Turn 8. Nov/Dec 1940. Allied #9.
{Axis #7. End of Turn Check}
[al] Turn ends on a roll of 1.
[al] End of turn roll is 7. Turn continues.
{Allied #9 Impulse.}
[al] Weather. The roll is 5, becoming 6 with the modifier.
Weather is Snow/Storm/Rain/Fine/Rain/Fine
[ax] Wow ... glad I pressed the attack on Zagreb last impulse. Storms would have definitely complicated the attack and lowered the odds.
[al] Quite.
[al] Allied Impulse 9
(Turn ends on a roll of 3 or less.)
No DoWs, alignments, etc.
Actions
China: Land
Commonwealth: Combined
Free France: Pass
United States: Pass
Soviet Union: Land
[al] Naval Operations
No port attacks or naval air.
Naval Movement
(1) HMS Courageous, Hood, Renown, Repulse, and Dorsetshire sail from Gibraltar to 3 box Italian Coast.
(2) HMAS Austraila and Shropshire sail from Port Said to 3 box Italian Coast.
[al] Naval Operations (cont'd.)
Naval Combat
(3) Commonealth initiates a naval combat in the Italian Coast using the Yugoslav cruiser.
CW has no planes that can reach. Do the Axis wish to react any more planes out to sea?
[ax] Italian FTR2 at La Speiza to 1 box.
[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast (cont'd.)
- Italian ftr2 flies from La Spezia to 1 box.
- Search rolls are CW 3, Italy 7 - CW finds and picks the 3 box.
- CW has 5 surprise points and spends 0 to call a naval air combat.
[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast (cont'd.)
- Italy has 3 AA vs 1 bomber, no effect.
- CW inflicts 2A damage on Italy. CW spends 4 surprise to boost damage to 2D 1A.
Damage
- CW assigns D to Conte Di Cavour: saving throw is 7 (aborted).
How would you like to assign the second damage?
[ax] What are my choices?
[al] BB Giulio Cesare (5 surface/5 defence/1 aa/2 shore) or CA Bolzano (4 surface/6 defence/2 aa/1 shore)
[ax] D on BB Giulio Ceasre please.
[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast - Damage (cont'd.)
- It assigns D to Giulio Cesare: saving throw is 3 (damaged).
- CW assigns A to Bolzano: saving throw is 4 (aborted).
End of Round
The CW will stay. What about the Axis?
[ax] Italians stay.
[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast - End of Round
- Both sides stay and fight.
2nd Round
- Neither side has planes to fly.
- Search rolls are CW 10, Italy 9
- The RN and RM forces lose contact with each other.
Where would you like the ships to abort to?
[ax] Trieste please.
[al] Done.
[al] Land Operations
Rail Movement
(1) CW rails Rangoon MIL from Rangoon to Mandalay.
(2) USSR rails 85 mm (3-2 art) from Tsitsihar to Smolensk.
Land Movement
(3) Indian INF in Eritrea advances towards Asmara.
(4) CW disembarks Montreal MIL into Gibraltar.
(5) CW disembarks Indian INF in Bay of Bengal into Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.
(6) KMT adjusts its positions in the south of China.
(7) Red Army continues to slowly withdraw from Japanese positions in Manchuria.
Land Combat
(8) With their liquidation nearly at hand, the Communist partisans in Shanghai decide to try to take someone out with them. They attack the para div near the city.
[ax] Ok then. Didn't see that coming.
[al] Land Combat (cont'd.)
- It's a -2 combat (+2 base, -4 for weather). Assault or blitz?
The partisans kill the division on a roll of 16 and up on the Assault table, or on a roll of 15, 16, or 17 on the Blitz table - the rolls of 18 through 20 are the /R results.
[al] Both tables, as far as I can see, have the same chance of success for the partisan (15% either way).
[ax] Yes, that's what I'm getting too.
[ax] Assault please. Better chance of killing off the partisan.
[al] Land Combat (cont'd.)
- Japan chooses assault.
- No fractional roll.
- Combat roll is 10, becoming 8. The partisan is destroyed to no effect.
[ax] Phew ...
[al] Well, I guess that saves Japan the oil of using up shore bombardment and ground support on its own attack, but I think it was worth the not quite 1-in-2/3rds chance of killing the division.
[ax] Sure ... nothing really to lose.
[al] Indeed.
[al] Rebases
(1) RAF bombers in Italian Somaliland rebase all of 1 hex into Ethopia.
[al] Reorg
No reorg
End of Turn
Turn ends on a roll of 3 or less.
End of turn roll is 8. Turn continues.
[al] Game file sent at start of next Axis impulse.
[ax] got it.
Shanghai, China.
