Bob Flemin's MWIF AARse IV - Nice AArse

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

Round 1 (Allies to throw first):

7 - DA Germany decides whether to abort the front fighter or bomber. They choose the fighter....
6 - DX The Allied front fighter is shot down (the pilot survives)

The odds are now up to 2.1 - the Allies abort the mission. Not great but it was always risky.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

In China the odds are equally risky for the Chinese, but as ever, they just need to hurt the Japanese.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

Round 1 (Allies to throw first):

14 - No effect
16 - DX China has to destroy her front fighter or bomber. She chooses the bomber (the pilot survives).

The Chinese have no reason to stick around....

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

The first battle to get out of the way is the Pesky Partisan on a 7:1 Assault table. Its a 7 - the Partisan is destroyed.

The second battle is for Kweilin. Its only 2:1 with no modifiers. Fractional odds increase to 3:1. Its an 8. The city falls to the Japanese at a cost of disorganisation. Once again there appears to be no penalty for the city conquest.

Next to the attack on Stillwell. Again the Fractional odds take the CRT up a notch to 4:1. There are no modifiers and the Assault table is chosen. Its a 6 - Stillwell is lost but again all the attackers are disorganised.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

And so to France. The first attack is against the British 7th Mechanised Corps. A 5:1 became a 2:1 thanks to the RN, although was then increased to a 3:1 by the Luftwaffe. There are no modifiers and this is on the Assault table....

..5. The sole defender is destroyed but at the cost of an Infantry and disorganisation.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

And so to the really important stuff. Fractional odds increase the CRT by one to 3:1 and there is a +1 and this is on the blitz table....

....8(9). The French lose their Motorised Corps and the survivor is shattered for no loss. Great result for the Germans.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 1

That battle was key because Billotte's Army Group are now out of supply, and this take the odds to 7:1...

...its an 8(9) and the French lose the Garrison and the AT - Billotte is Shattered.

EDIT: Billotte is destroyed as he could not retreat. What a turn!!!

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 2

What a turn! The French are now officially up the proverbial without an implement.

[warspite1]

What would peeps do here? If I put the BEF in France they will be slaughtered!

[Orm]

You could put BEF in Bordeaux. Not that easy hex for Germany to kick BEF out of if you give some defensive shore bombardment. Or, which I prefer, you could send more units to Gibraltar and prepare to send lots of units to Spain (both by sea and from Gibraltar).

[Orm]

What a turn! The French are now officially up the proverbial without an implement.

Indeed. But seek comfort in that Germany is in a even deeper pile.

[Centuur]

Rail the INF out of Nice into Toulouse. Put the BEF in Bordeaux (or the hex SE of the city). Put a second French unit in Lyons. Move all French units still able to move into the mountains. Move Georges south towards Toulouse (together with the other unit in Nantes and empty Vichy). Move those units into the mountains and make sure they can continue to move towards Toulouse. Run away for the mountain redoubt in the Pyrenees.

Defending Nantes or Vichy is useless. Defend Toulon, Lyons and the approaches to Toulouse (but keep retreating towards that city, don't get surrounded). Any open hex is a death trap.

The German ARM should be stopped. Sacrifice a unit in Vichy to prevent that unit from moving further south next impulse, since it can rush towards Toulouse (and you need to stop that from happening....

You made a huge mistake by putting the French reinforcements in Nantes... You should have put them in Toulouse, to start building up the last French defense line...

Trade space for time and start praying that bad weather comes and gives you the opportunity to save parts of your army...

You need only 6 corps to make the Toulouse area into a fortress... The BEF should provide you with a couple of those and the rest should be the remains of the retreating units out of the Vichy area. Italy? Let the spaghetti eaters cross the mountains. Put the two units in the Alps in Nice and the rest retreats (the MTN towards Toulouse and the MIL into Lyons). Any line forming is useless. Your mountain cities and major ports are now the remaining fortresses for France...

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 2

Well I tried to put into operation the various pieces of advice but frankly, the situation is GRIM. At the top, confusion reigns; Neville Chamberlain has been told by Parliament to go, Edouard Daladier has been given his marching orders, Gamelin has been sacked and replaced by Maxime Weygand.

On the coal face, the CW need to do a naval (to get units on TRS) has meant that the French room for manoeuvre on the west coast is more limited. Georges finds himself defending the Loire rather than heading full pelt for Toulouse. Toulon is garrsioned, Toulouse has a unit within it and the Armoured Corps should be able to get there before the Germans too.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 2

In Central China the situation is also rather unpleasant....

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

Galeazzo Ciano: Il Duce! Il Duce! The French are on the verge of collapse!
Benito Mussolini: Magnifico! Time to get this party started... let's declare war!
GC: But we are not ready!
BM: Yes we are, I have a huge army, a fine air force, a year's supply of oil and a couple of shiny new battleships - we are, as the Americans say, good to go. Besides, the war will be over in a few days, and all I have to do is bring a few thousand dead to the peace table and, hey presto, I can bag the prize bits of the French and British Empires! Simples!

Il Duce delivers the declaration of war speech to the faithful on May 20th 1941. In far away Saudi Arabia, Mussolini's crass and cowardly action has not gone unnoticed. Take it away Iago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxlhyX-4qKI

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

The Luftwaffe have been creating a new specialist anti-shipping unit - Fliegerkorps X - that has been sent to Munich in preparation for this day. Two FW200 Condor's join an Italian Sparviero in attacking the French fleet at Toulon.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

Shock! Horror! Probe! The Richelieu has been sunk! Merde!

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

There is little left in the Luftwaffe bomber OOB. They try a speculative attack on Georges...

... unsurprisingly, with a 2-strength He-111, it fails to come off.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

There is little left in the Luftwaffe bomber OOB. They try a speculative attack on Georges...

... unsurprisingly, with a 2-strength He-111, it fails to come off.

That bomber truly deserves to be moved to the reserves.

[warspite1]

May/Jun 1941
Impulse: 3

There will be four attacks from the Germans and their new BFFF, the Italians, who have marched an Army Group toward Lyons.

The first attack takes place in Belgium where the 6-pdr AT division could not be rescued. With RN and RAF support the odds are reduced to 4:1.... In the other three attacks, there is no chance of aircraft or making any difference and HQ support is declined.