One Sided Miniature Wargaming Discourse: Don't Mention The War

M/J 1943 – The Axis win the Initiative but the Allies get the Great Spring Weather.

The Axis rolled a 9 against the Russian’s roll of 2, the Allies demanded a re-roll and the US aiming to improve on Stalin’s rolling skills, rolled another 2, the German, similarly consistent rolled another 9 and wins the initiative of this important guaranteed clear weather turn for 1943. Axis go first, weather is an 8 – fine everywhere.

Axis 1ST Impulse– Surprisingly Germany takes a combined and launches its submarines, mixed success, despite multiple finds some escorts find as well as 9 CW Convoys were damaged and 6 aborted for the cost of two subs sunk. Germany attempts to GS two Russian stacks and promptly get both bombers shot down, no inversions for the German, worse his arty fail to invert any Russian units as well. Germany with limited land moves adjusts its line to reinforce the most likely hexes of Russian interest and rebase multiple acft forward, including allocating Ftrs to protect the valuable Oil Fields now that German Oil supplies have become critical. Italy’s NCC sees it fly a Ftr into the 2 box off the Italian Coast to protect any reacting NAVs – lesson learned from last months near miss when his unescorted NAV survived a +4 A2A roll against RAF Ftrs operating form Malta. Japan takes a naval and abort its Convoys, in the South and China Seas leaving a single convoy in each sea area – this manoeuvre is to limit losses from early speculative US Sub attacks and the loss of multiple Convoys on any large split. Japan escorts both sea areas, and the Sea of Japan with both air and naval units which are sent into the higher boxes as the IJN await the US players response. Naval units are rebased to Island groups where the US is threatening.

Allied 1st Impulse – US calls a ‘Super Combined’ with the CW a Naval and the Russian a land. The CW Sub off the Coast of Italy finds and sinks the Sardinian Convoy. In the West the US sails a Mar Div into Tallinn as a combined force of 15 Tpts and Amphs all loaded with US and CW ARM, INF and MARs sail into both the Baltic and North Seas. During the GS phase a bomber from the CV Indominable gets lucky successfully bombs the Helsinki Mil despite the Finnish air force intercepting. During the land phase the US Marine in Talinin advances across the Baltic strait into the hex adjacent to Helsinki, securing the bridgehead as the US lands the HQ Eisenhower and a 9.5 ARM and declare an attack against Helsinki, despite intervention from the Finnish bomber a TOT roll on a 14+ sees Helsinki captured, and the Finish are now OOS and are out of the war – a huge coupe for the Allies and especially the Russian. In the Pacific the US flies into the S China Sea and finds the Japanese – despite having a +4 advantage in the air they lose both their lead 7 Ftr, a NAV and a sub as the Japanese roll a 19 a 20 on the A2A table. The Japanese losses are minimal with a damaged LCV and a single Convoy – the Japanese were very, very lucky. One Conv in the Sea of Japan is found and puts the S China Sea OOS. US units are landed in the recently capture NEI islands as more US acft are rebased forward.

Russia speculatively GS the city of Kirov Rog and in a surprise to all, gets both defending German Corps inverted and declares an assault at +6.7 – rolling above average they almost take the city with a 19. They are not too unhappy as the 2/2 loss hurts the Germans more than the Russians – I can see a contemporary theme here. The inverted Russians are reinverted by a rear HQ as the desperate defenders call for reinforcements. Russia rails three more garrison units to the Far-East as the build-up on the Sino-Russo front continues.

Axis 2nd Impulse – Weather roll is a 10 – fine weather everywhere. To save precious oil, German takes a no cost land, Japan a Combined and Italy a NCC. Germany on the defensive, rails units and reinforces its frontline, the last German unit in Greece boards a train to the Eastern Front. Italy also rails a unit to Greece and rebases several Ftrs to the West and central Germany to release German Ftrs to the eastern Front. Japan’s combined sees them reinforce the S China and China Seas with fleets and acft to deter US interference.

Allied 2nd Impulse– US takes a Combined, the CW and Russian land actions, with the Russian sensing the time is right, he declares 9 O-Points to activate General Rokossovsky who is given a second, and possible last chance to redeem his poor performance of last month. The Russian launch a blitz attack across the Dnipro as they test the resolve of the German defenders. The Russian air force GS are again successful inverting two Corps. The attack is launched at 9.8 Blitz, but again the unfriendly dice Gods give Stalin a very Average 10 for a 19 (1/S) and half invert. Although no German units are destroyed, they take the hex, and the German units return to the spiral – another hole to fill as they upgrade a 10 ARM GBA and together with the 12 GBA ARM, both advance across the Dnipro – this will be a tough hex to take back, especially when the Luftwaffe flew 5 bombers in defensive air support to the hex. In the West more bad news for the Axis as the Second Front is finally launched off the French coast in the sunny weather of spring. The Brest peninsular is assaulted by a combination of Paras, Marines and Inf landing on three coastal hexes – Operation Overlord has been launched a year early much to the delight of Stalin and deep concern to Heer Hitler. The Luftwaffe, on Goring’s insistence fly three long rng bombers to each of the contested hexes – the bomber crews see this as a suicide mission as there are no escorting German ftrs and desperate times call for desperate actions as the three bombers attempt to change each defending hex from a defence of 2 to a 4. The RAF scramble Ftrs to intercept and as expected on +4 A2A combat rolls shoot down 2 bombers but clear through 1. Supported by 7 British BS in the North Sea all three assaults are TOT and the initial Overlord landings are successful, no losses and all upright – a relief for the Allies who thank the Axis for the excellent weather rolls.

In the Pacific, the US port strike the redeployed Japanese BS and Tpts adjacent to the Bismarck Sea – a massed CVP battle is fought, and luck is with the US as they even the ledger, destroying two Japanese CVPs, including a 6 range 7 CVP, sink a Tpt and damage a BS. The US is pleased as more land based air are redeployed forward as another island of the Philippines is recaptured by US marines.

Axis 3rd Impulse– Weather roll is a 9 – another fine weather everywhere roll. Germany and Italy will have to take land actions to contain/limit the Allied landings on the Brest peninsular. Japan will also need to consider when they send out their convoys or risk an EOT roll without resources coming into Japan. An interesting M/J turn that has stretched the Axis almost to breaking point, and like the boy and the dike there are a lot of holes to potentially plug and not enough units to do it with effectively. Unlike the 1942 M/A the weather has been fine everywhere which has been a huge bonus to the Allies who are now wielding their combat power and inflicting wounds on the Axis menace, will they be fatal, or will it be a death from a thousand cuts – time and dice rolls will tell.

· TOTT – Top of the table a 23 or more

· LOC – Line of Communications

· NCC - No Cost Combined – no oil used

· USE - US Entry