Cohen vs Enrico - AAR nr. 2

[AlbertN]

Marocco Situation - Impulse #5, 2nd Axis Impulse of July / August 1940

Pretty ahistorically the Italian forces are quite victorious and keep advancing.

The British land forces opposed some resistance at the plains west of Fez; where the Italian armoured spearhead (with HQ support from Balbo) blitzed through them, sending their motorized unit home and destroying a MOT and a MECH division.

With only Gort and Wavell respectively in Casablanca and Mogador the UK required contingency measures.
Ultimately Gort was attacked by the Italians, delaying their attack but was forced to retreat in a bad position; Wavell evacuated and repositioned in Cisneceros; and the UK reinforced the Canaries with a militia and a fighter squadron.

Gibraltar has still only 2 units into it. And not 3 - it is unclear if they want to evacuate it or not.

In the seas there are small aereonaval battles. The Italians lose a Gabbiano (saving the pilot) but they manage to sink a Battleship and a Cruiser in return.

Egypt Situation:
The Germans are shipping in Infantries - they'll need 4 corps total before to move on to claim Iraq and Persia.
The UK has left only Territorials there - and there is no rush for now.

[AlbertN]

July August 1940 - Impulse #5 - 2nd Axis Impulse

The Japanese situation - as expected - is worsening in Manchuria / Siberia border.

The Soviets have mauled over time a Territorial and then a Garrison; losing only 1 INF-DIV by their side.
The biggest problem for the Japanese is the way reinforcements arrive - via rail and then stuck on the spot for the turn whole.

The Soviet cavalries are acting as good flanking forces, threatening to cut the railroad supplying the Japanese army supplies.

On the other hand in the air the first go of the VVS did not proved themselves as excellent aviators.
Their heavy bombers disrupted indeed the now gone garrison unit in the swamps to the north; but at once they've lost 1 FTR2 and 1 LND3 by the hands of the Japanese fighter squadron. (Including both pilots gone!)

Just with 2 disrupted units out of 3 in the upfront hex, the Japanese retreat does not look too appealing.

[AlbertN]

Mao's Retreat - July / August 1940

The Japanese mauled the forces of the Communists earlier on, and finalized with the Comunist Cavalry Corp destruction in the openings of May / June.

That have set the Communist forces in a rather unpleasant situation, forcing them to withdraw.
Mao escaped well, as (per usual) the Japanese airforce failed their bombing runs.

Sian's resource though has been secured once again.

[AlbertN]

China Tides of War. - July / August 1940

Across the late spring and early summer Chiang lost two major battles in the mountains (both resulted in 2 China units lost and 0 Japanese).
The air battles saw both China and Japan lose 1 fighter (and its respective pilot).

But the Japanese pressure now start to be properly felt as the shortage of units from the Chinese standpoint is perceived and their line start to have weakspots.

The question is if the Japanese will manage to keep the pressure on to be honest, as the Soviet front is degenerating quicker than expected.

[AlbertN]

US Entry:

Any chit that is not a 1 or a 0 will make the US gear up the first time in this turn.

The European Axis still has to declare war to Portugal and Greece, and claim Gibraltar and Suez as moves that can disturb the USA opinion.

The Japanese are nowhere close to get a Chinese city on the other hand.

Anyhow it looks like a matter of this or the next turn!

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct 1940 - Impulse #9, Allies:

The Manchurian front has been rather stale, the Soviets tried to attack across the river once and lost a GAR Division.

NOTE: Whoever edited in the Khaki in Flames units that I downloaded did some mistakes, you'll find some divisions with the odd movement factors.

Besides that the Soviets are expanding like a fan trying to embrace the Japanese meanwhile the latter is pouring more reinforcements... alas that is making the offensive in China sort of anemic.

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct 1940 - Impulse #9, Allies:

Mao and the Communists: They are digging in new trenches at the mountain range to the east of Tianshui.
Yamamoto tried an assault at the end of August but without success (Japan lost a MIL unit).


The Nationalists: Japan gained very little ground there, and soon there will be the switch of weather, so it will be time to prepare to set eyes on Nanning and the resource in reach in the South.

Soon enough the USA will probably sever more resources from Japan.

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct 1940 - Impulse #9, Allies:

The Free France force prepare their last stand in Damascus (soon!), meanwhile the Germans have claimed Cairo with a bloodshed (They lost 2 infantries against a territorial!).

The conquest of Suez somehow mattered for the Americans, which are getting ready to escalate their weapon production and start to expand their armed forces.

The ancient lands of Palestine and Transjordan also got claimed (Well their capitals have been) recently and soon the German flags will rise in the region.
It is said the Muftì of Baghdad is already marshalling his militiamen to side with the Axis and expel the exploiters of oil being the Western Allies!

[AlbertN]

Sept / Oct 1940. Impulse #9, Allies:

The Germans have seized Portugal with no issues, bombing their small fleet in the harbour before it could sail out (Bottomed, got in UK hands) and then storming Lisbon.
The Portughese defenders have been unable to put up a resistance worth of mention.

Gibraltar still stands, its fortification have well resisted bombing runs for the time being.

In the sea the Axis has not accomplished much truth be told, the British Navy has been most elusive, and for now only a Spitfire has been shot down, quickly replaced by more fighters that arrived fresh of factory colours in Cisneceros.

Gort instead was butchered in a gruesome way by the Italians. Mussolini prepared medals and got songs to be chanted for the victory in Marocco.
Wavell repaired in Cisneceros, being quickly evacuated.

Other Facts:


The Raid to Kiel:
The UK performed a raid on Kiel, when their secret services revealed that a new battleship finished its tests and was ready to take the sea.
Two squadrons of Sunderlands and the Harrow were dispatched to deal with the new threat, and they astonishingly went through the defending fighter (Gunning it down even. Time to scrap that Heinkel fighter with 3 air to air factor!); but the new battleship anti air proved exceptional, and no damage was done to ship. (That's when your lowest roll out of 5 is a 7!)

Partisan Uprising in India:
The spectre of a new Indian rebellion could have struck the heart of some Brits; but in the end it was just a small warband claiming a minerary rich zone.
Regular forces were dispatched to deal with them, and that is exactly what happened. The partisans were scattered with no losses of worth from the loyalist Indian soldiers.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940 - Japanese Mourning

The turn is not over yet - but the Japanese in these two months have lost more than their production of a turn whole.

A gruesome end of the year that see also other ships damaged, and 7 CPs of the W.Allies sank.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940 - Hunting Ducks in Cape of St. Vincent.

The Axis is trying to sever the supply to Gibraltar, their airplanes swarm over Cape of St. Vincent, since September already, but they've not found their intended targets - for how amazing it is - as the port of destination is well known!

Shall they be luckier before the end of the year?


Other Naval Facts:

The Battle for the Atlantic - Submarines: The Kriegsmarine dispatched their limited submarine force in the middle of the Atlantic; which led to successful engagements.
At the cost of one Wolfpack damaged, the submarines of Donitz sank enough shipping and scattered some to sensibly dent the Royal Navy reserves of cargo.

Surface Raid in Faroes Gap: The leftovers of the Kriegsmarine sailed to engage the enemy shipping to UK right at their doormat. Despite the valiant effort of land based airplanes, the Bismark and a squadron of cruisers managed to find and sink some, along with some convoy.
But then the Royal Navy retaliated with a very fitting "Sink the Bismark" command. In the Faroes gap overwhelming forces arrived.
First only a small squadron of UK cruisers found the KMS Deutchland, sinking it.
Then the remaining German forces found two old monitors, sending one to the bottom of the seas.
Last a big cruiser force of UK led by a fast battleship found the Germans, and overwhelmed them, sending them home.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940: Gibraltar Under Siege.

Not much to add here, to put it simple the Axis is waiting for the good weather before to storm "The Rock".

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940 - The Middle East Affair

The German forces, after the pyrrhic victory at Cairo advanced and claimed Damascus without ulterior losses; but the French dug in their Foreign Legion leftovers where their stocks of oil have been secured, long ago when over Paris there was a tri-coloured flag of blue, red and white.

Iraq promptly aligned with the Axis powers, sensing victory and freedom at hand. But Churchill wisely enough shipped India forces already in Kuwait.

NOTE: How can ever the Axis dislodge troops of the Commonwealth from the Kuwait? They cannot by the looks unless they can spare 300 HQs... Any suggestion here?

The fact that Kuwait City is defended, and a potential gateway for future Allied advances and to threaten the oil rigs is a serious concern, which is making the Axis leaders bang the head against a wall.

For now the Iraqui militiamen have positioned in Basra, in the hope to hold it. Probably a vain hope as soon as the Allied pressure grows. So it's more a matter of when.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940: The Manchurian Issue

The Soviet pressure is going up, and fast.
With a new 5-4 INF corp the Soviets massed in enough forces, and their cavalry brilliantly arrived to sit in the middle of the railway, cutting all the Japanese out of supply! Exploiting the sudden lack of air umbrella, the Soviets perform air supply mission to their brave cavalry, reorganizing it!

With enormous effort the Japanese headquarter marched through the mountains to resupply, but the first line was still too far by now. A mandate attack took place against the Cavalry unit of the Bolsheviks; the railway got secured but Manchurian volounteers suffered immense losses (the 2 Manchurian TERRs).

Exploiting the momentum, the VVS bombard (along with heavy field artilleries) the Japanese frontline, disrupting a cavalry division.
Then the assault happens, with the snow ... but the Soviet units are well prepared. (Soviets lose 1 MIL, Jap the CAV-Div and MOT).

The Imperial Command orders to retreat on the next position by the mountains.

[AlbertN]

Nov / Dec 1940 - The costy advance in China.

The Japanese managed to gain grounds in the southern China, grabbing finally that resource in the south they badly need.

Though, the repeated assaults across mountain positions costed to the Japanese an amount of forces - MILs and INFs.

But at least also the Chinese got an amount of mauling, which their factories cannot replace as quicker.
Though ... how much longer the Japanese have before they need to switch focus?

Their naval production is already to the bone, and it's not looking any better.

[AlbertN]

Now - meanwhile for the next session we'll have to wait the next Friday - I am really asking for suggestions about the Kuwait case, as I am clueless on how to secure Kuwait (as per take it).

[TeaLeaf]

I am really asking for suggestions about the Kuwait case, as I am clueless on how to secure Kuwait (as per take it).

I must admit I haven't looked too deeply into the situation, but from what information I could gather, I'd say the axis have a few options. Among others:
1. Control of Turkey (aligning or attacking) and then the axis supply-issue is much easier. That is, as long as the axis control the railways running from Basra via Mosul to Alexandretta. The axis will need only 1HQ for Kuwait if they are strong enough to hold this railway and are able to maintain an overseas supply line through the med. Or... via the Bosphorus into Germany itself.
2. Put the CW in Kuwait out of supply. If playing with limited overseas supply this is a lot easier than if not and maybe the aid of Japan is required, since for this the Allied convoying/Naval forces needs to be attacked.
3. Talking about Japanese aid... A naval invasion from Japan in the area extends their aid considerably.
4. Without Turkey the axis indeed need 3HQ's and good weather (4HQ's in bad), to take Kuwait. Quite a lot!

Maybe it is even possible to launch all options upon the allies...
Every option will come at a cost but since we're only talking N/D '40, there's still time left for axis initiatives. Pros and cons of the big picture need to be weighed carefully, as the allies are not (should not be) teethless and a dragging adventure in the middle east may cost the Axis Russia. Plus the extra US-Entry chit(s) if Turkey is attacked. And if by having Gibraltar, Turkey and the Middle East, the axis allow Russia to gain critical mass much earlier, I'm not so sure that is a good thing. If you take the ME, you also must be able to defend it. Well... at least for a while . Otherwise it will be too easy to cut the axis' supply into the area later in the game.

If you think the axis won't be strong enough to take and hold the Middle East (i.e. taking Kuwait as well), consider just cutting the allied supply into it. The same game I usually try to play against the axis forces in North Africa: their forces may look dangerous to Wavell, but if they have no supply they can't attack anyway...

[AlbertN]

The End of 1940

As we found 45 mins to squeeze for something, we moved slightly - ever so slightly on!

The Siege of Gibraltar:
The Axis Hunter-Seeker team of naval planes and escorts found nothing, again, to much frustration for their respective commands.
British carriers, battleships and transports all slipped away safely!
At the start of 1941, the Axis is sending new search and destroy missions BUT the Commonwealth left only a measly supply convoy (1 Convoy Point!) to keep Gibraltar able to fight properly!
There are two RAF Squadrons in the zone (5 Air Factor) and the Spanish Chirri; alongside that soon will come a squadron of modern Spitfires (the 6 Air Factor 1940 fighter from UK!).

With the clearing of the weather the Axis is evaluating to storm Gibraltar and get done with it.

Marita - Merkur:
The Invasion of Greece has begun.
The elite of the Italian army, the Alpini, have been committed to the front; and the Regia Marina is preparing for one among the most massive operations ever enterprised by them.
To support the assault at Gibraltar, to have ships to support either the attack at Beirut against the French or Athens, to bring in the invading forces and reinforcements into Greece without having any land connection.
Pratically the whole weight of the Greece invasion shall fall on the Italian shipping.

Though the Kriegsmarine bravely slipped past Faroes Gap its amphibious and transport forces, ontop of 6 convoy points! All of them eagerly sitting in Lisbon under air cover, waiting to be allowed in the safer seas of the Mediterranean.

With an Italian modern TPS in construction, the ability to perform seabore invasion with the AMPH and SCS + Divisions, the Med-Front can take a whole new chrome ...

The Middle East:
Von Bock arrived, ready and hot to lay siege at Beirut, or better storm it and remove the pesky Frenchmen defending the stronghold (and 3 oil points!).
In the while grand plans are laid down from the Axis side to kick out of the Middle East the Brits. The first step is made by the Italian Regia Marina, the submarines of which reached for the Indian Ocean from Suez and started to raid the convoys (Admittedly, we saved before the Naval Search. So both this situation and the Convoy at Gibraltar survival are pending!)

Euro-Axis Long Term Economics:
Since from the Euro-Axis side - with the exclusion of the Kriegsmarine - the losses have been rather mild, a new perspective opened.
Currently I believe with the loss of the ENG unit (3 BPs), 2 INFs (6 BPs), 1 O-Chit (15 BPs), 3 relevant planes with pilots (12 BPs), 1 INF Div (2 BPs), 1 Air-TP + Pilot (5 BPs) - assuming I am not forgetting anything, which could as well be but it would be minor - Germany is in a decent shape of troops and forces.
The Kriegsmarine has been mauled, but for now it can remain a shadow in the game! For now!

On the other hand Germany has built already all 3 Synth.Oil Plants, and got 2 Factories in production.
Italy has set in the spyral 1 Synth.Oil plant and plans to double up soon enough.

This matches well the passive philosophy of the Allies (Bring the USA in asap - any action besides the forced ones - DoW on Germany, Claiming E.Poland and Baltics - have been avoided.), so that the Soviets, busy with their war with the Japan are not bothering Romania (Which has its pluses, as Axis cannot deploy there to begin with!) and neither Finland are still providing a hell of resources to Germany. (Now in 1941 1 less because of aligning Bulgaria, but that is evened out by the Bulgarian resource for the Axis).
Add up capturing 3 oil in Beirut, and hopefully securing the Middle East, the Axis should have enough oil stocked up by Barbarossa time to be able to use oil for production until they claim enough Soviet resources - once the trading agreement is over.

Italy in the while will provide to Germany 5-6 BPs per turn in '41, to boost its production for a massive punch in the Soviet Bear Face.

In analysis for the denial of the minors it has both pros and cons.
Greece is a pain in the backside currently - since Italy needs the TPs to bring the troops to Middle East AND in Greece. And the more troops get there, the harder it will be to pull them away for Barbarossa.
A land connection would have proved very useful there.
Also Axis cannot use the factories of the minors until the Declaration of War on Russia (Yugoslavia, Romania and Hungaria).
On the other hand, in 1942 when the DoW is expected to be, these minors will come with extra forces - rounding up with delay and ... well inferior forces ... the BPs Germany did not got beforehand.

USA Long Term Plans:
Axis analysts studied the USA economical model - they improved in factories (Built 3-4 from the start of the game.) and secret plans were actually stolen, about seizing neutral countries in the South American continent to exploit for resources.
Obviously these small countries closed eyes and ignored the warnings - not that they could do much anyhow if USA would opt to aggress them. (Long in short, the previous game USA produced factories and their single Synth Oil; and they were anyhow not being able to use all factories in '43 due to oil requirements; so this time my opponent is studying possibilities to claim resourceful countries in the South America!).

The Misery of Japan:
Japan is sort of crippled truth be told. And I feel it's not even over.
The Chinese inflected an amount of losses - and in the northern sector (Com-Chinese) the marine units will be needed elsewhere soon enough, which means by the end of the year the Com-Chinese will probably be again on the offensive.
The Nationalist Chinese had to withdraw but inflicted enough losses to the Japanese.
Paired up with the Soviet effort (Which is actually quite intense, in Jan / Feb 1941 they deployed an armour corp at Chita too) the breathing space for aereo-naval builds is quite minimal.

And the USA are closing in to the Oil Embargo. And it is just the start of 1941.

So unless miracles are going to happen, I do not see a happy Tojo for a long while. Their hopes - once again - lay in the help of the Nazi-Fascists from Europe to relieve them of the Soviet pressure. But they've a year to go. A year in which they'll have also to deal with the Brits and the USA at once.
The Brits also in this game reinforced heavily their Indian Ocean fleet, with 4 more battleships and 8 cruisers ontop of what starts there at the beginning of the game.

[Centuur]

Kuwait is indeed a very difficult country to conquer. Without an Axis controlled Turkey, you need an awful lot of HQ's to make that happen if the CW wants to defend the place. To build an attack force by the CW in Kuwait isn't that easy too, especially when there is a visible Japanese threath on the horizon. The CW lacks units to attack.

The solution to the Axis is to make sure that the CW is suffering on other parts of the map, to prevent an attack on Iraq, or to invade Turkey (or align it during Barbarossa with an attack through Persia). Also, they need to free up units (especially Italians) which in turn free up the good German units for use in Greece and Russia.

The situation as on the European map now, demands for the taking of Gibraltar. After that units (including at least three HQ's) needs to be transferred to Iraq to do two things:

1. make sure the CW stays in Kuwait.
2. attack the USSR from the south.

You can't ignore the CW in Kuwait totally. The trick is to make sure those units stay there.

I would start moving the German units in Syria towards Bagdad (to act as a screening force), as soon as that pesky Free French unit is dead. Also, if the Iraqi CAV or MIL gets killed, try to rebuild it ASAP. You need those troops for cheap loss takers, until the reinforcements out of Spain arrive.

The Rock is looking vulnerable with only two units in it. With three, it is difficult to take, but with two it's a lot easier. I wouldn't wait for the CW to reinforce the port with a third one. Attack ASAP and aim to clearing the hex. Any attack which gives you 30% or more on taking the hex should be made if you can, without involving expensive units. However, make sure that you have the necessary HQ's to reorganise the forces if the attack fails (if you've got any men left after that). Throw an offensive in to do so, if it gets your attack on an 80% change of taking the hex. In that case, gamble and throw in everything you have available.

Gibraltar is now the most important hex for the Axis, since making the Med an Axis lake frees up a lot of Italian units. Also, it allows the Italian fleet to sail into the Atlantic and wreck havoc in the convoys there. It effectively stops all CW plans on being offensive for a long, long time, since to protect the convoys they need all NAV, FTR3 build and put planes on their CV's for escort duties.

[AlbertN]

The Commonwealth though has already both Sunderlands on the map and has enough convoys to leave empty Cape of St. Vincent and Bay of Biscay (though at the moment their reserves are down to only 4-5 CPs total due to the Kriegsmarine raids).
As we play with Cruisers in Flames usually the escort duty is not that bad for them.