One Sided Miniature Wargaming Discourse: World in Flames via FB

A quick turn that saw the Axis going west and south and the USSR going east, far east.

AUSGAME2000 1941 JAN/FEB 

A New Year! The Axis win the initiative and without hesitation give it to the allies to go first, hoping that they will also end the turn and shift the init track to the +2, A fair call as the weather is going to be lousy anyway, as the last weather was a 11 so there is a +2 on the that roll. The weather roll is a very average 5 +2 for a 7, mostly snow, fine in the N Monsoon but storm in the Med – the CW celebrates with a little dance – no Axis Nav air this impulse. A reprieve for the British operating in the Med as the massed Axis air is now rendered inoperable by the storm. 

The Allies 1st Impulse and a mandatory naval by the CW to escort its convs and tpt units to Egypt, some action in the Med as British CA’s go out on patrol and search for the Italian Convs, 1 success with the  sinking of 2 convs off the Italian Coast. However, the important supply conv to the Egyptian Axis Exped Army is missed. Russia takes a combined and strats Zhukov to the Far East and there is some movement as Russian units vacate Eastern cities in preparation for new reinforcements and future strat moves. The US continues to reinforce Pearl and can now influence the tension rolls with sufficient CV and BS in the port. China shuffles a few more communist units into the front line.  Impulse marker advances by 3 – this will be a short turn.

Axis 1st impulse and GERM aligns Bulgaria which upsets the US Senate, and they get a chit (rolled a 3) – why the interest in Bulgaria, we are not sure. Japan aligns Indochina and gives the US Senate another chit – Roosevelt smiles as he does the numbers. GERM takes a land and starts heading towards the Bordeaux region, having captured vast quantities of excellent French Red, they are off. They look like a long ‘snake’ stretched from Paris to Bordeaux as they negotiate the Vichy border. The finest GERM Arm (9.5) is strat moved to Sicily, an important unit for some time in the sun – Egypt or Greece? which, time will tell. Italy takes a naval action and goes conv hunting with their subs, but the bad weather and average search rolls result in not a single find for the Italian, but one Italian sub breaks the surface outside Gibraltar and is promptly sunk by the RN – extra rum ration all-round. The Italian heavy surface ships sail into the E Med to hunt the British CA, but they fail to find. The 2 x CA’s off the Italian Coast patrol the 4 box and search for the British CA, but instead it is the second search off the Italian coast, bold for the British, who finds the old BS Giulio Cesare in the 2 box and damages it with no loss, the Brits not wishing to push their luck too far abort back to Gibraltar. The Japanese oil shortage is hurting, OFOPS as they are forced to take a no-cost land and attempt to GS the Chinese, 1 Div inverted in the South, they keep their powder dry and start to move their Marines to the coast and rail Corps North to counter the Russian build up. The Impulse marker advances by another 3.

Allies 2nd Impulse and the weather gods obviously unimpressed with the CW’s weather dance of joy, cleared the skies of the Med, 2 rolled (3) – bugger, no more dancing. The British take a combined as the CA squadron in the E med has to abort, or they will be massacred by the Axis Nav air. In Canada a Canadian Tpt sails into the Pacific loaded with a handy 7.5 Can MOT Corps, destination Singapore or Suez. On the Suez front line, with clear weather and the Italian Heavy guns in the 4 box the CW land forces step away from the coast, inviting the Italian’s to advance Eastwards. Russia takes a no cost Comb and strats another ARM to the Far-East and shifts several units on the GERM/Russian line – just in case. China moves and reinverts several units in their front line, EOT advances by 2. 

Axis 2nd impulse and GERM aligns Rumania which is ignored by the US Senate. They declare a Naval and sail their subs to be able to rebase later, and Lutjens sallies forth again into the N Sea with his two BC, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to try to emulate last month’s naval success, the raider Atlantis makes a successful break-out of the Atlantic. Disappointment for the Kriegsmarine as all GERM naval searches fail, worse one of the old coastal U Boats found and sunk by the RN with an X and D – with a defence of 9 it rolled a 10, saved the sink but now a 10 in defence with its hull integrity comprised its hull is crushed. Japan takes a no cost (oil) land and fires an Arty as GS and rolls a 1 for its first inversion of the year. Supported by the Yamamato HQ leading the attack against the single inverted MIL  in rain and rolled well enough to exchange it 1/1 and took the hex – Japan can now see the inner plains of central China. More Japanese units head North to Manchuria. Italy takes a combined and sail a conv into the Italian Coast to replace the previously sunk conv now that the escorts are in place. In Egypt the Italians cross the Western tributaries of the Delta and enter the vacated Egyptian coastal hex, one hex closer to the Suez – no attack as the GERM took a Naval.

Allied 3rd impulse and the weather worsens with a 10 rolled. Blizzard in the Temp and Arctic, Snow in the Med. The CW take a combined to step back into the port of Suez before the Italian gets the jump, loaded tpts head to Africa and using CA’s search to find ADML Lutjens BC Squadron but fails to find in the appalling weather. Russia adjusts his line and empties several cities in the Far-east to welcome next turns reinforcements and China is unable to plug the hole that the Japanese has created as the weather stops movement and he prays that he can end the turn so the Chunking MIL that will be arriving can be placed adjacent to the Nationalist Capital. EOT Roll is a 1 – turn ends, the Axis planners are pleased as the init shift goes into the Axis +2 box. Partisan roll is a 1, again no Chinese partisans for the 4th turn in a row – all at home by the fires know doubt, but the Army Liberation Friends of Manchuria turn up – and occupy one of the iron ore mine, they won’t be there long as they are a PART 0.3, not really even armed. The US Senate announces that the CM may now, with their blessing, reinforce the Pacific but that creates some tension (1 chit) in Tokyo and they also announce the lending of resources to Russia which upsets the Reichstag as another chit moves to tension. The US has yet to gear up, but that is looking more now likely with tension rising in both pools.

End of session, with rebase, production and reinforcements and a new turn next week – a good turn for the Allies, the Axis naval elements failed to find any convoys or shipping thanks to the weather and very average rolls, there were no CW losses – much to the relief of the British, Suez is still in supply and Allied hands, and the US has finally achieved tension with a probable Gear Up M/A 1941. The Russian build up on the Manchurian borders continues drawing Japanese from China. GERM is building up in Egypt and it looks like the Suez will be closed, and a very large GERM Column is marching to Spain.