It is getting interesting...
This tie with the images I've included Mike's commentary and that gives a nice summary of where thigs are at.
Enjoy
AUSGAME2000 1940 N/D
Another delayed session as we had a total COVID-19 lockdown due to single case of a single Hotel Security guard testing positive.
The Session kicked off with the US player drawing a chit for this turn (Jap Pool) and a chit for the GERM POOL (Vichy France – GERMs roll (10) saved the 2nd chit) The US Senate, sat and contemplated and took no action – must be in winter recession. The Allies having won the initiative went first with the weather roll being a 7, mostly bad weather, clear in the Monsoon. The CMWLTH finally was able to take a naval move and sailed their fleets into multiple sea areas, but most importantly into the N Sea so that the BEF could be finally embarked and extricated from Rouen. A valiant 1.1 GAR was left behind to act as a rear guard. Convoys were escorted and transports delivered precious cargoes of reinforcements to Egypt – JUST IN TIME. In the E and W Med, British fleets sallied out to exert their presence, they elected not to search for the Italian E Med convoys in rain as they did not want to give the Italian an opportunity to react their acft for free and remove the Naval presence costs. The British embarked an Ind Div on the CA Cornwall which was prepared for an invasion of Cyprus once it was OOS and the air group from the CV Ark Royal bombed the Italian HQ stack in the rain, a reminder that the British are back, but failed to invert any units. A bomber and a ftr arrived in Egypt and the citizens of Cairo felt a little safer now the advanced elements of the RAF have arrived. Russia took a combined and contemplate reinforcing their Far East Empire with both air and land units – taking a 50/50 approach that Barbarossa may well be delayed, they strat moved one 5.4 Sib unit to Estonia – just in case the British Intel reports are wrong. China in the North decided to hunker down for the winter (Snow in Temp and Artic) but in the South with clear skies, they decided to vacate the city of Nanning and pull back West – just in case Japan aligns V/French Indo China and tries to outflank their line.
The Axis first impulse; a combined for GERM, Naval for Italy and no cost land for Japan. GERM sails its fast BC squadron of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, plus two CAs (Hipper and Scheer) into the N Sea 4 box to search for the loaded BEF, including the Gort HQ and promptly roll a 1!, in response the British, yep, roll a large split with an 8. This gives the find to the Kreigsmarine and a select tgt – yep the tpt with the Gort HQ – Typical for the Royal Navy in this game, worse the tpt save roll is a 1 as both Gort and the tpt slip below the icy waters of the N Sea – an expensive loss. The luck is with the Kreigsmarine this winter. The Royal Navy did have the Home fleet in the 4 box with a +4 CV, just to deter such a sortie but the GERM took the chance and was handsomely rewarded. The GERM did take an X on the Hipper but typically saves her with a high roll. The CMWLTH player was somewhat displeased as three things needed to occur for this sortie to have been successful, 1 the Germ had to find with a 4 or less, the British needed to fail their roll by 6 more than the GERM (a search 4 would have brought the British Home fleet into action) and then the tpt needed to fail its save roll – all three happened. All players have similar tales of woe know doubt – gotta love this naval warfare element if the game. The GERM strat moved a GAR to Warsaw, Poland – not an ARM/MECH/HQ and launched a 38+ attack against the gallant defenders of Rouen (1.1 GAR) – there were no survivors. GERM actions tend to confirm the prediction of no Barbarossa until 1942 as they rebased Navs and Ftrs to the Med to assist the Italians. The Italian’s Naval move saw 2 x Italian CAs contest the E Med from the 4 box while Ftrs and Navs remain in the 2 box, they fail to find the British in the E Med. Italian acft bombers rebase to Egypt – it is starting to hot up here, and we are not talking weather. Italian subs fail to find on their search. Japan, a no cost land – they are short of oil and the US has already flagged a potential oil embargo unless Japan ceases its war in China, Tojo ignores the US threat but the Japanese Govt puts the breaks on oil expenditure while it assesses its options. They enter the empty Nanning City and ill-discipline from the rank and file results in the US getting another chit as horrific front page photos reach the US public.
Allied second impulse, weather roll is a 5+1 (6) similar weather as the previous impulse but storm in the Temp, the British in the Med were hoping for a storm in the Med to render the Axis NAV inactive, no luck and the Brits will have pray that they avoid the Italian and now GERM Nav air searches. The CMWLTH takes a combined and aborts the last tpt and its escorts form the North Sea – far too dangerous to be out here the way the GERM is rolling searches, better to abort back to the safety of blighty. HMS Malaya sails out for conv duty in to the Red Sea as this is now within range of the Axis Nav air operating from Egyptian bases, and three land units in Egypt readjust the front line along the Eastern Banks of the Nile and start digging in. Russia’s combines sees a Mtn unit sent to the Far East and some shuffling on the German border – China, waits. The first of the US CVs arrive in Pearl, fittingly the USS Enterprise is welcomed with grand fan-fare and much celebration, heralding the US intent to challenge Tokyo.
Axis second Impulse and another combined from the GERM, with both Italy and Japan taking no cost combines. The GERM Kriegsmarine emboldened by recent North Sea success strike out with the Bismarck and her escorting Pocket battleships to hunt Convs but are intercepted by the British CA squadron in the N sea, rather than fight through Admiral Lutjens reinforces the Scharnhorst Group. Another 1 rolled by the GERMs and 6 by the British sees another one-sided battle, the Netherlands’ CA is sunk, a British CA is damaged with the 3rd CA aborted clearing the N Sea, one German CA aborts. With little more to gain here and not knowing next turns weather, Lutjens aborts his squadron and returns to a hero’s welcome at Kiel – the Snapps flows freely. GERM land units start to occupy coastal hexes and a GERM HQ is Strat to Brest to start work on sub pens and supplies. The Italian sail an escorting Italian BS into the Italian Sea and finds the two British Subs and promptly damaging 1 and aborting the other – both sides rolling 3’s. The British in the E Med finally, have another find with a 3, but continuing trend of bad luck for the Royal Navy, the GERM/Italian NAV air in the 2 box decide to play, as they roll a 2! Their 5 Navs, even in rain, make short work of the Cornwall as it is sunk with the poor Indian Inf DIV – looks like the invasion of Cyprus is off. Cunningham, recognising the folly of fighting the Axis Nav ‘wall of death’ especially with the string of search rolls decides that Force H needs to abort to the safety of Aden – the Axis control the E Med again and Egypt is under threat.
The GERM Naval search rolls have been 1,2,2,1,3, a ‘find’ every time and two hefty splits – it is not much fun being the British Royal Navy at the moment. The major consolation is that these rolls were not against Convs and the supply chain – it could have been disastrous! An Italian MIL is Strat moved for Garrison duty in Holland, probably there for the duration – nice work if you can get it and more bombers and long range ftrs are rebased to the Med and Egypt in an Axis concerted effort to achieve air superiority and deny British interference in their planned invasion of Greece – Bletchley Park is working overtime at the moment. It is quite clear now that with no Land/Air units having been sent East to the Russian front, it seems to confirm that a 42 Barbarossa is most likely, and that a campaign against Greece and possible Spain 41 – with supporting operations against Egypt (back door to the Med) is on the cards for 41.
Third Allied impulse, The Russian, now with 80/20 chance of Barbarossa being delayed strats Timoshenko HQ to the Far East and vacates their cities to allow reinforcements to arrive – ominous for Japan. China, shuffles their communist North, and the British take a combined to reinforce Gibraltar and patrol the N Sea. The second UC CV, the USS Lexington arrives in Pearl harbour. Allies end the N/D turn, much to the relief of the British Navy, moving the init track back one to the +1 Axis, with them also winning ties.
Partisans is an Axis friendly 8 with no Part in China for the third turn, the Japanese police and security forces are being far too polite, and despite agitation in the NEI and India the local security forces suppress any dissent – no Partisans. US Entry chit to the European pool and takes two actions against Japan desperate to create tension. First the Senate as threatened elect to place an oil embargo on Japan but surprisingly and annoyingly for the US this action fails to create any tension – 9 or less, US player rolled a 10, the senate then forces the opening of the Burma road, but again fail their tension roll – these failed rolls have more than likely cost the US another turns delay to their first gear-up. Japan has no oil coming in so will have to prosecute war very cautiously now. The US Senate ponders on what they have to do in order to create tension as this is now significantly delaying their first gear-up, it would appear that the isolationists are winning the hearts and minds of the Us populous. Churchill has now sent a telegram to Washington stating that now the US has a semblance of a fleet in Pearl, they will be able to increase the tension as Tokyo is very displeased.
Rebases, builds and reinforcements – A new Year 1941 and Russia places all its reinforcements in the Far East – Japan signals their complaints in a strongly worded telegram to comrade Stalin which is promptly ignored. Apparently, Russia has a score to settle, eying off Manchuria – the Chinese communist start to get excited at the prospect of Japanese land units having to be transferred to the threat from the North. This session was expensive for the British with all the losses this turn being British, no axis losses this turn at all. The decision not to do a 41 Barbarossa will shape this game significantly, US entry in the +34 for Japan is exciting as the potential for the CMWLTH to reinforce the pacific is looming large, the Japanese have been doing it tough, and now with the oil embargo it is going to very difficult to fight the Russian if they elect to retake Manchuria. The US failure to transfer tension chits in the Jap pool has been significant, they have failed all bar two rolls and this failure to gear- up is now impacting significantly on their Naval building program.
Next session - a New Year 1941 - should be very interesting. Weather yet to be rolled, last roll 11 +2 on the J/F roll
The Russian front - 42 Barbarossa me thinks
Little movement during the snow
W Med - still controlled by the British - but for how long?
E Med - Axis control as the Italian and GERM Navs dominate the seas
HMS Cornwall - sunk n/D 40 in the E Med
Gen Gort's HQ in the North Sea - should have stayed in Rouen -
at least it was dry and the wine was passable
Adml Lutjens victor of the N Sea battles
An all CMWLTH loss turn
The Russians are coming
China - Nanning now under Japanese control
the 1941 Russian build up begins
The 2nd US CV to arrive the Lady Lex
Inside Lady Lex
The US Entry pool
GEN Tojo - running out of room for his medals - has also run out of oil to run his war
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