RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (Full Version)

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 11:51:03 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: cfinch

italian navy get surprise on 9-1 split... make sense after all they surrendered!


Shades of the Battle of New Orleans there alright.

"And the Italian navy's most successful battle happened one month after the treaty had been signed...".



EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:29:09 PM)

Sep/Oct 1943, Impulse #7, Allied go

CW/US have to take a naval action finally, unusually I've been putting it off. The Italian success is just a blip really, also there's a lot of BBs to support in Italy to get into position.

The rest land of course.

Feels weird doing convoy patrol duty so late in a turn. The Commonwealth Armada fills up Italian Coast, supply is restored.

Of more interest is prehaps the armada in the North Sea...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:32:23 PM)

Fair bit of activity in the Coral Sea too but this is a bit less daring, just moving up Aussies to garrison and engineers to fix Rabaul's port.

The Solomons is only defended by LBA atm but quite a bit of it. The Japanese will have to ponder getting if getting their Jill out of Guadalcanal is worth it I guess.

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:35:35 PM)

American subs raiding the Bismarck Sea run into Japanese BB patrols there...

End result is everybody aborts, the US suffers a damaged sub too.

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:39:38 PM)

Despite masses of Allied naval power, the Italian's post-surrender luck continues...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:43:46 PM)

Zara/Fiume sink the AMPH carrying two divisions. [X(]

And then escape.

And then this...

... kinda... ridiculous.

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:46:12 PM)

Some Indian paratroopers go to Davy Jones' locker... [X(]



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:51:00 PM)

Then finally the Allied armada runs into them.

There's only a scattering of CVs and I decide that the Allies basically want the bug stepped on, so they dont actually go for a naval air combat, but a high damage (to both sides) surface combat instead. the Allies mainly use their points to increase the damage and smash the Italians back into port for a while.

Not... exactly as lucky as it could be.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:52:27 PM)

But an old light cruiser being beaten like a drum is no price to pay at all for the Commonwealth, who have plenty of those.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:56:18 PM)

Then the naval action shifts to the Pacific where US submarines off Japan do quite horrible damage, given the samll size of the Japanese merchant marine...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 12:59:57 PM)

The Japanese have their revenge though... that was suicide, i shouldn't have done that. With just 4 surprise points I chose a submarine combat, which meant being pummelled by ASW, I should've just avoided and the SUB would live to fight another turn.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 1:05:40 PM)

The new Shturmoviks work on the German armour that's trying to mass in the tank country at the southern end of the front...

A BF109 defender is brushed away by the PE-3 escort, and then the Germans won't be attacking any time soon after all. Indeed the front is balanced so delicately here it might be that a Russian assault is now possible.




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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 1:06:46 PM)

The Il-2s are pretty decent!

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 1:14:35 PM)

Looks like the odds are still poor for attacks, though, so aside from breaking up the German potential assaults that was it. Stalemate resumes.

In China Chiang tries to bomb the Japanese inthe north, but antiaircraft guns do a pretty good job stoppin that, so stalemate in China too.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 1:39:32 PM)

The Japanese discover that the question is moot, they have no spare transport capacity. They can't even fix that hole in their convoy network t his turn. So all the Axis take a land action. Japan needs to get some more convoy points online... even the lacklustre US sub campaign is bad enough to hurt.

The Luftwaffe has plenty of units but not many targets, with the Russians all behind the Dnieper. Japan bombs the defenders of Wuhan with a Helen and flips a cavalry there.

Hata then takes Wuhan, so it was worth the oil after all. Odds were reasonable, and a decent roll. But Wuhan has flipped a few times. Maybe now with the Philippines and Malaya dealt with China can be more permanently pushed back, but it seems like China is a war that's supposed to never end.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 1:43:00 PM)

As the Russians move extra units to the backwater near Novgorod, the Germans finally decide to do likewise, and move a lot of air power into the area. The Dnieper is quite a hard target now the Soviet airforce fights back. Also notice the armoured stack railed into Riga.

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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 3:38:37 PM)

Oh wow and on a 2 the turn ends suddenly, and all those invasion fleets decide to go home.

So much for D-Day.

A 4-2 partisan in Yugoslavia... these Yugo partisans are serious business.

Japan reorgs its entire fleet. The Commonwealth actually misses a few as they had EVERYTHING out last turn. And then onto builds...

Germany has 47 BPs
2 pilot
4 FTR-2
1 LND-3
1 MNT
2 MNT-div
2 MECH-div
1 CAV
1 field arty
3 SUB (gearing, may as well)
1 naval construction (gearing, may as well)

Italy has 7 BPs, thanks to hoovering up the far north with their CAV.
1 naval repair
1 sub
1 TERR
1 fort
they basically have no units now, so had almost no choice.

Japan has 14 BPs
2 convoy
1 naval repair
1 sub repair
2 pilots
fighter-3
3 carrier air-1

bit thin on ground units but never mind...

China has 10 BPs
1 MIL as its Chungking and its in the right spot
1 PARA as they do have an ATR...
INF-div and a CAV-div

CW has 35 BPs
2 naval repair. They have a LOT of cruisers banged up. And some TRNs
4 pilot
3 FTR-3, lets get these Mossies out!
1 MOT
1 MECH
1 field art
1 CAV-div


US has 56
2 naval construction, they'll arrive at the very end but... I guess may as well?
3 naval repair, Commonwealth stuff mostly. Unfortunately got the CLs not the TRNs.
1 SUB construction
4 pilots
1 FTR-3
2 LND-4
2 FTR-2
1 MAR
1 MAR-div
1 Offensive


SU has 28
2 INF
2 field arty 6
2 FTR-2
1 LND-2
2 pilots

Rabaul just got repaired, so now the USN can breathe down the IJN's throat.




EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 4:39:02 PM)

Well, the weather is bad. But the Allies have the initiative.

I notice the Philippines is nice and clear in winter. I really shouldn't have waited until summer for Japan...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 5:29:58 PM)

In that weather it looks like it's gonna be quiet. And no doubt the U-Boats will prowl.

So... naval actions from the sea powers, land from the rest.

A Dauntless, a 2 Beauforts and P38 fly to the Bismarck Sea from Rabaul, probably a bit dangerous but Japan will have to fly a lot more air cover now if they want to keep using Truk.

They don't bother anywhere else as its storms across most sea zones.

There's basically 3 major Allied fleet build ups, the North Sea t he big one, the Coral Sea and the Italian Coast. The North Sea has a huge invasion fleet, though with only 3 old CW BBs to support.

4 INF
1 MAR (CW)
1 MAR-div (CW)
2 ARM
2 ARM-HQ
1 INF-HQ
1 MOT-div
1 INF-div
1 antitank

Plus XVIII Para at Plymouth.


In Italian Coast are basically all the KGV battleships + heavy escort for supply + 2 CVs. Montgomery and two CW MOT are aboard, I'm trying to keep the Italian effort CW boots on the ground for ease of organisation. 1 Canadian armour is at Cape St Vincent atm but will land at the end of the turn in Italy or near by it, so the Italian campaign is still very much a thing.

In the Pacific the US has designs on Guadalcanal just to mop up, and Kwajalein because it's a very useful spot. Currently the only significant US fleet is deployed at the Coral Sea. However I'm trying my raider tactic to box in the IJN again by surrounding them with cruisers, this time with some air support. the 2 box in Bismarck Sea has Nashville and Brooklyn, 2 navs and 2 fighters. the Solomons 3 box has Augusta and Northampton,with two P38s and a Helldiver and a B17 adjacent for emergencies at the moment. CL Phoenix is in the 4 box of the Marianas, with a Catalina and a Hudson nearby.


Lexington 2 / Langley is at Pearl Harbour ready to go, and Lexington 1 is at the West Coast having just loaded up, so along with Nimitz there's a reserve albeit a slow one of two big CVs + Langley.


As for the Japanese right now, Japan only has Hiryu / Kaga / Chiyoda / Zuiho / Chitose at Truk with decent air groups. Shoho and Zuikaku at Japan, Akagi empty at Japan, and Ryujo and Soryu at Canton which is sort of the counter to any Commonwealth incursions. Plenty of LBA but only of use as far as the Solomons at a push.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 5:39:00 PM)

American subs dont find anything but there's an odd little cruiser action in the Bismarck Sea... So basically the US bloodlessly clears out the convoy.

Japan put a NAV and a Zero in the 0 box so why waste fighters. The US may be a lot bigger economically but shipping aircraft from the US that far is a PITA... and the raiders succeeded in being a pain in the ass, which is all their job is really.





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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 5:41:13 PM)

The US linger but hpoe for no combat. That's not what happens...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 5:46:14 PM)

The US loses their old fighter and then basically mutual clearance happens.

Naval combat is so... utterly random.

So the Coral Sea could be attacked without being hampered, potentially, by the IJN is the upshot.


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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 8:04:22 PM)

Nov/Dec 43, impulse #4

Japan does a naval. They can finally, as 1944 knocks, really ponder the defence!

Usual convoy patrols.

So, amphibious reaction forces...

MAR + TRN go to Saipan in readiness.
Imperial Guard + TRN go to Truk in readiness. Truk has Yamamoto.
CL Jintsu + Kumano wait at Legaspi with two infantry divisions.
Bismarck Sea currently has an AMPH, an INF and a MAR-div. If they survive the turn they will base up somewhere nearby. Sorong, maybe.

Navy stuff
Zuikaku moves from Japan to Bismarck Sea, ultimately to be based in Truk permanently with the others.
Haruna/Yamato to the Solomons, which is currently storms, to hunt US cruisers.
Haguro/Kitakami to the Marianas, ditto.
TRN moves a GARR from Japan to China Sea, going to China.

So, we should have a solid counter force ready to roll, amphibious and naval, and the IJN sent out some counter-raiders for now.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 8:17:44 PM)

No naval combat, unsurprisingly really.

Given the storms there's not a whole lot Germany can do in the east. However they can't just ignore this yuge fleet in the North Sea, so they reluctantly pull a lot of stuff from the Eastern Front in readiness. Some ground units spread out to cover the coast facing the North Sea, and also a bunch of bombers move from the eastern front to counter any invasions.

The Commonwealth/US kinda scrimped on fighters so right now at least air superiority would almost certainly be German, so I'm not sure there's sufficient support for a trouble-free landing...



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 9:47:23 PM)

Nov/Dec 1943, Impulse #7, Allies go

Bad weather makes me take land everywhere, there's some minor stuff to do, and naval combat seems very much optional for the Allies right now.

Chiang tries to bomb Hata in Wuhan as it looks like not much else is gonna stop him bar supply problems, the snow saves him though. A B17 from Majuro bombs Kwajalein again, and misses, again.

Monty and two MOTs unload at Italy, a Canadian ARM unloads at Gibraltar (and is disrupted for some reason).

And an American invasion of the hex next to Kwajalein happens with a +21 as its cut off from supply. An ENG unloads at Brisbane, the one that fixed Rabaul. It may as well fix Brisbane too.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 9:54:02 PM)

Impulse #9, Axis go.

Bad weather limits options so Germany goes for a naval, the rest go for land.

Germany's Uboat fleet is pretty big now. But is mostly at Kiel as the damaged ones add up. There's one of those weird fights you don't want with 3 surprise points, where a German SUB in the 4 box kills itself in exchange for one convoy.

And then... the money shot happens.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 9:55:34 PM)

Allied ASW is quite good though, especially in Faeroes Gap.

Still, that'll blow a big hole in the CW's budget for a turn.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 9:58:10 PM)

And on the second round...

Subs seem very worth it for Germany, its not the economic cost so much as the actions, but on these bad weather days suddenly you can make the CW's life miserable.



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EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 10:01:53 PM)

Current CW production went from 22 to 12 after that... the biggest sub beatdown of the war, easily.

No air to scramble to the 0 box didn't help, but it was basically just luck, and more subs than usual I think.

The subs in the North Atlantic didn't find anything though.



EUBanana -> RE: Solitaire game starting late '42 (8/8/2021 10:25:47 PM)

Impulse 11, ALlied go.

Fair weather!

They just have to go for it, sub damage be damned.

All the Allies do a land action aside from the CW who does combined, and China does an air (?).

Another carpet bombing attempt on the MNT's in Italy, as that does seem like the best way to deal with them - but the Allied rolls are again, terrible. All that money spent on strategic bombers and they can't seem to roll above a 4.

At least they made Italy surrender being so scary.





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