanana]

May/Jun 42 Allied #2

The CW and US take naval actions, China/USSR take land. The USA aligns Brazil.

The CW busies itself with setting up convoy protection in the Atlantic. Sunderlands to Faroes Gap and Biscay, 4 cruisers to the 1 boxes of Faroes, Biscay and Cape St Vincent. This uses up most of the available cruiser force. The heavy ships in the 3 box at Biscay are reinforced by Hermes and Argus. There are a few reserves in the UK ports just in case, mostly older BBs, a tiny handful of cruisers, and the CVs Eagle, Glorious and Formidable.

The Malta force resupplied, decides to hit the Eastern Med and go against the Italian navy head to head. The Allies reason that the sooner the Regia Marina gets blunted the better. Think the CW has the edge now they got the main strike force of their navy back...

The AMPH and handful of CVs escorting in the West Med remain, having stayed at sea. They are joined by Uganda, as cannon fodder mostly!

In the DEI two submarines enter the South China Sea, currently packed with IJN, looking to tweak the tail of the dragon.