Nov / Dec 1942 (and early Jan / Feb 1943) - Turn Resume
As we played it pretty quickly - you'll get a short resume of the turn!
URALS:
Germany bombs successfully the defenders of the Urals, and sever their oil connection.
Whichever consumes oil in there won't recover from disruption! Yay.
Though a vehement assault on Ufa reveals a tragedy for Germany, with 2 losses. Thanksfully the Germans have the divisions for that.
Currently the Germans are embracing and hugging the Urals, laying siege to the trapped Soviets.
1943 Part:
It's Storm. Germany moves slightly.
CAUCASUS:
Germany pushes in without attacking, sneaking where it can.
Turkey joined the fray but bad weather hinders their push to the flank.
Soviets withdraw troops from Persia - effectively ceasing to be in Persia proper and not threatening Iraq anymore.
Soviet bombing runs see their modern fighters shot down 2 FW190. (Both 7 air strong German fighters, which very much alike the Essex carriers of USA, were entirely virgin of fights and got badly mauled).
1943:
The Luftwaffe returns at it, escorting Stukas going to dive bomb in the snows, the Soviets intercepts but this time they're not as successful.
Actually a Soviet FTR is shot down - but the pilot is saved. That means the next turn a new Soviet fighter will be somewhere, just strong 5 instead of 6.
Italian Gabbiano fly in Caspian Sea and finds - shame the Soviets have got there a 6 strong fighter. Even with 8 surprise points, the Soviet fighter would start at +6 against the Gabbiano making it a pointless fight.
EUROPE:
If the Luftwaffe failed in the Caucasus, it was quite successful in the skies of Lille; with no losses from Germany, the Luftwaffe ensures the bombers and a fighter squadron escorting them make no return to the bases in UK.
1943:
It's Storm, nothing going on.
INDIAN OCEAN:
The Royal Navy scours Bay of Bengal, destroying Japanese convoy.
Japan is short of ships to retaliate as they're busy with the US. Japan also loses a fighter that was trying to keep up presence in the Arabian Sea.
Italian Fleet escapes from Aden into Red Sea to avoid being bombed in the port of Aden.
1943:
Same as above, the Royal Navy now rules the Indian Ocean waves.
Italians flee from Aden.
Royal Navy sends cruisers in Bay of Bengal and to East Indian Ocean - but these seas are empty of Japanese Cruisers.
SOUTH AMERICA:
US declares war on Peru and invades it.
The Peruvian Navy sallies forth but fails to find anything.
Chile partisans are in arm, General Clark is dispatched from Colombia to take care of them.
The US need every bit of resources they can get hands on - for US is without oil reserves (They've litterally 0 saved points)
PACIFIC:
Things got hot here - again.
The US had usual cravings to invade stuff - and perform preparations to get presence here and there in the seas.
Japan retaliates mildly, in Coral Sea an US BB is caught by 2 Japanese cruisers. But the outcome is that all are aborted, and Japan has still a presence.
In Solomons there is just a single US Cruiser - Japan set there 2 NAVs but they fail to find.
US submarine raids are negligible this turn.
Meanwhile the US prepares further for invasions - they had the Marians empty and sent a presence - the Japan sails out with their carrier fleet in the Solomons to offer air cover and supply (via an AMPH) to the Marshals (and bring into Kwajalein also a new unit)
US comes in with more stuff - and crowds with CVs the Solomon Sea, forfeitting in their 3rd impulse to invade, and seeking a naval battle.
The Japan finds the US! With 7 surprise points.
I weighted the stats: air fight would have been at +1/-1 for Japan favor before the Surprise Points.
US has 40 AA, Japan has 30+.
I went for the Naval-Air battle (It would have been better to play save and pick Surface and boom an US CV. Safely.)
4 Surprise points are used to get +2/-2 in the air battle. And the air battle started gloriously with the main US fighter being blasted away the first round.
Shame US also aborted the 6 strong Japanese fighter which landed on a carrier.
The +2/-2 was preserved.
Then the Japanese failed to do anything else except two measly aborts, meanwhile the US shot down 3 of their CVPs, and aborted fighters - including the land based Zero.
US got in 2 bombers, including a 6 air to sea one! The other is 3 strong.
Japan has only 1 dice of AA, and 3 surprise points. The AA remains as it is - and a 2 is rolled.
The surprise points are used to mitigate the damage, from 1 X to 2 D and some aborts.
The Hiryu is targetted - the one with the 6 Air Factor CVP - and damaged. Japan selects a BB which is aborted, and then also Kaga is aborted (With a 5 strong CVP).
With their airpower crippled, the Japanese pack up and leave.
Alas, the bad news is that the 4 moving ships can only get in reach of the US CVPs for a port strike.
The turn does not end and gets back in the hands of the US - which promptly raid Truk. No surprise points for any.
The Japanese have only a Hayabusa fighter squadron which needs to fend off 4 CVP bombers and 3 CVP fighters (4 4 and 3) - that after 2 got already used to bomb Majuro, that remained OOS after the Solomons got evacuated.
Incredibly enough, the outgunned Hayabusa (5 air factor one) blasts away 3 enemy CVP on its own before to be whittled down and forced to the ground.
The US dives in with what has passed through the combat air patrol of the Japanese, destroying the Junyo.
This adds in to a failed raid of the Japanese in Polynesia sea where they lost 1 SUB and got another damaged; and the cruiser Tatsuta was sunk in the Marshals meanwhile it was picketing the zone.
Majuro had 2 units, a GARR and a GARR-Div. The US attacks with a Marine and an INF; with a +7.
The US favored to port strike Truk instead than give full air support to the invasion. And they pay for that - the final roll says that Japan lose 1 unit and US loses everything (it was a 17 in the end if I remember correctly)
1943:
In the opening of 1943 - the Japanese restored the Zuikaku and the Shokaku got back to Japan to get new fighters.
So the Soryu did, but they needed rebasing on the carrier.
The US started - raiding with Submarines and forcing the Japanese to react here and there - and sending 2 CVL and 2 CA in the Marianas - but they find not the Japanese.
The Japanese react with their carrier force, accounting that the US carrier force has been depleted earlier by an amount of planes - and Japan finds the US.
A CVL is sank, both cruisers damaged - and the US flee before more harm is done.
Now the Japanese brace for possible impact and retaliation from the US fleet - but not after having rebased a Zero to Truck - so they can have that extra fighter by reaction at the 3 box where their fleet is.
Destroyed Pool:
