Barbarossa Turn 40

The epic continues as we roll into the 8th and 9th of September and a dose of mud for the north and southern fronts, but the glittering prize is in the centre.

AGC tries some attacks to the northwest of Moscow.

But the critical attacks are to the south of Moscow.

The interdiction of the Soviet HQs by the Luftwaffe 

can cause serious paralysis in the Soviet forces.

AGS tightening the ring around Kiev.

While also trying to clear a way into the Crimea.

Soviet counterattacks northwest of Moscow.

And to the southwest of Moscow.

Not much is happening in the north.

The Axis thrust towards Moscow is looking a little thin in the flanks.

Trying to provide a complete view of the southern front.

Critical thing has been a second rail bridge repaired over the Dnepr

(top left-hand corner of the second image).

AUSGAME 2024 NEW GAME Part 4

AUSGAME2 2023 – The Weather Finally Clears

MAR/APR 1940 (Cont)

Allied 2nd impulse. CW and France both take Land actions, bombers from the UK escorted by RAF Spitfires GS two frontline stacks of Germans in Antwerp and Brussels. The Luftwaffe elects to stay on the ground as their priority is air war v the French which must be won to help the beleaguered Wehrmacht. Germany relies on the AA gun which drops the 3’s to 2’s & 1’s however extraordinary rolls by the RAF sees all 3 units in Antwerp inverted of triple 2’s – Germany just shakes his head. France also takes a land and disrupts a frontline Corps and Div (2 units) with their 3 Arty hidden in the woods. Allies move forward into the three empty Belgium hexes. China takes a NCL and moves a number of units, whilst Russia relocates another bomber to the Iranian border.

Axis 3rd Impulse, weather roll is a 6, fine in N temp. All three Axis nations take land actions. Germany with its Western Front inverted by ARTY and air GS has only 3 Corps upright so he shuffles (a new military term – defined as moving units left and right, swapping places in time to classical music) and re-inverts four units using his last HQ. An attempted GS against the French point stack sees the continuation of German bad luck as his JU88 is shot down. With a second fine weather rolled and with complete misses on its first mission, the German 5 factor Stuka again attempts another GS v Warsaw needing 5’s moderate success as it inverts a single Corps. Launching a +12.5 assault German rolls sub-average with an 8. Warsaw is finally taken for loss of a div and a half invert - Poland finally falls M/A 1940. In the Med a combined German and Italian attack on Malta is launched using the German para and a Div with a second Italian Div, supported by shore bombardment from the Regia Marina. A +18 assault is launched, a roll of 7 (another sub average roll) still sees a  result against the 1 strength Indian Div – the inverted CA HMS Gloucester is caught in the harbor and scuttled by its crew to avoid capture. Italy advances units to Jerusalem and assaults the city with an auto victory as another CW territory joins Mussolini’s Empire. Italy rebases a NAV and Ftr into Malta.

Japan’s land sees units advance to set up for next turn as both GS and Strat bombing runs fail. Some good news in the air for Japan as the Chinese Airforce is shot down, although at the cost of a pilot and a Japanese Ftr – no more pesky intercepts and the bombers, both Strat and GS will be able to fly without escorts. Patient the Japanese is. No EOT.

Allied 3rd Impulse sees all countries pass except France who attempts to the German stack in Brussels, escorted by a CVP, Germany repays a debt and shoots down the only French DB7 that attempted to GS without an escorting Ftr. Despite the passes no EOT rolled. 3 needed 6 rolled.

Axis 4th Impulse, weather roll is a 10, fine again – everyone is astounded – the German has rolled 3 fine weather impulses in a single turn MORE than the entire game so far! Germany takes a Land and attempts to GS a French INF stack with only a single French Corps being inverted. Even with an AT and a HQ in support for France, a +8.1blitz is launched and finally a  roll of 16 sees the Belgium hex taken, and the Paris and Lyon MIL eliminated, and the AT Gun spiraled. Italy takes a NCC to conserve oil and sails a Conv into the Red Sea to maintain supply. Japan takes a NCL to also conserve oil and prepares for the J/A clear weather campaigning season. The German joy is short lived as Germany rolls a 1 (3 needed) , shifting the initiative to 0 – there were glimmers of hope for the German in this turn, which were quickly extinguished by another early EOT.

Partisan roll was a 9, with no partisans turning up in China again – Japan celebrates giving the Chinese population an extra rice ration. Rebase and production. USE – with the recent additions of 5 chits to the USE pools in one turn, again well against the expected probability, the US Senate wakes up from its winter recess and declares three actions; it embargoes strategic materials, Gives the CW 50 old destroyers and enlists Edward Morrow to report on the English war effort – surprisingly none of these actions create tension – sems no one cares in the diplomatic circle. Japan closes the Burma Road as it attempts to reduce the Chinese build, especially now that Sian has been captured – China is down to the focus will be the Nationalist’s capital as that is the key to unlocking Chinas defeat and reducing its build to less than two BPs + Cadres. It will then be able to reorientate and focus on Russia and the impending war against the Western Allies.

J/A 40 – THE CLOCK IS TICKING – TIK TOK; Germany has to make substantial progress this turn.

Probably the most important initiative roll other than the one that will launch OP BARBAROSSA. It was hotly contested and came at a cost to the Germany. Germany rolled an 8 as did the French which meant initially that the Allies had won the first roll with a tie. Germany desperate for the first fine weather impulse of J/A demanded a re-roll and followed up with a 10 v an Allied 5 – great call – although the initiative now moves to the +1 Allies. Germany and Japan both take land actions, and Italy Naval. Italy sailed subs out to the Bay of Biscay and North Sea hoping to find the British convoys in fine weather and put the BEF OOS, no finds for the Italian subs, but the RN rolled a 2 and aborted one Italian sub ensuring that the BEF gets its tea and jam. Italian fleets sail into the E Med embarking a HQ and 3 x Divs – potential invasion of Greece looms. Two Italian CAs sail from their new port of Suez into the Bay of Bengal searching for the British Convs and again fail – all Italian search fail this turn.

Germany’s land sees it launch a massed GS with 4 LND and 2 x Art ground strikes against the French defenders. Excellent work by the Luftwaffe sees rolls that destroy 2 French Ftrs for no loss, their pilots however parachute to safety on the French line. However solid AA rolls (lowest number was a 3) sees the 2 French HQ’s that were targeted by the GS avoiding disruption. A CW MECH in Antwerp and only a single French Corps are flipped, a very poor result for the Germans GS effort of four acft and two Arty – not the start the German was looking for. A single three hex armored attack on the French point stack which included the French ARM Corps was launched including HQ support from Rundstedt. A +12.6 blitz, with a roll of 9+1 sees a 1B result and most importantly for the German, his units remaining upright. The French 6 INF is destroyed, and the ARM and AT gun are spiraled. French units have now been kicked out of Belgium and the CW units are stretched out in a line along the Northern coastal flank.

Japan’s Comb saw it launch another Strat bombing raid (tenth one) and another 1 rolled – Ten misses, gret for the Chinese production but disappointing for the Japanese. However, the GS were excellent with the Nationalist HQ and MIL in Chunking both inverted as well as two other Corps. Two more units arrive in China and the Japan sets up for several land attacks next impulse.

Summary

This is a key turn for our game, the German has only this turn and the next two turns – none of which are guaranteed to be fine (he is owed some fine weather BIG TIME) to capture Paris before the end of 1940. Germany has had the worst weather of any game we have experienced, he is in a similar position than he was in our last game and will need some long, fine weather with some high combat rolls to take Paris and declare Vichy before the end of 1940. One big issue for the German/Axis now is that the initiative marker as at the +1 Allies as Germany started and ended last turn and demanded a reroll for the J/A start. It will make winning the next turn S/O more of a challenge. The Italian position is strong having captured Malta and taken the Suez and threatening the Indian Ocean, The CW has been distracted with Conv protection and BEF (Heavy) in France. Japan is patiently attriting the Chinese who have been lucky they have not lost production to the persistent Japanese Strategic bombing but equally unlucky with not a single Chinese partisan rolled in the entire go so far – swings and roundabouts. The USE is ominously large, with the only advantage being little tension, but that is early days having lots of chits is always a good thing for the US/Allied Camp and this can translate to a lot of actions being taken by the US and an early gear up and war entry depending on the chits value. This game like the previous is now in the hands of the German and the weather Gods and can go either way.

· Acft – Aircraft

· Conv – Convoys

· EOT – End of Turn

· NCC – No Cost Combined action – no oil used

· OOS – Out of Supply

· Rng - Range

· TOTT – Top of the table a 23 or more

USE – US entry rolls/chits

EOT Casualties M/J 40 - Egypt and Poland Fall

An expensive loss a JU88 and its pilot shot down in France

The Western Front after the first Impulse of J/A 1940

The Eastern Front - Garrisons started to be counted - Rumania getting nervous.

Italy - Malta captured and in Italian hands

HMS Gloucester scuttle in Malta

Egypt and Palestine now added to the new Roman Empire.

Italy looks East and sorties to the Indian Ocean under cover of Monsoonal storms.

Japan patiently consumes China AND not a single Partisan roll

French first losses - importantly for the French both pilots survived, otherwise that round would have been very costly.

Early Achaemenid Persians versus Huns

This is a repeat of the game from two weeks ago, but we swapped armies.

The Persians might have been out scouted, but they had the luck of terrain 

with their flanks protected by woods.

The Persians immediately get down to business.

The Huns are now down two units with nothing to show for it.

Another Hun unit has been wrecked,

and while they might have broken through on the Persian left,

their own left is in immediate danger.

The Huns concede defeat.

Early German Cavalry

These figures were destined for the scrap heap when I decided to rescue them. Ten figures do fine for an Impetus based cavalry unit.  While rather ordinary figures (with big ears) I am pleased how they have turned out.

The brand was unknown, but thanks to the Facebook Ancient and Medieval Wargame group they have been identified as Donnington.

Europe in Turmoil 2 - Game Over

After our trial game last week Richard and I settled in to play through to conclusion.  It helped that I had also read the rules.

The Great Depression had barely started when the Left Wing forces powered ahead thanks to (almost) dominance in France.  Automatic victory occurs if either player gets to 20 VP and the LW overachieved with 21.

Prior to playing the France scoring card I had a lucky advance on the USSR rearmament track 

which provide a critical two VPs.

Not many events had occurred in the four and a bit turns we played.

Correction this is just the event record which are prerequisites,

there were plenty of other events.

Apart from a few extremists (the little blue cubes)

the RW had no support in France which produced a big score

for the Left Wing.

And now from the other side...

World News Herald

23^rd January 2023

Lies,

Damned Lies and

COMMUNIST LIES!

Lenin Proclaiming a French Soviet!

Europe in Turmoil II News from our correspondent at the table’s edge

In a "victory" as short in duration as the Paris Commune of 1871, reports of a second French Revolution and the establishment of a new reign of terror under the auspices of Comrade Marque d'Okay (formerly le Comte d'Okay) have been widely discredited.  “Peas, Lamb and Croissants” he promised in a gastronomical spin on  revolutionary materials supplied by Moscow. (Although to be fair, he did deliver on the last point!)

It is understood that a tabulation error has resulted in votes being awarded for “control” of France rather than “domination”. (French Catholics Battleground space was not controlled by the Left Wing player. Control requires ALL Battleground spaces to be controlled).

In typical leftist fashion, a result was declared using fraudulently obtained votes, as shown in the following scene:

Speaking from his home in the Balet Jura, right wing candidate Richard d’Comptable, revealed that “This is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated in our country’s history” and vowed to never accept the decision and to “Make Europe Great Again”.

Europe in Turmoil II

Long awaited sequel to Europe in Turmoil. this game has the same mechanics but covers the inter war period (for younger readers that is the 1920s and 1930s).

Just a trial run at this stage (as I was actually expecting to continue Barbarossa) but Richard had this all set up ready to play.  I had also spent many hours getting the rules printed which had caused no end of problems due to the file size. 

I was the Left Wing player (red counters) and Richard the Right Wing (blue).  Takes a bit getting used to as you seem to be moderates and not sure what the extremists in each faction will do.  It will help when I've read the rules and prepared for our next game.

 

AUSGAME 2024 NEW GAME Part 3

AUSGAME1 2024 – The Weather Pain Continues, Could it get any worse YES IT CAN AND DID!

MAR/APR 1940

The US now with Senate approval lends 4 oil to the CW (to be stored in Canada), France lends 1 x BP to Britain and a resource to China. Germany wins the initiative roll with an 8, just as the Allies rolled an 8 as well, but with a +1 they get to go first. The Allies wait for the weather roll and the resumption of hostile actions by Germany – they should not have been concerned.

Axis 1st Impulse. Weather – Germany rolls the important weather roll, anything above a 3 for fine in the Temp. Germany’s curse continues with him rolling a 1! – STORM again!, That is now 4 times in a row rolling a storm and with it any chance of Germany recovering lost ground. Germany, Italy and Japan take Naval actions. Germany sends out its U-boats and CX and three subs attack the 10 Convoys that are unescorted in the Faroes Gap – and rolls a 10!, he then rolls 3 other search attempts all above 7 – the dice Gods are looking after the British Convs – again. Italy sails into the E and W Med with loaded Tpts and a DIV, a 3 Arty arrives in Port Said. A search by the long Rng NAV in the Red Sea find the British Z Force, but again the Brits roll a low number matching the German 2 and a polite air battle ensues with both acft aborting – with guaranteed fine next impulse and little reason to stay, Force Z aborts the Red Sea giving the Italians at least a morale and a PR win.

Allied 1st Impulse CW takes a Naval and sends out massed escorts to the Faroes Gap and cover their convoys. The German fails his search again with another 8, luckily the RN escorts also fail to find as well. France takes a Comb sending 2 x CA’s to the top box of Cape St Vincent and adjusting his front line and importantly dispersing his Ftrs to cover the French front line. Russia prepares for operations against Iran/Persia. China noting that it is a guaranteed fine weather for the next impulse takes a land and abandons Sian, leaving a single MIL as a rear guard and establishes a double stacked line in the mountains.

Axis 2nd Impulse Now with a +2 to the weather roll (auto fine in the Temp) the German rolls a 9 (11) for weather -FINE - and take a very late DOW on Belgium, the US Senate are disturbed by this and gain a chit. All three Axis nations take land actions, German flies their best Stuka (5) factor to invert the defenders of Warsaw and rolls high 8’s and 9s against all defenders, no inversions – at +11 he declines an attack, and Warsaw survives its first fine weather of 1940. GS against French triple stacks, and the German bad luck continues – on ‘evens’ his best 6 factor Ftr is shot down and pilot captured, the French AA abort 3 ground attack factors and the rest of the Luftwaffe end up inverting single French units in three targeted stacks – probably not enough to stop the French crossing the border and forming another defensive line in Belgium. German units assaults Brussels taking the capital but in another piece of bad luck against Antwerp he rolls a 4 on a +17 attack and is half inverted – Nothing is going well for the German. The Amph and Tpt in the Baltic reinvert the Stuka to be readied to fly against Warsaw again – weather permitting!

Italy, on the other hand stomps across the desert to Cairo and assaults the capital on a +12.5, rolling 13 for a TOTT result taking it with little effort, Egypt falls to the Italian’s – Mussolini sends a telex to Hitler sharing the joy. Japan assaults the lone defender of Sian and takes the city, but again undisciplined troops and foreign reporters find the US Senate disturbed and the US gain another chit. This has meant the US has gained four chits out of four for the last four Axis triggers – helping the Allied/US War effort immensely. Strat bombing by Japan continues to be a waste of oil as they roll another 1. EOT advances 1.

Next session, Allies 2nd impulse for M/A will see France and probably CW take land actions to occupy the buffer zone gaining a valuable full hex line in Belgium, on the French border. Russia may DOW v Iran but not in a hurry, may defer another turn. BUT the big roll will be Germany’s 3rd impulse roll and an above 3 is needed to keep this game alive, another 1 (Storm) will certainly drive another nail in a game which has seen the worst weather ever for Germany in our WIF recorded history or our living memory. The stats tell the sad story – an average of only 3 impulses each turn, 15 weather rolls; 3 x Fine, 1 x rain, 5 x Snow, 2 x Blizzard and 4 x Storm.

We will look forward to next week's game with more than a degree of trepidation – well the Axis players will, the Allies could potentially celebrate having been delivered another win by the dice of the Weather Gods.

· Acft – Aircraft

· Conv – Convoys

· EOT – End of Turn

· NCC – No Cost Combined action – no oil used

· OOS – Out of Supply

· Rng - Range

· TOTT – Top of the table a 23 or more

USE – US entry rolls/chits

The European Front little movement - atrocious weather will do that.

France, Belgium conquered in the first fine weather impulse in 13 turns!

French and British impulse next session will see them take up the defensive line in Belgium - imposing delay on the already time poor German plans.

Italy - on the up, with Wavel and the rest of the British Army in France, Italian seize the opportunity. liberating Cairo and freeing Egypt from Colonial rule - cough, cough.

German Paras - sick to death of no flying time in the storms and blizzards of northern Europe 

are railed South for the warmer weather.

The Italians now own the Red Sea 

and gate way to the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean

 - the CW is nervous.

China - slow but solid progress - Sian falls +1 resource for Japan -1 resource for China double bonus AND no Chinese partisans.

Casualties - Luftwaffe supremacy challenged by the elite French Airforce.

USE - getting fat and happy - they have received 5 chits in the last two turns. The Axis have failed their last 4 rolls in a row. Rosevelt is smiling in the White House and Churchill welcomes an approving US Senate.

AUSGAME 2024 NEW GAME Part 2

 AUSGAME2 2023 – The Weather Pain Continues – No Fine Weather for Germany

JAN/FEB 1940 (Cont)

Allied 2ndimpulse, Germany’s fine weather hopes collapse as the Allies roll another 10 for weather - snow in N temp. The CW declare a Naval and commence the Norwegian mining option, a roll is a 5 dropping to a 4 for a good result. The US Senate fails to appreciate this act of blatant aggression – no US Chit loss. The CW sail escorts to their convs and search for the German Raider Kormoran and find her rolling a 1 after the Kormoran rolled a 1 to find the Convs! The Kormoran barely escapes the surprise of being found and is damaged, aborting back to Germany for repairs. The French, Russian and Chinese all take a NCC as bad weather is their best friend, and they need to do little.

EOT advances by 3.

Axis 3rd impulse. Weather roll and yep, another Storm – weather roll is a 7 but is modified to 10. This is effectively the sixth 10 or more for weather in only 9 rolls (discounting the starting weather set up) signaling the worst winter/weather on record. Germany takes a no cost Land to conserve oil. Italy takes a Naval and searches for the convoy in the Red Sea and finds it and its escort HMS Terror with a handy 9 – 2 split, the Terror is sunk, but the Italian joy is short lived as the search for CW convoys outside Gibraltar sees a 10-1 split in the CW favour sinking an Italian Sub and damaging the other. Japan conserves oil and takes NCC. Germany trips up again and rolls the EOT, which drops the initiative to +1 Axis. Again, the bad weather costs the German the 3 Swedish Resources – 2 BPs lost to the German production – more effective than Strat Bombing.

A Partisan turns up outside Hanoi as the French in Indochina oppress the locals, None for China as the Japanese ‘Hearts and Minds’ program seems to be working in placating the populace. RTB and production. US declare the loan of resources to China, failing the roll they move a chit to tension.

MAR/APR 1940 - More Weather Pain – No Fine Weather for Germany

Axis win the initiative and elect to go first with the hope of rolling high – they have done so all through N/D and J/F. With a +3 on the die roll they have a better than average roll of rolling Fine or Rain in the Temperate to get their plans in Europe back on track. But again, the dice Gods intervene and deliver a 3 +3 (6) for another STORM in the Temp – the German player cannot believe his bad luck.

Axis 1st Impulse, With no prospects of LAND OPS Germany takes a Naval, with Italy and Japan taking Comb actions. German sends its U-Boats and Raider hunting convoys but again roll without any success – enticingly just missing out by 1 on a ‘find’ in several sea areas. Supporting their ally they fly the LR Nav to the Red Sea and also sail their Tpts into the Baltic for later use to reinvert units. Italy’s Comb sees it advance and assault Alexandria. On a +14, rolling TOTT they capture the city and its major port, with no British reserves available the Italian will close the Suez. In the East and with fine weather in the N Monsoon, Japan takes a xx and attempts to GS the defenders of Kweiyang, the Chinese Airforce intervenes and aborts one bomber after being cleared through by a bounce combat – 1 bomber GS 1 Corps, the Japanese defer the city assault. EOT advances by 3!.

Allied 1st Impulse, The CW declare a Naval and sends out its escorts to protect its convoys, holding its Tpts in reserve to support and reinforce Belgium if the weather clears. Force Z sails into the Red Sea, 2 x old CVs and 4 x SCS it will deter the Italian CA in Asmara from interfering, no search by either side. The French take a land to reinforce their front line with the arrival of the 1stFrench ARMD Corps and AT Guns. Russia and China take no cost actions. The Russian build up for their invasion of Iran/Persia is now complete. EOT advances by 3.

Axis 2nd impulse. Weather - players in both camps hold their breath, Germany’s curse continues with him rolling a 4 – STORM again! silence in the room. Germany takes a no cost land to conserve oil and attacks the lone Polish 4.3 Inf on the outskirts of Warsaw, desultory success as the Polish Capital is now surrounded but remains in Allied hands. Italy and Japan take Combined actions. Italy advances towards Cairo and crosses and closes the Suez Canal to Allied shipping. The US Senate is appalled at this event and gains a chit. An Italian Div invades the mines in Cyprus, despite the rain, capturing them intact. With Fine weather in the N Monsoon, Japan takes a Comb and attempts to GS the defenders of Kweiyang again – it’s raining bombs, they GS a second Corps – its on. The Japanese attack on a +12 and despite Chiang HQ flipping to shift a -1, roll 14 (TOTT) and take the city. The Japanese success in capturing the city of Kweiyang is dulled as the Japanese commit atrocities and gift another chit to the US – two out of two failed USE rolls this turn will help the USE out immensely. EOT advances by 3 – Allies can now roll EOT on a 2! A probable two impulse turn so far and all in storm in the Temp Zone – Germany shakes his head!

Summary – A very disappointingly turn for the German (not for the Allies), the Axis weather has been even worse than the previous game – was that even possible? apparently yes. Despite misplaced optimism that the weather Gods would end up smiling on the Axis in 1940 and deliver 1 or 2 fine or rain impulses in 1940, the German hopes and prayers have been dashed by the dice. With no fine or rain and only Storms, for J/F and M/A, Warsaw remains in Allied hands, Belgium has yet to be invaded and France continues to build unhindered its AA, AT and Airforce - all of which creates more than a challenge when eventually the weather breaks and Germany attacks.

Worse, unless the weather clears in the next Axis impulse the M/J invasion of France will be delayed as Belgium will need to be taken before the German can cross the border soaking up at least one if not two impulses of the M/J turn – and there is NO guarantee that M/J will be a fine weather tun as any roll of 3 or less will result in bad weather and further delays. The German has only had two fine and one rain weather impulses in the game so far, and that includes the mandated 1st impulse of S/O 39 – 9 storm, snow and blizzard impulses out of 12 Impulses!

There is a slim hope that the Allies won’t end their current impulse on the 2, and that the German can then roll fine weather – DOW Belgium and clear Warsaw and then end the M/A turn, AND then win the M/J initiative (two rolls) as well as NOT rolling less than 3 in M/J to be able to hit the French line, in France rather than Belgium. This would be extremely unlikely as, the current trajectory of this game, despite the successes by the Italian (Egypt) and the Japanese in China, is not tracking well for the German’s conquest of France by end of 1940.

This game and the German prospects like our previous game will hang on the next three turns, M/A, M/J and J/A of 1940 for victory in France - fingers crossed we have some fine weather.

· ACFT – Aircraft

· Conv – Convoys

· EOT – End of Turn

· OOS – Out of Supply

· Rng - Range

· TOTT – Top of the table a 23 or more

USE – US entry rolls/chits

STORM says it all

Warsaw still in Allied hands M/A 1940

The Italians drive East and close the Suez - slamming the Med's back door closed.

Italy eyes off warmer climes and the unescorted convoys.

Success for the Japanese as another city falls and roads are built.

Minor casualties - Storms will do that.