Solitaire game starting late '42

[EUBanana]

The US linger but hpoe for no combat. That's not what happens...

[EUBanana]

The US loses their old fighter and then basically mutual clearance happens.

Naval combat is so... utterly random.

So the Coral Sea could be attacked without being hampered, potentially, by the IJN is the upshot.

[EUBanana]

Nov/Dec 43, impulse #4

Japan does a naval. They can finally, as 1944 knocks, really ponder the defence!

Usual convoy patrols.

So, amphibious reaction forces...

MAR + TRN go to Saipan in readiness.
Imperial Guard + TRN go to Truk in readiness. Truk has Yamamoto.
CL Jintsu + Kumano wait at Legaspi with two infantry divisions.
Bismarck Sea currently has an AMPH, an INF and a MAR-div. If they survive the turn they will base up somewhere nearby. Sorong, maybe.

Navy stuff
Zuikaku moves from Japan to Bismarck Sea, ultimately to be based in Truk permanently with the others.
Haruna/Yamato to the Solomons, which is currently storms, to hunt US cruisers.
Haguro/Kitakami to the Marianas, ditto.
TRN moves a GARR from Japan to China Sea, going to China.

So, we should have a solid counter force ready to roll, amphibious and naval, and the IJN sent out some counter-raiders for now.

[EUBanana]

No naval combat, unsurprisingly really.

Given the storms there's not a whole lot Germany can do in the east. However they can't just ignore this yuge fleet in the North Sea, so they reluctantly pull a lot of stuff from the Eastern Front in readiness. Some ground units spread out to cover the coast facing the North Sea, and also a bunch of bombers move from the eastern front to counter any invasions.

The Commonwealth/US kinda scrimped on fighters so right now at least air superiority would almost certainly be German, so I'm not sure there's sufficient support for a trouble-free landing...

[EUBanana]

Nov/Dec 1943, Impulse #7, Allies go

Bad weather makes me take land everywhere, there's some minor stuff to do, and naval combat seems very much optional for the Allies right now.

Chiang tries to bomb Hata in Wuhan as it looks like not much else is gonna stop him bar supply problems, the snow saves him though. A B17 from Majuro bombs Kwajalein again, and misses, again.

Monty and two MOTs unload at Italy, a Canadian ARM unloads at Gibraltar (and is disrupted for some reason).

And an American invasion of the hex next to Kwajalein happens with a +21 as its cut off from supply. An ENG unloads at Brisbane, the one that fixed Rabaul. It may as well fix Brisbane too.

[EUBanana]

Impulse #9, Axis go.

Bad weather limits options so Germany goes for a naval, the rest go for land.

Germany's Uboat fleet is pretty big now. But is mostly at Kiel as the damaged ones add up. There's one of those weird fights you don't want with 3 surprise points, where a German SUB in the 4 box kills itself in exchange for one convoy.

And then... the money shot happens.

[EUBanana]

Allied ASW is quite good though, especially in Faeroes Gap.

Still, that'll blow a big hole in the CW's budget for a turn.

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And on the second round...

Subs seem very worth it for Germany, its not the economic cost so much as the actions, but on these bad weather days suddenly you can make the CW's life miserable.

[EUBanana]

Current CW production went from 22 to 12 after that... the biggest sub beatdown of the war, easily.

No air to scramble to the 0 box didn't help, but it was basically just luck, and more subs than usual I think.

The subs in the North Atlantic didn't find anything though.

[EUBanana]

Impulse 11, ALlied go.

Fair weather!

They just have to go for it, sub damage be damned.

All the Allies do a land action aside from the CW who does combined, and China does an air (?).

Another carpet bombing attempt on the MNT's in Italy, as that does seem like the best way to deal with them - but the Allied rolls are again, terrible. All that money spent on strategic bombers and they can't seem to roll above a 4.

At least they made Italy surrender being so scary.

[EUBanana]

Air combat over Rouen and the southern end of the Eastern Front again...

[EUBanana]

Well, after a truly mind boggling number of rolls, air to air combats, bombing, invasions... AND the turn not ending on a 10, giving the Germans a land action to act...

... the end result of D-Day on Christmas 1943 does not look like a good situation for the Allies.

[EUBanana]

So... production.

Germany has 49 points.

4 INF
3 ARM-div
3 ATR
3 Pilot
2 LND-2
FTR-2
Antiaircraft


Japan has 14 points
1 pilot
4 convoy
1 ARM
1 FTR-2

China has 7
Field arty
Engineer
(choice is limited!)

CW has 11 (!!!! [:-] )

5 convoy
1 naval construction (TRN)
2 FTR-2

US has 57
6 naval repair
2 INF-HQ
2 sub repair
2 INF-HQ
2 FTR-2
1 pilot
2 offensives


SU has 26
2 ENG
1 FTR-2
1 pilot
Offensive

[EUBanana]

Jan/Feb 1944...

Allies win the initiative.

Weather is good.

They may yet pull a miracle out of the bag.

[EUBanana]

Given the fine weather and the poor situation on D+1, the CW and US decide to blow an o-chit on combined actions for a second impulse at maximum effort.

The armada sails again, loading everythign in the UK they can manage.

2 1000 bomber raids strike... remote areas in the Italian mountains. One is broken up very thoroughly by the defending Uhu despite 3 Allied fighters escorting. The other one is unopposed as the Uhu is it right now, and a lot of mountain troops get blown up, Cassino style.

[EUBanana]

Montgomery occupies the crater blown in the Italian lines... Allies move up in Italy. Allies also attack La Spezia with just about everything, Monty, the navy, the rest of the airforce... boom. Just Monty's sort of battle I guess.

More landings in NW France. Desperately trying to get as many ashore as possible. Lots of naval and air cover, basically 'the rest'.

Oh and did I mention the US fleet moved off Iwo Jima? The US fleet moved off Iwo Jima.

[EUBanana]

Plenty of tactical bombing too. This isnt' even all of it, these are the more important ones.

Air to air combat has been skipped. One Mosquito was parried entirely, and a Halifax was shot down over Italy.

[EUBanana]

3 convoy points try and flee the falling La Spezia to Venice. 1 makes it past CV Formidable's air group.

Bring a CV or don't bother...

[EUBanana]

Oh I didnt screenie La Spezia, that was an important one too. Huge amount of support.

An Indian INF was destroyed, and Monty and an antitank gun disorged. The rest are fine though, and Monty used his HQ bonus anyway.

[EUBanana]

Iwo Jima I got though...

The US fleet is actually the most vulnerable it's ever been doing this, I'd spar some more otherwise. But with the combined O-chit the chance of getting in there with a white print unit like a shot was just too appealing. I hope the USN doesn't end up burned up scrap as a result.