BATTLE IN VANCOUVER! IT'S ON! Nov. 23-25. Who will survive?

@barnee No! We missed him if course. He had to cancel a few days beforehand.

With continuing Covid 19 restrictions some of us decided to play via Zoom using triple a. Of course this was not as much fun as playing face to face, but the four of us who joined in very much enjoyed the day.

Mark (@Credulous) kindly hosted the Zoom session.

We decided to play Anniversary (1942 set up). Mark played Japan and Adam (@Private-Panic) Germany / Italy. Leo (@Wittmann) took USA & Russia and Andrew (@h0lym0nk) GB. The Allies had a bid of 12 which they placed as a GB destroyer off Canada and a R artillery.

The opening moves on the R front favoured R, as G counter attacks all suffered more casualties than they inflicted. GB attempted its Taranto moment and lost heavily, leaving Italy able to capture Egypt. Japan suffered no mishaps, killing the GB fleet of India, the US flotilla at Pearl Harbour and the Chinese fighter.

GB considered its choice of factory locations and decided to opt for South Africa. Fortunately Hirohito spotted the possibility of capturing this and under Japanese orders the Italian navy navigated the Suez Canal and dropped 2 ground units in south east Africa, and these were able to capture the factory the following turn.

The US landed in north Africa, but then lost its 2 transports, defended by a single destroyer, to a G Luftwaffe attack. The US decided to allocate a considerable proportion of its resources towards an Atlantic navy sufficient to allow further landings in north Africa. These pushed towards Egypt.

This allowed J some freedom in the Pacific. J captured India and built a factory there. Briefly this appeared threatened by US pressure on Egypt and a R threat south from the Caucasus, but the prudent deployment of J fighters to India and Egypt stymied any Allied ambitions. Later Australia also had the honour of joining the J empire!

Meanwhile G managed to keep R in check while also combining with I units to deny the Allies the opportunity of gaining the French national objective. As a result the Axis were gaining most of their national objectives, but the Allies few of theirs. This and the collapse of the British Empire gave the Axis an income advantage of around 30 ipcs per turn.

The Allies surrendered, with a G stack before the walls of Moscow and a growing J threat on Caucasus. The US Pacific fleet had captured a couple of islands (while J replaced the naval fighters it had sent to India) but had no opportunity to effect further advances. The US Atlantic fleet had sailed south to defend Brazil from Italy’s South African fleet, robbing north Africa of reinforcements. Perhaps the only bright point for the Allies was GB’s capture of Norway.

The four of us had a chat and decided that the autumn and winter BoB dates should be arranged with the intention of falling back on a virtual event should Coronavirus continue to preclude face to face play.

I’ve missed the deadline, but wanted to let you know that I’m from the Netherlands as well and we have a nation wide whatsapp group of AA players. Send me a PM if you’re interested.

@Moltke:

New to the forum, name is Will and I’m in the Cambridge/London area of the UK.

Like to play Global/Eur/Pac 40 and 1914.

Ha! Just seen this on the Master Find Players list thread, so that presumably rules Anniversary out too?

Some will say that Anniversary is the best of the variants. Have you tried it? If not come along and be willing to learn it, as well as play 1914.

Credulous has provided the following battle report on the other game:

The 1942 game was contested between Credulous and two non-forum players from the village. The Axis very quickly established themselves as firm favourites for the win wiping out a significant Russian stack in Karelia, and the Siberian army massing on the Japanese border. The Allies never really recovered from these early losses, which were compounded with the early loss of Egypt and India. In a desperate bid to counter the American’s launched an audacious bid to capture Toyko via amphibious landings, but this desperate gambit was quashed and in the following turn a four carrier Japanese battlegroup sailed into home waters to sink the American battleships and cruisers and leave the US Pacific fleet in tatters. Finally the British launched a desperate attack of their own on Berlin having established a temporary beach head in Holland Belgium, but this attack was also quashed leaving nothing to prevent the triumphant Axis armies marching into Berlin. At the close of the game the Axis empire stretched from Normandy to Eastern Siberia, encompassing everything in between and the entirety of Africa, along with Australia. The contest was over by 3.40pm allowing an early get away for all concerned to soak up the sunshine and fine weather!

BATTLE REPORT

Another great day of 1942.2 action!

I think it is fair to say that both games provided lots of drama and - unusually - a clear outcome was achieved in each. Here is a brief battle report, to which others may wish to add their comments and corrections!

We had eight players which were allocated to two games of four players.

Game 1: Credulous, Private Panic, NFP1 and NFP2 (non forum players)

Sides allocated by bid, with PP and NFP1 gaining the allies on a 13 bid.

Lots happened, with the usual US/J fleet dancing in the Pacific, the UK managing to hang on to India and Africa and G wiping out half the Allied Atlantic fleet. But in the end it came down to the Russian front.

Both G &R built up significant stacks with R managing to hang on to over 20 income per turn right to the end. But combined G&J SBRs on Moscow were reducing R buys to 3 or 4 infantry per turn. Allied SBRs on Berlin were less successful.

Nevertheless, with the evening advancing and both sides staring at a draw, we agreed to end the game after the next round of play. Perhaps encouraged by this G risked taking Caucasus with its whole stack. R announced that it would attack that stack if allowed to take its next go. It was agreed that the outcome of that attack and G’s subsequent response would decide the game in a blaze of glory!

The loss of G’s Caucasus stack would leave one G land unit within range of Moscow - an infantry in West Russia. R allocated 1 inf and 1 art to destroy that G inf and attacked Caucasus with everything else.

The result was an epic Stalingrad moment in which R prevailed with 1 art and 3 figs remaining.

However the R inf + art attack on G’s 1 inf in W Russia failed! G then launched that inf supported by 4 fighters and 3 bombers at Moscow which was defended by 4 inf, 3 figs and 2 AA. The AA missed and G took Moscow with the inf and 2 bombers left.

What a way to finish a game!

Game 2: Dukla Passer, wittman, NFP3 & NFP4

Dukla Passer & NFP3 as axis, wittman & NFP4 as allies. No bids.

During the early stages the UK lost INDIA as the price to pay for keeping ‘‘AFRIKA’’.

There followed a big Naval battle off the Philippine Islands between J/US where the J navy was obliterated. Instead of thereafter contesting the Pacific, J invested in land units sweeping west across Asia.

G took Caucasus round 4 with 3 or 4 units remaining, but then reinforced by J with 3 tanks and 4 or 5 planes. R’s attempt to retake this territory lost it so much materiel that G then captured Moscow with one tank left.

At the end the UK and US controlled ATLANTIC and PACIFIC + AFRICA but these had no real impact on the situation in EUROPE/ASIA and the Allies had no prospect of regaining Moscow. Declared an Axis victory.

Two in one year just to get into an April groove for the long run? sounds interesting :)