Slitherine

October 25, 1940. RAF Hits German U-boats. RN Clashes with Italian Subs in the Med. Yugoslavia Invaded. USSR Gearing Up for War?

November 23, 1940. U-boat Attacks Up. RN Defeat in East Med.

I lost my 3rd BB squadron. So in total the RN lost 3 BBs and 1 DD squadron. I currently have 2 DDs in the build queue. With the lose of the BB squadron in the Med this drops the UK below the minimum naval presence required. This means the Malta supply rule is no longer in effect and Egypt becomes neutral, meaning I cannot use it as a base from which to attack.

The 4th BB squadron should reach Gibraltar next turn and restore this minimum and reinstate the Malta supply rule and Egypt's belligerence.

December 4, 1940. German U-boat Attacks Continue. RAF Recon Locates Kreigsmarine. Bergen Falls. Axis Advance into Egypt. RN 4th Squadron on Station at Gibraltar. RN Deploys New DD Squadron.

December 24, 1940. Alexandria Falls! UK Counterattacks. Destroy Italian Corps. U-boat Attacks Continue. UK Ship Building Yards Work Overtime. RAF Recon Axis Positions Near Rotterdam.

January 13, 1941. Disaster in Egypt! Two Corps Lost! 8th Army in Retreat! RAF Recon Base Attacked by German Fighters. German Surface Raiders Join U-boats to Attack Convoys.

The UK BB based at Famagusta was evacuated from the east Med. This drops the UK below the naval minimum and means the Malta Supply Rule is no longer in effect. The CV attacked the Italian transport and is now considered out of port.

Joe just keeps rolling. My early war Allied Strategy has not worked very well at all! I will have to conduct a fighting retreat. I need to delay Joe long enough in the Med for Iraq to enter while I still have my quality units left (i.e., fighter, armor, motorized). The CV is positioned to evacuate when needed.

February 2, 1941. Disaster in Egypt! Two More Corps Lost! Retreat Continues. Convoy Attacks Continue. UK Shipyards Work Around the Clock.

I just happened to notice that the Axis overexpended their supply allotment by .5 points - if you include the Italian Motorized - something that I remember a recent opponent doing (by accident) in a recent game.

ncali wrote:I just happened to notice that the Axis overexpended their supply allotment by .5 points - if you include the Italian Motorized - something that I remember a recent opponent doing (by accident) in a recent game.

And we know how well that worked out.

BJRmod version 2.0 will have all the house rules in version 1.5 hardcoded. So there won't be any house rules to worry about following. The CEaW game engine will take care of everything for you. We are very close to having that in place and should begin beta testing next week.

I think my playing strength lies in Beta testing ... because it certainly doesn't lie in regular playing because I'm getting my butt kick as the Allies in this game and you kicked it in the the last game I finished. I was the Axis.

February 22, 1941. Cairo Falls. Remnants of 8th Army Retreat to Jerusalem. Port Said Declared Open City. Royal Navy Evacuates East Med. Fortress Gibraltar. Convoy Attacks Threaten Britain's Lifeline.

The UK achieved strategic operations level 1 and all three fighter units were upgraded to from level 4 to 5. The CV at Cairo escaped through the Suez Canal before Joe captures it next turn.

March 14, 1941. 8th Army Tank Corps Destroyed. 8th Army Counterattacks Destroys Italian Infantry Crops. PM Pressures Iraq to Enter War. Attacks on Convoys Continue. Canada Joins Allies.

Joe destroyed my tank corps. The UK motorized corps counterattacked the Italian corps northeast of Jerusalem and destroyed it. That was lucky for me as this allowed me to move the nearby garrison to Jerusalem. This will give me a critical another turn in my retreat. The only supply source I will have available until Iraq enters will be Beirut.

The lost of Port Said closed down the West African Transport loop, which means I'll have to travel the "long" way out of the Med.

I'm tempted to reinforce Iraq, which should enter in the next two or three turns, but I'm afraid of a trap. I know it's low probability but I don't want to lose England doing something stupid.

The only good news about what's happening in the Med is that the bomber and fighters that Joe's committed there won't be available for Barbarossa.

April 3, 1941. 8th Army Doomed. General Alexander Recalled to UK. UK Invests in War Technology.

At least I'm able to save Alexander. However; it will take him 7-turns to work his way back to the force pool.

April 23, 1941. Remnants of 8th Army Flee Beirut. Iraq Pressured to Join Allies. Iraq Remains Neutral. RAF Looking for Tech Upgrade to Compete with Luftwaffe

May 13, 1941. RAF Mauled. RAF Withdraws. Convoy Attacked. Iraq Remains Neutral.
The Luftwaffe fighters are level 7 and my RAF fighters are level 5. Even though grounded, they were within 9 hexes of the level 7 German fighters. Joe attacked my RAF bases directly and inflicted 8-steps of loss to 3-steps of his own loss. I withdrew the RAF so my fighter units get replacement pilots and (most importantly) more training. It was my mistake to keep them with 9 hexes of his fighters but I didn't this a 7 to 5 tech level would results in a 3 to 8 steps loss ratio. Oh well ... they're out of harms way now. That mental lapse (tactical error) just cost me (i.e., the UK), 48 PPs in repair costs!

My retreat in the east Med (not shown) continues. Iraq, whose expected entry date was this turn, DID not enter. Joe has a German infantry corps on transport next to Beirut and will land there next turn. That means the remaining infantry corps and fighter unit will be out of supply next turn. However; Iraq will enter at the end of my next turn.

I got an ASW 2 tech upgrade and upgraded all RN DDs and BBs except the one at sea next to Gibraltar.

The RN will get back into action when Barbarossa is launched, which I expect any time now. Also, one of the two UK BB's in the build queue will be available next turn for deployment.

June 2, 1941. Open City of Beirut Falls. Remnants of 8th Army Isolated! Iraq Joins Allies. UK Carrier Force Finally Makes it Around Horn of Africa. RAF Trains New Pilots. New Fighter Technology Promised. German U-boats and Kriegsmarine Continues Attack on Convoy.

I forgot to put the u-boats on the map but they were from bottom left to top (UF-2, UF-3 and Sub).

Iraq finally entered! The DAK armor corps is withing striking distance of one of the infantry corps in Iraq. I've really misplayed the Med but UK has (apparently) survived. Joe's attack on Russia should come shortly. I'm hoping for an early winter!

One of the newly built UK BB flotillas deployed this turn. The second is two turns away. After that and tech upgrades the RN is going to get in the war. Enough of letting the Axis control the seas. Lord Nelson much be rolling over in his grave!

I will get a air dogfight upgrade next turn. The RAF will also get back into the war. It's time to build up my strategic bomber force and go sub hunting.

To take pressure off of Russia I'm planning for an early Torch. I've got to take the fight back to Joe in North Africa. The East Med looks grim and the Iraqi oil fields. However; he's got to have spend 100 to 150 Oil points to have conducted his east Med operation over a passive approach. I'm probably overestimating that but I'm looking for any silver lining in the east Med disaster.

June 22, 1941. Axis Push Into Palestine (Iraq)! Commonwealth Forces Continue Their Retreat. Middle East Oil Fields Undefended. U-boats Attack British Carrier Off West Coast of Africa. Malta Based Fighters Attack Italian Transports.

No Barbarossa this turn. I upgraded the UK CV and BBs in England and at Gibraltar. The poor UK CV can't catch a break. It ran into a hidden u-boat flotilla on its way to Gibraltar. I'm sure Joe was spying on me to send what reinforcements I might be sending to Iraq. I'm afraid the forces remaining in Iraq are on their on. My objective there is to hold at as long as possible to keep him tied up there.

I haven't decided yet but I may try to launch an early Torch and only go after Casablanca. I'd like to get the Free French forces activated and take whatever pressure off of Russia I can.

July 12, 1941. Germany Invade Russia. Russians Retreat. Zhukov Named Overall Commander. Axis Spring Trap. CV Sunk Squadron Sunk and BB Flotilla Trapped. Middle Eastern Oil Fields Abandoned. Convoy Attacks Continue.

I saw at work that Joe has posted to his AAR. That meant his turn would be waiting for me when I got home and that he had a good turn. Though I don't read his AAR I know when he updates it this quickly that it's bad news for me and this turn was bad news all the way around. I have to be concerned that he would push towards the Russian oil fields in the Caucasus from the south through Persian. He has neutralized the UK, sunk my fleeing CV and will sink another BB. Also, the Italian navy has left the Med and will join the Germans in the Atlantic.

In Russia if necessary I will abandoned the north and even Moscow to defend the south and the Caucasus. Also, I will need the US to build BBs and DDs to counter the Axis navy in the Atlantic. I also need to build strategic and tactical bombers to provide coverage.

The second UK BB build deployed this turn. Next turn the entire Royal Navy will sortie and his orders to seek out and destroy the Axis surface fleet. It's time to bring the war to the Axis and this is the first step!

August 1, 1941. Operation Mountain Thunder Launched! Russia Invades Persia! Russians Elsewhere Retreat to Prepared Positions. Royal Navy Sorties.

I was dying a slow death from a thousand paper cuts. UK is on the verge of losing all of the Middle East and the Axis navy is roaming the seas at will. I decided now was the time to "roll the dice" and go for broke. If I go down, which I probably will, I'm going down fighting and having some fun!

Last turn I forgot to cut off the traded oil from Russia to Germany. That's automatically taken care of in v2.00 and I just overlook this. This turn I did turn the oil off. Also, I moved infantry, air and armor units to and around Baku for invading Persian. I decided to do this after yesterday's turn so I had to recall units that I was shipping north. Also, I deployed Zhukov nearby so he'll lead the invasion.

August 21, 1941. Royal Navy Sinks Italian (DD) Surface Fleet. USSR and UK Push Into Persia. Alexander Back in Charge of 8th Army. RAF in England Get Technology Upgrades (Close Air Support Level 2). Malta Fighter Attacks Italian Transport. Russian Front: Russians Continue to Fall Back.

September 10, 1941. Operation Mountain Thunder Pushes On. Baghdad Falls. Will Our Boys in North Africa Be Saved? The Red Airforce Bombs Captured Oil Facilities. Red Airforce Clashes with Luftwaffe. Russians Units Continue to Operate Behind German Lines. Royal Navy Forces Kreigsmarine and Axis Navies to Switch Tactics.

British Naval Intelligence intercepted and decoded the following German communications:

Joe's email wrote:Sub attacks resume on convoys as the combined Axis Navy decides not to engage the RN at this time. The Italian DD was probably my most useless ship anyway.

The Admiralty is encouraged by this; however, they're mindful of a trap seeing to their mistakes and loss of ships this war.

In Persia I plan to send a strong Russia force racing towards Baghdad to; hopefully, force Joe to protect his gains in Palestine. I also need to establish supply to the two infantry corps ready to invaded close to Tehran. This force combined with two overland infantry corps supported by the Red Airforce should do the trick.

I think "Operation Mountain Thunder" is a very good counter strategy to a strong Axis incursion into Iraq. I wish I had planned this before hand. I would have been less aggressive with the Brits trying to save more forces and better prepared with the Russians to march in when Barbarossa began.

Why do most people use the picture unit icons rather than nato symbols? Sometimes I have trouble distinguishing different planes and ships from each other, but the nato symbols really make everything a lot easier to look at.