One Sided Miniature Wargaming Discourse: World in Flames via FB

Waiting for the big one... Well, at least a significant sized one.

AUSGAME2021
J/F 1943 EOT AND M/A – ALLIES GET A CLEAR WEATHER JUMP
Axis 3rd impulse, with the atrocious weather as the Axis had rolled a 10+1 (11) - Blizzard everywhere GERM in a surprise move collapses Vichy demanding its build points and consolidating its hold on mainland France and the territories of Tunisia and Algeria – the rest become Free French, including Syria and the remnants of the French fleet join the Allied Navies. GERM takes a combined and orders his U-Boats out to sea to attack the allied convs now that CW escorting CVs are rendered useless in the blizzard. The weather is too rough for the GERM U-Boats to do their work as they do not find, but in the Central Atlantic a wolf pack is surprised by patrolling escorts with a 9-1 split in the Allied favour with both GERM subs being sunk. GERM reorganise his line in Army Gp North to counter the Russian breakthrough and supports the Yugoslav HQ. With acft losses mounting the Finnish Ftrs are rebased from Finland to support Army Gp North. The Italian Subs fail to find in the Arabian Sea and the Italian fleets sails into the E Med to hunt the US CV and its escorts, again no find. Japan does little as he is content for the weather to provide cover to its naval and land forces, it sailed a single cony into the S China See hoping it would not be found, but it was, and another Jap conv is sunk. 

GERM rolls EOT with a 5, which was what was needed, no wasted effort there, the initiative moves into the +2 Allies as the Axis started and finished. The Allies miss out on a third impulse but are happy that coming into the fine weather turns they have a handy +2 and win ties, the Axis less so. The last weather roll of 11 has a +3 on the first M/A weather roll, so a good chance of fine somewhere on the map. The Partisan roll of a 5 and 10, now rolling double dice for 43 and still the Chinese fail to rise up against the Japanese with the only Partisan, a 3.4 turning up in India as the CW rolled a 1 there are now 3 Partisans in India! Churchill complains that the Allies are meant to be the good guys, although revisionist historians are certainly challenging that, especially in India. Rebasing, production and reinforcements – Russia places a LND bomber in the Far East, confident that the Russian Front is mostly stable and two new Katyusha Rocket Divs arrive on that front line to welcome the GERMs. US reinforcements seem destined for Europe, with only a CVL and some CVPs sent to the Pacific. GERM production is significantly bolstered by 17 stored Vichy Build points as it builds a lot of ‘toys’ Arm Divs and Arty Divs. GERMs 6 factor Railway arty and the A/T 3LND Hs129b2 Bomber arrives in East Prussia and are almost within range of the front line – ominous for the East Prussian civilians – but these will help immensely in the defence of the Reich.

M/A 1943 – Clear Weather

GERM and Russia contest the initiative and Russia wins and elects to go first risking the initiative shift if the Allies end the turn. The weather roll is an 8 with a +3 for a surprising 11 - fine everywhere and summer arrives early. The US takes a Naval and Air spending 10 O-points, Russia takes a Land and spends 9 O-Points on a Land Offensive led by Gen Rokossovsky from Archangel as the Russian Finnish campaign is kicked off earlier than expected. The CW takes a combined to support the US Naval/air. China pays for a land as she welcomes the early summer to take up the fight against the beleaguered Japanese land forces. US Naval and the Pacific fleet sails into the China Sea hunting the 5 Jap Conv points (Japan has only xx left) and a sole CA, the slow BS under the cover of 2 x 6 Ftr’s sail into the S China Sea so that they can use their Shore bombardment against the remaining Japanese land units in Malaya and Borneo. Other US naval units escort British sea lanes and escort tpts to Europe. The CA Quincy sails recklessly into the E Med to hunt the Italian Conv point supplying the Italians in Egypt but is surprised by a 9-2 split and fails to survive an X, D and D from Italian NAV Z511 (ship killer) air reacting to the overconfident US commander. In the W Med the British fleet sails into the 2 box under the cover of Allied Ftrs taunting the Axis Mediterranean air forces to come and search. The Axis players happily respond to the challenge and fly the ‘kitchen sink’ led by their 9 factor FW. Luckily for the British CVs and the loaded APMH the Axis do not roll a 1 or a 2, but neither does the British – another anti-climactical roll in the W Med – we have had sooooo many. The Naval phase finished this session and the next will kick off with the Strat/GS and then the land phase of the Allied turn.