Solitaire game starting late '42

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Okay impulse #7 begins. Chance of turn ending is minimal so the Allies can't skive and take their hands off the wheel.

Everybody takes a land action bar the CW who is down to the drabs again so they take a combined.

The Commonwealth has a 2 CP hole in its convoy fleet in the North Atlantic thanks to the Uboats. 4 spare CPs at Liverpool so 2 plug the hole. The HQ Alexander is arriving next turn so the QE2 liners, currently in Gibraltar, move to Liverpool ready to pick him up.

The German uboats in the Atlantic are triggered. However both sides find each other, and as there's a Sunderland and CVL Hermes in the 2 box it's a naval air combat. I guess Germany could've picked a softer target than the North Atlantic. 1 sub gets aborted by the Baffin/Sunderland.

The Germans stick around because why not? and get a 1. The Allies 4 is not enough so the one remaining uboat finds the convoys. 3 CAs defending the 0 box. It's pretty tough going now the US has armed the merchants and vs 3 CAs so the sub avoids being damaged and aborts back to Bordeaux, it does sink 1 CP though.

Shoulda packed extra CPs really.

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Yet more strategic bombing of teh Fatherland. A B17 to Hamburg, a Halifax to Cologne. I wonder how many planes a counter is suppose to represent, if it is said to, and how big a 1000 bomber raid would be...

The one German fighter in the Ruhr has been used so the way is open - daylight raids, but in snow. The Halifax hits a production point.

Meanwhile in China having moved the P40 to the southern end of the theatre Chiang bombs a GARR by the coast - plenty of Chinese expendables so it might be worth trying to take it out even if it has a cost.

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The Japanese have beefed up their China air force a little bit over 1942 so there's a Zero nearby to have a go. Chiang does have fighter escort though.

The fighter-bomber gets cleared and then the Chinese fighter aborts, not wanting to fight the Zero if possible.

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The Kittyhawk fails to score a hit though so it's all a bit moot. The Zero goes back to Canton, the Chinese troops are happy they don't have to 'go over the top'...

Even with the white print unit that's looking pretty dangerous for the Russians... thats 2 armoured corps and an armoured division next to them ready to roll.

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The Russians really need another HQ down there to shore up supply. There is Timoshenko sort of spare, as Finland isn't going to be attacked any time soon (or attack back either), so Timoshenko gets railed to Stavropol. And a division is peeled out from the shaky defences around Rostov to prevent any blitzing over the river (I hope/think, not entirely sure of the rules there!), though the Allies would need to win initiative next turn as well to be truly safe from that I think.

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American INF's debark at Midway (no space at Hawaii), Gibraltar, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The UK is filling up with US troops quite quickly, though the main element is still the bombers...

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Impulse #9, over to the Axis.

Land actions from everybody except Italy as I'm bored running through it all, they pass.

Germans moved up a BF110 that was just out of ground strike range to try and hit the defenders out of supply north of Gomel again.

Meanwhile Japanese carrier air from aboard Akagi in the Bismarck Sea bomb MacArthur in Manila. It's only a 1 point tactical value though. Both of the targets here will be disrupted next turn too as they are out of supply so seems like a good near finish, and plus maybe the Germans can ponder some attacks.

The BF110 hits which could open up possibilities, the Japanese, unsurprisingly, do not. MacArthur is not a ship.

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Japan moves Hata into the Chinese interior, the militia who landed on the PI forward into the mountains - they get disrupted, but thats fine, in fact they have to do it now so they can get to Aparri next turn.

They also move that vulnerable GARR int he south to cover Hainan but that does sort of open up the southern Chinese front to Nationalist advance, so the whole southern area probably need sa look at - but disrupted units in the mountaisn mean, not yet...

I realise Japan really badly needs a naval turn as it has TRNs in Canton it needs to send to Japan for the next wave of reinforcements. Doh.

The Germans looking at odds in the snow find bad odds in the south, so shouldn't have been so worried about that - not an opportunity, not yet, anyway. But that BF110 attack changed things a lot in the north. A near guaranteed successful blitz happens.

Sure enough, bam.

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And that's the end of the impulse. A 1 on the weather roll means fine everywhere. Global warming is back on apparently.

70% chance of the turning ending. They don't really need another action at this point, everything in position to hurt things is flipped, and Russia desperately needs new units. And they know, as I know, that Japan needs that naval action quite badly. So they all pass, 70% chance of success.

It's a 9. Unlucky.

Impulse 12 for the Axis then. Germany Land, Italy Pass, Japan Combined (they need 1 naval move, only 1 organised transport).

What am I saying, the Japanese have some subs at Kwajalein I completely forgot about all this time, so they need 2. Combined sorts that out.

1 sub each to Central Pacific/Marshalls. So a naval action in a combined lets you move any number of TFs so long as they are from the same port... I coulda used the German uboats more effectively than I realised. Never mind... The only defenders in those zones are naval air, but its in the 4 box so its quite risky for the subs.

Despite the high chance of an encounter, nobody finds each other in the vastnesses of the Pacific.

German armour meanwhile actually punches all the way through the Kalinin, that pass move really sucked for the Russians. Moscow would have disrupted it... so close. And be way less defensible in fairness from being mobbed, that ARM is totally out on a limb but I think it's worth it. Guderian is his nearest HQ, Guderian would approve. A big chunk of Russians pretty much get cut off from Moscow in so doing, too. The USSR has had a really bad 1942, things better improve fast - that BF110 rolling a 3 when it needed a 3 just opened that up completely. That and the hot winter.

The weather rolls are the most important rolls in the game...

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The turn ends though. If it didn't the Allies would all pass again anyway.

3 partisans spawn in Russia, which is just as well given they need everything can pull out of the bag it seems. They rise up in Odessa, Minsk and on the railway east of Lvov.

Staying at sea is pretyt normal I guess. The CW has a lot of fleets in the 1 box to to retire to the 0 box so convoys in vulnerable places are never unguarded. My usual policy is to have the 1 and 2 boxes covered and the 4 box as sub hunters, when the 4 slips down to becoming a 3, then I send it home that turn as a 2 isnt a lot of use I think.

The only slightly unusual one is CL Katori being left in the Coral Sea all on its own - thats because the Japanese want to mark that out and give the USN the -1 movement speed should they want to move in there.

Hood, Glorious, Ark Royal and Trinidad were in the Western Med, they return to Aden - they are destined to add to the Far East Fleet which thus far has just been a punching bag. Victorious is out of aircraft so returns to Gibraltar en route to pick up more (hopefully).

Colorado/Tennessee go to Efate with the TRN's carrying a fighter/nav. Ranger and the old East Coast battleships dock in Malta. Midway is something of a US sub base. Suva has the rest of the old battleships. The main Pacific Fleet, ie the CVs and fast ships, are at Hawaii.

Germany had everything aborted back to Bordeaux so that's easy.

Japan more or less has two big fleets, one at Canton and one at Truk, but the more modern units are going to Truk in general. There's also a couple of subs in Kwajalein, and some big, fast battleships at Rabaul. Decent naval air with decent fighters are at Kwajalein and Rabaul, there's still a Mavis and a division at Brisbane but I think they will be coming home.

Oil is very tight for the Japanese already. This is somewhat self inflicted as they put a lot into production in 1942. But that is changing, this turn they saved all their four oil. (They have a SYNTH arriving this year). All the transports, all the naval air, all the modern warships at Truk get reorged. Some older naval stuff gets reorged. It's mostly the land based fighters and the old stuff that suffers from restrictions, hopefully next turn will see the lot reorged though.

Germany has no problems at all for the foreseeable, reorgs everything.

So does Italy. In fact I shouldn't have saved any oil at all, too late now, Italy is swimming in the stuff. Hitler has been generous.

China is unable to reorg an I15 but as the IJA's airforce is mostly grounded that probably won't be a problem.

The Commonwealth reorganises everything - just. I think they tread water pretty much at current rates of oil saving.

The US don't care about oil, obviously. The USSR doesn't either but that's because they have so little to reorg... their military is very... primitive.

The US breaks down a corps at Gibraltar into two divisions. A landing in Libya is probably going to happen. There may well be 1943 D-Day as well looking at the state of the troops in the UK.

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Italy scraps a CR42, there's nothing worse than that in the force pool and plenty better, and it's not like they'll build every fighter is it.

The mysterious vanished Kate shows up in Japan's scrap options, so yeah, it kamikazed into an American sub. Oops. Not scrapping that, it's got 4 sea factors...

China keeps the Mohawk, its a fighter bomber, I like those, even if it has a tactical value of 1, and its not like their other stuff is amazing.

CW lost 3 good cruisers, a Lancaster, a Swordfish CV plane, 1st airborne and the elite Indian MECH. Yeah not scrapping any of that.

The Americans don't scrap anything, a 4 4 submarine is tempting but the range is decent and that appeals. CL Richmond can go though, plenty better than her in the force pool and I doubt the USA will need every last cruiser.

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So after the strategic bombing, trade deals, submarine warfare and all the rest...

Germany has an income of 30.
with 0 pilots in the pool and all those Allied strat bombers, thats obvious a priority, so they build the max 3.
1 sub constructed, the max, to keep the Kriegsmarine fighting.
2 FTR-3s
1 MECH
1 MECH-Div
1 Factory Repair
2 MIL + 1 GARR to build the Westwall

Italy has an income of 12
It has a lot of air units in reserve but only 1 pilot, and the gearing for pilots is 1, so it builds... 1.
All its INFs are built (not build aheads), so it builds a MIL and a MOT instead
1 Cav Div, as we need more ground units here I think and gearing limits choice
And one naval repair, which turns out to be a battleship, as there's not much else to go for.

Japan has an income of 11, because it went all oil saving
It has unlimited gearing right now, so as it has zero pilots and a lot of carrier air in the pool (and empty carriers in Tokyo), it buys 3 pilots, the Kate that got kamikazed'd back - ponders fighters, but there's one Rufe I'd like and many Oscars I wouldn't so doesn't. Peking Warlord and one repaired cruiser.

China has 8.
Goes for a LND-3, doesn't get the lend lease one unfortunately. One pilot because of gearing. And a MECH division, as choice is limited (all INF on the board).

Commonwealth has 28
Got the same acute pilot shortage as everybody else, so buys 4. Also has a lot of empty carriers to think about.
3 TRN to finish contruction - finishes 2 before reaching ship gearing.
Most of the INF has been built, theres only a couple of armour so that can wait.
My air gearing is good, and after scrapping anything with at tactical below 3 RAF bombers actually look decent now, so...

LND-3
FTR-2
LND-4 x2


USA has 43 - they are beiong nice to the Commonwealth, maybe too nice.

2 CV, and 1 CV Construction - because thats a long term thing, better buy them now. Thats the max gearing.
3 Pilots, the US actually has plenty, but then it's buildign a lot of aircraft.
2 NAV-3
2 FTR-2
2 CV-air 1
2 MAR-div, the ones lost at Efate this turn
1 TERR, because the PI is literally being invaded right now and its now or never
1 CAV-div, because of gearing


USSR gets 25
With their backs to the wall, 6 MIL
2 FTR-3, because they have so much less airpower than the Luftwaffe multirole seems to be the best, as you never know what emergency might be necessary.
2 Pilot
1 antitank. lots of tanks out there...

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1943 starts with bad weather.

The Axis win the initiative, pretty crucial roll too I think.

So... Jan/Feb, impulse 1.

Italy takes an air action to get the navs out.
Germany takes a land action to string a defensive line over to Moscow.
Japan takes a naval action, as is customary, to set up convoy defences, claim important sea zones and deny the enemy 1 speed, and get transports out by the PI.

Italy at the start of 1943...

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Western Europe at the start of 1943...

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The Eastern Front at the start of 1943...

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China at the start of 1943...

That's Hata there near Wuhan, doing a one man offensive.

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The Pacific theatre is big...

.. squeezing Malaya and the Philippines onto the same map, but its pretty simple.

The Japanese should really take Hong Kong, forgot about that all this time. :p

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Japanese dispositions facing the Americans...

Main fleet at Truk, four BBs at Rabaul, Kwajalein has the flyout. Kwajalein/Rabaul have the 13 range Reisens and a NAV, Truk just has a NAV - but also Kaga, Akagi, Chitose, and very soon Zuikaku and Shokaku.

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Here is the situation in the Coral Sea after the US made their move late 42 on Efate... I suppose the Japanese got a smidge further than in reality, and also the US started attacking them a whole year later.

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Hawaii is where the vast bulk of the Pacific Fleet, and Nimitz, is. So Midway is the more curious/interesting one to show the flyout.

The US has a white print MAR on Tarawa organised, but out of supply as well.