4 player email AAR (from Euro-Axis perspective)

[jjdenver]

I'll try to do a very sparse AAR on a 4-player email game. The protagonists shall remain nameless other than yours truly who will be playing the Euro-Axis side.

The Euro-Axis started the game with one strategy in mind and have already on the first turn decided to try a different strategy. Due to infosec reasons, this strategy shall remain un-described for now.

The game started out with JP and SU starting each other down. 4 JP units including the HQ and approximately 6 SU units face off along the Manchurian border. Here is a look at China setup.

[jjdenver]

Germany set up heavy against Poland but with enough in the west to threaten the low countries after Runstedt reorganizes reserves. The idea is to quickly smash Poland without losses then get the Wermacht and Luftwaffe west to take advantage of any decent weather in SO/ND 39. In the meantime perhaps Holland - or even Belgium if the right opportunity presents itself - can be seized.

Italy set up on the Tunisian border and French border.

[jjdenver]

39 SO i3

Germany launched a lot of high odds attacks in i1 but unfortunately the assault on Krakow turned unexpectedly bloody. A +13 assault resulted in 2 losses for Germany and a half-flip. The losses were an AT DIV and an INF. Here is the situation at start of i3. The allies also strat-bombed Germany for 2 PP. Not a good start for Germany with 8 BP's of losses already by i3.

[jjdenver]

39 SO i3-7:

In Europe, Germany DOW'ed and over-ran Denmark during i3 (1 USE chit) then the Soviets took Baltic States and E Poland. Weather held clear on i5 so IT DOW'ed France (after getting its TRS back from Red Sea on i3 - it picked up an INF from E. Africa). The search roll for the FR navy in the W Med failed to find but a couple of divisions were landed next to Algiers.

Also in i5 Germany took Holland. No attempt was made to take Rotterdam since all allied lift capacity was used to bring the BEF to France and a unit from Africa to South France.

i7 was spent marching the Wermacht across Germany hoping for an extended SO turn that might allow a DOW on Belgium. Alas it was not to be as the weather turned sour and the turn ended before the Wermacht could reach the West Front in force.

[jjdenver]

39 SO i7

Here is the situation in the Med. On i5, Italy found the French fleet in W Med and sank the Bearn after shooting down the CAG aboard Bearn. Libyan troops are closing on Tunis while the Italian divisions have taken Algiers and march on Oran.

Subsequent to this the French and Italians both found in the next impulse and some minor damage was done to the French fleet by the Italian and German air. Unfortunately the FR TRS in the 0 box could never be brought under fire and it RTB'ed in Marseilles at EOT.

Italian SUBs planned strikes at French convoy lines in E Med, CSV, and BoB but all failed to find any target.

Algeria and Tunisia were both conqured at EOT.

[jjdenver]

39 SO i7-i11:
Here is the situation in China after various manuevers that I didn't pay close attention to at end of i9 when turn ended. No combats on first turn.

[jjdenver]

SO 39 EOT:

Here are losses for the turn. Note that the 2 PP's of strat bombing damage to Germany are not shown here so overall GE lost 8 BP's in the turn.

Germany was able to do some damage to the Danish and Dutch fleets. Port attacks were launched on both in port then both were over-run causing more losses. However 14 Polish, Danish, and Dutch cp's escaped to strengthen the Commonwealth merchant marine.

Germany built:
HQA
PIL
LND2 (both Stukas are in force pool so Germany needs to build those out asap)
MIL
save 1 BP

[jjdenver]

39 ND:

The first few impulses of ND 39 flew by in a haze of bad weather. The French fleet stayed in port (with the TRS) while the CW sailed Wavell to France.

The Italian SUB force again sailed but failed to find French convoy lines. A strat bomb attempt on France failed. The Wermacht and Luftwaffe completed their movement from Poland and lined up along the Belgian border.

[jjdenver]

39 ND up to i9:
More manuevering in China although there was one attack vs the 2-2 Kunming MIL near Hainan at +21 which destroyed that unit. No strat bombings yet in China either. I haven't paid much attention but it looks like a dance between the chicom and the Japanese Army in the north while in the south the Japanese have built up some force south of Changsha and are threatening Nanning.

[rkr1958]

Thanks Johnny! Now I've got another fast paced and exciting AAR to read. Look forward to following your progress.

[jjdenver]

39 ND i9:

Weather unexpectedly turns clear in i9 (20% chance) and things get exciting when Stalin declares war on Japan. US doesn't seem to care much (just 1 chit not 2), and the situation looks perilous for JP with the rail line to Manchuria cut by a Chicom army near Nanking and Terauchi surrounded by ZOCs and swamp in the north. A cunning move by young Zhukov. SU doesn't make any attacks on their impulse.

A ground strike on Terauchi's hex by an IL-4 fails to flip, and a search by Soviet SUBs in Sea of Japan fails to find the lone cp out in that sea area.

Japan looks to be in for a hard fight.

One note: We did agree prior to game to manually enforce SU-JP peace pact even though it's not yet coded in MWIF.

[jjdenver]

39 ND i10:
JP responds to the Soviet DOW by launching an all-out assault on Changsha to try to clean up that mess and presumably free up troops to respond to the Chicom adventures around Kaifeng-Suchow and for service in Manchuria. Winter weather next turn might give JP some time to reinforce Manchuria before spring.

Japan reacts to the pressure on Terauchi by moving the Harbin MIL into the swamp hex and moving Terauchi one hex SE.

Farther south Yamamoto's army group threatening Nanning pulls back east.

Tense and exciting stuff. [&o] [:D] [:)]

[jjdenver]

39 ND i10:

Changsha falls to the heavy Japanese assault and Umezu can celebrate a victory before turning his attention to the events farther north.

[jjdenver]

39 ND i10:

Meanwhile in Europe Germany DOW's Belgium and with heavy air support manages to take Antwerp and Liege without loss. The US doesn't seem to care about Belgium.

With the clearing of the weather front, Italy also launches a port attack against Marseilles that manages to damage the FR TRS anchored there.

The turn continues and i11 brings a return of bad weather to Europe.

[jjdenver]

39 ND EOT:
Here is the situation in French N. Africa at EOT ND 39. The French fleet is in port and the Italians and Germans are in actions in Algeria and Corsica.

[jjdenver]

ND EOT Belgium:

Here is the situation in Belgium. Germany was able to take Brussels but the allies have advanced to form a strong line including the BEF that is growing.

This is a puzzle that the German high command is making plans to solve...but much depends on weather.

[jjdenver]

39 ND EOT China:
Here is the situation in China. JP has fallen back in central China but has sent an army toward Kweiyang farther south. The communists continue to block the rail line leading to Manchuria but the Changsha resource is now free to rail to the coast and be convoyed to Japan. Japan needs more troops so every BP will count.

[jjdenver]

39 ND EOT Manchuria:

Here is the situation in Manchuria. Note that allies will move first in JF 40 and get snow weather(we are in JF 40 now as I post this) so Terauchi is in real peril since with snow the swamp is treated as forest and the Soviets can take both cities to Terauchi's rear. [&:]

[jjdenver]

40 JF:

Jan-Feb went long - impulse 17 but there were no clear impulses and Axis got only 3 impulses so nothing much happened in Europe. Italian SUBs weren't able to locate convoys in Cape Vincent Basin sz and some strategic bombing attempts on the French failed.

The Italians and Germans continued to reinforce Algeria and pressed into Eastern Morocco while the British landed a division at Casablanca.

[jjdenver]

40 JF:

In Manchuria the Red Army led by Zhukov pressed south and destroyed Terauchi.

Japan landed Yamamoto (transported from south China) and a marine corp at Port Arthur and MIL near Peking.