World At War Issue #49 provides the basics task organization for German forces deployed in either Bulgaria or Greece. War In The Desert (WITD) contains Turkish units and their initial dispositions.
However, what about allies?
At first, I assumed Germany would call on its Bulgarian allies for significant assistance. In addition, it’s possible that revanchist Greek and pro-fascist Yugoslavian units (Chetniks) might be formed. While the latter would be of little value in the initial attacks, they could provide rear area/security forces.
On second thought, I decided not to use these forces. Supposedly there was a good deal of pro-German sentiment in Turkey due to their close relations before and during World War I. To invade with long standing enemies would eliminate the possibility of any support from the nationalist Turks, much less put them in a security role policing Turkish cities. However, Bulgarian and Greek troops might be useful if massed at the border to tie down Turkish forces.
The Germans would be on their own, with limited ground and air assistance from the Italians, ever eager for a piece of any territorial or resource pie, but already stretched thin in North Africa.
I still have to figure out what assistance the Turks might receive from either the United States and/or Great Britain. I am assuming that the Soviet Union will be too hard pressed by the Wermacht’s summer offensives and need to hold their portion of the Iranian oil fields to provide any help to the Turks.
The next post will cover the Axis forces in detail, plus a thrilling photo of initial Turkish dispositions.
Huge Disclaimer Primarily For Those That Were And Have Probably Been Involved In Flame Wars In Any Form Of Europa List Past, Present And Future……
This is not an attempt at crafting an A Strange Alternate History Scenario……..Just playing with counters and possibilities.
Every time War In The Desert (WITD) comes off the shelf, I’ve looked at all those Turkish counters, and what a waste it is they remain neutral and unplayed.
Information concerning “Gertrude”, the German plan to invade Turkey, seems scarce and vague. Strategy and Tactics published a World At War game a couple of years ago. I bought it, looked it over, and sold it. Too much emphasis on special operations, which seemed strange for an operational game. However, I did note their conjectural divisional/corps Axis force list as a starting point for Europa, as Turkish initial dispositions and reinforcements are in WITD.
Gertrude was considered an unnecessary diversion of resources, given the demands of other theaters. Maybe the operation would have taken place if Hitler pursued a Southern Strategy.
Developing a context for invasion became an interesting thought exercise. Plausibility of each of these factors is, by definition, subject to plenty of debate and/or outright dismissal. However, I had to start somewhere.
During the process, I came to more fully appreciate how strategically important Great Britain’s operations during the Spring and Summer of 1941 were. During this period, Britain quashed the Golden Square’s revolt in Iraq, invaded Syria to remove the collaborationist Vichy forces and, with the Soviet Union, invaded and occupied pro-German Iran. These actions secured Turkey’s southern borders from possible pro-German military activities.
My framework assumes these operations take place, despite the interesting possibilities inherant in an invasion of Turkey involving Vichy, Iraqi and, possibly, Iranian troops.
The framework also assumes an invasion would not have taken place in 1941 after Marita-Merkur or before Operation Barbarossa.
This leaves Spring-Summer of 1942 as a possible time frame for invasion. However, German forces were stretched to the limit for Case Blue, with other assets committed to Rommel in North Africa.
To get around these limiting elements, my framework assumes the Germans pulled back from Moscow in late 1941, avoiding significant losses during the Soviet winter counter-offensive, with greater resources available in the East for 1942’s offensives. Also, that units in France were available for use in Gertrude. Operation Jubilee (Dieppe) did not occur until August.
Fall Gertrude would now be a pincer aimed at meeting Case Blue’s forces in the vicinity of Grozny, securing Turkish mineral resources and the Baku oil fields. The victorious German forces would now threaten British held Syria and, by extension, the Suez Canal.
It’s a start. Accepting these highly arguable assumptions, the next step was to develop a German force list.
The bad news came on Thursday. Tim couldn’t make it to our annual Labor Day Weekend wargaming/college football blow-out. His pup, Crater, was not doing well and putting her in a kennel was out of the question.
Had just finished setting up the maps and sorting the counters for Storm Over Scandanavia’s Campaign for Sweden Scenario. Might as well make the best of it.
This is a hypothetical German attack after the Fall of Fance. The timeframe is July-September 1940.
An infantry affair, with very limited armored resources for both sides. The Germans do have air superiority and a wealth of General Support air assets. This advantage is mitigated by wooded/lake terrain. To make things even more challenging, much of the German commander’s combat power is in the extreme north of Norway, and will have to work its way south, or be railed to a more central position.
The Swedish set-up is mandated by their mobilization region (MR). There are also garrisons in each region. They are immediately activated once Germans enter the area, or activiated during the initial phase if the Germans are adjacent to the region.
All victory point calculations aside, the Germans must take Stockholm. The Swedish deployment has made an amphibious attack (using rail ferries!), implausible. As mentioned, a northern axis of advance will take too much time. So the main effort, using three corps, will be through west-central Sweden with axes of advance channelized by lakes and terrain.
Should be interesting. Here’s a quick photo of the setup.
Real pleasant couple of days in Portland. Hotter than Hell, but we stayed refreshed and hydrated.
Maybe that’s one reason not a lot of gaming took place. Also a perceived need to view a few action films outweighed the desire to push cardboard.
We played “Operation Exporter” from War In The Desert. This is an operational simulation of the Allied invasion of Syria. Not exactly Tim’s cup of tea – low counter density, only a small portion of the map used and….gasp…..no real tanks (only a couple of Vichy light tank units with attack strengths of 1). The Allies will win, it’s just a matter of time. However, the victory point schedule makes time of the essence
Nonetheless, Tim did a great job as Allied Commander. He used his one motorized asset to harass the Vichy flanks and optimized the use of his limited air assets and naval gunfire. He also quickly assembled the two divisions available to him, with their enhanced combat power and zones of control. The regiments and brigades that make up all the Vichy forces cannot be formed into divisions.
I played my part by having a (typical) cavalier approach to victory conditions. While Tim didn’t win on VIPS, he certainly won the game.
I didn’t fare as well when we switched sides.
This is a good little scenario. It’s viewed as excellent starter game as it has all of the Europa food groups, but without the counter density to make the experience overwhelming.
He’ll be out at The Pinecone Lodge around Labor Day for Storm Over Scandanavia’s hypothetical scenarios involving the invasion of Sweden.
After two gratuitous posts, here’s (hopefully) something of substance, and very late getting to the blog.
A couple of weeks ago, Tim and I played Fall Grun, a Europa game covering the proposed German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938. The hypothetical conflict was previously covered by both Command and Strategy and Tactics magazines. In each of our three “games”, Tim had the Czechs.
This iteration is published by New Europa Games, using John Astell’s Blitzkrieg Unleashed rules. Mr. Astell’s involvement with the Europa system goes back to, I think, the inception. The rules closely follow the Europa template, but involve some interesting changes to ZOCs and Overruns.
The New Europa website is apparently dormant, but has been an excellent source for variant counters. Also, a game anticipating a Hungarian-Roumanian war in wake of the Czech conflict is supposedly in the making. That would be fun.
The game components are of high quality, however the lack of comprehensive charts presupposes ownership of other Europa games. The map is vinyl. Apparently this is cheaper to produce than a paper map. The only downside is that the creases are more obstinate than paper, requiring some improvisational and forceful re-shaping
The Germans have their work cut out for them. The Czech’s have a quality army that receives strong infantry and armored reinforcements very early in the game. The German initial deployment is rather “even”, without any real point of main effort. Many German units, especially valuable engineers and artillery regiments, are placed some distance back from the Czech-German border, and require time to assemble or move to contributory locations. There is also the possibility of Soviet intervention of the Czech side, with also a desulatory appearance by the anti-Czech Poles obsessing over three hexes.
The real German strength is their airforce. Many units, well suited to ground support, but with fighter cover that lacks range and (initially) limited airfields close to the Czech border. Also, Astell’s latest rules (early war) allow positive combat modifiers for an armored mix as low as 10 percent of the attacking forces.
After setup, we played the initial two turns. I dutifully went through the Blitzkrieg playbook using the first turn to annilihate the Czech airforce and mass units for border attacks. Tim countered, and my attacks stalled. And, that was that. A learning experience. Reset for Saturday.
Well, Friday was a learning experience, but not a good one for me. Still allocated aircraft to airfield attacks, but this time I had deployed my engineer units to quick construct airfields, or move into positiion close to the border to construct them on Turn Two. I concentrated my attacks to the southeast and southwest of Prague, hoping to isolate Prague from the strong Czech units facing Vienna.
Initial Setup. That Vinyl Map Needed AnchoringGermans Attempt To Isolate PragueLimited Gains
Weather. Why worry about it, right? Never a thought. It’s October…….crisp fall weather. Oh…….then just roll on the weather table for …..MUD. Ugh…..bad, bad amateur move. It stings even three weeks later.
OK, give it one more try. Another set up after dinner. Same bloody result. This time, more aggressive, greater gains. But, again, MUD.
New Game….Same Result….Stalled
No wonder the General Staff was ready for a putsch. Tough army, difficult terrain, limited mechanized advantage, and an untried airforce lacking airfields. And, also, MUD.
I don’t know if Tim is ready for it, but I’d like to switch sides and see what he can do. He’s good, very good. But this is quite a challenge.
Good game in the tradition that is all best about the Europa system. And, given the strange and terrible saga of this system, it’s best to remember the good.
Tim arrived early Friday evening, just in time for the Stanford football game. I had the table set up and ready to go. We agreed to start playing early Saturday morning. Tim took the British (Allies) and I had the Italians (Axis) forces. The plan was an ambitious one. To play the entire scenario, and watch as many of the headline college football games as possible. Oh yes….and consume many Henry’s. This was a job for professionals.
The Italians face some serious operational challenges. They are considered Out of Supply (Status 4) from the beginning of the game. Attack strength is quartered, defense and movement halved, with reduced Zones of Control (ZOC). They have no General Supply sources, and must rely on a limited number of Attack Supply factors to create either General Supply Points, or use for attacks. Italian Colonial troops (which form the bulk of their forces) can have air support only if it involves ten regiments (REs). Air units must role on the Success Table to fly a mission, unless they are in General Supply. If not, they can be aborted, or fail to fly. To top it off, Italian movement is limited until the British enter Italian East Africa.
The British commander has his own problems involving time and space. Time is critical because the Order of Battle (OB) requires two divisions have to be withdrawn by early summer. The distances in the game are significant, and by Spring, the possibility exists that roads and terrain key areas will be reduced to muddy morasses, limiting movement and effecting combat.
Play started at 0830 with Game Day as background ambiance. Here’s a summary of play.
Dec I 1940 – Clear
Allies: South Africans advance from Kenya in the south, with air units destroying a SM-79 I had unwisely deployed at a forward air field. Advances from Khartoum in the north southwards towards Kassala-Bascia-Massaula.
Axis: Consolidate scattered units in the vicinity of Kassala using HQs.
Dec II – Clear
Allies: Continue Kenya advance. Defeat Italian force at Kassala.
Axis: Retreat from Kassala to Bascia.
Jan I 1941 – Clear
Allies: Continue advance from Kenya in the south. Defeat Axis regiments holding vicinity of Bascia in the north, using motorized machine gun battalions to envelope for ZOC kill. Indian 4th Division advances south along coast from Port Saud.
Axis: Counter-attacks and destroys motorized machine gun battalions. Retreats east to mountains near Massaula.
Jan II – Clear
Allies: Advance along coast from Kenya, takes Mogadishu with amphibious assault. In the North, 4th Division continues advance shrugging off (over running) delaying Italian regiments.
Axis: Withdraws southern and eastern forces north towards Addis Ababa. Forms hasty defensive positions around Massaula. Air strike against British airfields unsuccessful.
Feb I – Clear
Allies: Takes Keren (key to breaching mountain defenses outside Massaula) on a half-exchange. Advances towards Addis Ababa.
Axis: Continues to withdraw towards Massaula, but hampered by British ZOCs.
South Africans Advance Towards Addis Ababa (Upper Right).
Feb II – Mud
Allies: Consolidate near Keren. South Africans now slog in mud towards Addis Ababa.
Axis: Establish defense around Massaula, continues to move/consolidate units near Addis Ababa.
British Begin Assault On Massalua Defenders After Capturing Keren. Flipped Italian Units Are Out Of Supply.
At this point , VIPs were tallied, with each side having two (2).
March I – Mud
Allies: Launch assaults on Massaula perimeter defenses. Slog in south continues.
Axis: Now defending Massaula proper.
Final Defensive Perimeter For Massaula
March II – Mud
Allies: Capture Massaula (This will give them one (1) VIP), begin advance southwest towards Addis Abada. South Africans continue slog.
Axis: Forces in Addis Ababa deploy to forward defensive positions awaiting Allied advance.
April I – Mud (At this point Tim became understandably irritated by my uncanny ability to throw sixes. I pointed out to him that this was better for him with a weather role than a combat roll).
Allies and Axis: Same as March II.
At this point play stopped. We were engrossed in the Notre Dame-Texas game, and it appeared that the game would continue for more turns than time remaining to play.
Had a nice talk with Tim last night about our recent Wavell’s War game and, especially, his posted comments.
I had some real second thoughts about the validity of using scrapped unit replacement points to build new headquarters. Big sigh of relief when I checked the rules this morning and confirmed it is OK.
We also talked about the low level of victory point (VIP) totals in the game, especially since they are calculated, for the most part, in January and July, only. This makes the status of Massua absolutely critical. This city is worth three VIPs per initial phase on or after April I/II ’41 for the side that controls the city.
With this in mind, Tim’s analyses of his attack supply and railroad construction challenges are very pertinent to successful Allied play.
I think we agreed to try it again. The when is TBD.
Back from Spring Training. Tim forwarded his observations while I was in Arizona. Here they are:
I like your idea of using your RPs from scrapping units to buy back HQs. Clever!
Having no SMPs in the Sudan really hurts the British. Once I moved forward from my railheads, I couldn’t use my attack supply. My logistics problems were of distributing attack supply, rather than the Italian problem of not having any. It didn’t help that I didn’t know that I only had to build two hexes of rail line. It wasn’t until I read the appendix on transportation lines that I found out that the rest of that rail road connecting the Sudan and Eritrea had been built. Being able to rail supply into Eritrea would have really helped the British.
I was pleased with my use of the motorized SDF battalions. Those guys saved my butt more than once!
I didn’t read the OB as closely as I normally do, which hurt me. I missed the Blen 1 unit in Aden and could have built a light armored battalion several turns sooner than I actually did. I’m embarrassed as I normally carefully read the OBs, which always pays off.
I think I dispersed my forces too much. In retrospect I probably should have used both divisions together in the Sudan and moved some non divisional units down the coast (in my defense, I didn’t realize how bad those ravine hexsides were– they really help the defense). The same applies in the south where I should have stacked some colonial units with the South Africans since I had lots of colonial RPs.
I wonder if I should have taken festung Berbera and then moved into the interior…
That exchange on the South Africans really hurt! That attack came to a halt until I could bring up another division from the coast, which cost me at least a month when I really couldn’t afford it. I had a couple of other exchanges and they all hurt, especially once I had to start withdrawing units.
I didn’t use my amphibious landing ability. I wonder if I should have tried taking some of the ports from the sea or landed next to Massawa…
The weather was a real headache. In most games its pretty predictable but in this one, it wasn’t.
There are a lot of Italian ants. I’m sure from the Italian point of view, it feels like you’re getting wiped out but from the British point of view, it felt like the ants were getting ready to overwhelm the anteaters. Once the Italians can concentrate their units it gets harder to destroy them.
This weekend’s game was an adventure; with unfamiliar rules and daunting operational constraints, not to mention the sheer size of the area of operations. This will be a quick overview. Hopefully Tim will post up. I’ll add some additional observations once I get back into town.
Tim was stalled in the always unpredictable Friday Portland traffic and didn’t arrive until after 1800. We decided to spend the evening familiarizing ourselves with the East Africa specific/pertinent rules (we also decided to forgo all the optional rules as this was our first time through the game) and watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. That was an adventure, too.
While we have been playing Europa for way too long, this game was something different, particularly the use of attack supply, and for the Italians, the need to convert limited attack supply resources to general supply. Without general supply, the Italians, who do not have any general supply sources (only limited ones), had their attack strengths quartered, movement halved, defense halved, and lost all armored effects. Their limited aircraft assets were subject to similar constraints when out of supply. In fact, each mission was a crap shoot. With bad rolls on the success table, the mission never occurred, or worse, the aircraft went into the aborted box. And with only one ARP, that meant it was gone. To make things even better, any use of SMPs reduced the remaining pool of SMPs, with Italian capabilities becoming even more pathetic as the game wore on.
However, the Italians weren’t the only ones handicapped by logistics. Even though the British are in general supply, they have limited attack supply resources and have to move them across East Africa before they can come to grip with the Italians. While the British can assemble divisions, their use is limited as they are withdrawn from use relatively early in the game.
As you can see from the previous post, the area of operations is huge. The impact of size is compounded by the low movement rates of most units. There are very few mechanized units, and those that are in the OB have little combat power. Truck assets are worth their weight in gold. Not only can they increase an infantry’s units movements, but can also take advantage of exploitation movement. Once again, the combat power of a transportable unit (1 RE) is minimal, especially when halved if out of attack supply.
Rail capacity is low, and the amount of trackage limited. Tim will probably expand on this, but neither of us did a very good job of working with what we had.
To make even more fun, there are about 8 weather zones, and any and all of them can go from clear to grind-to-a-halt mud in a single turn.
Given all of these factors, events unfolded slowly.
Play began early Saturday. Tim had the Allies. He used three axis’ of advance. The first was down the Red Sea Coast from Sudan towards the port of Massaua (all spellings are from the maps), the second from Kenya to the southeast to secure the ports of Mogadiscio and Chismaio, with the third northeast from Kenya towards Addis Abbada. The first was aimed at gaining victory points before April II, while the second aimed at denying the Italians victory points as well as possible supplies. The third was to liberate the Ethiopian capital.
Tim made good progress on his first two axes of advance. Chismaio and Mogadiscio fell early, the Italians unable to muster more than a token defense, not helped by my unwillingness to convert a factor of attack supply into general supply. While the attack towards Massaua took more time to develop because Tim took the time to form divisions, by mid-game he was able to exploit a blunder on my part and take the city without loss. At this point, however, a combination of bad weather and sacrificial use of Italian regiments slowed the British.
The next day, Tim continued his attacks, but suffered an Exchange setback outside of Addis Abada. This, along with the need to remove some of his more powerful units for redeployment elsewhere in the Middle East, slowed his momentum and allowed me to cobble together a defensive cordon to stop his new advances towards Addis Abada from the north.
By the May II turn, we decided to devote ourselves to beer drinking and game viewing. Here’s a few photos to illustrate the course of the game. I’ll post up some other observations later.
Early Game: British Advance Towards Chismaio
Early Game: British Advance North
Mid Game: Exploiting Gap, British Take Massaua and Cut Off Italian Perimeter Defense
Mid Game: British Approach Addis AbadaMid Game: Italians Retreat Into SomalilandMid Game: British Advance South From MassauaMid Game: British Threaten Addis AbadaEnd Game: British Somaliland Still Held By Italians
End Game: British Advance Towards Addis Abada From The North
End Game: Italians Defenses Around Addis Abada
End Game: All Cleaned Up. Dogs of War Wonder What’s Next
Set it up last night and this morning. Used stencil tape to keep the small map sheets from shifting around. Had to shim the utility table to get it to match up (kind of) with the dining room table.
Big map, lots of ants. Italians have limited supply sources, which severely effects both offensive and defensive capabilities, and very few steps of attack supply to compensate. Air support for colonial units is also limited.
This will be very interesting.
The TableMap Looking North. Where Are The Ants?Map Looking West
