Decline & Fall AAR v2

[composer99]

The Finnish combat goes well enough, although the Red Army takes some light casualties. They just barely missed a complete victory.

[composer99]

You might say that this combat was a smashing success.

[composer99]

The storms turned a sure thing into an almost sure thing.

The Allies were worried, but in the end they carried the day, and now they control a major port in France.

Now they can shuttle in reinforcements quite easily, as long as they can get them past the submarine blockade, anyway.

[composer99]

Rebase & Reorganisation

The USAAF and RAF reinforce their squadrons based in France.

[composer99]

On the off chance the turn continues, Wavell's HQ reorganises nearby formations to continue to advance in Burma.

[composer99]

The situation in Finland.

The Red Army will likely need a few more armies and some air assets in place to make any more significant gains. However, the snow (and some perhaps sub-optimal German play) has enabled them to effectively reach this stage at least a turn ahead of schedule.

[composer99]

The situation in Belorussia.

The concentration of German troops in and around Minsk comprises the last remaining Wehrmacht foothold in pre-war Soviet territory.

Whether it withdraws on its own or is forcibly evicted likely depends on who goes first next turn.

[composer99]

The Ukraine-Rumania sector.

This front is stretched very thin indeed, now that the Red Army has punched a hole in the mountain line.

The USSR still has an offensive chit in reserve, which could be put to great use next turn here. This may well be the last turn the Germans get any use of the Ploesti oil.

[composer99]

End-of-Turn Roll

The end-of-turn roll is an 8.

The turn continues.

[composer99]

I can say that it's a slog working through the end-of-turn steps in this scenario.

[composer99]

Axis Impulse #11

With the turn approaching a possible conclusion, the Germans decide to call a combined action, with the intent of deploying convoys to the Baltic.

For their part, the Japanese decide to pass; there is little they can do in the current weather. This has the benefit of increasing the odds of ending the turn to 60%.

[composer99]

Naval Moves

The German merchant marine takes to the Baltic Sea. Accompanying the merchant ships are naval transports, which embark one of the infantry corps in Riga.

[composer99]

Naval Combat

The Kriegsmarine has options to initiate naval combat.

As the stormy weather is keeping planes from flying, orders go out to the U-boats to try to engage Allied merchant shipping known to be in the area.

[composer99]

In the North Sea, the U-boats are caught on the surface by the Royal Navy battleships (search rolls 2 for the Allies, 9 for Germany)...

[composer99]

... and are blown out of the water.

[composer99]

In the Bay of Biscay, German submarines come close to finding their targets (German search roll 3, Allied roll 7), but not close enough in the prevailing weather.

[composer99]

Rail Movement

The German Army transfers the garrison corps in Bordeaux to Rouen.

[composer99]

Land Movement

The Ostheer in eastern Poland shifts to prevent the cavalry from pushing through the gap.

First chance the Germans get next turn, they are retiring to the Vistula. They are confident they will get the chance as the Red Army Air Force is now some distance behind the front.

[composer99]

The infantry corps at sea debarks into Oslo, ensuring a token garrison is in place to at least force the Allies to put in some sort of effort to take it.

[composer99]

End of Turn Roll

The turn ends on a roll of 4.