Reporting from the Front. A Narrative AAR.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

Japan. Southern Manchuria. Northern Korea. End of Impulse.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

[ax] Rail. Germany. none.

[ax] Rail. Italy. none.

[ax] Land Combat. Germany x 4. Italy x 1.
(1) Germany. 11 Bitz vs Billotee HQ-I
(2) Germany. +6.1 Blitz vs Pretelat HQ-I.
(3) Italy. +9.667 vs Marsellies (2-stack).
(4) Germany. > +21 vs isolated 3-stack SE of Lille.

[ax] Allied. Possible reactions/decisions.
(1) & (2) -1 HQ support possible by HQ-I under attack.
105 mm art (in Paris could lend 3/2=2 factors to either attack.
FYI. Currently (1) 25:5 and (2) 15.5:6.
(3) LC on Marsellies. Your choice, assault or blitz (HQ-I which is providing support is attacking along with mot corps).
(4) No reactions there possible. Will assume assault (doesn't matter anyway).

[al] The HQs will support themselves. Paris art will support the attack on Pretelat.
Marseilles will be assault.

[ax] copy that.

[ax] Germany adds 1 in ground support to the blitz on Pretelat and France adds 2 the defense.

[ax] Actually, artillery is halved across a river so France adds 3. [:@]

[al] Exciting!

[ax] German NAV2, which provided ground support, returns to Antwerp.

The Western Front. Designated Land Combats.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

[ax] Land Combat. Germany. +10 Blitz vs Billotte.
(1) No fractional.
(2) 2D10=12, result=22.
(3) Billotte destroyed, Germany takes no losses or flips and a breakthrough is achieved.

[ax] Flipped BEL FTR2 is overrun and destroyed.

Land Combat. Germany. Blitz vs Billotte.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

[ax] Land Combat. Germany. +21.857 Assault vs isolated French 3-stack (FRA 53,30). The result is automatic and since no retreat is possible all three French units (mot, mil & AT div) are destroyed.

Land Combat. Germany. >+21 Assault vs Isolated 3-Stack.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

[ax] Land Combat. Germany. +3.5 Blitz vs Pretelat.
(1) Fractional=189, yes.
(2) 2D10=16, result=20.
(3) Pretelat is shattered, which Germany converts to a retreat.
(4) Germany loses 1 unit (mech div) since all attackers were attacking across a rives and sees 2 of the surviving 5 attackers flipped.

Land Combat. Germany. Blitz vs Pretelat.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (continued).

[ax] Land Combat. Italy. +9.667 Assault vs French 2-stack in Marseilles.
(1) Fractional=403, yes.
(2) 2D10=12, result=22.
(3) Both French defenders eliminate and French fleet in Marseilles overrun.
(4) Italy loses Rome MIL and sees 3 of the surviving 6 attackers flipped.

[al] Well the rolls have certainly been very kind to you this round

[al] Send the fleet to Algiers

[ax] I'm definitely not complaining. [:)]

[ax] The two I was most concerned about, of course, was this assault at +9.667 A and the low odds by at +3.5 against Pretelat. These land combats had PWINs of 69.3% and 68%, respectively. Roughly a 10% chance of losing both, 47% chance of winning both and 42% chance of winning one. So winning both was the most likely outcome but the chance was less than a coin flip.

[ax] Naval Overrun. Italy vs Marseillies.
(1) CA Algerie=1, captured by Italy.
(2) CA Suffren=7, escapes to Algiers.
(3) CA Tourville=7, escapes to Algiers.
(4) CA Primaguet=3, scuttled (i.e., destroyed).
(5) BB Strasbourgh=9, escapes to Algiers.
(6) BB Dunkerque=5, escapes to Algiers.
(7) BB Jean Bart=3, scuttled.
(8) Sub 4938 overrun and rebases to Algiers.
(9) BB Provence overrun and rebases to Algiers.
(10) BB Lorraine overrun and rebases to Algiers.
(11) BB Bretagne overrun and rebases to Algiers.

[ax] Hold that. That's 10 ships and 1 sub. Algiers is a minor port and can only handle 4 of the 11. Revised basing instructions please.

[ax] Actually is was 7 surviving ships and 1 sub.

[al] Isnt there a major port there somewhere?

[ax] Dakar.

[ax] Senegal.

[al] But can they reach it?

[al] Any CA that can reach Dakar goes there but I think most have range 2 no?

[ax] Yes. They can also reach Bordeaux and Brest.

[al] oh

[al] Send them to Bordeaux then!

[ax] Overrun rebase is double range.

[al] ahhhh

[al] did not know

[ax] Bordeaux? All?

[al] The BBs

[al] the CAs to Dakar

[al] Learning new stuff is cool [:)]

[ax] The Italian subs in the Bay of Biscay could intercept but choose not to.

[ax] 6 French BBs escape to Bordeaux.

[ax] Sub to Dakar too?

[al] Yes please

Land Combat. Italy. Assault on Marseilles.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. Axis #7 (concluded).

[ax] Air rebase. Italy x 1.
(1) CR.42 Falco. La Spezia to France 60,31.

[ax] Air Rebase. Germany x 3.
(1) Bf 109 E2 F/B. Belgium 53,32 to France 56,29.
(2) Ju 52 ATR. Brussels to France 56,32.
(3) ROM IAR 37. Yugoslavia 61,46 to Poland 52,48.

[ax] HQ reorg. none.

[ax] This ends my impulse at the HQ reorg phase.

[ax] I'll go ahead and send you the turn for you to roll end of turn (10% chance).

[ax] JvR-05-MJ40-AX-07-eoi.zip game turn sent.

The Western Front.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn.

[ax] I'll go ahead and send you the turn for you to roll end of turn (10% chance).

[al] Awesome, gonna roll now and check out but not doing the turn til tomorrow

[al] wow

[al] rolled 1 again

[ax] [:@]

[al] well it is not all sunshine my friend, you have had one more impulse in both of the last turns, it is hard to keep up [:)]

Destroyed/Repair.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[al] Korea 67
China 41
Malaya 52
NEI 26
Burma 44
Manchuria 98 (the new management is treating them well!)
India 36
Netherlands 48
Poland 84
Yugoslavia 42, garrison 6
FIC 9, garrison 3, pick partisan 6, pick partisan 4

[al] Italy needs to place a partisan in FIC

[ax] Wow, Italy. el duce is impressed but needs a moment to look at the map.

[ax] Woods 96, 134 please.

Partisans.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[ax] both chits offensive pool please.

[al] 2 offensive and 1 defensive for USSR

Nazi/Soviet Pact.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[al] Chit towards Japan

[al] The US occupies Iceland

[al] an 8 is rolled, tension

[ax] Monroe Doctrine then.

[al] Wasn't that with South America?

[ax] Maybe … [;)]

US Entry.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[al] Holy crap

[al] I can surrender France

[al] and keep the fleet

[ax] Interesting.

[al] and all the territories

[al] Whats the downside?

[ax] France and CW can't cooperate until France (i.e., Paris) is liberated by the allies.

[al] Hmm but the upside is that France actually have some stuff

[ax] Also, axis get all of metro France.

[ax] That is, no Vichy.

[ax] But yes France continues to carry on the war.

[al] Well I will look into that tomorrow, what triggers the option to surrender?

[ax] Maybe Paris being surrounded. I think?

[al] It changes the some other dynamics, the Iraqi oil still goes to France instead of the Axis

[al] Does France get a factory in its new capital for free or was that some old rule?

[ax] No free factory that I'm aware of ...

[al] Ok I will read up on this, talk to you tomorrow [:)]

[al] I have not yet decided!

[al] https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.a ... r%2CFrance

[al] And the option arose beacause half the factories were captured

[ax] Preliminary production. Germany.
(1) 6 of 7 oil used for production. 1 oil (Austria) saved to Berlin.
(2) 28 of 28 factories producing.
(3) 28 PPs - 2 PPs Lost to Strat=26 PPs.
(4) 26 PPs x 0.75=20 BPs.
(5) 20 BPs - 5 BPs Trade = 15 BPs for production.

[ax] Preliminary production. Italy.
(1) No oil.
(2) 8 of 11 factories producing.
(3) 8 PPs x 0.75= 6 BPs.
(4) 6 BPs + 3 Trade=9 BPs for production.

[ax] Preliminary production. Japan.
(1) 3 of 4 oil used for production. Baliikpapan, NEI saved to Tokyo.
(2) 11 of 17 factories producing.
(3) 11 PPs x 1 = 11 BPs for production.

[ax] Stay at Sea/Return to Base. Germany.
(1) All CPs remain in place.
(2) 2 BBs & 3 CAs in 3-box of North Sea stay and move down to 2-box.

[ax] Stay at Sea/Return to Base. Italy.
(1) All (one) CP remains in place.
(2) 2 Sub groups in Bay of Biscay return to La Spezia.
(3) 2 BBs in 3-box Italian Coast stay and move down to 2-box.
(4) BB & NAV in 4-box Italian Coast stay and move down to 3-box.
(5) FTR2 & CA in 0-box Italian Coast return to La Spezia.

[ax] Stay at Sea/Return to Base. Japan.
(1) All CPs remain in place.
(2) Unless specified otherwise (see (5)), all ships at sea remain and move down accordingly.
(3) BB & CA in 0-box, Sea of Japan return to Fukuoka.
(4) 2 BBs in 0-box, China Sea return to Fukuoka.
(5) EXCEPTION TO (2). 2 BBs, 2 TRS, 1 Amph in 3-box of China Sea return to Fukuoka.
(6) BB, CA & CVL in 0-box, Japanese Coast return to Fukuoka.
(7) 2 CAs in 0-box, South China Sea return to Canton, China.

[ax] Use Oil. Germany.
(1) 2.2 needed. Reorg all using 2 saved (Brno & Prague) and 0.2 of AUT[56, 40] Res.

[ax] Use Oil. Italy.
(1) Include oil from cooperating major powers
(2) 1 need. Use 0.8 AUG[56,40] (and 0.2 of any other) to reorg all.

[ax] Use Oil. Japan.
(1) 1.9 needed. Reorg all using saved oil at Nagoya & Tokyo.

[ax] Break Down Corps/Armies. Germany.
(1) 5-4 LI Inf => 2nd Inf Div & 4th Mot div.

[ax] Production Final. Axis.
(1) Germany. 15 BPs/0 saved oil.
(2) Italy. 9 BPs/0 saved oil.
(3) Japan. 11 BPs/2 saved oil.

[ax] Scrap Destroyed. Axis.
(1) Germany. none.
(2) Italy. none.
(3) Japan. n/a.

[ax] Production. Axis.
(1) Germany (15 BPs): FTR(2), PIL(2), Arm Div(4), Inf Div(2), MIL(2), Mech Div(3)
(2) Italy (9 BPs): HQ-I(5), MIL(2), FTR(2)
(3) Japan (11 BPs): Inf(3) x 3, Gar(2)

[al] I must ask you about oil, you are almost running dry yet you use it all!

[al] To build

[ax] Bird in the hand worth two in the bush mentality I think. [:)]

[al] Last game with my friends we were discusing the need to have a stockpile when attacking russia, you can easily spend 5 oil a turn with just germany

[ax] [8D]

[al] Preliminary production. China.
(1) No oil
(2) 6 of 8 factories producing
(3) 6 PPs x 0,75 = 5 BPs for production

[al] Preliminary production. CW.
(1) 4 oil saved (Egypt, British Guyana and India x2)
(2) 22 of 22 factories producing
(3) 22 PPs + 3 FiF x 0,75 = 19 BPs + 2 BPs traded
(4) 21 BPs for production

[al] Preliminary production. US.
(1) No oil saved
(2) 39 of 40 factories producing
(3) 39 PPs x 0,25 = 10 BPs for production

[al] Preliminary production. USSR.
(1) 1 oil saved in Kazan
(2) 25 of 30 factories producing
(3) 25 PPs x 0,5 = 13 BPs + 2 traded
(4) 15 BPs for production

[al] Preliminary production. France.
(1) 1 oil saved in Morocco.
(2) 3 of 9 factories producing
(3) 3 PPs x 1,25 = 4 BPs - 2 BPs traded
(4) 2 BPs for production

[al] Stay at sea/Return to base

CW stays with a presence to protect shipping.
CW maintains a presence in all the mediterranean seazones.

CW ships return to Plymouth and Malta for most part. A TRS is returned to Durban in South Africa.

[al] USSR uses no oil
China uses no oil
CW uses 3 oil
France uses 1 oil
US uses no oil

[al] Production Final. Allies.
(1) China. 5 BPs/0 saved oil.
(2) CW. 21 BPs/8 saved oil.
(3) France. 2 BPs/2 saved oil.
(4) US. 10 BPs/5 saved oil.
(5) USSR. 15 BPs/5 saved oil.

[al] France scraps the Belgian FTR

[al] Production. Allies.
(1) China (5BPs) - 1 CAV division, save 4 BPs.
(2) CW (21 BPs) - 2 PIL, 1 AMPH 2nd, 1 PARA, 2 CP, 1 CVP1, 1 LND4, 1 CA-repair
(3) France (2 BPs) - 1 TERR
(4) US (10 BPs) - 1 AMPH 2nd, 1 TRS 2nd, 1 CVP1, 1 MAR division
(5) USSR (15 BPs) - 3 TERR, 1 MECH, 1 MOT

[al] China saves BPs in Kunming, Kweyang, Urmuchi and Kashgar

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

Production Spiral.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[al] Iceland and Greenland are conquered by the US

[al] I will surrender France as an experiment. I am sure it is probably not the right thing to do but hey we might learn something.

[al] Ships in construction pool and reinforcements: 3 to axis, 1 to allies and 1 destroyed. I will send you the pictures.

[al] Morocco is the new home country for France

[al] An 8 is rolled, 1 chit added

[al] do you wish to have the ships for Italy, Japan or Germany? Picture to follow

[ax] Morning. French surrender. Interesting. Without BEF England would have no influence on pressuring France to continue to fight. Makes sense counter factually.

[al] Check!

[al] French ships are rebased to Dakar and Casablanca

Disposition of French Ships in Construction and Reinforcement Pools (1/2).

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[ax] French ships to Italy please. (Note. picture below prior to assignment of ships to Italy).

Disposition of French Ships in Construction and Reinforcement Pools (2/2).

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

[ax] Factory destruction. Germany destroys the blue factory in Lille.

[ax] Italy destroys the blue factory in Marseilles.

Victory Totals.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

Global Map. Control.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

Global Map. Units.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (continued).

Global Map. Active Axis.

[rkr1958]

Turn 5. May/June 1940. End of Turn (concluded).

Global Map. Active Allied.