Axis Only. Ronnie vs Composer99.

[Courtenay]

ORIGINAL: rkr1958

ORIGINAL: Centuur

ORIGINAL: rkr1958



I was planning to invade in Mar/Apr as long as the weather isn't blizzard or storm in either the arctic or north temperate.

Why not in J/F if the weather is snow? Don't enter the USSR itself that turn to prevent the Soviets from getting a production bonus. Of course, this depends on the garrison ratio, but with Germany I would not hesitate to go to war as early as possible...

Sure. Why not. If I get snow next impulse then war with the Soviets it is.

By the way this will be total war by the axis against the Soviets. Japan plans to push hard in Asia, first expelling the Soviets from Manchuria and then capturing the 3 Soviet RP's there.

Good plan.

[TeaLeaf]

Forgive me that I have not checked the latest positions in Russia;

I would not attack early if Russia has reasonable strength at the front AND you have little to no aircraft there.
This has a high chance of bogging down... Unless perhaps if your forces are numerically in a state of über superiority [;)].

But like I said, I haven't checked the positions yet, so my comment is merely meant in general (and I speak from bitter experience) [;)].

[Courtenay]

One turn ago the Russian position was VERY weak. He has added units, and is probably going to add more, but is still not strong. That is why an early attack makes sense.

[TeaLeaf]

Ah yes I see [:)].
On the global map it looks like Josef has put down a rearward defense. Yeah... the sooner the better then [8D].

From Soviet persprective, I've always seen this as a serious drawback; Germany can attack early (easy breaking the pact),
and arrives at the rearward river positions much sooner.

Still, be careful not to rush too fast forward if you have no airsupport and lots of russian armor and air are waiting for you.
A skilled Stalin can kill a painful amount of Germans before you set up your front at that far off line.

[rkr1958]

Just wanted to give everyone a status update on this game. He's gone dark on me and I haven't heard anything from his since February 23. My concern isn't about the game but is that everything is ok. Hopefully, it's just a busy time for him with family and/or work and nothing more.

I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything else.

[rkr1958]

ORIGINAL: rkr1958

Just wanted to give everyone a status update on this game. He's gone dark on me and I haven't heard anything from his since February 23. My concern isn't about the game but is that everything is ok. Hopefully, it's just a busy time for him with family and/or work and nothing more.

I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything else.

Good news ... composer99 was just busy with work and we got an impulse in tonight, details for which I'll post tomorrow sometime. [:)]

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Allied #3. (Axis, Non-Phasing).

[al] Allied Impulse 3
No declarations of war, alignments, etc.

Actions
China: Pass
Commonwealth: Naval
Free France: Pass
United States: Combined
Soviet Union - Land

[al] Naval Operations
No port attacks or naval air.

Naval Movement - United States
(1) USS Nevada, Oklahoma, and Arizona sail from San Diego to 0 box West Coast.

Naval Movement - CW Transports
(2) TRS in Cape Town loads the South African ftr2 and sails to 0 box Cape St Vincent.

Naval Movement - Convoys & Escorts
(3) HMS Berwick sails from Halifax to 0 box North Atlantic.
(4) HMS Devonshire drops from 3 box Cape St Vincent to 1 box.
(5) HMS Resolution, Belfast, and Erebus sail from Gibraltar to 1 box North Atlantic.
(6) Dutch cruiser Java sails from Gibraltar to 1 box Cape St Vincent.
(7) HMS Sheffield_ sails from Gibraltar to 4 box Cape St Vincent.
(8) HMS Norfolk sails from Gibraltar to 4 box North Atlantic.
(9) Dutch cruiser Sumatra sails from Gibraltar to 0 box North Atlantic.

Naval Movement - Med
(10) Yugoslav cruiser Dalmacija sails from 1 box Italian Coast to Gibraltar.
(11) HMS Eagle (CVL) and Revenge (BB) sail from Port Said to 2 box Italian Coast.

That's it for naval moves that don't involve interceptions, that I can think of, for now. (Or, if there were interceptions, it would have been unsporting to ask for them because the units were stopping in the zone anyway.)

[al] On to stuff the Axis can intercept.

[al] (12) HMS Hermes (CVL with cvp) sets out from Liverpool into Faeroes Gap. Do Axis subs attempt to intercept?

[ax] Negative

[al] Righty-o. Hermes sails through to 0 box North Atlantic.

[al] (13) HMS Ramilles (BB) sails from Liverpool to Faeroes Gap - intercept?

[ax] Negative

[al] Ramilles sails through to 0 box North Atlantic.

[al] (14) They're sailing separately into Faeroes Gap, but what of battleships Royal Sovereign and Royal Oak?

[ax] Negative

[al] Okay. They sail into the 0 and 1 boxes, respectively, of North Atlantic.

[al] (15) Again, each is sailing separately, but what of cruisers Edinburgh, Gloucester, Southampton, and Exeter?

[ax] Negative

[al] Edinburgh and Gloucester sail on to 4 box North Atlantic. With their transit to North Atlantic assured, Southampton sails to 0 box Faeroes Gap and Exeter to 4 box Faeroes Gap.

[al] With that, I think the rest of the naval moves don't require asking for interceptions. (They might have if some of the previous stuff had been intercepted.)

[al] (16) HMS Ark Royal, Glorious, and York sail from Scapa Flow to 4 box Faeroes Gap.
(17) HMS Valiant and Terror sail from Liverpool to 0 box Faeroes Gap.

[al] Okay... that brings us to...

Naval Operations
Naval Combats
- CW can initiate in Faeroes Gap and North Atlantic, but won't.
- CW can and will initiate in Italian Coast.

[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast
- HMAS Shropshire initiates the combat.
- CW has no planes to send. Do the Italians fly their ftr2 in La Spezia?

[ax] No air reactions.

[al] Naval Combat - Italian Coast
- Search rolls are CW 7, Axis 6. Nobody finds.

The Italian Coast. Neither Side Finds.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Allied #3. (Axis, Non-Phasing). (Continued).

[al] Naval Operations
Non-Phasing Naval Combats
The Axis can initiate combats in North Atlantic and Faeroes Gap. Do they wish to do so, and which combat will they initiate first?

[ax] Will initiate in both, starting in the North Atlantic. Initiate with BB Schanarhort please.

[al] Naval Combat - North Atlantic
- Axis initiates combat with Scharnhorst
- Since the Axis decided to fight, I'm comfortable assuming subs are committed.
- Search rolls are Axis 6, CW 5; both sides just barely miss.

North Atlantic.

[al] North Atlantic; just off-panel are more Allied cps.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Allied #3. (Axis, Non-Phasing). (Continued).

[ax] Faeores gap. Initiate with German u-boat in 4-box please.

[al] Naval Combat - Faeroes Gap
- Axis initiates with U-boats in 4 box.
- Axis commits subs (otherwise, what's the point?)
- Search results are Axis 4, CW 6. Axis 4 box finds. Assuming they pick only the 0 box, they will have, by my reckoning, 5 surprise points (2 off the dice and 3 off the box, on account of the CW nav2).

[ax] Use 4 SP's for sub combat please.

[ax] Dogs of war need to go out. Axis stay and commit their subs in the second round. If German u-boat survives and is aborted it aborts to Brest.

[al] Naval Combat - Faeroes Gap
- Axis picks 0 box and has 5 surpise points, spending 4 to call a sub combat.

Axis takes 2D, 1A damage, all of which is absorbed by the single participating U-boat flotilla.
D on subs: saving throw is 1; they're damaged
D on subs: saving throw is 2; they're sunk

CW cps take 1D result; 1 cp is sunk.

[al] Naval Combat - Faeroes Gap
- Both sides stay for 2nd round.
- Axis commit subs.
- Search rolls are Axis 1, CW 7. Axis 3 box finds.
- Assuming the Axis picks only the 0 box, they have net 8 surprise points.
- Assuming the Axis call a sub combat, the damage profiles before spending surprise are as follows:
ASW inflicts X,A on the subs.
Subs inflict X,A on the convoys.

[ax] Back.

[ax] Yes, 0-box and use 4 SP's for sub combat.

[al] Done. Axis have 4 surprise remaining to influence the combat. Both sides are in the 8-10 column attacking the 3-4 target row.

[ax] Use the remaining 4 SP's to increase damage to CW CP's to X, D, 3A please (3 CP's sunk, 3 aborted).

[ax] Put X on the 2-mover, 3-strength German u-boat. Then A if it survives. If not A on Italian sub.

[ax] Italian aborts got to St-Nazaire.

[al] Axis absorbs an X and an A:
X on Ge sub 4833: saving throw is 5; subs are sunk.
A on It sub 5043: saving throw is 10; subs are not aborted.

[al] Convoys take 1X, 1D, 3A.

[ax] Axis stay but do not commit their subs.

{With only 2 allied CP's left, not worth the risk. I've already pushed my luck from an inferior position (see screen cap below) and did get lucky sinking 4 CW CP's and aborting another 3 in the Faeroes Gap at the cost of 2 German u-boat flotillas lost.}

[ax] Well that's 4 CW CP's sunk and 3 aborted at the cost of 2 German u-boats lost.

[ax] BP wise that's an even trade.

[al] Both sides stay. Since as directed Axis do not commit subs, thus ends the combat.

The Faeroes Gap (Prior to 2 Rounds of Sub Combat).

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Allied #3. (Axis, Non-Phasing). (Concluded).

[al] Any CAP for strat bombing or ground strikes?

[ax] Negative

[al] Land Operations
No strat bombing or ground strikes by the Allies.

Rail Moves
(1) Red Army rails 2nd Siberian Corps (6-4 INF) from Manchuria to Kiev.

Land Moves
(2) No land moves in China, with the bad weather.
(3) Some minor adjustments by the Red Army in Belorussia/central Russia.

{Looks like the Red Army is bugging out of Asia for Europe}.

[al] Land Attacks
None

Rebases
(1) Beaufighters (ftr3) in UK rebase to southwestern hex adjacent to both North Sea & Bay of Biscay.
(2) Spitires rebase from Conventry to just northeast of Southampton.
(3) USA transfers cvp from Enterprise to Yorktown.
(4) Soviet lnd3 in Manchuria rebases to Chita.

Air Reorg
(5) CW atr3 reorgs 2 cps in Liverpool.

[ax] Why don't you go ahead and do the air reorg and weather roll for next impulse and then send me the file.

[al] Sure thing.

[ax] Weather
Weather roll is 4.
Weather is Sn/St/F/F/R/F.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Weather.

{Well so much for my plan for declaring war on the Soviet Union this turn due to storms in the north temperate. However; these storms do negate allied air cover for convoys at sea. But at the cost of not getting the -1 to -2 search modifier for enemy CP's at sea. So while it's harder to find the CP's if you do find, and the allies don't, you save the 4 SP's required to force a sub combat.}

[brian brian]

I am playing the new rules these days, where the SUB war is completely different and the whole game, even on land, is a new game as a result. So I have a new, deep interest in SUB tactics in the game - they really work to keep the Allies off balance, doing more Naval impulses than they really want, and are well worth the Axis action limit + BP investment.

Just wondering why you didn't intercept the RN SCS sailing through the Faeroes Gap, one at a time? Best Case - the Allies risk moving past a successful intercept (unlikely here probably) - you get a big dice split - or, you get just an ordinary dice split but now you get to maybe roll the U-Boats into a combat vs the CP before the Allies have assembled all of their escort forces.

Here, the RN probably had enough in Gibraltar to send to North Atlantic if too many ships coming out of Liverpool got intercepted and stopped in Faeroes, but forcing them to decide to stop or keep going in Faeroes might have messed up their overall escort plans for the turn. ?

[rkr1958]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

I am playing the new rules these days, where the SUB war is completely different and the whole game, even on land, is a new game as a result. So I have a new, deep interest in SUB tactics in the game - they really work to keep the Allies off balance, doing more Naval impulses than they really want, and are well worth the Axis action limit + BP investment.

Just wondering why you didn't intercept the RN SCS sailing through the Faeroes Gap, one at a time? Best Case - the Allies risk moving past a successful intercept (unlikely here probably) - you get a big dice split - or, you get just an ordinary dice split but now you get to maybe roll the U-Boats into a combat vs the CP before the Allies have assembled all of their escort forces.

Here, the RN probably had enough in Gibraltar to send to North Atlantic if too many ships coming out of Liverpool got intercepted and stopped in Faeroes, but forcing them to decide to stop or keep going in Faeroes might have messed up their overall escort plans for the turn. ?

Probably should have but didn't in order to keep the game moving.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

Manchuria.

The Soviets look to be bugging out. Japan's plan is for the total recapture of Manchuria and capture of Soviet Asia.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

China.

It's more of an eyesore than an actual problem, but I would really like to throw the Chinese out of Nanning, capture that city and clean up my lines in Southern China.

Also, my long term plan is to keep up ground strike against Chinese HQ's (i.e., Mao and Chaing). With no oil, once they're flipped they'll stay flipped until China can get a hold of some oil, which may not be for a while.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

East Africa.

The CW has two HQ's on the map, both of which are in East Africa. They have a 3rd HQ, Alexander HQ-I, coming out of production next turn (Mar/Apr 1941).

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

The Italian Coast.

The Italian's grip on the Med has shrunk to the Italian Coast and that's the plan for as long as the Italians can hold on to that sea and to Italy itself.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

Battle of the Atlantic (1/2).

Axis subs last impulse (non-phasing), created a lot of disruption to CW production and convoy lines due to their success in the Faeores Gap.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5. Pre-Impulse (PI).

Battle of the Atlantic (2/2).

North Atlantic.

While the CW definitely has the organized CP's to replace their losses there (i.e., Faeores Gap) and fix their production the axis hope to derail that by some extent by going after their convoys in the North Atlantic. With storms raging in the North Atlantic, allied aircraft can't fly meaning that the axis won't have to use 4 SP's to force a sub combat if they manage to surprise the allies there. However, storms reduce the chance of finding by 1 and also negate the +2, in this case, search number modifier due to allied convoys.

But I've found that sub warfare in MWiF takes persistence to be successful and that's what I intend to do. Continue to got after the allied convoy lines and also continue to build subs.

Faeroes Gap.

As in the North Atlantic, storms prevent allied planes from flying but also make search harder (+1 to search roll due to storms & no +1 added to search number due to allied convoys).

With only 2 CP's left in the sea are the axis will not risk initiating this impulse but will wait and as the non-phasing player next allied impulse (which will also be storms) will initiate if and when the allies sail in replacement CP's.

[rkr1958]

Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5.

[ax] Turn 9. Jan/Feb 1941. Axis #5.
No DOW's. No special actions. No alignments.
Actions. Japan - land. Germany - land. Italy - combine.
End of Turn Chance. 0%.

[ax] Naval Air. None.

[ax] Naval Movement. None.

[ax] Naval Combat.
Three sea areas which the Italians can potentially initiate.
(1) North Atlantic. Yes.
(2) Faeores Gap. No combat. (Allies can't).
(3) Italian Coast. No combat. (Allies can't).

[ax] Naval Combat. North Atlantic.
(1) Storms. No air or air reactions possible.
(2) Italian sub group 5046 (3-box) initiates.
(3) Axis commit their subs.
(4) Search. Axis=1, Allied=7.
(5) Axis only find (3 & 2-boxes), select allies in 0-box, which gives the axis 9 SP's.

[ax] Naval combat type. Surface or sub?
(1) If surface, then axis have 15 surface vs 14 ships (X, D, A initial risk); however the allies would have 20 surface vs 4 ships (X, A).
(2) If sub, then axis have 8 sub vs 8 ships (i.e., 15 CP's/2) (X, D) and the allies would have 11 ASW vs 2 subs (X, 3A).

[ax] Naval Combat. Sub.
(1) The axis objective for their subs and surface raiders is to sink allied convoys and; therefore, option (2) above (i.e., sub combat) is their choice.
(2) The axis choose a sub combat.
(3) The axis accept their initial risk of X, 2A.
(4) 8 of 9 SP's used to shift allied CP losses from X, D (i.e., 3 CP's sunk) to 2X, 2D, 2A (i.e., 6 CP's sunk and 2 aborted).

[ax] Naval Combat. North Atlantic. Axis Damage Resolution.
(1) X, 2A vs 1 German u-boat and 1 Italian sub.
(2) X vs U-boat 4839=1, sunk.
(3) With 2A's left Italian sub 5046 is aborted and will return St-Nazaire, France.
(4) Allied CP risk 2X, 2D, 2A (6 CP's sunk & 2 aborted).
(5) 2 NED CP's sunk, 4 of 5 CW conquered CP's sunk, 2 CP's aborted.

[ax] Well the program let me pick the 2 NED CP's to destroy but after that took over and decided the rest. Really doesn't matter as the remaining CP's for all purposes are CW CP's.

[ax] The axis stay. I assume the allies do to? Aborted CP's to where?

[al] Aborted cps to Liverpool unless they can be intercepted, in which case Halifax.

[al] And, yes, Allies stay.

North Atlantic. (1/2).