rkr1958
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Turn 13. Sep/Oct 1941. The Med Front. Allied #1. Operation St. Bernard (OSB).
The Script.
1. Comrade Stalin to Prime Minster Winston Churchill (Most Secret Communication), "Our survival requires that Great Britain immediately open a second front in Europe."
2. PM Churchill to Stalin, "Didn't realize it was so grave, Great Britain will do everything we can to help our new ally against Fascism".
3. PM Churchill to Field Marshall Sir John Dill, Chief of the General Staff. Get our army back on the European Continent as soon as possible. Within the next two months if possible. You have supreme command over all theaters, troops and materials. You have 1 week to let me know your plans.
4. Field Marshall Sir John Dill, Chief of the General Staff, convenes a planning staff that is ordered to work around the clock for the next week and with the mission to develop the plan, logistics and strategy for the British army to reenter Europe through the Med.
Operation St. Bernard.
1. The CW planning staff establishes a code name for the invasion of Europe through the Med. The codename is, "Operation St. Bernard" so named as to the use in rescue work of stranded hikers and skies in mountain passes. 2. This time the rescue mission is attempting to save, and more to the point for Mr. Churchill, keep the Soviet Union in the war against Germany and Italy.
OSB Requirements/Planning Assignment:
1. The minimum acceptable CW invasion force set by Sir John Dill was the British 1st and 2nd inf divisions and the Royal marine corps, fresh out of training.
2. The Royal marine corps was in Liverpool, which housed no sea lift. The 1st inf div was in Plymouth which also include 4/4 transport, 2 Queen Elizabeth BBs but no CAs. The 2nd inf div was in Homs, Libya based with a French 5-mover CA and 4-mover TRS along with the London MIL corps and a Bofers AA div.
3. Sea lift was spread all through the empire: (1) 4/4 TRS in Plymouth, (2) Queens (6/5) in Mombasa Kenyan, (3) NED 3/3 TRS in Calicut, India, (4) 4/3 TRS in Singapore, (5) 4/3 TRS in Malta. Also there was a Harrow ATR air lift group in Tripoli, Libya.
4. Gibraltar included Alexander HQ-I and 1st CAN mot corps and Malta included Wavell HQ-A, Royal Eng div and II inf corps. Monty's HQ-A was recently stood up in Liverpool, England.
5. Given the current disposition and dispersal of not only the invasion corps and divisions but, more importantly, CW sea lift capacitary all senior British commanders in all services agreed that OSB (Operation St. Bernard) was not feasible until Nov/Dec at the earliest (i.e., not feasible this turn, Sep/Oct).
6. However, because of the requirement to brief PM Winston Churchill in a week on the feasibility of making a landing this turn (i.e., by Oct), the assignment to put together a plan of what could be achieved by then was given to a Major Sean O'Conner of the Irish Guards regiment currently on staff assignment at White Hall.
7. The expectation of Major O'Conner's superiors was that O'Conner and his staff of 15 junior officers would produce a plan and support logistics short of the minimum required for an invasion this turn. As such, PM Churchill would have to reluctantly agree to going no sooner than Nov/Dec.
The Plan.
To the amazement of his superiors, Major O'Conner and his group of junior officers produced a plan including support logistics that could achieve an invasion of Italy/Sicily through the Italian Coast, Vichy France in Europe or in North Africa through the West Med on the 3rd allied impulse of the turn (Sep/Oct) given fine weather in the Med (60 - 80% chance) on that impulse. The logistics aren't/weren't simple but for are as follows:
(1) The CW will take a naval, combine, combine for the next 3 allied impulses.
(2) In the first CW naval impulse, the 4/4 TRS in Plymouth moves through Liverpool, embarks the Royal Marine corps and then continues on the Bay of Biscay (as far as it could move).
(3) 6/5 Queens moves from Mombasa, Kenyan to Malta. It would have been logistically easier if it could have made Gibraltar but that was out of range by 1. The Harrow ATR will be used to reorg the Queens.
(4) In Plymouth, a Queen Elizabeth BB embarks the 1st inf div and moves directly to Gibraltar.
(5) NED 3/3 TRS in Calicut, India moves to the 0-box of the East Med and embarks the II inf corps, making room for the Royal Marine corps later in the turn.
(6) 4/3 TRS in Singapore is moved to the Red Sea.
(7) During the second CW impulse (combine), the 4/4 TRS w/Royal Marines in Cape St. Vincent will return to base to Malta, which flips both the TRS and marines. Wavell's HQ-A will be used to reorg the marines.
(8) CW will use 2 of their 3 land moves to move the London MIL out of Homs and a 4.5 in arty div from Tripoli to Homs. Homs now bases the 2nd inf div, aa and arty divisions along with a French CA and TRS.
OPSEC.
1. Pardon the pun but I'm going to go a bit off script here. Or is it on script?
2. Obviously playing this game solo I as the axis know what I'm planning to do as the allies.
3. The way I'm handling this is if I were the allies making this move against another human playing the axis. 4. First I ask myself the question do I think he would likely be surprise?
5. Also, the moves I've made and will make until the actual invasion could support an invasion of Europe through either the Western Med or Italian Coast.
6. So my axis self has to worry about a landing in European Vichy France which means that units providing zoc-locks out of northern Vichy into hexes of occupied France will likely be moved to the Med Coast when it's obvious something might be up.
7. And this something is the return to base of the Royal marines to Malta with an organized Queens.
 Attachment (1)
< Message edited by rkr1958 -- 9/19/2020 10:15:08 PM >
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Ronnie
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RE: By the Numbers: Another Solo Global War AAR - 
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