Another Solo Global AAR

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

AXIS 2nd Impulse:

Actions:
Germany - Land
Italy - Land
Japan - Land

Port Attacks:
Japan attempts a Port Attack against a moored sub in Port Moresby. Allies gain the surprise advantage and avoid combat.

Land Combat:
3 attacks this impulse.

1st Attack is in China on the single Nationalist unit near Chungking. The Japanese also could have attacked Lanchow with the last Communist unit, but decided to wait until better odds next impulse. Taking a chance there... Anyways, the Japanese have a +10 modifier. The Chinese have been regularly picking the Blitz table to perhaps get Shattered and not lose a precious unit. They do so this turn. Alas, the Japanese roll a 14 and destroy the unit.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

AXIS 2nd Impulse:

Land Combat (continued):
The 2nd attack is an attempt at taking Jerusalem. The CW Territorial moved back to the capital last impulse. With Engineer support the ratio is +14, and Germany rolls a 9, destroying the Territorial. One more impulse and Germany can capture Amman as well.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

AXIS 2nd Impulse:

Land Combat (continued):
The 3rd attack is in Morocco. The Canadian 5-2 MIL is surrounded on multiple sides by the attacking Italians and Germans. The Allies prevented attacks on other hexes due to their just-in-time use of reorg's last impulse. Supply issues where the game thinks some of the Italian units are OOS when they are not is making me have to keep reloading the game fresh at every new phase. I finally am able to get it shown correctly with a +10.7 modifier with Balbo giving HQ support. CW picks the Assault table and is hoping for a lucky roll....

The fractional roll is made (+11) and the roll is a 10, resulting in a 21. The CW MIL is destroyed and Axis must disorganize 6 units, they choose to disorg Balbo (he was going to be disorganized anyway), and 5 DIVs

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

ALLIED 3rd Impulse:

Roll for End of Turn/Weather
Axis roll of 6 for End of Turn. Turn passes back to the Allies...
Then a weather roll of 4, resulting in FINE everywhere. Allies may be wanting to do a full pass, we'll see..

Actions:
If the Allies all pass, its a 50% chance to end the turn. This will have to do as the allies need winter to get here and give them a possible breather. The end of turn roll is a ....TEN.. turn continues...

AXIS 3rd Impulse:

Actions:
The Axis sighs collectively at what amounts to a double move..
Germany - Land
Italy - Land
Japan - Land

Ground Strikes:
Italy takes a shot at the defending CW line in Morocco, using a 3pt Tac Bomber they rebased in the last impulse. Allies have no one to intercept, but the Italian bomber misses both targets..

Land Combat:
With the turn feeling like it is winding down, the Axis gets a little more risky in their attacks. They launch three attacks this impulse, 1 in Morocco trying to cutoff a pocket of Allied defenders, 1 in Egypt as they push East along the coastline, and the final Communist factory city, Lanchow.

The 1st attack is the riskiest attack. In Morocco, the Axis concentrates their MECH assets and launches an attack at a stack of two 5 strength units in clear terrain. If this attack succeeds, 2 allied corps will be cutoff from the rest of their forces. The US has one HQ eligible to provide defensive support and they do. The overall modifier is 6.7 on the Blitz table. Axis does not get the fractional and rolls a 11 for a total of 17. The Allied units are forced to retreat and are disorganized, which is pretty much what the Axis wanted. Axis needs to disorganize half the attackers. The Indian 7-5 MECH and a CW 5-4 MOT are now cutoff.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

AXIS 3rd Impulse:

Land Combat (continued):
The 2nd attack, in Egypt, is along the coast with Italian bombardment support. Open terrain allows the Italians to use the Blitz table with a +8.4 modifier. They get the fractional but roll an uninspiring 8, for a total of 17, and the same results as the 1st attack, with the Allied forces simply retreating a hex. The Italians really missed an opportunity to blow a hole in the British lines.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

AXIS 3rd Impulse:

Land Combat (continued):
The 3rd attack needs a victory, and can give the Japanese another factory closer to conquest in China. Its a +13 modifier, and the Chinese pick the Assault table trying to just cause as much damage to the Japanese as possible. They know they've lost. The Japanese roll a 15, of course, wasting a great roll on a near-automatic attack. With the North somewhat secure, the Japanese will now start shipping forces to Manchuria.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:
The Axis rolls a 3 and ends the turn... The Allies are thankful that they didn't have to do a pass again and give the Axis a bonus to next turn's initiative roll.

Losses:
Here we see the losses for this turn, other than the Persians, all Allies I believe. Will the tide ever turn? Massive Allied production tells me yes...

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:
Now I'll show some updates around the globe.

Situation in Morocco:
Here in Morocco you can see the Allies are getting pushed back and now have a couple of units isolated behind enemy lines. Also notice the Italian Marine unit moving to the coast. It will be moving to Egypt next turn with luck.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Egypt:
Notice Jerusalem and now Amman are now in Axis hands. The 4-movement Engineers were able to go from Jersusalem to Amman and back in one impulse. Nice. CW does not have any air in the area, so although they would like to contest the Eastern Med, the growing Axis air power there will pounce on it. Notice the Stuka that just arrived from the Malta attack last turn.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Persia:
Not much to show here, other than the fact that I haven't shown this area yet in the AAR. Right now, Iraq is next for the USSR. Interestingly, there are Germans nearby but doubtful they'd want to get involved.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Australia:
With a Japanese CV fleet in Rabaul, the Coral Sea is not being contested by the Allies until the Americans can get some carriers down here. But notice the American BBs down in Sydney, waiting for air cover. US was also able to get a Catalina transferred down there, and along with the Australian Beaufort that arrived this turn, they have SOME air presence. Now the CW needs to get a fighter or two built down there.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Manchuria:
Little bit of a phoney war here, USSR and Japan are technically at war but no ones making any moves. USSR has little ability to attack here, and has no air or HQs. Japan, internally, doesnt see the need of doing much up here other than considering a move on Vladivostok for the factory (I think its red yes?) Right now Japan is at 20 factories, but 21 would be nice, no?

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Northern China:
The thing I wanted to point out is that Sining is still in Communist Chinese hands and I BELIEVE that Mao is due as a reinforcement next turn. He likely won't be able to do anything, as the situation is dire in the South. Notice the two Japanese HQs. One, or possibly both of these will eventually be moved to Manchuria.

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Situation in Southern China:
Kunming is the last factory in China. Its a Red one, and Japan will be going for it as soon as they can get their forces down there, which you can see they are doing at this time. Perhaps the weather will cooperate and allow them to get to Kunming in Nov/Dec. China is now getting one resource but it may make sense to waste it so they dont have to save a BP which might fall into Japanese hands next turn. We'll see..

[markb50k]

Sep/Oct 1941

End of Turn:

Production:
Germany (33): 4 x LND3, 4 x PILOT, MECH, 2 x INF, MTN DIV
Italy (14): FTR2, PILOT, 3 x TERR
Japan (20): 2 x CONV, TRS (finish), AMPH (finish), INF, TERR, 3 x CVP, PILOT
China (1): RETRAIN PILOT, GARR
CW (22): FTR2, FTR3, LND3, 3 x PILOT, MIL, 3 x TERR
US (58): 2 x FTR2, 2 x LND3, 2 x CVP, 5 x PILOT, 2 x INF, MECH, 3 x CVL (finish), 2 x BB (finish), 2 x TRS (finish)
USSR (17): LND3, PILOT, 3 x MOT

Conquest:
Persia completely conquered by USSR
Palestine completely conquered by Germany
Transjordan completely conquered by Germany
China declined to surrender to Japan

[markb50k]

Nov/Dec 1941

Beginning of Turn:

Reinforcements:
Notable items arriving this turn are the Mao HQ, the BB Yamato, and the CV Hornet

[markb50k]

Nov/Dec 1941

Beginning of Turn:

Trade Agreements:
CW and France cancel their resources to USSR, since USSR is now maxed out with the Persian gains.
CW continues its resource to China, although they'll have to keep figuring out what to do with the BP if they cant use it. Last turn, if you noticed, the Chinese retrained a pilot which gave them 1 BP, and they were able to build a GARR with the 2 BPs.

Initiative:
Axis rolls a 3, but Allies only roll a 1. It's Axis choice. The Axis initiative bonus is only +1 and they would like to get it improved to +2, so they decide to let Allies go first again. Sure, the Axis has things they need to do, but it is more valuable to have initiative in the good weather months.

Weather:
Roll of 3 - FINE everywhere except Arctic (Rain)

ALLIED 1st Impulse:

Declaration of War:
The Allies are seriously considering DOW'ing Argentina, simply to get the Factory for France. Logistically making it happen AND allowing the French to do the conquering seems impossible to do, so for now it will just remain a 'thought' in their heads...

Actions:
USSR - Land. Will most likely DOW Iraq next impulse once they get to the border.
China - Land
CW - Naval. They have a few moves they didnt make last turn because they didnt have the opportunity.
France - Combined. Their fleet was left at sea in the Bay of Bengal, so they dont need the Naval impulse. They plan on moving another TERR to East Africa and start making a play for the Italian possessions. FYI, Italy has been building alot of Territorials in their conquered countries, which will make cleaning up those countries a bit of a chore.
US - combined. Not sure what I am going to do with them, but 5 of their fleet carriers now have air wings so they may start getting offensive with the stretched Japanese Navy.

Naval Air:
CW moves a FTR over the French Fleet in the Bay of Bengal.

Naval Moves:
CW:
- Queens TRS towards South Africa. Picks up a South African 5-3 INF.
- SUBs in Alexandria towards the Pacific. There are no Italian convoys in the Med at all, so its a waste having them there.
- TRS from Morocco to South Africa, loads a 3-2 MIL. In total there are 3 ground units in South Africa, likely will bring them all to East Africa, while the bigger units go to Morocco. Lots of choices the CW has to do with all of their transport assets.
- Canadian TRS to US East Coast. Loads a US 6-3 INF.
- CONVs in Bay of Biscay and Cape St Vincent return to port. With France not sending resources to USSR anymore, no need for them.
- Escorts out to convoy protection in Denmark Straits, Faeroes Gap
- CV fleet moves back out to Cape St Vincent. Good news, they are reinforced with 2 more CVs who just got air wings. Now a total of 4 carriers: Ark Royal, Illustrious, Furious, and Courageous with 6 CVPs
- Asiatic Fleet into Red Sea for possible shore bombardment on Eritrea
- TRSs move a Spitfire, Alexander HQ, and 8-5 MECH into Cape St Vincent

France:
- TRS loaded with TERR moves to Red Sea, will debark into British Somaliland

US:
- TRSs load a P47 and a 6-4 INF to Cape St Vincent
- Hornet and Ranger transfer to Pacific. Will leave Langley and Bearn to assist the CW in Europe

Land Moves:
-French land the TERR in British Somaliland. Also rail one of the Syrian TERR to Damascus. Oops noticed that the Germans could have taken Syria instead of Transjordan last impulse. Axis should have taken the initiative. Oh well.
-US land the 6-4 INF on the coast.
-USSR moves forces to Iraqi border

[markb50k]

Nov/Dec 1941

AXIS 1st Impulse:

Actions:
Germany - Land
Italy - Combined
Japan - Combined. Will attempt an invasion into India!

Port Attacks:
CVP Bombers off of the Shokaku attempt to hit the moored sub at Port Moresby AGAIN, and again rolls a 10 in their search roll. Allies avoid combat.

Naval Combat:
Italians use a TRS to move their Marine unit into Palestine. They will attempt an attack with the Germans on Syria this impulse.

The Japanese use their two moves to move a CV/BB fleet with invasion troops into the Bay of Bengal. Due to the Allies already being in the sea area, the Japanese ships can only make it to the 2 box. The Japanese decline combat but the Allies attempt to find them. Now its the Allies' turn to roll a 10, while the Japanese roll a 3, finding the Allies. With 8 surprise points, the Japanese elect to include all Allied forces. They also choose a Naval Air Combat and use 4 surprise points to give them a +1/-1 ratio in air-to-air.

1st Round, Axis rolls a FIVE, and shoots down the Hurricane FTR. Allies roll a 11, clearing an Axis bomber. Air-to-air combat ends.

[markb50k]

Nov/Dec 1941

AXIS 1st Impulse:

Naval Combat (continued):
Now the French AA gets a chance at the attacking Japanese bombers. Japan chooses to use 2 surprise points to decrease AA fire, resulting in lowest 1 of 3 rolls. France rolls 7, 9 and 1. Looks like adding that 1 extra roll worked out for the Axis. 1 point is reduced in Air-to-Sea factors.

Japan uses the last 2 points of surprise increasing their attack column, resulting in 2 destroyed, 1 damaged, and 1 abort:
- Japan chooses to destroy the BB Provence, missing the roll, only damaging it
- France chooses to destroy the convoys, losing a resource to China is much better than losing a ship.
- Japan chooses to damage the BB Provence, but misses the roll again, resulting in the Provence being aborted as well.
- France chooses to use the Abort on the Richeliu, and they make the roll, only 1/2 aborting it.

With no air cover, and nothing to escort, the French fleet aborts to Diego Suarez, since aborting to Ceylon seems dangerous with the Japanese fleet ready to invade.

[markb50k]

Nov/Dec 1941

AXIS 1st Impulse:

Ground Strikes:
4 Ground Strikes this impulse. 3 in Europe, 1 in China.

The 1st has two Axis bombers against the Gort and Clark HQs. Once again, both sides throw their sizable air wings into battle. Last turn the Axis got the better of the Allies, we shall see how things go this turn. In this one the Axis leads in air factors 8.5 to 8.1, but that doesn't give them any odds advantage. So its all about the dice...

1st round, the Allies roll a NINETEEN! and choose to kill the Axis heavy bomber Ju88. The Axis rolls a 6 aborting the front fighter, a US P47. Both sides stay, although the Axis now has a +2/-2 advantage.

2nd round, both sides roll ineffective rolls (8 and 11). Both stay.

3rd round, Allies roll another good roll, a 16, forcing the 2nd Axis bomber to abort. Axis rolls a 11, no effect. Allies abort, happy to prevent the strike. Axis are pissed at rolling two 11s in a row.