Matrix Games Forums

M/J 41 Allied 5

No DoW

CW naval, China and USSR land


Naval move

CW
CP to Arabian Sea
CP to Norwegian Sea
CP to Arctic Ocean
4x CP to CSV
CP to Bay of Bengal
Escorts to seas

Subs to Italian Coast and East Med

TRS from South Africa to CSV loading FTR2
Empty TRS from Kuwait towards Europe

BB to West Med box 1


US
JJ needs to tell if any ships move, maybe some BBs to Pearl?


Anyway, naval combat is coming next, I do US moves later if there are any.

Italian Coast
CW initiates, any planes from the Axis?

German NAV3 to the 0-box, please.

US sends 3x BB to Pearl. I go back and then fight.

Allied 8, Axis 1.

If Italian ships go to combat with full damage, Sub takes X and D, Italians nothing.

I go with that, let me know if you want to avoid combat [;)]

Next East Med.

No planes for Allies.

How about Axis?

ORIGINAL: Mayhemizer_slith

Allied 8, Axis 1.

If Italian ships go to combat with full damage, Sub takes X and D, Italians nothing.

I go with that, let me know if you want to avoid combat [;)]

Yes, all points to increase damage in surface combat seems fine.

Next East Med.

No planes for Allies.

How about Axis?

FTR2 from Tobruk to the 0-box, thank you.

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: Mayhemizer_slith

Allied 8, Axis 1.

If Italian ships go to combat with full damage, Sub takes X and D, Italians nothing.

I go with that, let me know if you want to avoid combat [;)]

Yes, all points to increase damage in surface combat seems fine.

Forgot to write. Sub sunk from X.

Both roll 9, no combat.

In West Med Axis can initiate and react with NAV in Sicily, Allies have no planes left in Gib. How about?

No, thank you.

Really high level Axis play on display here for Barbarossa. Green are positions the Soviets would like to hold but pink are the positions that Axis manuevers have basically forced the Soviets to take.

At face value it would seem that this terrible weather (snow arctic, storm N Temp) would be great for Allies. However the Germans have managed to twist this into an advantage for the Axis. Through very clever air rebases they have put Red Army defensive lines in the north under fighter coverage as well as ground strike risk to prevent the Soviets from holding a forward line this impulse. By forcing the Reds back in the north the Germans put more time pressure on fact rail-outs and gain another hexrow without the bulk of their slower troops arriving at the line.

The kill of the CAV in the swamp also leaves the Soviets short of units to hold the Narva river and the presence of Axis units in the swamp north of Riga make it urgent for the Soviets to defend the Narva river immediately and an ooze threat will be present unless 2 units man the river in the following impulse.

In the south the 6 range FTR and 3 range FTR along with several Stukas makes it extremely dangerous for the Red Army to try to hold open the Odessa rail line. Without such strong Axis fighter and Stuka presence forward the green X could have been held and the Odessa fact could escape, but with the air units in these exact positions it is too dangerous to hold the green X hex - thus forcing USSR to leave the Odessa fact to be cut off.

The Soviets have to take up the pink positions instead of the green positions, allowing very few Wermacht units to push toward the Dnieper effectively. The 5-3 in Kiev can't escape due to storm so will be trapped there unless it rails out which would leave 1 less faceup unit in the south - and SU really needs faceup units if the turn continues for 3 more Axis impulses.

Also note that no Soviet fact can be railed yet because the Axis cleverly placed all units in Russia out of supply and fact can't be railed until there is an in-supply unit in Russia.

This is really perfect Axis play. Kudos! [&o]

Perfect Axis play? I don't know. Sure, the Soviets can't rail factories, but what about the Soviet air force? Especially in the Ukraine, the Axis can't protect their units with FTR's (since they are out of supply). If there are organised Soviet bombers in range, the Axis spearhead is very, very vulnerable. The best defense looks to be a small counterattack in the Ukraine...

No Soviet bombers in range. Bombers in area was used to reorg units and the last one left is still one rebase missions away from front line.

Rail move

USSR
6-4 INF from east to Stalino
MIL from Moscow to Kiev
5-3 from Odessa to Vitebsk


Land move

USSR forms a line
NatChi retreats wth few units


Rebase

USSR
Hurricane -> Kiev
DB-3F -> 52,59
MIG-1 -> 56,59

CW
ATR to Shetland Islands

Back to the Axis in fine weather.

USSR south at the start of Axis impulse 7 M/J 1941.

USSR north at the start of Axis impulse 7 M/J 1941.

China north at the start of Axis impulse 7 M/J 1941.

USSR south at the start of Axis impulse 7 M/J 1941.

Classic USSR tactic
Here we can see a classic good USSR tactic. Delay Germany by changing hexes for time. The Russian troops slowly withdraw each impulse, out of reach of the Luftwaffe FTR intercept range and by keeping a straight line, the only give the advanced German Panzar forces a maximum of 2 squares, it becomes a tough nut to break with a direct attack with limited air support.
The question is who run out first? Russia on land to give or Germany on impulses?


Image: Classic good USSR tactic

Germany aligns Finland. USA condemns the aggressive Finish action. (1 US entry marker added - 2 rolled)


Picture from May/Jun '41 Impulse #7 (Axis) - DOW