Arriba Espana! A Nationalist PBEM AAR Q-Ball (N) v Przemek (R)

[Q-Ball]

August 9, 1936

Naval Battle of Gibralar

Republican cruisers had left the strait a couple days ago, so took the opportunity to start moving troops to Spain. However, maybe it was a trick move, because most of the Republican fleet came back in a running battle.

I had a task force consisting of this at Ceuta, guarding the Strait:

CA Trento
CL Almirante Cervera
DD Churucca

....pretty much the Nationalist Navy at this point!

The Republic brought a TF consisting of:

CL Libertad
CL Miguel de Cervantes
6 DDs (all Churrucca-class)

....so, we are outnumbered a bit

First part of the fight took Churrucca out of action:

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..then, looks like Cervantes got separated, and took a beating from the remaining Republican ships (I think a couple DD's had broken off due to damage):

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Finally, another fight with Cervera....I am not sure how she didn't sink:

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What was the result?

Well, Cervera and Churruca actually made port, but are both pretty banged up. Until the fires are out, I won't be able to assess if they will survive....but either way, they're out for awhile. Trento was basically unscathed. Between her and CL Bande Nere I have enough to guard the Strait for awhile.

On his side, I took Malaga this turn, where there was a CL and 2 DDs in port; they wouldn't be there if they weren't heavily damaged. They will probably survive, but at least 1 CL will be out for awhile, and maybe a couple DDs.

I didn't post before, but he lost an Alsedo-Class DD a few days ago to a CD gun hit off Palma (she was escorting the BB). So I think this battle included basically all the DDs in the Med.

I think this was a tactical defeat for the Nationalists, but will secure the Strait for enough time to move most of the African troops over to the mainland, which is the primary thing I a navy for at the moment

Malaga:

The other big news is Malaga fell; we are pushing further East along the coast.

On the ground we are pushing the Republic back everywhere; I wonder if the Nationalists aren't too powerful at this point, but IRL the Republic lost alot of ground in July-September, so hard to say yet

[RangerJoe]

Unless your ships exceed 99.9 percent floatation damage, they can sail. It might take months to repair them but get them into a shipyard. You will get submarines that come and go except for a couple of Nationalist submarines.

The little PBs with the AAMG should upgrade with depth charges, then they will become much better escorts. But include a ship with a larger gun so the surfaced submarines won't win the gun battles!

If you can get units across, then send the heavy devices first. You can always fly the squads over. Since you should be able to cross with units, that is a victory for you.

[Q-Ball]

Unless your ships exceed 99.9 percent floatation damage, they can sail. It might take months to repair them but get them into a shipyard. You will get submarines that come and go except for a couple of Nationalist submarines.

It's a nice idea, and would've worked vs. the AI. But against a human, he's just going to bomb the ships in port. In this case, they made it to Ceuta (a large enough port to pump out and get them to Cadiz), but it will be for naught, because Vildebeests based near Almeria are going to finish the job:

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The Vildebeest is the G2M of the Spanish Civil War (particularly early when there are no Nationalist fighters). The torp is deadly, but also the 250 Kg AP bomb on extended range can reach nearly all ports in Nationalist Spain (and some in Morocco)

[RangerJoe]

Unless your ships exceed 99.9 percent floatation damage, they can sail. It might take months to repair them but get them into a shipyard. You will get submarines that come and go except for a couple of Nationalist submarines.

It's a nice idea, and would've worked vs. the AI. But against a human, he's just going to bomb the ships in port. In this case, they made it to Ceuta (a large enough port to pump out and get them to Cadiz), but it will be for naught, because Vildebeests based near Almeria are going to finish the job:

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The Vildebeest is the G2M of the Spanish Civil War (particularly early when there are no Nationalist fighters). The torp is deadly, but also the 250 Kg AP bomb on extended range can reach nearly all ports in Nationalist Spain (and some in Morocco)

Can you send them off map to be repaired?

How soon will you get aircraft that can fly CAP? Note that any aircraft can fly CAP!

Do you have any AAA that you can concentrate at the repair port?

[Q-Ball]

Can you send them off map to be repaired?

How soon will you get aircraft that can fly CAP? Note that any aircraft can fly CAP!

Do you have any AAA that you can concentrate at the repair port?

They made port in Ceuta, and with 5-6 Republican subs parked outside the port, were in no condition to try to make it off-map. They would've been at risk of torp attack and/or foundering. Obviously in hindsight, I should've tried anyway, preferable to getting bombed.......

Ceuta is also not easy to cover with Cap, nearest airfield is in San Ramiel

And no, there is no viable AA that can be moved to Ceuta in Morocco.....the nearest AA guns are in Cadiz

I think the Nationalist player, against a human, in the first few days (as soon as it's relatively safe) move CL Navarra, BB Espana, and DD Velasco to Kiel for repairs. I think that should be a 100% opening move. That way they can't be bombed under repair......

Maybe my purpose is to serve as a warning to others!

[Dreamslayer]

It's a nice idea, and would've worked vs. the AI. But against a human, he's just going to bomb the ships in port. In this case, they made it to Ceuta (a large enough port to pump out and get them to Cadiz), but it will be for naught, because Vildebeests based near Almeria are going to finish the job:

Seems like it's a issue because of pilots. They have too high EXP and skills, at least some of them. Even pilots with 70+.
Also. I don't want to search for the exact quote. But the point is about this - during the war, not a single moving ship was directly hit by an aircraft attack. And I am not ready to say how correct this statement is.

[Q-Ball]

It's a nice idea, and would've worked vs. the AI. But against a human, he's just going to bomb the ships in port. In this case, they made it to Ceuta (a large enough port to pump out and get them to Cadiz), but it will be for naught, because Vildebeests based near Almeria are going to finish the job:

Seems like it's a issue because of pilots. They have too high EXP and skills, at least some of them. Even pilots with 70+.
Also. I don't want to search for the exact quote. But the point is about this - during the war, not a single moving ship was directly hit by an aircraft attack. And I am not ready to say how correct this statement is.

It's possible Port Attack is a little too powerful, but I'll withhold judgement for now. I will note that I just had my first air raid on Cartagena, and put 2 bombs into a CL there, so it can happen both ways.

August 13

Naval War:
Most of the Republican ships from that battle were spotted in drydock in Cartagena; not surprising, as all of them took some damage. 2 undamaged Italian Cruisers are at Ceuta. This means that I have full control of the Atlantic (except subs), so I am moving stuff to Spain.

(NOTE: I am NOT using the port of Tangiers, as that really should be a neutral port).

If I am able to move the bulk of the Morrocco troops to Spain, I think that the "Battle of Gibaraltar" will be a tactical defeat, but a strategic victory for the Nationalists, since that is the primary purpose of the Navy at this point.

Air War:

In mid-August, the Nationalists FINALLY get a viable bomber, the SM 81. In 1936 terms, it's a good plane; nice bombload and range, good defensive armament. A bit slow (which is what makes it a not very good WW2 bomber)

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We immediately get to work bombing Cartagena, and putting bombs into one of the damaged cruisers:

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There is fighter cover though over Cartagena (wish I had some decent fighters....soon), so that limits what I can do. For now.

Oveido Relieved:

Our forces have reached the brave defenders of Oveido. Honestly, I don't think our position there was ever really in danger; we still had decent supplies, and Republicans were not close to taking it. In fact, they had quite a few casualties just staying in the hex. Can't leave it alone forever, so we relieved the place to make sure

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Elsewhere:

With Malaga taken, we are advancing along the coast to Motril. We are also pushing them back near Grenada, and cleaning-up our rear in Andalusia.

The first town of the "Ring of Iron" has fallen around Bilbao; I think I will clear everything across the river east of the city, then will have a deciision to make.....try to take it, or cut if off from Santander

[Rysyonok]

You're keeping up an amazing speed: how many turns are you all exchanging per day?

[RangerJoe]

Remember that when you are thinking of the distance that CAP flies, it is 5 nm per hex and not 40 nm per hex. So 8 hexes in WIS is equal to 1 hex in WITP:AE. Also, units along the flight path can and will report the enemy airstrike if at all possible. So the CAP may be able to intercept the raid even though the airfield may not be very close to the target base. I believe that this represents interceptions while the airstrike is approaching the target hex.

When you get air units in that need more aircraft and the air unit is not at an airbase, wait until you transfer them to an airbase before you give them replacements. Those replacements that you give them might just be able to fly right away. Otherwise, the replacement aircraft will also need to be repaired. Also, the aircraft in reserve appear to fly on missions if they are needed due to other aircraft that are being repaired.

[Q-Ball]

You're keeping up an amazing speed: how many turns are you all exchanging per day?

Przemek is a very reliable and fast opponent, so we're exchanging turns fast. I find though I can complete a turn often in 15 minutes or so. I may not get 100% of the items done, but I can get 90% and all the major stuff done. Perfect is the enemy of good, as they say.........

And thanks Ranger Joe for the advice on air

August 18, 1936

The Spanish Civil War is 1 month old, so let's find out: How is my driving?

I set out a few initial objectives, including:
1. Get Army of Africa to Spain
2. Expand territory, especially in the South. Take Huela, Extremadura, push toward San Sebastian.
3. Clear rail line from Seville to Salamanca, uniting the two parts of Nationalist Spain

At this point, I can say all of these objectives have been accomplished, and I'll elaborate.

Naval Update

Since the Battle of Gibraltar, I've enjoyed 12 days of peace, and this has been enough time to move nearly all Army of Africa units to the mainland....enough that I am not flying any transport flights right now (I did fly over 2 full units prior). I had assembled alot of shipping around Cadiz in anticipation of this, and had converted about a dozen xAK to xAK-T (which I highly recommend as Nationalists you start on Day 1, to be ready by the time you can move troops)

I had most of the units waiting along the Atlantic Coast of Morocco, which I think is a safer embarking point than Ceuta or ports on the Med side. Moving them was pretty quick. Earlier I had already moved units from Canarias/Ifni to Vigo by sailing way out in the Atlantic where I couldn't be seen.

While there will be more units appearing in Africa to be moved, and the job isn't done, I have move about 90% of the mobile units over, so right now there is no backlog.

It's time to start getting FUEL shipped from Canarias. I have just dropped 10K at Cadiz via 2 Italian AKs.

Southern Theater

Apologize for crude drawing, but the GREEN LINE shows the main line of resistance; there are a couple Republican units behind that line, but they are really stragglers, and I am hunting those down with Cavalry.

It runs basically Grenada, up to Jaen (which I am approaching), and we have cleared Huelva, Badajoz, and the rail line heading north. It's pretty easy for the Nationalists to clear lots of space here so it's not an amazing accomplishment, but has to be done.

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Central Theater/Aragon Front:

Here we have advanced to Talavera de la Reina to the West of Madrid, and also occupy solid position on all the mountain passes to the North of Madrid. To the NE, we are near Guadalajara. We cling to Teruel, though it is getting a bit hot, as Republicans have cut the rail line.

In Aragon, I wanted to put pressure toward Barcelona, to hopefully help save Mallorca (by drawing away troops). We have just taken Llerida, which is big; not sure if that will cause more of a reaction. Not sure we have the numbers to push on Barcelona itself, but probably a few alarm bells are going off in Catalonia, which is the point.

I didn't post picture of Mallorca, but the Republic holds most of the island except Palma

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[Q-Ball]

August 18, 1936 cont'd

Northern Front:

I think this is where I've made the best progress; I may make some additional investments here to capitalize on it.

As you can see, we have taken everything East of Bilbao, and have broken the "Ring of Iron"; the two towns immediately south of Bilbao are about to break. I am not sure if I will try to take Bilbao right away, or bypass it.

We are not seriously threatening Santander, but have enough there to pin-down alot of untis to defend that axis.

In Asturias, we are making great progress; we expelled the Republic from Oveido, reached the coast just West of Gijon, and in doing so we have trapped about 4000 Republicans in a small area west of Oveido. We can eliminate them, and then Gijon itself is under threat. Basically, we've cleared the mountain passes and got into the coast plains, so we've made really good progress here:

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What Next?

Great question, and welcome comments and suggestions!

I have reinforcements avaiabile at Cadiz from Africa; they are getting on trains to move north. I think I have a couple options:

1. MADRID: Of course if we take Madrid by December, we end this (and BTW, I think against the AI this is very easy to do). The best axis right now is probably from the West along the Rail line, in open terrain. This is certainly an option.
2. NORTH: Another option is to double-down on the North; in a longer war, this is clearly the first objective after Madrid, because once that section is gone you can move the army southward for further campaigns.
3. ARAGON/CATALONIA: This is another option; push toward Barcelona, and cut off or eliminate Catalonia now. An interesting possibility.
4. SOUTH COAST: The advantage to this is with a push I might be able to get to Cartagena; as the only real shipyard in the Med, that would be a body-blow to the Republican Navy, and allow me to challenge him in the Med.

Some good choices; thoughts?

[RangerJoe]

You are welcome!

If you can, assemble a task force in Napoli with lots of supplies and any Italian units. Use your Italian cruisers for escorts plus any other Italian ship with AA capabilities. Then have them sail to PALMA! "Full speed ahead!" and "Damn the torpedoes!" Which were actually sea mines. If you have an airfield on Mallorca, bring in some fighters to LRCAP the task force. If not, then use your closest airfield and place aircraft there for LRCAP for the task force. Use bombers if you have to do so, all that they have to do is to break up the attack and limit the damage. Float planes and recon aircraft will also work. Repeat as is necessary.

In the meantime, you can try setting up some CAP traps using a lot of lower level CAP/LRCAP while also trying to keep the bait task force at least one hex farther away than his fighter reach if at all possible.

You may also be able to fly some infantry units along with lighter AA units if available to Palma as well, especially if/when the supply convoy reaches Palma. If the enemy is deficient in artillery units on Mallorca, that would be a good place for armoured units - even the Italian tankettes.

[Q-Ball]

August 25, 1936

Some quick updates, and I'll post more when we get to September

Naval Update:

Republican Subs hit shipping off Cadiz, 2 of the large Italian AKs. One is just fine, the other is in terrible shape; hope to repair her to get up to speed.

Repairs on Velasco are completed, so she is the only operational Nationalist warship. 2 Italians CLs guard the Strait right now on "non-intervention" patrol.

Otherwise, picking up fuel in Canarias, and getting a few more units moved from Africa, though most of them are in Spain already

Jaen Falls:

Jaen falls, and we are next pushing to Linares and beyond

Land Pause:

For the most part, we are moving Army of Africa units into position and resting forces before a push in a couple directions. We are still active near Gijon, where we will shortly invest the city.

[RangerJoe]

Did you lose Jaen or did you liberate it?