Arriba Espana, Parte 2! A Nationalist PBEM AAR Q-Ball (N) v Przemek (R)

[Q-Ball]

Back from a long break and some travel.....we're now in December 1936

Should I keep updating the AAR? Let me know if folks are interested

[jwilkerson]

VERY interested !!

[Q-Ball]

VERY interested !!

OK, so I guess I have at least 1 reader! So here is the latest update.....sorry for long delay

December 11, 1936

Naval War:

Przemek was using a TF centered on Jaime I and 4xDD to constantly bombard my troops at Gijon, for over a month. Every day. I didn't want to directly challenge the BB with my cruisers, for fear of my shells just bouncing off, so it was a real game of cat and mouse for a couple months off the Northern Coast.

My cruisers did intercept and sink roughly 10 xAKs overall bringing supplies from Russia; I don't think I can take Bilbao unless it's starved, which will take awhile, but the way to do that is to stop supplies from Russia. I've also brought up both my Spanish Subs, who also scored some hits, including the sinking of a DD. He lost another DD in a fight with my cruisers, and moved a damaged one back to the Mediterranean.

Between subs and various combats, and maybe Sys damage, he ran out of DDs, and eventually moved the BB back to the Med the first week of December. I knew he couldn't sustain her up there, since there is not a safe port at all for any refit or repairs, aside from Leningrad.

As of right now, I control the Atlantic, and should be getting BB Espana shortly, as she is completing long refit

Air War:

Most of our bombing is in the north; we are constantly bombing the airbase at Lamiaco (near Bilbao) to keep it closed, which is not easy, because he has all his engineers stacked in that hex. I've also been bombing the port at BIlbao to burn supplies, and also sink shipping; I've sunk a ton of small xAKs in port, just cleaning up all the messes.

The Soviet planes are making a mark however in ground support, and a couple times I've intervened have been inconclusive; not sure how to firmly stop it, as the LRCAP command is a little unreliable.

Overall, the CR 32 FIAT fighters are doing pretty well; FIATS are credited with 31 Kills. The He-51 isn't very good, only 3 kills. My primary bomber is the Ju-52; I've converted all the transports to BOMBERS, don't really need transport planes anymore

Republic Del Norte:

Since my last update, we have taken Santander, and with it destroyed about 20,000 Republican troops. That was my biggest win!

We continued our advance on Bilbao, and I still haven't figured out how I'm going to take it, other than just bomb it until the supplies run out (which I think will take months; Bilbao starts with a large stockpile of everything). I have cracked the Ring of Iron at one spot on the coast, and hope to use that to start taking the forts to the West of the City. These hexes though all have levels 5 to 7 forts, and require MASSIVE commitment to take quickly....troops I do not have

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This is it for the Republic Del Norte, except for the garrison at Gijon which also continues to hold out. Level 7 forts there, so I won't take it until the supplies run out.

Extremadura and Andalusian Fronts:

These fronts have been mostly static for a couple months; I attempted an advance toward Madrid, but I do not have the strength to sustain it; I am outnumberd now by the Republic, and his troop quality is getting close to mine after a couple months of training and fighting. I'm not 100% sure how I can conquer the Republic honestly at this rate; I've destroyed maybe 20 units or so in the South, but that's not enough to make a huge dent, since he can rebuild all of them.

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Aragon Fronts:

Here I am under pressure, and just trying to hold the Republic back. Numbers are an issue here as well, plus he's got tanks and air superiority. He's also getting more reinforcements than me

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As an important note, PALMA fell this month, so he has total control of the Mediterranean. I'm going to have to move the CVT around Africa, which will add at least 2 months to any deployment....not great, as I could use the Italians at this point, no matter how crappy they are

[jwilkerson]

Is this stock scen001 ? I assume ?
My guess is many of the 20k in Santander were new arrivals with essentially zero combat value. But hard to be sure from here

[Piteas]

Losing Mallorca is facilitating republican transports. Soviet aid is arriving in droves.
The control of the Mediterranean Sea is key in this game. You will lose if you don't stop the convoys.

[Q-Ball]

Losing Mallorca is facilitating republican transports. Soviet aid is arriving in droves.
The control of the Mediterranean Sea is key in this game. You will lose if you don't stop the convoys.

I'd be happy to play a PBEM and show you how control of the Med is inevitable for the Republic under the rules we are playing (which is that Italian and German cruisers are not use aggressively)

Vildebeests, and a larger Navy......getting supplies to Palma was costing warships. The Nationalists do not have a viable airbase anywhere on the Med once the Republic lands on Mallorca, which is easy to do. The only airbase is outside Palma

I can get back, but I need Naval Superiority to do so, and I don't have the ships

[Piteas]

Hard rules.

Sending the Legion Condor on the main mediterranean ports may be an option. Germans have good aim.

[Q-Ball]

Hard rules.

Sending the Legion Condor on the main mediterranean ports may be an option. Germans have good aim.

OK, good question on what you can do air-power wise.

The Condor Legion, and Italian Bombers, are fine for bombing ports. But they are not good for attacking ships, and that's the problem. Very few pilots are trained on NAV B, and even if they were, the loadouts are all smaller bombs that will just bounce off a cruiser or BB. And all that depends on getting there safetly; attacking targets without fighter cover is risky, especially for the Ju-52s.

Bombing ports will not really inhibit supply flow.

The only effective anti-shipping planes in the game are the Vildebeests; that's why they are the most important planes in the game, and for the Republic are worth their weight in gold.

Practically as I am typing this, he torpedoed the Karlshrue off Santander (she was doing bombardment runs); she will live, but heavily damaged. I can't risk Spanish ships that way.

Soviet material, i.e. all the tanks and planes, get to Spain regardless. The only variable is Fuel and Supplies

[Dali101]

You have many more readers....

Your AAR is easy to read and the above conclusions from the ongoing battles seem reasonable.
You just don't make premature conclusions,
That's good.
Please continue the AAR, the year 1937 means a huge development for both sides. Thank you.

By the way, the Italian units in the game will definitely not be bad...
The general conclusion from the failed attack on Madrid creates prejudices, but it is not (for the game) objective and true.
At first glance, the Italian battalions seem to have a small number of squads.
But their squads are significantly more numerous than the Spanish ones and overall quite effective.

[Q-Ball]

December 23, 1936

OK, happy to do updates for adoring fans! Glad folks are paying attention

Naval War:

The focus right now is along the northern coast, and keeping his supply ships away from Gijon and Bilbao. I have subs deployed of course, and we are also bombarding the ports as well. He did re-activate the Airfield at Lamiaco, outside Bilbao, basically by stacking all the engineers on that hex; I couldn't bomb it fast enough to keep up with repairs.

This led to a nasty surprise as the Vildebeests torpedoed Karlshrue; here she is at Santander. She is about to withdraw anyway, but that hit really messed up the ship:

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Those planes are a real menace. We got a little revenge as they attempted to sink a transport I had at Santander under CAP; this was a classic "CAP Trap" that I set-up just like in WITP (intentionally draw in Nav T attacks). We shot down 3 of the Vildebeests; intelligence says we have now shot down 8 of them That that CAP TRAP I know he has pulled in the NAV T setting, either capping the range or grounding them altogether

It looks like the Republic starts with a total of 20 Vildebeest TBs, with no replacements (not worried about or counting the LBs). So, he's probably down to a dozen. Still plenty to cause trouble, though he'll be careful with them I think since they can't be replaced.

Air War:

Republican bombers are very active bombing my troops constantly. Mine are repairing, mostly....I am short on Ju-52 replacements, so some units are not full-strength. I do have more Axis bombers repairing right now, so plan an offensive in January.

That unit I captured.....I renamed it, and provided Spanish PIlots, but this is a real addition to the Nationalist air force. Too bad the planes are still in Republican colors, but we'll manage!

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It will take a couple weeks to repair the planes, since they came off a captured ship

Bilbao

This is the only area where I am currently on the offensive. If you can look closely, I managed to crack the Ring of Iron and get inside of it around Bilbao; that is forcing him on a long withdrawl around the "Horseshoe". He had to abandon an armored train unit as well. I think he will consolidate on a line using Bilbao and river, protecting the airbase at Lamiaco.

I am going to try a shock attack on Bilbao tomorrow to see if we can knock the forts down; it looks like the garrison is alot of rear area troops, so have a shot at doing some damage (hopefully). German Cruisers will bombard the port in support.

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Levant

I am under pressure East of Zaragossa; really outnumbered here and hanging on. He brought over the troops from Mallorca, so that's making a difference, and I don't have the reinforcements.

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I would rather lose ground here then have to terminate offensive around Bilbao; taking Bilbao would free up plenty of troops, so really want to focus on that. But this will be tough, as he is pressuring on several areas.

[Q-Ball]

December 29, 1936

It's almost 1937! Thanks to my opponent Przemek for getting this far! He's giving me a good fight for sure.

Naval War:

Przemek continues to try to get merchant ships into Gijon and Bilbao; I think in both cases I'm going to have to starve out the garrisons, because they are too strong with too many forts to take conventionally. So, a sea blockade is key.

I have subs of course outside the entrances to the ports. I have also bombed the ports alot, so he cannot base any ships in these ports; but they can still load in Leningrad and make the run. I am placing CD guns just outside the port to take shots at any ships coming in. I have also deployed AMCs north of the ports as kind of blockade ships, and one of them, Ciudad de Palma, captured a Soviet Frieghter:

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That's good work, and represents the 3rd merchant ship that an AMC has captured at sea.

I posted in the main forum, but I executed a nuclear bombardment on Lamiaco, the airbase near Bilbao. I torched 36 aircraft on the ground (!) and destroyed the airbase. I feel like that is TOO powerful, and needs to be toned down in-game. Bombarding troops seems fine, but that result was nuts.

Air War:

With that bombardment of Lamiaco, I have air control again up north. I intercepted one of his bombing runs near Zaragossa, and shot down 6 bombers, while lose 4 fighters in return. Not sure I can attrite like that. He is successfully bombing my troops every day, though I am bombing his ports in the north.

Bilbao:

First assault on the city was repulsed, as he has over 20,000 troops there. I don't think a direct assault on the city is practical. I think I'm going to have to starve the place out.

He has well over 50,000 troops around Bilbao, just a whole lot, so the supply burn has to be pretty high. If I can blockade the port, I think I can starve it. It's likely, however, he has a stockpile of over 100K, so this might take awhile. I will have to decide on a couple courses of action. I can:

1. Work on the fortifications East of the city; the objective here would be to clear the airbase for good, and force him back into Bilbao. All those troops in Bilbao would be an overstacked mess and really burn alot of supply. OR
2. Leave a blocking force for now, and take some of my besieging troops and attack something in the South.

Overall, we are in stalemate on the map except around Bilbao.

Decisions, decisions........

[Q-Ball]

December 30, 1936

An important update around Bilbao, as we attacked over the river in the hex adjacent to Bilbao; attacking in a ROUGH hex over a river is always kind of risky, but my intel said there were about 2500 men there, and I had 16K, so had to try to see if we could bully our way over. Turns out we could, and we now have a significant force over the river:

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You can see south of Bilbao he is still slowly pulling units back along the Ring of Iron, but because I am inside the Ring, I have an advantage. I can now attack NE toward Lamiaco (which will not have significant forts...probably). If I take that, all the troops in the Ring can be cut-off from Bilbao itself, and I can surround and starve them out. They are all on Level-5 forts, so attacking them was NOT attractive, but if I can isolate everybody we should be able to, after a couple months, close this out.

That's good, because Przemek is really pressuring me around Zaragossa. I will provide an update soon, but my lines are about to crack I think, forcing a withdrawl westward.

[Q-Ball]

January 2, 1937

Calendar flips to 1937, and it's still chaos around Bilbao! Przemek isn't going down without a fight, and he's trying to cut-off my troops and turn a potential defeat into victory. It's a risky move, but one I would probably try.

I hope you can make sense of this screenshot; you have to look carefully at the hexside control to tell what's going on.

He controls the hexsides between the Ring of Iron hexes, but I'm trying to close-off any access to the inner ring. Ultimately, the goal is to seal-off the Ring from Bilbao; if I can trap troops as well, that's a bonus. His counter is to try to cut off my spearhead near Bilbao; he attacked at the Bilbao hex, and in that Rough Forest hex you can see SW of Bilbao:

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If either of those attacks succeeded, I would be in serious trouble....but they didn't. I do have an out now in that I can withdraw eastward through Larrabetzu if things really go badly.

Meanwhile, my attack at Lamiaco, supported by bombing and shore bombardment from BB ESPANA, got 3-1, knocking the forts down to zero. Unless he reinforces, he will lose the hex (though I expect reinforcements). If he loses the hex he's in serious trouble, so that's the objective here.

For players not familiar with WITP and hexside control, this graphic shows why it's CRITICALLY important. You really have to pay attention to it. And this shows why; if you trace hexside control carefully you can see who has the upper hand, and at this point I think it's me.

Levant:

I am on the verge of cracking in the Levant however; Przemek is applying pressure, and it is succeeding in pulling away troops. I cannot mount any offensives aside from Bilbao, because I need to troops east of Zaragossa. And I am in danger of falling back anyway.

I think he's reinforced with the troops from Mallorca, which he successfully took from me:

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Naval Update:

With all the chaos around Bilbao, I have also spotted a 7 ship merchant convoy headed for Bilbao! Obviously I want to sink that, so CL CERVERA, both AMCs, and 5 submarines are at-sea. Additionally, I have set-up a CD gun unit in the hex NW of Bilbao (with 2 more coming), so his ships will have to run that gauntlett as well. To top it off, I am laying mines with the Italian SSM at Bilbao. (I would use my TBs, but they'll get creamed by shore batteries)

[Q-Ball]

January 9, 1937

Air War:

Przemek has been successfully bombing my ground troops all over; usually 100 a turn at least are killed by bombs. Not a huge amount, but adds-up over time. We've hit back a few times by using LRCAP over certain hexes, and extracted a toll of losses. Here are this month's losses (though FOW is in there, I think this is actually a little high):

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He's shown a willingness to use even the worst aircraft for bombing, like Monospars and E-30s; anything that carries a bomb it seems.

There's a limit to how much I can challenge him though, because the replacement rate for the FIATS is only 8 per month, and that's my primary fighter

Nationalist bombing is focused mostly on the NORTH, where there is no air resistance. I've bombed the ports at Bilbao and Gijon almost daily, in an effort to get the supplies down, sink ships, and generally cause issues. I've also ground bombed around Bilbao to hopefully make progress (see below).

Naval War:

The Nationalist Fleet is bombarding bases up north almost daily, and enforcing a blockade of those ports. A few days ago, he attempted to get a 7-ship Cargo TF to Gijon; it was intercepted by CL Almirante Cervera, and 4 ships sank before the rest fled back to Murmansk. He also lost a sub to a mine hit near Bilbao, and I've now mined both harbors using the Italian SSM. Plus I have CD guns posted outside both. Between all this, he withdrew all his subs from the North. (The Republic has lost 6 submarines total so far, mostly to mine hits, so he's also getting low there).

We need to continue to enforce this blockade in order to starve out the Northern ports

Unfortunately, he continues to dominate the Med. I am starting to get the CTV in Naples, and tried to sneak a couple units through the Med to test his alertness. While Vildebeests were unable to hit any of them, and I got a couple convoys through, he was able to find and destroy one with a cruiser TF of 3 x CL and 8 x DD; basically the whole navy except for the BB:

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He can see there were ground troops on that ship; thankfully just a logistics unit, nothing major, but that will alert him to what's going on.

So, that's not going to work getting the Italians to Spain through the Med. We'll have to go around Africa!

I've been planning for this by moving all long-ranged ships (mostly Italian ones) to Italy, and converting them to AK-t. It will take awhile, but the African route is safe at least. They'll get to Spain eventually.

Bilbao:

We've gotten stuck a bit on Lamiaco, so I'm shifting around looking for weak spots elsewhere; we are attacking Gattika, the hex immediately East of Lamiaco (2 hexes due east of Bilbao), and have the forts down to 1; without reinforcement, it will fall, but he might be able to save it with some troop movement:

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Otherwise, all this fighting is hopefully just burning supplies which are a finite resource for him....I hope!

Aragon Offensive:

The slow-motion Republican offensive in Aragon continues. I had to pull back a bit, and still under stress; we have some reinforcements headed this way, and hopefully I can stop this before it gets too much closer to Zaragossa

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Another reminder though that the Bilbao offensive has a price for me; I have ALOT Of troops up north, because I'm really trying to close it out. I may start shifting to a containment, rather than attacking strategy up there; if I'm just going to wait it out, I don't need as many troops. We'll see, something I'm thinking about.

[Q-Ball]

January 14, 1937

Air Update:

Most Republican bombing has stopped; I am not 100% sure why, though I LRCAP a few of his runs and shot down roughly 25 planes. I think he's also low on fighters based on recon, so the Republic may be taking a break.

I am now bombing unmolested it seems, though I'm short of Ju-52 Bombers....could really use more, but replacement rates are 3 a month

Naval Update:

After the Republicans sank some of my transports off Algeria (with troops on board), they have been patrolling near the strait unmolested. Have to be careful moving stuff from Africa. Przemek reminding me he controls the Med at this point.

CTV units are sailing around Africa now, I am loading up some of the big, fast Italian transports in Napoli. Some units appear in Seville as well. Either way, I am going to need these Italian Troops, so grateful for teh Corpo Truppe Voluntari!

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(Photo from a victory parade in May 1939, but hey, I'll use it here!)

Bilbao:

We have taken the hex NE of Lamiaco, and plan to move more units there. He has almost 20,000 troops gathered there, so I think the most I'll be able to do is attack daily to burn off ammo and supplies. Bilbao hasn't had a ship visit since at least early December, so we're going to find out what kind of stockpile he had. If he started with 200,000 supplies, then I think it will be about 2-3 months to burn all that. We'll find out! At this point I am confident I can keep further supplies from reaching the port.....I have surface ships, subs, mines, CD guns, everything.

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Republican Offensives:

The Republicans, with lots and lots of new units, are now launching a general offensive in the South. I think I can contain it, probably with the help of newly arrived Italians, but I am under stress for sure....again! He is making progress in 3 spots:

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I am willing to give some ground, but would really prefer not to lose the airbase at Guadix, or Linares either. Those are kind of red lines. The rest is mostly space.

I think it's smart for him to do this; it's going to siphon units away from the North, and also keep me away from cutting the Madrid/Cartagena rail line. Right now it's about 10 hexes away from that cut, and I've been thinking about that

Loss Ratios:

I haven't been posting regular loss reports; through 1936 I would say that we routinely had 3-1 casualties in the Nationalists favor. lately, it looks like the Popular Army is flipping that a bit, as it's now closer to 1-1...which I think favors the Republic in the long-run.

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[Q-Ball]

January 21, 1937

Things are going badly, quickly, as a full-blown Republican offensive is forcing me back on all fronts. I am getting steamrolled and outflanked by superior forces, and not sure I can stop the onslaught.

Let's go theater by theater on this, and then I'll give my two pesetas on why I'm losing, and I'm not sure I see a pathway to flipping it back to Nationalist advantage.

Possibility #1 is that there is a significant skill difference between myself and Przemek. While I've made some mistakes, I know he's made some. Still, it's possible I'm no bueno at this.

Possibility #2 is that the game balance doesn't hold up to history into 1937. I have a theory why on this I'll share. First, the battles:

Southern Sector:

Here, I am outnumbered by 2-1, based on my count of observed enemy formations (there may be more behind). Attempts to halt the advance have failed and resulted in combats that I was about to lose....rather than be forced out of hex and suffer disablements, etc, I am retreating, but not winning much in the meantime. I am hoping to hold on Linares, but failing that will fall back on Jaen and Cordoba:

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Northern Sector:

This one is most surprising; he was able to defeat me at the Somosierra Mountain Pass just by attacking; my forces, on a 1-1 ratio in numbers, were just bullied out of a mountain hex. They were unable to hold a river hex on the other side, and I'm sure will be forced out of Bocadillas and beyond. I have reinforcements heading this way, but this is a jailbreak.

I had "Green" troops at Somosierra, mostly exp in the 30s-40s (more on that), so I am sure he exploited that experience difference

At Alcolea del Pinar, he has superior numbers, and forced me out of a town at the front; falling back now, but not sure I can win the next one. Lack of engineers mean I do not have viable way to form trenches to stop this.

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Levant:

Here it's been a grind for awhile, but he's got numbers; I count almost 50,000 troops, including I'm sure the battle-hardened veterans from Mallorca. Again, I am losing straight-up fights

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I will likely need to fall back along the river line near Zaragossa; at this point I need to hold that, and especially keep him away from Bilbao.

So, what's going on?

I'll allow for the fact that I was pretty committed in the Republic Del Norte in an attempt to clear that out; part of this is probably me paying for that overcommitment. However, as of now he outnumbers me up north; the only thing preventing him from exploiting that is I think the blockade and worsening supply situation on his part. That's why it's still essential I close that position out before he joins forces, or I'm doomed

The Experience Gap is Closed

In my opinion, this is the main issue and I think the reason why the Republic is resurgent.

The first 3 months, the Nationalists have an advantage in troops experience; there's no question on that. I used that advantage to take large parts of Spain, and roll-up the Republic Del Norte. I know Przemek was frustrated because over and over he couldn't make a stand, and his troops just collapsed against mine. I just bullied him out of positions.

After this intiail start, however, I think the experience levels overall CONVERGE. New Nationalist formations, once they fill out by taking replacements, are all 30-ish EXP; not very different from Republican ones. Additionally, when formations take losses and experienced elements get killed, they all get replaced by new recruits. Over time, I know this is causing a convergence in EXPERIENCE.

The Republic has a numerical ADVANTAGE, plus superior tanks. Equal experience + greater numbers + some cool tanks, and that's why I think I'm getting rolled.

Should it be this way? Well, historically the Nationalists held an experience gap the whole war, because of better senior leadership, better doctrine, and better unity. Not to mention better equipment. This is basically why the Republic didn't win a major battle in the entire Civil War, except for Guadalajara in March 1937 (vs. the Italians largely)

Would welcome feedback and opinions, and maybe I'm wrong....maybe I stink and I deserve to lose. But I think we're fairly evenly matched in skill level, being both veteran WITP-AE players.

Thoughts?

[Piteas]

The Nats have better senior and junior leadership throughout the war, except for some historical republican leaders.
Their planes will be better in the game, especially the german bombers, and the italian fleet must be put to good use, because if the flow of soviet devices and supplies is not cut off or reduced, victory will be almost impossible. This war was won as much or more at sea than on land.

[Q-Ball]

The Nats have better senior and junior leadership throughout the war, except for some historical republican leaders.
Their planes will be better in the game, especially the german bombers, and the italian fleet must be put to good use, because if the flow of soviet devices and supplies is not cut off or reduced, victory will be almost impossible. This war was won as much or more at sea than on land.

Maybe my mistake was not using the Italian/German ships a-historically, in other words aggressively....

I don't think cutting off from Soviet Union is decisive, unless I am missing something. Nearly all Soviet planes and devices enter Spain without being shipped; only a couple Air base units have to be moved. There are sufficient supplies in Spain. The only thing that needs to be shipped is FUEL.

But again, the Republic can torpedo any ship in the Mediterranean, and there isn't anything the Nationalists can do about it

I think a case could be made that the Vildebeests in-game are way too powerful and should be removed/nerfed

The Republican player will also use the Navy in-game more intelligently than the RL Republic

[Piteas]

Maybe my mistake was not using the Italian/German ships a-historically, in other words aggressively

Historically, they were agressive. Of course, oficially not

But the italian submarines even attacked republican ships in the Aegean Sea.

https://notasdecarolus.wordpress.com/2 ... -fascista/


There are sufficient supplies in Spain. The only thing that needs to be shipped is FUEL.

Hmm, I disagree. There aren't enough supplies for all the republican units during the war.

[Q-Ball]

Maybe my mistake was not using the Italian/German ships a-historically, in other words aggressively

Historically, they were agressive. Of course, oficially not

But the italian submarines even attacked republican ships in the Aegean Sea.

https://notasdecarolus.wordpress.com/2 ... -fascista/

I am definitely using submarines normally; I've only declined to use the surface warships. Submarines, though, can't really enforce a blockade by themselves; they can only extract a toll.

January 26, 1937

Air Update:

While things are falling apart a bit on the ground, the air war is going well.....we've basically bombed or shot down most of the Republican air force. This turn, a large air raid destroyed over 20 planes on the ground, including alot of SB-2s:

Nationalist air raid at 145, 81 - El Prat de Llobregat (Heavy Urban terrain)
Time: 0800. Weather in hex: Clear wind 0
Raid was detected at 272 Kyds, est altitude 4000 feet
Time to intercept 3718 seconds

Nationalist aircraft:
2x He 112 V
8x CR.32 bis
16x CR.32
4x He 70 E
8x He 46 C
10x JU 52 /3m g4e
15x S.81 AR125

No Nationalist Aircraft losses:

Republican Aircraft losses:
SB-2 M-100A: 2 destroyed, 13 damaged
Potez Po.540/542: 7 damaged
Bloch MB.210: 2 damaged
ST Monospar: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase Hits: 542
Supply destroyed: 8932
Fuel destroyed: 2215
-------------------------------------
Nationalist air raid at 145, 81 - El Prat de Llobregat (Heavy Urban terrain)
Time: 1600. Weather in hex: Clear wind 0
Raid was detected at 277 Kyds, est altitude 4000 feet
Time to intercept 3786 seconds

Nationalist aircraft:
15x CR.32
7x CR.32 bis
1x He 112 V
5x He 70 E
10x He 46 C
10x JU 52 /3m g4e
13x S.81 AR125

No Nationalist Aircraft losses:

Republican Aircraft losses:
I-16 typ5 Mosca: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged
SB-2 M-100A: 7 destroyed
Bloch MB.210: 2 destroyed
Potez Po.540/542: 4 destroyed

Airbase Hits: 549
Supply destroyed: 5305
Fuel destroyed: 1041
-------------------------------------
I have to say, airbase bombing feels too powerful generally; this seems like too good a result, even though I used basically all my bombers

Naval War:

I tried yet again to get a transport through the Med, and it was sunk off the Moroccan coast by Vildebeests. The CTV is going around Africa, which will take a long time, but it's safe.

Not sure why some Italian units just appear in Spain, and some have to be shipped from Naples, but that's the scenario designers to answer.....seems like it should be one or the other

Land

Still losing ground and getting pushed back....I'll post an update at the end of January, but I am giving up large chunks of Spain and still getting beat on the ground. I just need to hold on until Bilbao runs out of supplies