Cohen vs Enrico - AAR6

[AlbertN]

September / October Openings

Germany declares war to Poland and attacks with limited forces.
Over 3 impulses - 2 of them were land and one naval due to bad weather.

Warsaw resists; meanwhile the first go at the Poland perimeter was smooth and Lodz costed a casualty (an INF-Div) and many disrupted which could compromise the ability to attack Warsaw.

The weather though has been rainy over the 2nd and 3rd impulse (That screws Germany hard).

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct openings

Germans were faced with bad weather - and the W.Allied surprise phase of bombing has not harvested any result (thanksfully!).

Germans are ready to attack - somewhere or something. Netherland? Belgium? Metz using their ENG unit?

In the while at the 2nd impulse in Bay of Biscay Italian submarines make their appearance, finding their targets and sinking and aborting some convoys.

Germany reinforces in the 3rd impulse, alas to no result.

On the other hand the Kriegsmarine exploits the weakness of the Royal Navy in the North Sea, sinking the Queens (with a MOT loaded) and a cruiser - at the cost of CL Emden only.
Also a UK TRS is damaged (transporting another MOT). That one was lucky to pass the save.

A big mistake from the UK? One cannot tell. Why? Because as you will read the Italian Navy has virtually ceased to exist!

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct Openings

The W.Allied play aggressive, deploying their fleet all over the med and threaning port strike to the Italian with the whole of the CW carriers except one that arrived from India and is in the E.Med.

Italy accepts the challenge, declares war and issues all of its navy out.

Italian submarines produce meager result - but results still in Bay of Biscay.

The main squadron of Regia Marina is litterally sacrificed in the the W.Med - which though has the Allies remaining despite the surprise. They've massed 120 surface points and 5 carriers there (1 French). The Italians are severely outgunned and lose ships like nuts but manage to sink 3 UK CVs and other ships of theirs are damaged.

In the Italian Coasts the Gabbiano NAV performs raids over the Royal Navy squadrons which are entirely short of any form of air cover.

In the Eastern Mediterranean a small squadron of 4 Italian cruisers manage to damage the CV there (it passed the save. All 5 CW carriers were to sink if they failed their saves); but once the impulse passed over to the W.Allies they were found and butchered in brutal ways.

Mostly the Italians shipped with both TRS in Africa Graziani and their MECH and placed them in port.
Which means they're out of fuel at the very present - as the Italians (me!) expected the W.Allieds seeing the surprise thing would have evacuated the sea zones to not risk ships and I'd have got the rest of Sept / Oct to spearhead into Egypt.

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct Openings

China starts with a pretty forward Nationalist deployment in the south - which gets flanked and their riverline west of Changsha reveals untenable. A MIL and a CAV are lost in the process.

Nationalist INFs in Chengchow are ordered a retreat after they safeguarded the Commies during the first impulse.
Japan hopes to catch them though as they're both disrupted and can be OOS as well.

The Communists sit and wait as the Soviets proper are instead advancing in Persia.

Nat.China deployed a MIL unit closeby Hainan - that got destroyed during the first impulse (Shore bombing, woo) and even the IJN carriers saw action via their planes, disrupting the CAV unit closeby Shangai.

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct - Destroyed & Repair pools

Just to show how much "brutal" the naval battles were in the first turn, here the Destroyed Pool and the Repair pool.

Though I am not sure I've actually played "well" the Italian there. I mayhaps should have gone pick on the UK where they were weakest and avoid the 120 gunnery strong stack of death. Though that would have meant to preserve their carrier force pratically intact.
It was quite lucky already the Italians found the Brits at least once in every sea zone.

But now they hardly pose a threat anymore - as per the "Fleet in being" concept is gone in a tumble of smoke.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1939 - Poland

Poland has been turned into an Allied Stronghold - in Warsaw.
The only positive thing is that the HQ is there and that won't reorganize, nor the poland planes, due to oil shortage.
Besides that ... it seems Poland is fated to fight on in 1940 pinning down a large amount of German forces.

For now the two impulses played in Nov / Dec saw Storm and Storm again all over the continental Europe.

France side is exactly the same as Germany cannot certainly afford to get a +6 for the attack on Holland.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1939 - China

Japan, similarly, is stuck in Storm and Rain, unable to do anything except inch in toward the Chinese here and there.

The only good news is that Japan closed politically Burma Road and the USA did not batted eyelid.

[Mayhemizer_slith]

I agree, that was brutal first turn naval combat [:D]

[AllenK]

Brutal opening. The loss of the BEF will put the Allies on the back foot as well if my experience from the last game is anything to go by.

[Centuur]

Brutal opening indeed. I wonder who is the winner of the first naval battle. If it wasn't for the loss of the CV's, I would say the CW, since trading naval units at about a 1-1 with the Axis is a good result for them. But those CV's...

[Orm]

But now they hardly pose a threat anymore - as per the "Fleet in being" concept is gone in a tumble of smoke.

I say that this is a Italian, and even more so a Axis, win. While the Italian navy is reduced they will soon have a couple of modern battleships. And in the Mediterranean the Italian air power is more important than those two old battleships. So CW has lost the backbone of their carrier force against a few cruisers.

[AlbertN]

Jan / Feb 1940 - Belgium

Germany attacked in 2 Snow impulses Netherland first and Belgium later.

The Kriegsmasrine got committed to help with shorebombing on the dutch capital; and also as dissuasive force for the UK in case they were to try to ship in troops.
The UK though dispatched a large cruiser task force - which actually have then found the KM ships and gave them a pounding.

The turn ended at Impulse #13; the one where Germany boldly attacked the Belgium and managed to a smooth conquest with intense use of HQ Support and Luftwaffe over Bruxxelles (and bombed the Belgian plane too to be on the safer side of things!=

Poland too fell this turn, a lucky roll of 19 sealed the fate of the Poles (attacked anyhow by 12 corps sized German units in Warsaw).

[AlbertN]

Jan / Feb 1940 - Victory in the desert

The Regia Marina, with immense sacrifice and abnegation, poured the supply and fuel needed to the "Armata Italiana Libia".
Regia Marina presently counts a grand total of 6 operational cruiser, the 5 you see and the old Taranto one parked in La Spezia.
And a sum of 3 Convoy Points.

The Regia Marina in this turn sat entirely in the port til the last impulse - since the W.Allied instead of committing the Royal Navy whole in the Mediterranean, left few Frenchmen to try their luck in finding the Italian convoys.
A task they mostly failed, succeeding only too late at it.

In fact the W.Allied covered the south of Alexandria with a Territorial unit - that got destroyed in Nov / Dec; that left Alexandria encircled (via ZoC).
During Jan / Dec the Italian Regia Aeronautica in Egypt bombed Wavell with success (Thus Alexandria had a 1 strong Wavell OOS + Disrupted and the Royal ENG unit). That led to a mass assault of the City proper, resulting in the loss of both British units.

Two ships parked in Alexandria gave in to their run for safety and Italy intercepts outside at sea, but fails to achieve any meaningful damage.
That is when the French ships are ordered to give more chase to the Italian CPs - finding it and destroying it.

Next, seen the units in Egypt OOS - the Italians who had already loaded a division unit in their cruiser task force land in Cyprus - wanting that resource. But will the Italians be able to send it back to Italy with so few CPs at avail and a still unleashed Royal Navy?

[AlbertN]

Jan / Feb 1940 - China dismay

Chinese forces were ill marshalled and maneuvered (I believe) and ultimately they got surrounded in different pockets that the Japanese have to liquidate at ease.

China is also graced with the end of the Turn - otherwise the Japanese - if getting one another impulse, would have got their divisions seizing interesting Factory-Cities.

[AlbertN]

Destroyed / Repair Pool

[AlbertN]

Mar / Apr 1940 - Middle East

The Regia Marina continues its effort - losing over the turn another CP and inflicting no losses in return this time - to keep in supply the Italian forces in Egypt.

Meanwhile Malta is invaded with success, since the Royal Navy abandoned the Mediterranean except than with submarines; the resto of the Regio Esercito makes an advance in Palestine defeating with ease the local defence force; and running around the sleeping French defenders of Syrya.

British submarines sink the cruiser Taranto - reducing even more the Regia Marina.
Italian Submarines though manage to deliver a small blow to the UK shipping in Cape St. Vincent.
French naval units in the E.Mediterranean suffer a defeat from the Italian Gabbiano.

Soviet forces lurk at the edge of Iraq.
The big question is - will the Soviets declare war on Iraq, at the cost of delaying on the USA?

[AlbertN]

Mar / Apr 1940 - China

In the north Mao has led a successful offensive, destroying the Tokyo MIL at Tungkwan.

In the south instead the Japanese exploit well the good weather, at the cost of some losses by their side they manage to erase the resistance of the Nationalist Chinese, vanquishing many pockets and units.

Meanwhile Chunking was saved in the corner by the appearance of a CAV-Div, the other divisions; Chiang and many other Chinese units that got stranded OOS got destroyed.
This opens new horizons of glory to the Japanese advancing armies.

As per usual, the carrier planes are getting slowly disarmed in favor of more land based planes able to support the Japanese push inland.

[AlbertN]

Mar / Apr 1940 - Finland Question

The Soviets are preparing as well to deal with Finland.
Though with only 5 land actions, and with the Communists able to perform offensive actions too ... what will happen?

[AlbertN]

Mar / Apr 1940 - Paris Falls

The turn opened with bad, bad weather - and Germany demanded the reroll, pushing the initiative track at -1 for the Allies.
Their gamble was foiled by Storm weather ... and the Germans simply moved on at the Belgium-France border.

The French though instead of reshuffling units around and move forth their new ARM elect to go naval trying to sever the Italian supply lanes - and failing.

The 2nd impulse is good weather, German generals finally celebrate the arrival of the first "fine weather" impulse after the very first impulse of the game.
The Luftwaffe and the Artilleries operate, disarraying the French defenders here and there. Panzers are massed and crash into the hex south-east of Lille; where 2 INF and 1 ART of the French wait. (Both INF where flipped by bombers).

In the while the Potez FTR3 of French got shot down by the Luftwaffe, and a Bf110 guns down as well the Leo351 bomber that intervenes trying to help in the land combat. The MS406 failed in its intent to stop the German bombers (bad choice of my opponent there, it scored an Abort at his choice and aborted the FTR and not the Stuka... I do not know why).

The blitz is a success, and Germany prefers to just have the French retreat a hex and be kept disrupted.

France withdraws to new positions with what they can. George, concealed in the woods east of the Seine reorganizes 3 land units. Billotte is disrupted and unable to escape its fate.

The RAF opts to perform strategic bombing on Germany, instead than endangering their bombers on the German spearheads.
Only the Fairey Battle goes on a double panzer stack - procuring no damage.
The strategic bombing on the other hand neats 3 hits out of 3 bombers used. Germany production crippled.

It storms again, and the French after having evacuate Lille draw a breath of relief.
The Germans can shuffle in, and finish off the 6-4 INF that withdrew earlier.
The French keep moving away units, surrendering the Maginot.

It snows. Metz is assaulted - but a dreaded 14 is rolled (attack was at +8).
Germany loses their ENG and 2 more units for a single GARR-Div of the French.

Turn could have ended at 70%! But it does not end.
French keep maneuvering their units and adjusts them further.
The BEF moved away too - behind the Seine.

Turn does not end yet, and it's good weather!
Paris is bombed with the last operational Luftwaffe planes, and attacked with Von Rundstedt support.
And Paris fall - with the MS406 being trampled as well in the process.

Then, the turn ends with an Axis start and end - which should push to a +2 for the Allies the initiative track.

[AlbertN]

Mar / Apr 1940 - Destroyed Pool at end of turn