WiF - The Second Half

[EUBanana]

Turn doesn't end.

Sept/Oct 1942, Allied #10

Everybody combined except for USSR, who take a land, and China who pass (nothing to do).

Why? the CW has to act now that supply has been cut to Malta yet again by lucky submarines, and the USSR better move as well in light of last turns ground taken by Germany, so there's not much point hail marying for a pass I guess.

The Allies try some port attacks, the US against Truk, the CW against La Spezia.

Pretty huge air battle over La Spezia, as Italy has always kept fighters close by the ports used by their fleets... The CW air arm uses flying junk still in 1942, as well.

[EUBanana]

Amazingly good rolls for the Commonwealth means they exchange a Gladiator for a Freccia and all the bombers get through...

[EUBanana]

While this is going on, at Truk there is no air combat oddly, I guess fighters aboard CVs dont fight in a port attack? Not sure. Either way it went straight to AA, but a good roll from Japan meant a TBD was destroyed and some bombs were reduced on the other carrier air.

Anyway, at La Spezia Bolzano is sunk... the Regia Marina has taken a pounding this turn though they gave a fair bit back.

Meanwhile at Truk the lone SBD that gets through doesn't do a thing against the IJN.

[EUBanana]

Sep/Oct 42 Allied #10

Unfortunately there is not a single Allied TRS or convoy point free which can reopen the supplies to Malta - which means the CW fleet is going to be rebasing in Gibraltar at the end of this turn. The Med is too dangerous for convoys of either side it seems...

The USSR does some more reorganising of the Eastern Front, as there are some land moves, the CW/US move around in the UK a bit. The UK has not been quiet while all the action is going on elsewhere, there is quite a major amount of force present there now...

No attacks.

The turn ends!

[EUBanana]

Sep/Oct 1942 was quite a busy turn when you look at the number of destroyed units... the USSR got its ass kicked, seems to be the lesson.

Also the USN did a hell of a lot worse than it seemed. There was a large number of damaged results, so this isn't telling the whole story. The IJN and Regia Marina both got a bit of a shoeing.

[EUBanana]

A huge amount of yard time for the IJN and Regia Marina... given the fairly low industrial base of those countries that is serious.

[EUBanana]

Germany this time reorgs all of its faster submarines, about half a dozen, planning on using the winter months to restart the Battle of the Atlantic. They are in a slightly better oil situation than before as they stopped handing it over to Italy, and so can reorg most (but not all) of their army as well.

Italy on the other hand is in a fairly dire situation oilwise, but even 1 point is enough to reorg 75% of their forces.

Japan's position is truly horrible due to the loss of the transports in the South China Sea to Allied submarines. They have 2 oil to play with and a huge amount of stuff to reorg.

They reorg their 3 convoy points that are disorged, and about 2/3rds of their navy, being careful to reorg the higher factor ships first.

The Allies, of course, have no oil worries.

[EUBanana]

Sep/Oct 42 End of Turn

No partisans.

Builds :-

Germany
2 INF
1 MOT-DIV
3 MECH
1 ARM-DIV
1 SUB (second time)
1 Pilot
1 FTR-2
1 LND-3

Italy
1 CV (second time)
1 carrier air
1 pilot
1 FTR-2
1 MIL

Japan
2 convoy
1 naval repair
1 MAR
1 INF-DIV

China
2 MOT

CW
2 naval construction (cruisers)
2 naval repair
5 convoy
2 pilots
1 air transport
1 LND-4
1 MNT

USA
5 naval construction (1 battleship, 2 cruisers, 2 AMPH)
2 air transports
4 pilots
3 LND-4
1 ARM
1 FTR-3
2 Carrier air 1
2 MOT

USSR
5 INF
2 antitank
1 MECH
1 FTR-2
1 FTR-3

Philippines conquered by Japan.

The USA sets up a trade agreement, 5 build points to the USSR.
The CW does too, but 3 build points to the USSR.
Axis have the initiative, and choose to move first.

Weather is pretty good for winter... fine in the important bits, rain in north temperate though.

[EUBanana]

Nov/Dec 1942, Axis #1

I lied, weather is terrible. It's fine in the far east though.

Given that fact, all the Axis go naval.

Italy puts their Sparvieros in the 3 box of West and East Med.

Japan puts a Betty in the 4 box of the South China Sea, and a pretty big fleet in the South China Sea, including some transports - 1 INF aboard an AMPH, one MAR, a MAR-DIV and an INF-DIV.

4 CAs go to the Coral Sea's 4 box, looking to raid before the USN comes out to play on their impulse.

A force goes to the Bismarck Sea as well so the USN can't just wander by. Unfortunately the IJN can only manage to put out a fairly small force... arguably even token.

As for the Germans... 3 SUBs go apiece to the four boxes of Bay of Biscay, Faeroes Gap, and North Atlantic. Because they are feeling ballsy they decide to try and get 4 cruisers past the Allied blockade to raid, but a Sunderland intercepts...

[EUBanana]

Nobody surprises anybody, so the CW chooses a naval air combat to avoid taking any losses.

A submarine is aborted back to Brest, but next pass nobody finds each other and the cruisers make it to the 3 box of Cape St Vincent.

Italy sends a couple of SUBs to the western med. About all they can do atm, their navy is mostly being fixed or out of oil.

As a result of spreading the Kriegsmarine around, lots of opportunities to sink things present themselves...

[EUBanana]

Nov/Dec 42 Axis #1

No combat occurs in the Bay of Biscay but in the Faeroes Gap, convoys are found. There are two rounds of combat... 1 SUB is destroyed the rest aborted in exchange for 7 convoy points and 3 more aborted, ouch.

At Cap St Vincent the Commonwealth intercepts with the Sunderland at Gibraltar, which goes to the 3 box. Both sides find each other which means a naval air combat for the Commonwealth, 2 cruisers are aborted back to Brest and that it's for that sea zone. Unfortunately those aborted cruisers go back via the Bay of Biscay, fortunately they avoid the big fleet there and make it to Brest.

And then... we get a weird bug, where the Japanese fight each other in the Coral Sea. [:D][:D][:(]

[EUBanana]

The Japanese manage not to harm each other and abort back to Truk rather than continue fighting themselves... bummer for their Coral Sea raid but whatevs, continuing.

Nov/Dec 42 Allied #3

Wallies all go naval, USSR/China land, as per usual.

The Commonwealth moves almost every naval unit they got to cover various sea zones, sometimes in duplicate (or triplicate) and cover the convoys lost with fresh ones. They have enough spare to handle what was dished out but not much more.

Probably the important task for them is to make the Med a Commonwealth lake. They now have two big forces in West Med and Coast of Italy. The problem is the Sparviero in East Med (and after before thinking, meh, its only 1 roll and promptly losing a TRS, the CW is taking their time about this one). Here the Beaufighter in Malta, now with supply again, comes in.

...and despite the Beaufighter theres no air combat and the TRS gets duly wrecked. [:(] erm. Is this a bug or is that supposed to happen?

[EUBanana]

The US also moves most of their fleet around, including challenging the IJN at the Bismarck Sea.

Here a mighty Catalina manages to shoot down a Claude and get through to the fleet... It gets its sea factor zeroed by AA fire of course.

[EUBanana]

In the end the Catalina is aborted in exchange for shooting down yet another Japanese carrier air, a Val, and thats it.

The IJN carrier air arm has been decimated by a Catalina ! [:-]

Elsewhere, in Cap St Vincent two remaining German cruisers have a go against Hood, a Sunderland and some CW cruisers. Seems like they got no chance right? Wrong. Both cruisers are aborted in the end but in the final encounter Leipzig, alone, met Hood and escorts and aborted one before herself being aborted. Spitting in the eye of God.

The Germans dont really care as the Kriegsmarine is only semi useful now with the USN around and more importantly, oil being a scarce resource.

Alas, these heroes suffer in the Bay of Biscay. CL Nurnberg and CL Leipzig are both caught and blown away, though CL Phoebe is aborted in so doing.

In a happy coda for the CW the combat keeps dragging and Germany is committing subs, after all thats what they are there for and there are still convoy points to sink. But the Allies roll a 1 and the Axis a 9 on the search checks, the subs get mullered in a surface combat.

[EUBanana]

...And then I get the bug that stops the next turn button highlighting on the 'naval intercept digression: next combat round' stage.

Ah well, time is up for the day anyway, but I suspect I will have to go back in time and redo the naval combats again.

[Grotius]

I just finished reading the whole AAR up to here. It's great reading, and I hope you return to it at some point! In particular, I hope you managed to work around that bug.