A musical global war AAR...

[Centuur]

It's winter, so the turn might be a pretty short one (and the weather is bad, which increases the chance that this turn will be a short one). So first priority is to get into better positions. And that means that all Axis powers needs to transport units overseas. Therefore Naval actions are chosen.

Japan moves a small fast fleet into the 4 section of the Sea of Japan. Marines are loaded in China and sailed to Fukuoka. A Militia and a division are transported into the Sea of Japan. An elite Gar is loaded in Indo China, for transportation towards Truk.

Now for a Japanese recording out of 1942 (and that's all I know about it...): 李香蘭 - 迎春花

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXpT0gHYUpU

The old Schlesien slips into the stormy weather into the Bay of Biscay, restoring supply to the units in northern Spain and France. Italian and German TRS/AMPH sail in the Western and Eastern Med and pick up both the Marines and two elite German INF out of Spain. The German and Italian battlefleet sail into the Eastern Med.

The CW convoy escorts all consist of either NAV or CV's in the zero section of the sea boxes. So, even if the German and Italian SUB's find the convoys, they need to have a lot of surprise points to choose a submarine combat. However, the Gladiator on board of the Illustrious in the Cape Verde Bassin only has one air to sea factor. Also: the weather is fine there. So Germany and Italy sail all the SUB's they've got into that sea area, hoping to catch the CW convoys.

The Axis U boat commanders can't believe the luck they are having. There are the convoys, and the planes of the Illustrious are just being refueled (Axis roll 1, Allied roll 8). They choose a submarine combat (4 surprise points spend)

[Centuur]

Four more surprise points are spend to decrease Axis losses, however, the submarine crews seem to have had the same training as their counterparts on the German cruisers...

[Centuur]

The losses made by the combined Italian and German Wolfpacks are very, very high. 6 resources don't arrive in the UK this turn. This is a blow to the CW war effort (again...). There are no reserve convoys on the side of the CW. How nice it is that the Netherlands and Greece are still neutral...

[Centuur]

Now, I'm probably a lousy admiral, but I think this is a good victory, so why put the valuable SUB's into danger? The Axis abort the sea area. No losses is a great result...

Here is: Ingrid Larssen - Tarantella

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ZrN2VGVmc

In the Bay of Biscay and the Eastern Med, the Axis don't want to initiate combat. The first because the ship is there to get supply to valuable units, the second because only Allied SUB's are present, which can simply avoid the combat by not including them.

Than, it is the CW who can initiate combat. The Eastern Med is out of the question, because if the Italian convoy isn't found, the Allied SUB's will be blown out of the water by the huge number of Axis ships there. However, spies in Lisbon have reported an old German battleship sailing to the north... Perhaps it can be found. Alas, rolls are a 6 for the Allies and a 5 for the Axis. No battle occurs there.

Some aircraft are rebased.

Here is the Eastern Med at the end of the impulse:

[Centuur]

And here is the weather for the next couple of impulses:

[Centuur]

January/February 1941, Allied impulse number 7:

If all Allies would pass, there is a chance of 30% to end the turn. After carefull review of the situation around the globe, the decision is made not to pass. Positions need to be improved in Egypt and the USSR also wants to improve positions. After all, 30% isn't that good if you still have some things to do...

The USSR and the CW take land actions, the US a combined and the French pass (they don't have anything they can do).

Here is: Maurice Chevalier: Ah si vous connaissiez ma poule

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pum1ZV3WitI

Positions are again improved by both the USSR and the CW around the globe. A tactical withdrawal is both done around Vladivostok and in Egypt. The first, because the current position is undefendable with the Japanese fleet on the high seas and the second to make an Axis attack on the frontlines more difficult.

Here is Manchuria at the end of the impulse:

[Centuur]

Eastern Med:

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Western Med:

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The turn doesn't end (roll: 9). Let's listen to Harry Roy and his Orchestra: The Continental

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZc-3fyxTzs

[Centuur]

January/February 1941, Axis impulse number 9:

Good weather in the Med. That calls for action there. All Axis major powers take land actions.

The impulse starts with grounds strikes on Wavell and on the CW units in Mogador:

First, the Dornier 17Z proves to be a Stuka. Very good result in Morocco:

[Centuur]

The Cigogna isn't that lucky. Well, 2 out of 5 when a three is needed is pretty good, I believe...

[Centuur]

An Italian GAR is railed into Cadiz, a German ARM and a AT gun are railed into Poland, an Algerian TERR is railed into Gibraltar.

Music: Willy Berking - Kauf Dir einen bunten Luftballon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy79R6B-gko

In Egypt, Wavell suddenly gets reports of large tank concentrations. PzKw IV tanks have been spotted. Guderian has arrived in the frontlines. At the port of Mogador, the British are still shaken by the vicious air attack when they are confronted with large numbers of troops, supported by tanks at the outskirts of the port. And supplies are dangerously low.

[Centuur]

It's an automatic victory. Morocco is free of Allied units...

At the port of Damietta, the German marines, supported by an Italian division invade, German and Italian ships provide shore bombardment. The assault table is used, but the Egyptian troops don't seem to give any resistance. On the contrary: the Kriegsflagge is seen on a lot of buildings in the city. The Arabs aren't happy with the British occupation of the country:

[Centuur]

Guderian says: “Klotzen, nicht Kleckern”. He steps in his mobile headquarters, a PzKw III, which is stripped from it's gun and filled with communication equipment, and drives east towards Matruh! This is a high risk, high gain attack. Together with the German battlefleet and all available German and Italian planes in ground support, he throws in HQ support and hopes for the best. Wavell is shocked by this bold and quite reckless move of his enemy and drives personally to the frontlines (HQ support thrown in too...). The battlefield is full of sand, dust, planes, tanks, automobiles, men and equipment. The noise is tremendous on the desert coast road. Of course, it's an assault, since Wavell's men are good entrenched, something that Guderian didn't account for (stupid me, I should have paid attention to the fact that it is a MECH which is attacking with Guderian and not an ARM, so it's the CW choice and they choose the assault table)...

[Centuur]

Hitler orders Guderian back to Berlin. With the staff of the Wehrmacht present in his room, he expresses his great concern of the way he is acting with his troops. That was a tremendous risk and he's not happy with it at all. Guderian answer is clear: “do you want to win the war? If so, we have to take risks...”. Later he publicly announces that Guderian is promoted Fieldmarshall and gives the XLIV Corps praise on the German radio in a speech dedicated to the men who made this victory possible. After the speech, a small military parade takes place in Berlin:

Here is the: Kavallerie Parademarsch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QmH41Mlgk

In Alexandria, however, Wavell arrives and asks himself what he did wrong, while the first Stuka arrives in Egypt.

[Centuur]

The Japanese would love to rail more units out of China to the frontlines in Manchuria, however if they do, there is a chance that partisans will appear them. And China is very, very big, which makes it very difficult to get rid of those nasty guys. So that's declined. The garrison in China stays there, whatever the costs. The Transsiberian railroad gets cut north of Vladivostok. However, the very bad weather prevens an attack on the city. In the far north, a Japanese division captures Alexandrovsk.

[Centuur]

The turn ends. So it's time for another German piece of music:

Ich hör so gern Musik - Rudi Schuricke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h52-fvNqqoU

[Centuur]

No partisans appear. Here is the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact after the draw of the markers:

[composer99]

I'm surprised the CW didn't relocate the units sitting in Morocco before the Axis had a chance to blitz them off.

I mean, they'd have been far more useful in the Middle East. One of them could have run down towards the dividing line between the Cape St Vincent and Cape Verde Basin sea areas, I suppose, although with Gibraltar fallen the Axis can maintain overseas supply along the West African coast if they really want to.

[Centuur]

ORIGINAL: composer99

I'm surprised the CW didn't relocate the units sitting in Morocco before the Axis had a chance to blitz them off.

I mean, they'd have been far more useful in the Middle East. One of them could have run down towards the dividing line between the Cape St Vincent and Cape Verde Basin sea areas, I suppose, although with Gibraltar fallen the Axis can maintain overseas supply along the West African coast if they really want to.

To evacuate those units would mean that the CW would have to send TRS into the Cape St. Vincent, where the Axis airforce has the upper hand (1 NAV in the sea section, another in Gibraltar, the Dornier on the coast and an Italian FTR nearby).

Consider this: what's the worth of the "cannon" flodder which got killed in Morocco in the last two turns. GAR, 2 MIL, INF and a division. That's it. A loaded TRS lost is 8 build points (if the INF is on it) and it takes a year to rebuild it. The units lost in Morocco in the last two turns adds up to 11 build points. In two turns, those are all back into action.

The CW tried to evacuate Gort out of Spain and got punished for it by the loss of the TRS and the HQ which was on it. 10 BP gone and nothing back for it.

By staying in Morocco, the CW made sure that it took the Axis two valuable turns to take make sure the Allies are out of Morocco. Two turns which could have been used to relocate the units there (among which are an ARM, an elite MOT, two quite nice INF and an Italian HQ ARM) to other places where they might do a lot of mischief. What if that German ARM would have decided to go walking towards Spanish Morocco when those units had been withdrawn?

All land units without FTR cover are nothing but cannon flodder. And guess what are the last FTR 2 drawn out of the FTR force pool of the CW in 1940 (and that pool was emptied in Nov/Dec 1940)? The two South African FTR's...

Bad luck all around for the Allies...