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

[Q-Ball]

If you are flying units from Afrika over to Spain, you can dump the vehicles and then add mules, horses, and camels to the vehicle dump. Or change the animal support squads over to vehicles, dump the vehicles right away, and then turn off their replacements. They can either get replacements in Spain or wait until you can move the vehicle dump by ships.

I've been doing this since the start; until somebody figures out how to get a camel through the door of a Dragon Rapide, it's the only way to get whole units over by air. I've shipped over 4 battalions this way.

If you can do so, you can line the straits with regular artillery. They don't have to be CD guns.

I am too busy using Field Artillery in the field....however, I have moved all mobile CD guns to either side of the Strait at it's narrowest point. The mobile ones are all 155mm, not as effective, but good enough to annoy him

Check when you get submarines in, some of the Italian ones are SSMs and they might as well mine the straits. You can have the submarines waiting in the straits for the Republican fleet to return to the Mediterranean ports.

I plan to use up all the Italian Mine Pool this way when I can....I think they get 2 SSMs. I should be able to mine the strait with surface ships before then, either TBs or DDs.

August 25, 1936

Naval and AIr Update:

FIAT fighters intercepted a bombing run at Fraga, shooting down 3 planes (I think 2x Ni 52, and a Dewoitine fighter). That's 7 kills now for the Italians. I know Przemek can't wait to get those Soviet fighters; until then, the FIAT rules the skies.

The Republican cruiser TF moved back into the Med. I am not 100% sure where the BB TF is, somewhere in the Atlantic; I wonder if he's moving it to the Northern Coast to bombard and cover movement there. That BB is invulnerable to air attack, and I don't have anything to square off with it either at this point.

Guadalajara/Aragon:

Republicans still pushing north of Guadalajara, and also up from Teruel. Including a map here. We did counterattack the lead column and push it back. I have strong forces coming off the train soon, so I think (I hope!) I will be able to restore the situation. Still, it did force me to divert effort from elsewhere, so maybe that was the point.

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Northern Front:

I was repulsed at the Eastern side of the Ring of Iron, so I'm going to pass around to the Western Side; if I can't breach that, I'm at least going to cut Bilbao off from Santander, and see if I can reduce Santander first.

Things are going well over in Asturias; we have pushed him over the river and are closing in on Gijon. He has a stack of units stuck to the West; they may try to evacuate by sea, we'll see. If he brings the BB, that's probably the reason; if the BB is covering it, not much I can do to stop it. He has plenty of LBs and whatnot up there to pull it off.

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Mallorca

Republicans now occupy all of Mallorca except Palma, which is under siege. I have a fair stockpile of supplies, but it's not going to last forever. When it runs out, the place will fall....but not before then.

I need to figure out if/how I can run a convoy into there, or if I need to forget it. There are pros/cons either way.

PRO: Remember, we have a HOUSE RULE against aggressive use of the Axis Cruisers; I can use a couple Italian Cruisers to ESCORT, but nothing more. To get a convoy in, I will need to bring the Nationalist Fleet into the Mediterranean. I have a bunch of Merchant ships in Naples; that's where the supplies will come from.

CON: This is very risky. I won't have any aircover, so Vildebeests can base at the airbase on Mallorca and launch attacks. He has also likely captured some coastal guns that can shell any ships I move into Palma. He'll also see them coming out from Naples, and can deploy subs at the exits to pick-off ships. There's no way to do this without suffering significant losses.

Losing Mallorca would stink, but I don't think it's the end of the war by any means; that will be won on land

[RangerJoe]

Use the fastest xAPs and xAKs from Napoli with the Italian fleet for your relief convoy. Just before the TF enters the map, change the speed to the highest setting with Absolute for the threat tolerance. If you have the units, you might want to consider a counter invasion behind him. You can use any aircraft for CAP, those Italian cruisers do carry float planes. If you have other float planes that you can use, they you might want to send some over to Palma. A low level CAP to deter his torpedo planes should do the trick. So you don't need to bring in the Nationalist fleet if his Republican fleet is near the straits or in the Atlantic.

You could even bring in the Italian Army and clear out Mallorca. With an airfield, you might be able to hold on while also harassing his ships bringing in supplies from Odesa. So it is worthwhile to rescue your Mallorca position.

If you leave Bilbao alone, have some artillery within range to deter any task forces so your opponent doesn't invade behind you. You don't want that to happen. Once Gijon and Santander are liberated by you, ALL of his northern reinforcements should arrive at Bilbao so plan accordingly.

So instead of destroying the North, although that is a good thing to do, switch sides and look at a lot of the Norte units. They start to disappear in 1937. You might want to push up to Cartagena and then Barcelona . . .

Once you find his Battleship and if you have any submarines, that is a prime target for the submarines. I would have them patrol between his base of operations and his potential targets but set a follow command if you actually see the ship itself. If you do have ships in the area, they can try to ambush the Battleship after the bombardment when it is low on ammo.

Defensively, check some of those machine gun armed PBs, they should get upgrades that give them an ASW capability. So don't waste them before then.

Use your armoured units for slashing attacks along the road network supported by mobile artillery units. They can move very fast on the roads. Strike and pull back so they don't get trapped.

Your opponent will also receive some small paratrooper units as well . . .

[Q-Ball]

Generally, I'll have to think about how to handle the North. It may not be a bad idea to reduce it in size, then leave it alone for a bit while I shift elsewhere...we'll see. For now, though, you'll see that we are making good progress in Asturias, so that aspect we will keep going for awhile.

September 1, 1936

Calendar flips to September! I can tell the Republicans are getting a bit stronger.

Naval and Air Update:

No Republican ships are in the Atlantic; I am not 100% sure where the BB is though, so that's a bit concerning. A CL TF continuously bombards my troops west of Almeria along the coast. Another CL is in port in Valencia repairing; that is no doubt Libertad repairing that CD hit from August.

He was able to successfully sealift some cut-off troops in Asturias; nothing I could do about it. I am receiving a CA in a couple days though, so may start to flex up there. Otherwise, our Navy has kept to port.

FIATS shot down a couple more bombers; having fun until the Soviets arrive

A large convoy dropped 30,000 Fuel at Huelva. We've moved everything we can out of Morocco, and those troops are making an impact for sure.

Southern Front:

In the South, we have taken Jaen. Linares is invested, and I expect to take it soon. We are also pushing east of Grenada; I would like to take the airbase at Guadix, which will push the Vildebeest threat further out of range. We've been stopped along the coast toward Almeria, however. Overall, I think this sector is going pretty well.

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Guadalajara:

The arrival of reinforcements, consisting of some units pulled away from Bilbao, some new ones, and some new arrivals from Morocco is tipping the scales. We are now pushing him back into a couple towns, where there are large concentrations. One of them has armored trains and FT Tanks, so we'll see if we can make progress, but we're at least stable here.

Further east, north of Teruel, I am still under some pressure. May have to divert more in that direction.

We have finally taken Fraga, near Llerida, after a long battle, but i don't think I have the strength right now to push much further

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Asturias:

Though I am stuck at Bilbao, things are going swimmingly in Asturias. He did manage to sealift out some stranded troops, but wars are not won by evacuations as Churchill would say.

We are pressing on Gijon, which is estimated to have 12000 defenders; that may be too tough a nut to crack right now, but if he leaves all those guys in there I should be able to roll-up the coastline to the east of Gijon to Santander. That would take out the airbase at Lastres, and take the Vildebeests out of range of El Ferrol.

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[Q-Ball]

September 4, 1936

Naval/Air Update:

I formed a convoy for Palma in Naples a few days ago, escorted by the Italian Cruiser Muzio Attendolo. Per our house rule, I cannot form her into a Surface Combat TF or anything aggressive, so I just included her as an escort in a Tranport TF. Just a neutrality patrol mission, bringing in humanitarian supplies to the Palma garrison (and maybe some humanitarian ammo).

The convoy successfully dropped 7K supplies at Palma, but on the return trip the cruiser first took a torpedo from a Vildebeest, catching her on fire; then, several well-placed subs took turns putting torpedos into her, 5 more in total. She went down off Mallorca.

Of course, the Italian Embassy is protesting this outrage, attacking an innocent cruiser simply bringing food to the embattered people of Palma. (Those pointing out that there are Italians in Spain need to be reminded that they are simply private citizens on holiday).

I game terms, anything coming into Palma is going to be hotly contested. I was lucky not to lose a transport, but that's only because they were all too busy focusing on the cruiser, who died a hero saving all the merchant ships. If I do this again, I will definitely need another cruiser!

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North Update:

This is going well, as we have backed the Asturians into Gijon, and are advancing along the coast. I plan to join-up with forces from Santander. This would basically reduce the Republic Del Norte to Gijon, and a pocket from Bilbao to Santander.

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Reducing it from there will be tough; initial attack at Gijon failed, and I am probing the Ring of Iron around Bilbao without success so far. He's been good about shifting men where needed.

A TF of Jamie I and some DDs is bombarding my units daily on the coast, causing havoc; not much I can do about that right now.

[Q-Ball]

September 11, 1936

Air/Naval Update:

A Republican Sub was sunk hitting a mine in the Strait. This is important I think.

I started mining the Strait in earnest once the Republican Navy moved away to other missions (through August, he always had ships on station around the Strait to get the Army of Africa). We've built up a significant minefield now at the narrowest point of the Strait, where I have CD guns in adjancent hexes on either side. There, I have over 250 mines now.

So, this lets him know the danger in the Strait. He has 2 subs at least in the Atlantic, plus a TF formed around the BB Jaime I. Because of the hazard transiting the Strait, it sort of splits the Republican Navy in two.

The BB TF is along the Asturian coast, daily bombarding my troops at Gijon. Another TF consisting of a CL and 6xDD is in the Med. I hit CL Libertad with a couple bombs in Valencia Port causing damaged, but she then disappeared; my guess is she went to Odesa, since the Spanish coast looks pretty hot now (i've bombed Valencia and Cartagena, so there is no safe port)

In other news, a supply convoy made it to Palma on the 10th, covered by an Italian Cruiser. Vildebeests again sortied and sank 2 tranports. They are based at Son San Juan it appears, which is wise on Prezemek's part; from there they can control the Eastern Med and pretty much cover his ships to/from Odessa.

I made a strategic post on Mallorca at one point, and Przemek told me he read it; he may have reached the same conclusions, but so far he's doing what I would do on Mallorca.

North Update:

We've rolled-up most of Asturias, except for a few Garrison towns. Bilbao is a fortress, and so is Santander, so not sure how I will reduce this further at this point. He's had an active defense.

Speaking of Garrisons.....most of those units disband in October. I am waiting until then, mostly because whenver I attack a Garrison it releases a mobile unit I then have to chase down. So i've only attacked those "in the way".

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Guadalajara Offensive:

The tide has turned; with reinforcements from Africa, we have beaten the Repbulicans back in a couple bloody repulses, and they have retreated to Jadrique. We will see if we can advance further. More troops are on the way to stop the advance from Teruel. I may turn it around to an attack, we'll see.

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Overall:

Overall I can tell the Republican defense are stiffening; every turn they get more units, and all those units are training up. August is really the month that the Nationalists need to make it happen, because you have big advantages on the ground that start to dissapate in September. That's my take, though we continue to have the initiative I think, with pushes on Guadix and Linares (more on that later)

[Dreamslayer]

I started mining the Strait in earnest once the Republican Navy moved away to other missions (through August, he always had ships on station around the Strait to get the Army of Africa). We've built up a significant minefield now at the narrowest point of the Strait, where I have CD guns in adjancent hexes on either side. There, I have over 250 mines now.

This should to be limited somehow. Because SCW doesn't happen in the vacuum where only exist Rep/Nat Spain, Germany, Italy and USSR. There is also the maritime traffic of neutral countries.

[Q-Ball]

I started mining the Strait in earnest once the Republican Navy moved away to other missions (through August, he always had ships on station around the Strait to get the Army of Africa). We've built up a significant minefield now at the narrowest point of the Strait, where I have CD guns in adjancent hexes on either side. There, I have over 250 mines now.

This should to be limited somehow. Because SCW doesn't happen in the vacuum where only exist Rep/Nat Spain, Germany, Italy and USSR. There is also the maritime traffic of neutral countries.

Mining a narrow Strait through which a significant portion of the World's important commerce passes? I don't see how that could become an international incident.

Yeah, I did it, but I see the point and maybe it should be restricted somehow....but part of the point of this AAR I think is to show or flag stuff that humans are going to do for future reference

September 12, 1936

Naval/Air Update:

So, after that sub hit a mine, a whole lot of Republican minesweepers, unarmed YMS, show up in the strait and start sweeping all my mines! We immediately sortie the surface fleet who sink a whole bunch of them, but also produce this unfortunate result:

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No idea what happened here; there was nothing Republican with a gun within a very long distance of the Strait. The DD is probably lost; made port in Tenerife, which is not a port, and is on fire. Yeesh.

At least he's aware of the strait-mining situation, so will likely curtail operations in the Atlantic for a bit (or at least mean he won't be transiting the strait anytime soon).

My bombers raided Getafe, an airbase outside Madrid, and torched 4 planes on the ground; 2 Bre XIX, and 2 E-30s. Crappy biplanes, basically. Something I guess, and good bombing practice. Maybe we'll start terror bombing the population instead.

I have converted most of my Ju-52s to bombers, so this is the core of the bomber force at the moment. They are very vulnerable to a proper fighter, but right now the Republic does not have any (will change with Soviet aid).

Elsewhere:

I'll post an update a bit later, but the operational tempo has definitely slowed, as I am either not advancing, or conducting sieges. I have almost taken Guadix, and Linares is under serious threat. After taking most of Asturias, I am now a bit stalled.

[Q-Ball]

September 16, 1936

Naval/Air Update:

DD Churruca is down to 98 float in a size-0 port....I think she'll founder tomorrow, which is too bad. If she could've made it to Algericas, 10 more miles, she would've lived. Still would like to know why she sank!

We raided another airfield around Madrid; we also had a dogfight with some Ni 52.

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The Ni 52 is a bad fighter. I mean, REALLY bad. We have shot down 14 of them now, for no losses. It's just free kills basically for my FIATS. I would not recommend using this plane for anything other than training. I suppose it was just great in 1928, but definitely not in 1936.

An Italian convoy landed supplies at Palma; still not out of danger, as a Republican TF is lurking. He sank one of the larger xAKLs in the convoy via submarine just off Mallorca. Each run into Palma costs me a ship or two pretty consistently, so not sure how long I can keep that up. I definitely wouldn't try without Italian escort.

Battle of Linares:

We had a successful win north of Linares, inflicting alot of losses on the Republicans and surrounding the city on several sides:

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I'll be surprised if he stays; I am going to try to surround it, then capture everyone inside if I can. He can withdraw this turn though and probably be OK, but I think it's the last chance....we'll see what happens

Guadix:

We have captured the large airbase at Guadix, east of Grenada, pushing his troops southeast toward Almeria. I'll have a decision to make on what to do next, here and in general. Post on that later!

[RangerJoe]

I did post on what may have happened to your destroyer and how to check what happened. If it "sinks" in port, it will be beached. If it has a port size of at least 1 it should be able to dewater itself so it can make it to a larger port and then a shipyard.

If your opponent has not garrisoned Mallorca very well, that is, if he is just surrounding you at Palma then you might want to invade behind his lines with your Italian forces. Or even invade Menorca but Mallorca should be your priority. Remember that if your bombers have the range, they can bomb his airfields at night before your task force arrives on the map.

You should be getting some submarines soon. You might want to send some to go battleship hunting in the North. He may or may not have a shipyard in the North to handle any major damage to the battleship. A mass of your bombers can also damage that ship if they are lucky. If you can, some long range artillery units near his base can also make life interesting for the battleship, they don't have to be CD guns either.

[Q-Ball]

September 20, 1936

Air/Naval Update:

I managed to get another convoy of supplies to Palma, but once again paid a price; on the return trip just outside port, the TF ran into a Republican TF of CL Miguel de Cervantes and 4xDD. The Tranport TF had a single escort, the Italian Cruiser Giovanni de la Bande Nere.

The Italian cruiser was hit by a DD-launched torpedo, then exchanged shell fire. By the time that was done she was damaged, and took another 2 torpedo hits from Republican subs. She barely made port at Cabrera, where she was finished off the next day. They also sank 2 more transports from this TF; the rest made it back to Naples. Ouch! I'll have more on this, but I have a decision to make on Mallorca, because every trip is very expensive from Vildebeests and the Republican Navy. I have some seaplanes at Palma providing a bit of aircover, but daily air attacks on the port are keeping those planes mostly damaged.

In other news, Churruca officially sank at Tarifa, a Size-0 harbor. I'm going to try something though; I brought down the Cadiz Floating Dock, and we're going to see if I can pump her out enough to move 10 miles to Algericas, where there is a shipyard. This is going to take awhile, but I'll let you know if it works.

Republican bombers are daily bombing the port at Palma, to keep my planes down and chew up supplies. I am daily bombing the port at Santander for basically the same reasons.

Good turn on Land!

Przemek has done a good job stalling me in several directions, but this was a good turn on land. We typically have 2-1 losses over the Republic (I think Nationalists will always have fewer losses due to quality differences), but this was a higher ratio:

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How did we get there?

We trapped and destroyed 6 units in the Mountain passes near Madrid. This was the largest bag of destroyed units (6 units) so far in a single combat. It's alot harder to trap and destroy units vs. a Human; it's pretty easy vs. the AI. Here was the battle:

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At LINARES, we have captured the town, and have 4,000 Republican troops on the run. I don't think we'll capture and destroy them, as there is a small opening to the east; but we will be able to hit them a couple times and rout them away I think. Here is the situation:

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Finally, we also had a favorable attack near SANTANDER; this was a new hit, so we'll see if he is able to shift over reinforcements and stop me in that hex. It should be close. If I can clear it and invest Santander, I can split-up the Republic of the North further.

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[RangerJoe]

What is the flooding on the destroyer? If any of it is minor flooding then naval support might help the ship refloat itself.

[Q-Ball]

What is the flooding on the destroyer? If any of it is minor flooding then naval support might help the ship refloat itself.

Here is the DD in Tarifa. It is on "Repair Ship" mode, and the estimate is "204#", which I think means 204 days to repair all but the major and weapons damage.

I've already reduced the flooding to 84; I won't try to move her until all minor flood damage is gone. I don't want to risk her foundering.

The Engines are totally destroyed, and can only be fixed in Shipyard

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[Q-Ball]

Strategic Update: Sept 24, 1936

Welcome suggestions from the gallery here as I give an update on the strategic situation.

At the beginning in July, I set out 3 primary objectives for the Nationalists in the early game:

1. Expand the footprint, especially in the South, for supply production
2. Get the Army of Africa to Spain
3. Open the rail line from Seville to Salamanca, connecting Nationalist Spain into one territory

We have accomplished all of those objectives (and did really Sept 1). Everything mobile in Africa, Ifni, and Canarias is in Spain, so that's at 100%. The rail line is open to the north, and we've already used it to send troops to Zaragossa area. And we have expanded the footprint as you'll see to more or less historical boundaries at this date.

The real question, which was pretty much the same facing the Nationalist command is: What next?

Overall, Republican resistance is stiffening each direction, as more Militia rally, and the experience levels train up a bit. In August, the Nationalists can push everywhere all at once, using superior forces to just bull-rush local Republicans in every direction. I didn't really plan or mass offensives, more like sending the nearest new forces at the closest Republicans and pushing.

I now have to be more strategic, and probably mass for new offensives. We are now on terriain that largely favors the defense, so I can use that both ways of course.

Here is the overall situation:

North:

We have isolated Gijon, and Santander/Bilbao are in another pocket. Bilbao's Ring of Iron is very strong, and protects that city. I'm not close to being able to take Gijon. Republicans control the seas, so they are daily able to bombard me with the BB, and run convoys from USSR to the coast, keeping everyone in supply.

Still, progress has been good, and this is an obvious candidate area for additional focus. We are making progress toward Santander itself, and hope to have the city invested soon.

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South:

Here, we have just taken Linares, and still have some momentum to the NE of Linares toward Madrid. We are also advancing toward Almeria at the other end, though he is stronger down there. I will have to decide soon I think whether to invest more in this area, or less; I could probably halt, find good defensive positions, and redeploy some forces elsewhere if I wish. Not sure yet.

One possible way to push is NE of LInares toward Madrid. The country is pretty open, and there are good rail connections. There isn't alot of secondary objectives though short of Madrid itself. But this is one area to push.

Another is to capture Almeria, and continue along the coast to Cartagena. That would be a strategic point to get, but tougher; there are more mountains down here and fewer paths to advance.

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East/Levant:

Here we have reached a bit of stalemate; Przemek made a major push, but I countered with reinforcements from Africa, halting him and throwing him back. Now we are about evened out.

There are two obvious axis of advance here. One is toward Madrid through Guadalajara. Neither of us seems too interested in fighting it out in the mountain passes north of Madrid, which do provide a natural barrier.

The 2nd area is in the Levant; it is certainly an objective to cut the Barcelona/Madrid rail line by reaching the coast. This is another worthwhile objective, and I don't think he is super-strong in this area.

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[Q-Ball]

Strategic Update: The Mallorca Question

A big question in Nationalist High Command is what to do about Mallorca.

To recap, the Republic is besieging Palma. The entire rest of the island is Republican. He will not be able to take it as long as there are supplies. But if the supplies run out, the defense will probably collapse. So, it's all about supplies.

I've run 3 convoys full of supply in. I will need to keep doing this to keep the place supplied. This has been EXPENSIVE however; he has Vildebeest bombers on Mallorca (at Son San Juan, the level-4 airbase next to Palma). I don't have an airbase anywhere close. The only fighter cover I can provide are from float planes at Palma, which are not very good, and in maintenance all the time. It's largely ineffective, and hard to repair.

There are daily raids on the port at Palma from Barcelona; Potez and Bloch bombers. The port is completely wrecked. This also depletes supply, and availability of the float fighters.

There is a TF of CL and DD patrolling, ready to sink anything without a heavy escort

On those 3 convoys, I've already lost 2 Italian Cruisers providing escort, to a combination of Vildebeests, Surface Ships, and Subs. I've also lost about 1/2 dozen transports on the various runs. I cannot keep up that loss rate. Here are recent losses; aside from Churruca, which was sunk by friendly fire in the Strait (!), all of these losses are on Palma supply runs. I would've lost more transports, except the Italian Cruisres died protecting them

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I am not willing to use Spanish Nationalist Ships to run the blockade; too risky, and their primary mission is guarding the Straits so I can get the Army of Africa to Spain, and successfully get fuel to Cadiz and Vigo.

So, what are my options?

Option 1: All-In.

I will need to get additional transports to Naples. In 3 months, if it lasts that long, I can land Italian troops on Mallorca. This will require the escort of CA TRENTO. If she doesn't somehow last 3 months (which I think is unlikely), i'll need Nationalist ships to keep doubling down.

An invasion, if I had the troops and transports, would inevitably involve attacks from Vildebeests and Subs....I would absolutely lose transports, and hopefully ones without troops on them.

If I want to break Republican control of the Eastern Med, however, I need to get more troops to the island and re-take that airbase. Without it, the Republic can control the sea lanes.

Option 2: Let it die:

I have spelled out the risks and commitment required, as well as the costs.

I'm not willing to risk Spanish Warships. Therefore, we're going to let it die.

May the garrison go down in the annals of Spanish Yore! Medals all around for the defenders of Festung Palma!

What will this mean?:

Well, obviously that means the garrison is going to die eventually, and I'll suffer those losses. It's 5,000 men, so not nothing, but not the end of the world.

The Republic will have unbroken control of the Eastern Med. That will mean that other than subs, he'll be able to keep supplies and fuel flowing from Odessa. We will not be able to starve out the Republic that way.

So, it means we'll have to win the war on the ground!

[RangerJoe]

What is the flooding on the destroyer? If any of it is minor flooding then naval support might help the ship refloat itself.

Here is the DD in Tarifa. It is on "Repair Ship" mode, and the estimate is "204#", which I think means 204 days to repair all but the major and weapons damage.

I've already reduced the flooding to 84; I won't try to move her until all minor flood damage is gone. I don't want to risk her foundering.

The Engines are totally destroyed, and can only be fixed in Shipyard

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It will move, about 3 knots I do believe, which should get her to a better port with a shipyard. In the meantime, if you bring in any naval support that should help to speed things up.

[RangerJoe]

One option for you is to destroy squads and other devices to weaken the enemy. You have better and more artillery, once you get your armoured forces into play, they can race behind the enemy to cut retreat routes. But do not risk too much if you can't capture a heavily defended base, just pick off smaller units. If your opponent uses the armoured trains, try to cut the rail link and capture them. It will have to be a war of attrition. Use any smaller cavalry units and armoured car units for their recon abilities which I think that locate enemy units up to 6 hexes away.

As far as Palma goes, you could try to build a level 1 airfield there. But if you are going to give it up, you can try to pull some non-combat units out. Of course, you can also try to counter invade and capture Pollensa and/or Alcudia for their airfields. There are also two airfields on Ibiza if you can liberate those and have some air support there.

[Q-Ball]

As far as Palma goes, you could try to build a level 1 airfield there. But if you are going to give it up, you can try to pull some non-combat units out. Of course, you can also try to counter invade and capture Pollensa and/or Alcudia for their airfields. There are also two airfields on Ibiza if you can liberate those and have some air support there.

Considered all these ideas, which are interesting ones, but in the end it's not doable. But love the suggestions!

1. Building an airbase can't even start as long as he's bombing the port, which is a wreck. And even if I could, it would take a long time (which I don't have), and alot of supplies (which I also don't have).
2. Ibiza has an airstrip, but not AV Support. To get an airbase unit there would require a convoy....same problems as getting a convoy to Palma. And even then, once he figures out I have an airstrip, he can just bombard it with the Cruisers.....airstrip gone, plus any planes I sent there
3. Pulling units out can only be done safely via Flying Boat. The nearest place I can put a flying boat is 41 hexes away (near Zaragossa, using the river as water). Problem is he has a couple Ni 52s there; terrible fighters, but good enough for shooting up a flying boat. Which he did. So that's a no-go.

Basically, Przemek has thought of everything, and closed it off. So I can suffer ship losses, or let the garrison die.

I think this will be the dilemma in any PBEM matchup. It's not necessary to take Palma right away; it's only necessary to clear the island and lock the garrison in Palma, establish an airbase, and keep the Navy nearby. Do all that, and it will fall.

Comes back to an old WITP-AE Maxim: Control the air and sea around an island, and eventually you will control the island

Sept 30, 1936 Update:

In most places we are either grinding slowly forward, or just grinding. But up North, we have made some substantial progress.

We now have Santander invested; the Republic Del Norte is now down to Gijon, Santander, and the Ring of Iron. Everything else is taken. We had 2500 Republicans surround at San Vicente, but he successfully evacuated them by ship.

The only airbases within this territory now are at Santander and Lamiaco, outside Bilbao. I am bombing both, getting ahead of late October when he gets Soviet fighters. I'm also bombing the ports intensively to burn supplies and sink any shipping.

Good progress here; we are going to try to take Santander first, when has fewer forts than Gijon or Bilbao

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For the Audience:

Anything you want more information on? Let me know if this is a good and informative format, particularly for learning about the game. Trying to focus on strategy and tactics vs. humans; I think strategy is going to be different vs. AI

[Q-Ball]

October 6, 1936:

Condor Legion:

German planes have been active for awhile, but now we are getting German Ground units in Cadiz and Kiel. There are useful AV Base Forces, as well as AA guns. I know the Republic gets Soviet planes at the end of October, so I need to be ready, because I am certain he's going to want to bomb my airfields (and maybe ports).

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Condor Legion Soldiers being reviewed

Air/Naval Update:

Republican planes are bombing Palma de Mallorca daily; nothing I can do about it. Only a matter of time before that base falls, and I hope later rather than sooner; the 10,000 Republicans besieging the place are going to be veteran troops by the time it's done, a valuable reinfocement for the mainland.

I am daily bombing the 2 remaining Republican airbases in the North, Santander and Lamiaco (near Bilbao). I need total air control to reduce the ports, and I can't have Soviet fighters coming up and contesting that. Only way to prevent that is turn the airbases into rubble.

DD Churruca, which was officially "Sunk", continues to repair in a Size-0 port with aid of a port unit and repair ship. We have pumped out all the minor flood damage, and the Sys Damage is starting to reduce. Not sure when it's "Safe" to move the ship; I don't want her to founder at sea. I think I'll work on the Sys Damage to 70 or 60, and then will move it to a Shipyard to complete the work. I don't really know what's "Safe"; in WITP-AE, you really wanted to get Sys very low before moving a ship, but there you have longer distances as well.

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Santander:

We are beseigning Santander; can't get a big attack result, but we are daily inflicting alot of losses, more than I am taking if I can trust the Combat Reports. Here is an example:

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A Republican force from Bilbao is approaching from the East, maybe for relief or recon? Not sure, but I don't think it's a massive threat.

Zaragossa Region:

We are in a stalemate situation mostly in this area, after he took Teruel; I am attacking daily at Calamocha, and acheiving good kill ratios, so we just keep doing that for now.

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Overall, I need to shift forces I think. In August/September I could push everywhere, but not any more, as Przemek has done a good job getting his army assembled. I now have to economize in a couple sectors to pull together an offensive force. The only place I'm really advancing strong right now is Santander/North, where I did want to reduce del Norte quickly

[Q-Ball]

October 11, 1936

Naval/Air Update:

Big news today was a naval action about 30 hexes north of Bilbao, in the Bay of Biscay. Because I have reduced the Republic Del Norte to just cities, the Republic will need to keep supplies coming in from the Soviet Union. So far I haven't been able to do much about it, due to the presence of the Jamie I, and the fact that I don't have much of a navy. But with the arrival of Canarias, and the fact that I don't really need anyone at the Strait at the moment, I was able to put a full squadron of the navy together up north, to include Canarias, Baleares, Cervera, and Velasco.

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We intercepted a large convoy coming from Leningrad, and sank it; 5 larger xAKs were sunk. More importantly, Przemek now has to be concerned about supply lines.

More than likely those ports all had large stockpiles at the beginning of October; he's had 2 1/2 months of free ability to move supplies, and Bilbao starts with a pretty large stockpile. So I don't think he's running out soon. But I need to start sinking ships if I want supply to be a factor here.

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Ground Update:

Nothing major on the ground to report; most of my advances are a bit stalled at the moment, and I am slowly reducing Santander. Moving things around for re-positioning. Przemek has done a good job building the Republican forces and countering moves, this will be a slog....just like the real war!

[Q-Ball]

October 26, 1936

It's been awhile since I posted an update; I hope I have an audience!

Air/Naval Update:

Not much on the Naval side, other than Przemek cleared the Strait of mines. I allowed him to, and told him I would not be mining the Strait anymore, since it was pointed out that this is not very realistic. There's no way the actual Spanish Nationalists would mine the Strait of Gibraltar! So I'll go back to putting them in ports.

As a note, I am also NOT using the Axis warships, other than to escort a couple convoys. I may use one of the Deutschlands on short bombardment, as they actually did, but trying to keep it historical

The other update is that Churruca was successfully moved to a port for long-term repairs; she should be back in service in 90 days.

Otherwise, I am daily bombing all the airbases in the Republic Del Norte in anticipation of the Russian Planes coming; I can at least keep fighters away from this direction

Republican Offensive in Levant:

The Republic launched a major offensive in three directions toward Zaragossa. It caught me a bit by surprise, and initial looks are that I was outnumbered 3-1; accross the map, it looks like the Republic now outnumbers me, which is why offensive activity on my part is more or less halted; aside from a couple seiges, I am on the defensive.

East of Zaragossa, the Republic re-took Fraga, and pushed me back a few hexes. I managed to punish the Republic, and actually surrounded and destroyed a 1500 man stack, but still was overwhelmed with numbers.

Near Jadrique, he pushed toward and briefly took Alcolea Del Pinar, but I brought over reinforcements. I surrounded and destroyed a 2000-man column, and that forces a slow retreat. (You can see that result here):

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Overall, he is taking some ground and causing some panic; I am trying to counterattack all over against mutliple stacks, inflicting more losses than I am taking. Here are a couple typical turn summaries over this period:

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The amount of men he has and ability to lose them but still regenerate is a concern; in most places, that is forcing me to the defensive.