Europa Games and Military History

Month: March 2014 (Page 1 of 2)

Loyalist Oct II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

The French border is closed on a roll of 3.  Supply remains an issue for the Insurgency.  In the south, btw the Aragon and Teruel fronts 2 hexes remain OOS, with 2 units U-1 red.  North of Madrid, some 5 hexes are OOS, with 3 units U-2 black and 3 U-1 red.  The 13L Art III in the salient & 30 Inf III to its NW rear are supplied by GSPs cartaged in by the 5th Cav last turn.  On the Loyalist side, only one hex btw the Teruel and Gaudalajara fronts is OOS at U-1 black.  The LV An X begins pacifying Cuenca, finally clearing out remnant supporters of the cavalry raid a month or two ago.  There is no production or reinforcement scheduled for this turn, but lots of replacements.  The 5GC Sec III is replaced at Madrid, then converting to the 1 GA Sec X.  The 4th Eng III, 13th Inf III, 4th MG II, 1L & 2L Art III’s are all also replaced at Madrid.  Southwest of Madrid, in the rough hills of 3113, the 2nd Cons X quick constructs a fort using conscripted labor from camps in and around Madrid.  Naval mechanics in Barcelona finally get their act together and repair LC-2 from its damaged state (1 rolled finally.)  No naval patrol, harassment or CAPs.

Movement Phase

Very little happens at sea.  In the north, the LtTF moves to Bilbao, while NT-3 shifts to Gijon, picks up a resource pt, and moves it to Bilbao.  Mud has cancelled any ideas of Loyalist offensives in the NW Teruel to Aragon fronts.  Other than a single supply-two-step, every unit along the line remains in place, satisfied with current dispositions.  Along the Guadalajara front and NW Teruel fronts, the units that had participated in the offensives of early Oct are stripped from the area, leaving a weak front, including a gap at 2906 in the lines.  As the Insurgent line is equally weak, albeit with one XX about to join the line with perhaps another to form up and join, presumably the Loyalists are satisfied to go back on the defensive here.  A weak line is held north of Madrid as well, with a few units joining while others depart.  The mass of troops, nearly all the Loyalist offensive power, masses against the new Insurgent salient at 2713, adjoining Toledo.  Clearly the Loyalist government sees the recent Nationalist offensive as an existential threat, as both of the ‘striking’ corps from last turn move to this area, including the whole of the Mtn XXX and the other XXX of II’s, supported by Eng & Inf units already in the area.  Eighteen AS of troops, in some 12.5 RE’s form up in an arc from 2612 around to 2813, the majority in 2712.  Obviously the Loyalists intend to launch a counter-offensive to straighten up their lines at the least.  Southwest of Toledo, the Loyalist bulge remains much the same, with the line running from Toledo to 2814, thence SW to the Guadiana, SE down to the headwaters of that river, then east to 3114 and then SW into the woods near Tomelloso. There the line runs roughly SW to the sea, with just one minor shift.  3514 is given up as untenable, surrounded on 4 sides.  The line running from SW of Tomelloso to the sea is 1 to 3 pts in DS, usually 1 or 2, with one 3 pt hex in the woods at 3412, and a few ½ pt hexes in mtn areas.  To the rear, in addition to the 3 pts of rail cap used to move units into position for attacks or to fill in holes near Tomelloso, 1 AS is railed from Tarragona to Madrid and 1 res pt is railed from Murcia to Albacete.  1 SMP moves an AS into Valencia from NE of the city, while 4 more SMPs move an AS from Manresa in Cataluna to the front line along the Aragon-Cataluna border.  This appears to be nothing more than prepositioning however, as no attacks in this area appear likely.  At the end of mov’t, the N.52 flies a CAP over 2713.

Combat Phase

Only one attack appears likely or planned, so the Insurgent AF flies the Bre19 on DAS over 2713, escorted by the CR32bis unit due to the N52 CAP.  Surprisingly, the N.52 switches to intercept and attempts to bypass the CR32… an average roll of 7 by the CR32 sees the N.52’s returned.  The Loyalist Bre19 then flies GS, just getting the odds to 3:1 +1 (10 RE’s attack, all provided supply, with 3 RE’s neutral and 1.5 RE’s in AECA capable units for a 1/7th ratio.)  A poor morale roll could see the odds drop to 2:1 +1.  In the actual event, the PA’s morale holds (thanks to no doubt to armored support), but their tactics leave a lot to be desired as they launch a series of frontal assaults, that, while ultimately successful, are highly wasteful of their men’s lives (4 rolled for morale for no effect, 1 rolled for an EX.)  The Nationalists lose 2 MG II’s, the 28th Inf III and the heavy 2 P Art III, while the PA’s AAC armored car unit, 1st and 2nd Mtn II, 1st Bicycle II and 4th MG II all die.

Exploitation Phase

No naval mov’t of significance, other than TF’s prepping for NGS at Gijon and Bilbao.  As all c/m units were in combat, no ground exploit occurs either.  The Vild bombs the airbase at Almeria, missing with a 2

Insurgent Oct II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

In weather, a 4 is rolled for the ground conditions, which remain mud in the north (D) and clear in the south (E).  A 3 is rolled for the Atlantic, leaving it clear, but in a bit of a surprise, the Med wx rolls a 6 and the Med goes rough.  North of Madrid, 4 hexes remain OOS, with 3 units now U-2 black and 2 U-1 red.  PA units remain isolated in the north, while 1 hex/unit NW of Teruel is U-1 black.  Now that U status is starting to bite a bit, 2 GSPs are generated each at Zaragoza and Valladolid.
Santander and Euzkadi garrison forces are in place (I like to check in my ini phase too.)  Pacification is complete in Almeria, which will go into production on Dec II 36.  Clearing out leftist terrorists is finished in Don Benito as well, clearing the secondary line leading Don-Benito-Puertollano for supply traffic.  The Cadiz X begins pacifying Martos, the 2 Cord X Ubeda, the 2 GC Sec III Velez-Malaga, and the 31st Inf III Tineo.  Van Inf XX starts pacifying Puertollano, but it is expected this will be abandoned as offensive ops are considered.  13 GC Sec III, the only unit that advanced into San Sebastian begins routing out Basques that will surely somebody become the leaders of the ELA.
No reinforcement or production occurs, and only minimal replacement.  The 5th Cav III is rebuilt at Vallodolid, and the 4th Lar Col at Ceuta, both units having been destroyed in the area btw the Gaudalajara and Teruel fronts in the last Loyalist turn.  Meanwhile, 2 entrenchments are completed along the Aragon front by 1 Cas and Cac Inf XX’s.  No air activities occur by either side.

Movement Phase

NT-1 and 2 open the turn’s movements.  The each load a Col Inf III at Ceuta and Larache, and carry it to Cadiz.  Both return to Larache, pick up another III each, and head to Sevilla, dropping the second 2 III’s there.  Nationalist naval HQ decides now is the time to make a run to the Balearics, given the rough weather in the Med.  Therefore, NT-4 at Larache moves to 2511, where the BBTF & CATF at Ceuta move as well, as does the group of CTV subs off Cartagena.  The surface units form 1 group and the subs a second, and all proceed collectively to Palma, past the PA cruisers and sub in Cartagena.  Because sub combat comes before surface combat, the 6 pts of CTV subs are ensured first shot against any sortie by the 3 pts of Loyalist CL’s, before they could attempt anything against the 4 pts of Nat surface combatants, or the NT.  Not surprisingly, the Loyalists let this massive (for FWTBT) fleet pass by unmolested.  The combined fleet makes Palma, loads up the elite 36th Inf III (supported), and then runs by Cartagena to Almeria.  Again no response from the Loyalist fleet.  The III is offloaded at Almeria, and then the combined fleet heads back to Ceuta, unmolested.
On the Aragon front, all units remain static, except for the supply two-step which begins in the area btw the Aragon and Teruel fronts, circa 17:3632 & 23:3401.  In the Teruel area, 1st Soria XX moves into the line NE of Teruel, allowing the 10 L Art III to shift from that spot to the area just east of the town.  5th Mtn II moves from east of the town into the town itself, bring defense in town to 3, while east is 2 pts and NW is 3.  Further north, 1st Zar X moves into the mountains at 3104 now that 1stSoria is protecting the town’s rear, allowing 24th Inf to advance NW and extend the line towards the Guadalajara front, currently weakened by the loss of 2 units last turn.  There, Leon and Vald Fal X’s stand gamely in front of the PA Mtn XXX, waiting for the Hue Inf XX to make it into the line, it having admin’d forward to 2705, just behind these units at 2706 and 2606.  2 LE Inf III moves to San Sebastian and then takes high volume rail to Calatayud, where it offloads and hoofs it overland towards this front, sloggin through the mud thanks to a previous lucky airstrike against 2703, west of Calatayud.  It will form the basis for a new XX next turn (which I could have formed this turn, but that would have cost me rail cap getting the unit into the Guadalajara front.  Hopefully the mud here will encourage the Mtn XXX to move along (along with my attacks planned elsewhere!)
North of Madrid, a lot of logistical mov’ts occur.  At either end of the 4 hex long OOS zone, units two step back and forth to keep the ends no worse than U-1.  That won’t work for the 2 center hexes, or the artillery in 2510, the salient in the mtns which is the western end of the OOS zone.  The artillery needs to stay in the mtns should the wx shift.  First, the Mxd T at Zaragoza tries to airdrop GSPs in.  Two are dropped at 2309, outside any possible intercept or patrol zone.  Rolls are poor though and both points are scattered in the mud (50/50 shot of success for each.)  5th Cav, rebuilt at Valladolid, then cartages overland 2 GSPs to 2309.  The arty and one unit in the center will have supply, while the other goes without for the next two checks.
NW of Madrid things remain stable, but to the west of Madrid (SE of Talavera), the Insurgents launch a small offensive.  1 P Art III, ZMO Eng, & O & E MG II’s rail in from the San Sebastian area, having been released from northern operations, to 2613.  From there, they can assault 2713, defended by a sec & art III.  Following, an attack will strike at 2714 with zoc encirclement against a hex with naught but 2 eng III’s.  With luck, an arty and 3 units with replacement limitations will all die.  For the second assault, 1 LE Inf III and the CTV’s Ter Art III & Bab Lt Arm II rail in from the San Sebastian area, reaching 2614.  With these new units in the line, each of the units to the SW shifts one hex to the SW, extending the line to the Guadiana’s east bank.  Units on the west bank all shift 1 hex SE so that the line in western Castille la Nueva is fully joined.  In the Valdepenas front, Van XX abandons the pacification of Puertollano, leaving that to some Falangists for next turn.  It moves up to Ciudad Real, abandoned by the PA without a fight, from which point it can put full zoc’s on a greater number of enemy units.
Next, the mov’ts for an assault on Valdepenas itself and its flank are made.  An elite force of colonial infantry and cavalry III’s, Nat Lt Inf & Eng, supported with artillery assemble to assault the town from the northwest and west.  Once the town is seized, a secondary attack to its southwest will commence, with a smaller number of colonial inf, and Nat infantry, sec, bdr & Lt Inf leading the way, supported by the 2 E art III.  Within the western jump off point for the assault on Valdepenas, the ZME Eng III builds a temp airfield as well, which should provide an excellent location from which to control the immediate airspace.  The field is occupied by the CTV’s Ricci Lt AA II as well, for some point defense.  Other pos flak admins toward the field, but doesn’t quite make it.
South of this, the line is strengthened a bit.  With the addition of the elite 36th Inf III to Almeria, the 4 L Artillery in the city can move up and through Gaudix for the main fronts, as Almeria will remain at a 2 DS, sufficient to dissuade an Loyalist attempts to retake the city for the time being.  This allows some minor shifting to allow a Nat unit and a Fal X to garrison each pass facing Lorca, while single units take on the defense of the mountains and the area just north of Almeria itself.  To the rear in Andalucia, a X of Fal move to Ubeda for pacification duties, a III of Col Inf, Sec & Cons from the Canaries, admin/cartages an AS from Sevilla forward, with the Inf & Sec moving on when the Cons runs out of mps.  The AS pt is then within reach of projected attacks.  6 SMPs move another AS pt forward to Linares, sufficient to supply the northern attack on the Valdepenas front.  Further in the rear, 4 SMPs move an AS from Huelva to Sevilla (a pt was imported there when port capacity was an issue in an earlier turn, but Huelva’s access to the rest of Spain is via low volume rail, so moving it via rail would be prohibitively expensive.)  Finally, the 2 col Inf III’s landed at Cadiz are admin’d up to Sevilla for next turn’s cartaging efforts, while the 2 III’s landed at Sevilla simply admin forward (I considered cartaging for them as well, but then decided against as they only had 4 mps remaining, and cartaging would have cost them 2 more, so the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.)  At the end of the turn, the Italian CR32bis unit CAPs hex 2713, 30 miles west of Madrid, which should suffice to keep DAS away.
On the northern front, nearly all units remain in place… those in Euzkadi that weren’t railed away this turn following last turn’s assault on San Sebastian reform a 2 to 3 pt line along the 19xx row, which elbows northwest at sector 1902.  In northern Estramadura, the 7th Cav continues its tour of out of the way places, gaining ownership of a number of unowned hexes which completes the take-over of that province.  It ends the turn heading towards the Talavera front, still some 60 miles away.

Combat Phase

Two pairs of attacks are planned in the south, aligned to take advantage of possible DR zoc kill opportunities. Loyalists fly DAS to 2714, the weaker stack in the 1st pair of attacks, and 3514, the weaker in the 2nd pair, using the Bre19’s and Vild’s respectively.  The Nat AF counters with Bre19’s flying to 2714 and the Mxd B float planes flying to 3514 (the Bre19 staging through the new temp field; the Mxd B not actually increasing the odds, but modifying the potential for a militia failure on the PA side.)
The first two attacks, west of Madrid, are a smashing success.  At 2713, a 4:1 +0 attack (full AS, 4 rolled for PA morale for no effect) rolls a 6 for a DE and obliterates the defending 5 GC Sec & 1 L Art III.   The following attack at 2714 is similarly successful (4:1, +1, full AS, 6 for PA morale, no effect, 6 rolled for a DE), eliminating the PA’s 3rd and 4th Eng III’s.  Things don’t go quite so smoothly around Valdepenas, though success is achieved.  At Valdepenas (3413), the 5:1 even attack gets off to a poor start (nearly full AS, 3 rolled for PA morale, no effect) when a 1 is rolled, resulting in an HX.  Still, this is an acceptable cost, since the enemy units didn’t retreat away, as was possible.  Another 2 pts of PA infantry type units die, as does a second arty III, albeit at the cost of the 2 O Col Cav III.  Perhaps the poor showing by the attackers at Valdepenas carries over, as the attackers at 3514 do worse.  The 3:1 even attack fails to impress the PA defenders (nearly full AS provided, 6 rolled for PA morale, so again no effect), and the PA stand their ground despite being so heavily outnumbered (1 rolled for AS… would have been an EX at 4:1, had PA morale buckled.)  Still, after combat advances, there’s a 5 pt stack 16 miles from Madrid at 2713 and adjacent to Toledo, with a 3 hex wide hole in the Loyalist lines west of Madrid.  In the south, even with the AS at 3514, there’s a 2 hex gap in the line and the hex so well-defended this turn will almost assuredly be given up regardless in the Loyalist mov’t phase.  Still, killing another pt of PA artillery would have been very useful.  The CR32 and Bre19’s return to the new temp airfield at 3414, just west of Valdepenas, while the Mxd B returns to Malaga.  All PA a/c return to their starting bases (Madrid & Cartagena).

Exploitation Phase

NT 1 & 4 return from Sevilla to Ceuta, where they join NT-2 in loading an AS pt.  They carry this point from Morocco’s ‘as start’ forces to Sevilla, replenish in the city, enjoying some leave, and then return back to Ceuta.  The BBTF & CATF replenish and then wait out the turn.  The Italian subs replenish, enjoy some wine, and then head back out on patrol near Cartagena, following the coastal and night route to prevent any sort of reaction by the PA’s CL’s in the port.  No ground mov’t occurs, and given all a/c have flown, no air missions are launched either.

 

Loyalist Oct I 36 player turn

Initial Phase

With a roll of 4, the border with France remains closed.  On the loyalist side, all PA units in the northern Gobernitos remain in supply but isolated.  On the Insurgent side, 4 hexes north and northeast of Madrid remain out of supply, and will be so for the foreseeable future.  Additionally, 2 hexes east of Teruel, and one northwest of that city are out of supply… All units in these hexes are no worse than U-1.
All border guards are in position, and purification is completed at Manresa and Tortosa, bringing all parts of Cataluna to heel under the PA’s boot.
It’s a massive reinforcement and replacement turn for the Loyalists.  The 1 V Inf X shows up at Madrid, while their first International X shows up, the Germans of the 11th Thalmann X, at Albacete.  Two X’s of Anarchists set to arrive in Andalucia are delayed (probably indefinitely), but 4 more do show up at Murcia, Valencia and Tarragona.  A pos AA pt is imported in at Bilbao, while 1 AS each arrives at the quays of Gijon, Tarragona and Cast. de la Plana.  Artillery tubes arrive as well, 1.5 RPs worth in Bilbao for the isolated north, and another 3.5 at Barcelona for the general pool.  Also arriving in Barcelona are various small tanks from the USSR, 2 RPs worth.  Santander releases a X of Inf for frontline service, while the Basques release 2 such X’s, plus a Cons X as well.  A X of Inf and one of Cons troops arrives in Gijon.  Two Sanander Inf X’s form up behind the lines in Santander (into the garrison box), while 4 such X’s are formed up in Euzkadi.  One Arty pt arrives in France, but gets held up by uncooperative French customs officials.  The staffs of a PA and Basque Tank II, a Bas and Cat Art III and a PA AA III arrive (units into the replacement pool for building.)
Production is hefty, with 6 PA Inf RPs, 1 Ast RP, 1 Bas RP, 1 Cat RP, .5 San RP, 3 An RPs and 1 POUM RP going into the pools.  Factories churn out goods as well, with 1 AS, 2 res pts, and .5 Arm and 1 Art arriving from the Gijon & Bilbao factories in the north, while the 3 in the south produce 3 AS, 3 res pts, and another .5 Arm and 1 Art.  All this production leads to another big influx of units, with the Basques building the N Tank II, their 14th Art III, and rebuilding their destroyed 3rd Inf X.  The new 1stTank II, and the wrecked 1st Mech III, 3 P Art III, 3rd Mcgh II & 4th Car Bdr III’s are all rebuilt at Madrid.  Finally, the new 11th Cat Art III forms up in Barcelona.
Cons and Eng units start a fort in Bilbao, using 1 res pt and quick construction.  The damaged LC remains so with a 3 rolled.  All air units go operative and no naval patrol declarations or CAP mission are flown.

Movement Phase

No naval mov’t occurs, beyond replenishment.  In the Aragon-Cataluna border front, movt is minimal.  A few units shift about in the line, and the new 11th Cat Art III joins the line via rail mov’t.  Along the southern Teruel front, practical no mov’t occurs, other than an An X joining the line, allowing one PA unit to shift northwest, to the west side of the town itself.  Along the west and northwest Teruel fronts, the PA Mtn XXX moves along the clear weather mtn line to engage the Nationalist 5th Cav at 3005.  Two additional PA units flank the 5th Cav, to ensure zoc’s surround it during the presumed ensuing combat.  Simultaneously, on the adjacent Guadalajara front, the 4th Lar Col Inf III is engaged by one of the units flanking the 5th Cav, while a mass of units attack from the opposite side at 2707, including the rebuilt 3 P Art III (a quality 2-6 Art III), some MG II’s, and the new 1 Arm II.  A bicycle II and Inf III round out the force.  North and west of Madrid the line remains fairly stable, though the new 11 Th International and Jou An X’s do take over the forts at 2609 and 2610, just north of east Madrid.  West of Madrid, the line is stable, though 4th Eng III moves from the aforementioned forts into the line, allowing it to be extended and connected to the new frontline position on the Valdepenas front.  Here, more significant mov’t is accomplished.  5th Car Bdr joins the line at 3115, creating a 3 pt unsupported stack while 3114 is held similarly, with 16GC Sec coming from south of Vald, 3 Inf abandoning Ciudad Real after putting a hit on the rail line, and 7th Eng railing in from the forts north of Madrid.  The new 1 V Inf X takes over at 3213, overland from Madrid, while 8 L Art rails in from the Cataluna front, creating a 3 pt supported stack.  1st Art III abandons Cuidad Real as well, taking 3313 just west of Tomelloso and northeast of Valdepenas, currently there alone.  However, 1st Mech moves in from Madrid and the AAC Armored Car III abandons the Teruel front and heads this direction as well, so there will be armored units available to assist in the clear terrain around Valdepenas in exploit.  From Valdepenas south, mov’ts are more limited.  Three points supported defend the town, while 2 pts supported protect its southwest flank, for the time being.  From there to the coast, dispositions remain the same as last turn, weak one pt units in the mountains with 2 pt stacks, usually Anarchist, guarding the passes.  To the rear, 2 pts of pos AA are railed about, an AS pt is railed from Murcia to 2709 to support upcoming attacks and a res pt is railed from Barcelona to Madrid.  SMPs shift AS forward a bit as well, while one An X moves up to Cuenca to reestablish Loyalist control in that town, following a previous Nat Cav raid.
In the north, units rebuilt or new move into the line, resulting in some minor hex to hex shifts, but for the time being the lines appear to be stable, at least after the fall of San Sebastian last turn.
With an obvious attack against the 4 Lar III planned, Italian CR.32’s fly CAP over the hex, anticipating a PA need for GS.

Combat Phase

As expected, the PA air force comes up to play.  The N52 escorts the Bre19 on a GS mission to 2806, over the 4th Lar.  Hq for the Insurgent AF doesn’t want the weak 52’s getting a free shot at the Italian birds, so the CR32’s convert to intercept and take on the escorts (I was mostly interested in getting after the PA airforce, less so worried about GS getting through.)  Neither plan rolls especially well though, so they fight an inconclusive engagement and the Bre19’s are able to drop their loads relatively unmolested (CR32’s roll a 7 for an R, while the N52’s roll a 6, also an R.)  Two attacks are launched by PA forces in the weak spots of the Nat line, btw the Guadalajara and west Teruel fronts, with a single attack supply point providing AS to the 2 arty units and 8 II’s participating.  First, 3005, with the 5th Cav, is attacked at 10:1 -4.  A 3 on the militia roll barely ensures the mountaineers’ morale holds, so the attack goes in at the anticipated odds, and a 5 rolled generates a DH with against the isolated Cav troop.  The second attack is successful as well.  Here, a combined arms force of Art, Inf, Bicyclists and MG II’s attack the 4th Lar Col Inf III, at 7:1 -4.  Morale is solid with a 5 rolled, but the combat roll is poor with a 1.  Even so, zoc’s kill the col III in the ensuing DR-generated retreat.  All air units return to their originating bases.

Exploitation Phase

Naval units remain stationary for the most part.  The BBTF at Gijon remains there and preps for NGS.  The LtTF moves to 2932, Guernica, and preps for NGS, where it can reach the defenders in the fort at 3031, and be within 5 hexes for naval interdiction of San Sebastian.  On the ground, 1st Mech joins the line at 3313, creating a 3 DS supported stack with AECD, while AAC abandons its westward mov’t and instead shoots north back to Madrid (where it has spent most Insurgent turns to be honest, protected by the intrinsic defense of the city, given it’s 0 DS strength.)  The new 1st Tank II remains at 2707.

Insurgent Oct I 36 player turn

Initial Phase

In a terrible bit of luck for the Insurgents, at least relative to the previous planning for this turn, the weather changes dramatically.  On the first possible poor weather turn in the north, a 6 is rolled and it goes mud in weather zone D.  This will definitely impact that planned op against San Sebastian.  I think I can still make it work, but it’s going to cost me logistically.
In the meantime, I’ve got supply issues now in the north.  Four hexes north of Madrid go U-1 black… once the ground freezes up a bit, the overland supply line length will go from 2 to 3, and I can keep all the units at U-1 or less by doing a unit two-step.  Until then, I’m eventually going to have to let units be U-2 or worse, or dedicate transport to GSP mov’t.  We’ll solve that problem later.  5 hexes along the Teruel front go U-1 black as well, mostly due to the zoc behind the town and the shortened overland length.  Still, there are some hexes btw the Teruel and Aragon fronts that are too far due to distance.  More unit two steps there in the future.  Fortunately the Teruel front can be reached by rail, since that rail hit to the north is not at the junction at Calatayud.  I don’t think I’ll have to give up Teruel itself.  On the Loyalist side, only the northernmost unit along their side of the Teruel front is U-1.  I suppose the change in weather does make it less likely that the PA offensive near Teruel will continue.  They’ll have trouble reaching back to attack supply now that the overland length has dropped from 4 to 2… and the -2 mud DRM won’t help them at all.
Continuing with the initial phase activities, 7 cities are completely pacified, including Malaga and Badajoz which will go into production Dec I 36.  Both also gain their intrinsic defense forces.  The other 5 are Lucena, Antequera, Linares, Guadix and Mieres.  Pacification begins at Almeria and Don Benito.
It’s a big turn for Nationalist reinforcements… 1st Sor XX goes to Zaragoza, while the 2nd and 3rd Soria go into the form pool.  The Hue Inf XX arrives at Logrono, while 5th Req Inf X reports at Vitoria and 6th Req at Pamplona.  NT-4 is formed up at Ceuta, bringing the total lift capacity to 3 RE’s, sufficient to start moving attack supply.  Four more Fal Inf X’s show up, at Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba and Zaragoza, while in Morocco the 6 Xau Col Inf III arrives.  In addition, 3 units of Italians, forming the vanguard of the CTV, arrive at Sevilla, including both a good arty III and some lt tankettes.  Some flak is imported at Huelva and turned over to the Spanish.  Lots of bullets and bombs arrive, with attack supply totaling 6 pts, arriving at 5 different ports.  A res pt also arrives up at La Coruna, while 3 Art RPs arrive at Vigo… Clearly the Italian and German shipping lines are making out like bandits.  The Italians turn over their Mxd A at Cagliari, which arrives as a Mxd B (both are float planes) at Huelva.  Finally, the Req Redon Art III goes into the replacement pool for building.
New production is significant, amounting to 7.5 Nat, 1.5 Col, 3.5 Fal, 2.0 Req, plus the first ARP, a CTV one.  Factories churn out additional attack supply beyond that imported, including 2 pts at Sevilla and one at Oviedo.  Finally, Sevilla produces 0.5 Art pts worth of artillery tubes.
A lot of thought goes into figuring out what to rebuild and how to rebuild it.  Key is trying to figure out if the planned assault on San Sebastian can go forward.  It’s probably at its weakest point in terms of strength it has been or will be in the game, and leaving it in Loyalist hands only gives the Basques more replacement points than they should be getting (the city fell in the equivalent of the Sep II 37 turn historically).  Plans will go forward, admittedly at a higher cost in terms of logistics and the number of troops that would otherwise be involved, but it is judged to be worth the risk.  The 2 LE Inf III is rebuilt at Zaragoza, along with the 20 GC Sec III and the 24th Inf, all at the cost of 4.5 Nat points.  The 2 Mel Col Inf III is rebuilt at Ceuta using 2 Col RPs, and the Redon Art is formed up at Sevilla using 1 Arty.  Finally, the new Hue and 1st Sor Inf XX’s are equipped to their supported sides at the cost of an additional 1 Arty total.  Three res pts are spent to build a permanent RE of capacity at La Coruna, bringing that yard up to 2 RE’s, and the total available to the Nationalists to 9.5.  The two XX’s in the Aragon line continue building entrenchments.  An 8 is rolled on the random mine damage roll, so the Nat BBTF avoids damage.

Movement Phase

NT-1 and 2 start in the Canaries, so they load up the 24 GC Sec III and the Can Cons III, then unload them after transiting to Cadiz.  They then move to Ceuta and await the rest of the phase.  The NT-4 loads up the new 6 Xau Col Inf III and unloads it at Cadiz, returns to Larache and loads the 1 MT Col Inf III, and moves it to Sevilla.  The two TFs replenish and then await further developments in the port.  Lastly, the Italian subs return from their station off Cartagena to Ceuta, replenish, and then await the point at which they will return to Cartagenian waters (in exploit.)
In the southeastern Andalucia front, single units are the new standard.  Some Fal units move into the front to replace departing Nationalist units, with emphasis on placing them in the more defensible mtn terrain.  The 7th Inf admins past Gaudix from Antequerra, where it can join this front next turn, while the Eng III that just pacified Guadix fixes the rail hit to its northeast, then continues moving toward the Valdepenas front.  Southwest of Valdepenas 2 pt unsupported stacks are created.  The ZME Eng III joins two units just west of Valdepenas, while 2 Col Cav III’s that had cartaged attack supply join the line just northwest of this hex, creating a 4 pt and 6 pt supported stack respectively.  The CTV Ricci Lt AA II admins up to the front just to the rear of the line.  The Van Inf XX moves into Puertollano, abandoned by the PA last turn, while a 2 pt arty/inf stack protects it’s northwest flank.  The new 2 Sev Fal Inf X (along w/ Ricci) cartage/admin on AS forward, where SMPs take over and push it a bit further east, to hex 2802, where it can be used in an attack on this front this turn.  To the rear, the 2 Cord Inf X moves up to Ubeda, the Cadix Inf X moves into Martos, both for later pacification.  6 Xau, 24 GC Sec & the Can Cons III’s admin from Cadiz up to Sevilla, where they can admin/cartage additional attack supply forward next turn (I intentionally let units admin a little less forward, so they are positioned for cartaging in the following turn on a recurring basis… essentially, units arriving from Africa or rebuilt at Sevilla cartage in the current turn, while units landed at Cadiz move up to do so as well when available.  Units that cartaged in the previous turn become reinforcements/replacements/reserves for the current turn, in a continuing cycle in Andalucia.)  The pos flak pt at Huelva also admins forward.  Now that ZME Eng III is in the front, it can build a temp airfield and improve the air presence directly over this critical front for the Nationalist side (CR32’s basing out a temp base near Valdepenas can reach a goodly distance.)  Further north of the Valdepenas front, a pair of units occupy the west bank of the Guadiana, but a one hex gap still exists btw the Valdepenas front and the Talavera fronts.  The Talavera front remains static at this point, with no units shifting.  However, north of Madrid, units must now begin the two-step in and out of supply range, where that process can assist.  Even so, there are 2 hexes of the front line where even this back and forth cannot keep units in supply now that the weather has turned to mud.  GSPs will have to be the solution, later.  For now, this front remains static too.  East of Madrid, the 4 Lar, unable to rail over to San Sebastian because of the rail hit to its rear, instead advances southwest into the wooded rough at 2806, with a Fal X taking over defense of the rail line proper at 2706.  The Hue Inf XX admins south out of Logrono, where it can join this or the Teruel fronts eventually.  1st Soria XX admins through the gap at 2902, heading for Teruel itself, after attacks last turn weakened that area.  5th Cav moves into the mtns at 3005, to put at least a zoc on the forward PA unit at 3105.  Meanwhile, 24th Inf rails in from Zaragoza and occupies 3104, and the two units that had been protecting Teruel’s eastern flank move over the mtn hexside to 3203, creating a front that can protect the town’s rear supply line.  Units in the mtns east of 3303 then shift in, somewhat weakening the line leading into south eastern Aragon.  This is judged safe however, since the Loyalists weren’t interested in launching attacks out of Cataluna when the weather was good; they certainly won’t be doing so now that mud has arrived.  2nd Zar Fal X joins the Aragon front line on its left flank, at the headwaters of the Cuenca, allowing the 20th Inf to shift one hex northwest, ensuring the line’s flank rests on mountains and not out in the open.
The major muscle mov’ts this turn are into San Sebastian.  One res pt is spent to bring the rail cap up to 14.  The 1 LE Inf III, the 1 P Art III, Redon Art III, CTV’s Ter Art III and Bab Lt Arm II, O & E MG II’s all rail into 3230, where they join the 23rd Inf that held the rail line open for them and the recently arrived 6 Req X that crossed in over the muddy terrain from Pamplona, creating a 13 AS stack.  4th Req X slides east into 3131, joined by 5th Req that had to rail in due to poor wx from Vitoria, and 2 LE Inf III and 20 GC rail in from Zaragoza.  ZMO Eng III rails in from Valladolid, all joining the 2 units that had been in the hex previously, creating an 11 pt AS stack.  These mov’ts open a hole in the line at 3132, but Nat high command doesn’t believe the Basques will risk troops taking the empty hex despite the good terrain, simply because the hex can be attacked without releasing the Euzkadi garrison.  The rest of the northern front remains pretty static, though 2 Mtn II’s occuply an otherwise empty hex in Santander, which links the line except for the aforementioned abandoned hex in Euzkadi.  The LC Fal X joins the stack at Oviedo, and the 31st III that just pacified Mieres moves to Tineo to do the same, and likewise gains a bit more control over northern Asturias via zoc.  At the end of mov’t, the CR32’s fly a CAP over San Sebastian (my having failed to remember that the Vild’s departed for southern Spain when they went rail bombing last turn.

Combat Phase

Bre19’s launch DAS missions to Ciudad Real, just north of the planned attack against 3314, while Vilds launch DAS to 3514, another potential hex at risk.  Clearly the Loyalists expected a two pronged attack on either side of the Valdepenas attack, and not the one single strike at 3314, which will clear the last rough hex before Valdepenas and Alcazar, at least from the Cordoba-Linares-Valdepenas direction.  The new Mxd B floatplanes and the Bre19’s on the Nat side fly GS to 3314, while the Mxd T does the same at San Sebastian, which just gets the attack over the 6:1 -3 hump.
The attack at San Sebastian goes in first, at the aforementioned 6:1 -3 (all but one RE provided AS, either via an AS pt or being interventionist, 4 rolled for PA morale for no effect, 1 rolled for a DR.)  The San Sebastian stack could retreat into France, but the Basques cannot return to a province outside their operational area, and the PA high command apparently would prefer not to leave the artillery unit stuck in France for any period of time, so the units choose not to retreat across the border.  This forces a retreat into the empty 3229 hex just to San Sebastian’s southeast, which is covered by Nat zoc’s, killing the stack.  Sec units move into the city, and ½ of an RE of rail cap is added to the Insurgent total.  On the Valdepenas front, a 6:1 -1 attack goes off perfectly (had been planned as a 5:1, but PA morale is shaken by the large number of enemy aircraft dropping bombs on them, and the single sec III is ½’d with a 2 rolled, AS provided, odds up to 6:1 -1, 6 rolled for a DE.  The O Art III, 1 E Cav III and 3 Ceu Inf III advance, putting a two hex frontage on Valdepenas and opening up a 2 hex gap in the Loyalist lines.  All a/c land at their originating fields.

Exploitation Phase

NT-1 & 2 wait a bit at Ceuta till NT-4 arrives, and then all three load 1 AS at the port, move it to Huelva, and unload it.  They then return to Ceuta and replenish.  Both the BB and CA TF’s wait out the phase in the port of Ceuta.  The CTV subs wait out the first four substeps, and then head out to coastal Morocco, sailing along until just shy of Algeria, then the head off to their Cartagena stations at night.  There’s no reaction to this by the PA fleet in Cartagena.  No ground mov’t occurs.

 

Loyalist Sep II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

The turn opens with a bit of a minor disaster for the Loyalists, when the French gov’t decides it no longer is interested in supporting their regime.  The French close the border (4 rolled), leaving the D.371 fighter unit that would have been available stuck on the wrong side of the border.  Moreover, having missed the 50/50 shot at keeping the border open, it is much less likely to open for the foreseeable future (the border is automatically open through Sep I 36… at that point, the odds shift to 1 in 6 open, 2 in 6 no change, and 3 in 6 closed.  Having closed, the ‘no change’ possibility means there’s just a 1 in 6 of it opening each turn until the Apr I 37 turn, when it closes for a few months with no chance of opening.)  Clearly a diplomatic coup for the Nationalist cause.
All Gobernito guard forces are in place facing Santander & Euzkadi.  Pacification in Albacete is completed as well, while purification in the last two unpurified cities in Cataluna (Manresa & Tortosa) begins.  The Loyalists replace the destroyed Cat Inf III at Barcelona, and then the destroyed 5 L Art, 23 GC Sec & 5 Car Bdr III’s at east Madrid.  Two more forts are quick constructed just north of Madrid at 2609 and 2610, facing the Nationalist mountain salient.  In another bit of a disaster for the Loyalist side, the BBTF’s mine storage compartment explodes due to poor mine handling procedures, sinking the Jaime I.  Only the supporting light forces remain in the TF (11 rolled, 2 hits are placed on the BBTF, dropping it to a 1 strength TF.)  The LC in Barcelona continues the trend of not being repaired as well (3 rolled.)  No air declarations are made by either side.

Movement Phase

All Loyalist naval units first replenish.  The LtTF in the north then joins the wrecked remnants of the BBTF at Gijon and both prep for NGS (which suits Nationalist plans just fine, since this drops the San Sebastian strength from a projected 5 to 4, less DAS.)
In the far southwest, the Andalucia front remains static, though one empty hex is filled in the line.  Along the Valdepenas front, 5 L Arty from Madrid, and 4 MG II, rail in to help make up for last turn’s losses.  Puertoallano is abandoned without a fight, with the main line running from Cuidad Real to Valdepenas itself, thence southwest to 3514 before zig-zagging south into the mountains and the Andalucia front.  To the north of Puertollano the PA gives up the west bank of the Guadiana in Castilla la Nueva, with unsupported units creating a solid line along the east bank and then into the west Madrid front northwest of Toledo.  A few rail hits are placed by units in Puertollano, Ciudad Real and Valdepenas.  In the west, north and east Madrid fronts, things remain roughly stable, with some arty to the west facing Nat supported stacks, and unsupported units, sometimes paired, forming the rest of the front around past Guadalajara on the east side.
On the Teruel front, the big Mtn unit ‘corps’ shifts left again in and attempt to get around the right flank of the Teruel defenders.  They appear poised to launch an attack against the 24th Inf defending the mountain sector 3204.  Intriguingly, the AAC armored cars admin to near this area as well, perhaps indicating some desire to do some exploit (seems an odd place for a 0 DS armored car unit though, being mtns and limited to no exploit if in zoc.)  Very limited mov’t occurs along the Aragon-Cataluna front, with a few units joining and others shifting into the west.  Overall the line remains the same and of about the same strength as before.  Both sides seem willing to let this front remain as is.
In the north, mostly just some construction and engineer units shifting about for potential fort building, whenever the res pts are made available.  The one completed fort at 3031 on the coast in Euzkadi is occupied by an Inf X when the cons unit shifts west a hex.  In Gijon, the 6L Art does move up to 1106, adjacent to the city, presumably so NGS can focus on Aviles.  A few other units shift about, but the DS of hexes doesn’t appear to appreciably change.

Combat Phase

Only a single attack is launched by the Loyalists… the elite Mtn corps (consisting of 1st Mtn Art III, 1st thru 4th Mtn II’s and the 4 Cav III launch an attack against 3204 as expected… morale remains high and the unsupported 24th Inf is quickly overwhelmed (11:1 -2, full attack supply provided, 6 for no morale impact, 5 rolled for a DE.)  Only the 4th Cav III advances, but this does put a zoc into 3203, the rail hex behind Teruel.  Supply can still be drawn around the zoc through the mountains at 3202 to the rail at 3103, so Nationalist command is not overly concerned at this point.

Exploitation Phase

No naval mov’ts of note in exploit.  The AAC joins the Mtn XXX just west of Teruel.  I suppose it’s there to provide 1/7th AECA next turn.  The PA launches a pair of RR bombing runs which both come off well.  The Vild stages back south to Cartagena (meaning it will be unavailable at San Sebastian next turn!), but it does manage a hit at 3104, just north of Guadix.  Odd that the line was hit there and not at the junction of Guadix itself.  Regardless, I happen to have the 2nd Eng III in Guadix on pacification duty, so that hit won’t last long.  The Bre19 hits 2703 from west Madrid… again, not a rail junction.  It couldn’t reach the junction at Calatayud without staging from to east Madrid, but I’m not sure why that wasn’t done.  Regardless, this will cause some minor problems as I cannot easily rail into the east Madrid-Guadalajara front now (or out of it for the San Sebastian attack, which I had planned for at least the 4 Lar Col Inf III, mores the pity.)

 

Insurgent Sep II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

All land areas are automatically clear.  The Med is auto clear, while a 1 is rolled for the Atlantic, so it is clear as well.  All insurgent units are in supply and unisolated, while all PA units are likewise in supply, but those in the northern Gobernitos are isolated.  Pacification at Almendralejo is completed, while the 2nd two weeks of clearing out terrorists in Malaga begins.  Such efforts begin at Badajoz, Lucena, Antequera, Linares, Guadix and Mieres.  Only a single reinforcement arrives, the delayed Bad Fal Inf X at its namesake city.  The Nationalist’s do receive 1.0 Nat from specials, plus another .5 Nat for drafting at Almeria.  The ZMO Eng III is replaced at Valladolid, while the 1st & 6th Lt Inf II’s, the 17th Inf, and the Leon Falangist Inf X are all rebuilt at Zaragoza.  The 1 Cas Inf XX and the Cac Inf XX in the line in southern Aragon begin entrenching, a 2 turn process.  No mine damage occurs with a 7 rolled.  No air ops are flown or declared by either side.

Movement Phase

NT 1 and 2 load up the 2 O Cav III and ship it to Cadiz.  After unloading, they return to Larache and load the 1 E Cav III and ship it to Sevilla, completing the offload with their last nmp.  The Italian subs move west from their station off Cartagena, then pass around to El Ferrol, where they ‘join’ (operating as two groups moving concurrently) the CATF which completed repairs at that city (I didn’t realize I could use the NRP generated at EF anywhere… getting it into my head the TF needed to be at El Ferrol, which puts it within reaction range of the PA BB at Gijon… the subs acted as an ‘escort’ for the TF as it left for its normal operating area near the Straits.)  All moved to Ceuta.  The CATF first did replenish at EF while awaiting the arrival of the subs.  In the meantime, the BBTF replenished in Ceuta and waited out the phase in port.
In ground mov’t, the southern-most portion of the front in Andalucia, facing Lorca, is essentially put on a defensive footing now that Almeria is seized.  A sec and arty III are moved into Almeria itself, to begin pacification and hold the city against any unlikely counterattacks (don’t want the Loyalists to free up the ‘any city’ anarchist reinforcements that are being delayed in Andalucia.)  By and large 1 or 2 pt unsupported stacks run NE up from Almeria into the eastern Cordillera Penibetica and beyond, until the Valdepenas front is reached.  Here, the major units of the Army of Africa remain on the offensive, massing for attacks against two small, supported stacks in front of the city, including the PA’s 1st Mech III, and a pair of arty III’s (killing arty and c/m units is ideal, and the Nationalists can afford and should desire to exchange infantry for any arty and c/m units that are available for killing.)  To the rear, the perpetual cycle of using units landed from Africa or rebuilt for logistical movements continues as 2 more pairs of units cartage attack supply forward on the Valdepenas front.  These units landed at Cadiz or Sevilla are serving double duty, as both carriers of supply and reserves that can be fed into the line to improve odds or make up for losses on the main nationalist front.  Southeast of Talavera, the front is stable, though a few weak single units do extend it a bit, taking wooded rough at 2715.  To the rear, one Fal X occupies Don Benito for pacification duties.  The northern portion of the Madrid front along the Cordillera Central, or just north of it, remains stable, though one additional unit added does allow the salient at 2510 to gain some infantry to go along with arty III that’s been holding the mountains since the beginning of the game.  To the east of Madrid, 2 III’s of infantry, one Nat and one Fal, join the line, as does a 2-6 Col III from Andalucia, all via rail.  The 2-6 will be well positioned for an assault against San Sebastian next turn, which is the plan.  I’d like to make sure that city falls before the Loyalists get their next Basque reinforcements, which could see the city’s strength rise up to 6 or 7 from the 4 plus 1 pt NGS current there. (Of note and related to this, back in Andalucia 6 mp units are carefully positioned such that in the upcoming attacks on the Valdepenas front, these units will not advance after combat… they are precisely 42 hexes from the outskirts of San Sebastian by rail, which would just allow a 6 mp unit to rail adjacent to the city (which is also the turn where the wx is still likely to be clear, with a 5 in 6 chance of clear in the north of spain.)  8 MP units will likely advance in Andalucia, as they can’t quite reach the San Sebastian area being limited to 40 rail hexes of mov’t.  Regardless, returning to the east part of the front, two arty units are pulled from the eastern Madrid front and sent to reinforce the Teruel front, where the mass of PA mtn units have been congregating.  This puts 2 pt supported stacks in Teruel and 3303 just to its east.  Not an insurmountable defense, but it should be sufficient for the time being, until more XX’s come into the line over the next couple of turns.  Otherwise, no mov’t occurs in the southeast/Aragon-Cataluna front, with the line stable on both sides now that two Nat XX’s are in the line and entrenching.  Very little mov’t occurs in the Northern Gobernito front, with units facing Euzkadi and Santander all remaining in place.  Up in Asturias however, the Oviedo XX enters the line at 1107 finally, which frees up the elite 38th Inf to take up the defense of the mtns at 1206, with the 2 mtn II’s shifting southwest to 1307.  This fills in the line and strengthens it quite substantially, pretty much ensuring (I hope) that the Asturian front will be stable until the Spring Offensive against the Northern Gobernitos begins in ’37.  In the rear, the rebuilt ZMO Eng III at Valladolid moves to 1909 and repairs the rail hit at the junction, then returns back to Valladolid where it is centrally positioned for any future construction/repair needs.  1 res pt is railed from Oviedo to Valladolid, which should allow for some permanent rail cap building next turn (res pts must be in RMY hexes to be part of a rail cap build.)  Finally, the 7th Cav wanders about the southwest portion of Estramadura, gaining ownership of unowned hexes in the province.
With the planned attacks on the Valdepenas front well supported by troops, not much GS will be required, so the Nationalist Air Force goes on a bit of an offensive.  First, the Italian CR.32bis stages to Valladolid and goes on an airbase raid against the Bre19 and N.52s at Madrid.  The Loyalists refuse to rise to the occasion, so the CR.32 just strafes the airfield while the PA pilots drink Sangria.  Sadly, the Italian pilots fail to score a hit.  The Mxd T then stages to Valladolid and attempts to sink the Basque LtTF at San Sebastian, which would improve the chances for an assault next turn on the cut-off city.  Flak by the TF misses, but so does the bombing attempt.

Combat Phase

The PA does the math and chooses not to fly the Bre19’s at Madrid on DAS.  The Vilds remain on their field at Bilbao as well, since no location is currently being threatened in the north.  The Nat Bre19 flies GS to 3414, which is the first of the two planned attacks this turn.  That attack goes off well enough, but still doesn’t result in any losses as the PA units retreat away in good order (4:1 +0, all units attack supplied, morale of the one PA militia unit ½ with a 3 rolled, but it didn’t change the odds, 4 rolled for a DR.)  The defending PA’s 19 GC Sec III and 2 Art III retreat back to Valdepenas, while the E arty III and 5 Alh Col Inf III’s advance.  In the second attack, just the north at 3315, the 1st Mech III and 5 L Art III are assaulted by a mass of Nationalist troops, including 2 strong Col Inf III’s, the O Art III, the 3 Lt Inf II and the Van Inf XX.  The 5:1 -3 attack goes very well for the Nationalists, with the Mech and arty unit killed in a bloody fight (5:1 -3, full AS provided, no morale issues possible as all units are non-militia, rough terrain, 1/2th AECD, 3 rolled for an EX.)  It does cost me the 2 Mel Col Inf III.  The O arty III, 3 Ceu, and 3 Lt Inf advance.  The super strong 1 LE Inf III, 1 P Arty III and O MG II’s are left to rear, out of the front lines at 3415 after these two attacks, ensuring they can rail away as part of the planned San Sebastian assault force next turn.

Exploitation Phase

The two NT’s head off towards the Canary islands, reaching Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where they replenish and wait out the phase.  Both the CATF and BBTF sit out the phase at Ceuta, awaiting any future naval developments.  The CTV subs sit out the first four substeps, and then move along the Spanish Morocco coast, then at night taking up position 5 hexes southwest of Cartagena.  No reaction by the Loyalist fleet hold up in the port.  No ground or air mov’t occurs.

Loyalist Sep I 36 player turn

Initial Phase

No units are isolated or out of supply on the Nationalist side.  For the Loyalists, all are in supply but those PA units in the northern Gobernitos are isolated.  All Gobernito border garrisons are in place for the Insurgents.  The 16 GC Sec III begins routing out insurgent supporters in Albacete (pacification begins.)  Meanwhile, both hexes of Barcelona, Tarragon and Sabadell are fully purified.
It’s a big turn for Loyalist reinforcements, a good thing since there’s nothing in the way of a front near Valdepenas.  Cons X’s show up for duty at Lorca and Madrid, while Anarchists X’s show up at Murcia, Valencia and Tarragona.  Two more Anarchist X’s go into the ‘delayed reinforcements pool’, probably never to see the light of day (see above.)  In Cataluna, a Cat Cav III and 4 Inf III’s show up at Barcelona, as does sufficient local shipping to form up another NT (Cat NT-1).  Pos AA is imported at Alicante, while 1 AS each shows up at Gijon and Valencia.  1 Art RP is imported at Bilbao.  Two X’s go into the Santander garrison.  Three X’s are added to the Euzkadi garrison, while two are released, one each at San Sebastian and Bilbao.  More importantly, the entire Asturian garrison is released thanks to the recent Nationalist attack in Asturias (as well as the number of RE’s now in Asturia itself.)  These include 8 Inf X’s and one Eng III that would have gone into garrison but for the release.  A number of old D.371’s are turned over from France for use by the Loyalists.  The French apparently kept the airframes in fairly good repair, and Loyalist mechanics believe the birds will be ready for front line service in just 2 weeks (1 rolled on the delay for these ‘inop’ aircraft.)  France also ships in a goodly number of artillery tubes for use in the on-going civil war in Spain (4.5Art RPs arrive in the France holding box, and then immediately go to the general pool.)  The staffs for 3 arty III’s are formed up (3 III’s go into the pool for building.)
In production, 6 PA, 1 Ast, 1.5 Bas, 1 Cat, 0.5 San, 3 An & 1 POUM Inf RPs are produced by cities across Loyalist Spain.  In addition, 1 ARP is made available, while 1 NRP arrives (a CL was completed at Cartagena.)  All these points are used to bring the 1st and 2nd Art III’s at Madrid, the 10th Cat Art III at Barcelona, the PA’s 6 L Art at Bilbao (PA arty may be built at any factory, even an isolated one), and the Anarchist CNT Art III at Murcia.  Two destroyed An X’s are rebuilt at Murcia as well, while 4 PA Inf III’s are rebuilt, 1 at Lorca and 3 at Madrid.
Next, engineers being serious spade work across the region.  Forts are begun at Lorca, Gijon, southwest of Santander in the gap at 1604, southeast of Bilbao along the coast at 3031, and at Tortosa.  Two more are created quickly west of Madrid (and north of Toledo) facing the Nationalist line thanks to assistance by local citizens.  Finally, in naval affairs, mine handling procedures are barely sufficient to maintain safety (10 rolled on random mine damage roll), while the broken LC’s at Barcelona remain so (5 rolled.)  No air declarations are made by either side.

Movement Phase

In naval mov’ts, the new Cat NT-1 loads up 1st Car Bdr III and carries it to Mahon, where it unloads, loads up the elite 37th Inf III, and then takes it to Tarragona.  In the north, NT-3 loads up the 2nd Bas Inf X at San Sebastian, moves it to Bilbao and unloads it, at which point the NT replenishes.  All other fleet units simply replenish and wait out the phase.
At the start of the ground mov’t portion of the phase 1 res pt as spent at Barcelona to increase the Loyalist rail cap for the turn to 18.  In the far north, the new Asturian X’s settle into the line, joined by the rebuilt 6 L Art III railed in from Bilbao, and the 6thMtn II arriving overland from Santander province.  One Asturian X heads into Santander and joins the line there in the mtns west of the city.  In Euzkadi, new units plus the X moved from San Sebastian join the main line of resistance in front of Bilbao.
In the south, units freed up from purification duties quick shift up into the main line along the Cat-Aragon border, but nothing particularly offensive appears in the works.  The right side of the line still hangs back from the Cuenca river, while the portion along the river from Lerida to 4529 is held in strength.  From there, single units by and large hold the line from 4629 (northwest of Tortosa all the way to the mtn pass south of Teruel.  However, a collection of Mtn II’s, a Mtn III, a Cat Inf III and a PA Cav III rail or move to the 3503 hex, from which point they overrun the 17th Inf III holding the pass south of Teruel.  All advance into the pass, from which point they threaten both the town and the 20 GC Sec III to the west that had been flanking the pass itself.  Other units put zoc’s around the 20 GC, but this may be to hold it in place.  An attack against the town makes more sense to me, though it might result in a DR, whereas an attack against the 20 GC in the mountains would ‘guarantee’ a loss of a Nat unit due to zoc’s in the event of a DR.
On the Madrid front, an infantry unit from Cataluna is railed in to help hold the Gaudalajara side, while Eng III’s move into position south of the Nationalist mountain salient.  To the west, one arty and either inf or eng III’s each take up residence in the new forts at 2612 and 2713.  Inf & Eng III’s also take 2714, while the AAC armored car III moves into the wooded rough at 2914, via Toledo, mostly it appears for ownership purposes.  More infantry rails or admins into the area north of Puertollano, defending the Don Benito-Puertollano rail line.  Meanwhile, 3 III’s of infantry, security and mechanized infantry, each supported by an arty III prepare to assault the 1st Lt Inf II screening the main Nationalist line west of Valdepenas (actually I had intended to ‘advance’ this unit westwards after it helped cut off the northern portion of the PA line last turn, but somehow forgot to, so now it sits outside the mainline as an unnecessary screening force.  More infantry and arty are railed in to form a line south of Valdepenas as well, into the mtns at 3302.  South of this, a hodgepodge of PA and Anarchist units form up a line running in the very southeast portion of Andalucia, screening the port of Aguilas and Lorca in Murcia province.  Anarchist units, including the new An art III, hold the gaps, while PA units hold the mtn flanks in the line running roughly 3403 to 3407 and then to 3508 on the coast.

Combat Phase

No DAS missions are flown, as no unit can reach the Teruel area, and the II isn’t large enough to support a DAS mission (only 1 a/c can fly per RE, and the II is only .5 RE’s.)  No GS missions are flown either, as the odds are all high enough.  In a bit of a surprise move to me, the Loyalists choose to attack the forward mtn position at 3404, rather than Teruel itself.  Attack supply is provided, but thanks to mountainous terrain the PA units suffer a reduction in élan, causing the attack to go poorly compared to its potential (2 rolled for morale, so PA and Cat militia units are ½, so odds drop to 6:1 -2, AS provided, 2 rolled for an EX.)  The 20 GC Sec III goes down fighting, taking the 6th Cat Inf III with it.  The 9th PA Inf advances.  Further west, the 1st Lt Inf manages to hold off the PA for a time, again resulting in a poor showing by the militia, but PA artillery is massed and eventually the Lt Inf II is overwhelmed (1 rolled for morale, so again PA militia ½, but there’s little of it, so odds are 6:1 +0 (AECA, rough), no AS provided, 6 rolled for a DE, killing the Lt Inf II outright.)  The 5L Art III and 1st Mech III advance.

Exploitation Phase

The BBTF preps for NGS at Gijon, while the Basque LtTF does the same at San Sebastian.  The Vild flying out of Bilbao and the Bre19 flying out of Madrid combine in an attack at the rail junction at 23:1909, rolling a 6 for a hit.  The AAC armored car III runs back to west Madrid.

Insurgent Sep I 36 player turn

Initial Phase

Weather is automatically clear on land and in the Med.  In the Atlantic the sea swells of last turn dissipate (3 rolled for clear.)  All Insurgent forces are now in supply and none are isolated.  On the Loyalist side, the lone unit in Estramadura is U-2 black (now ½ strength and without a zoc).  All other units are in supply, but the PA ones in the northern Gobernitos are isolated.  Garrison forces are checked in the Loyalist turn, but I glance about and all are in place.  Local bandits have been cleared from the towns of Merida, Ronda, Loja and Motril, while the cities of Huelva, Jerez and Jaen are similarly cleared of bandits.  Sufficient numbers of locals volunteer to form defense companies in the larger cities (pacification complete in each of the above cities and towns, while the larger ones get their intrinsic defense.)  Elsewhere, the 1st Sev Fal X begins looking about the Almendralejo countryside for ‘undesirables’, while the Anarchist hotbed at Malaga is searched by the 2 GC Sec III, a process likely to take a bit longer due to its size.  Lastly, the 38th III at Mieres, to the rear of Oviedo, begins the process of clearing the area of bandits and terrorists.
In reinforcements, the Cac Inf XX arrives in Zaragoza, while the Ov Inf XX arrives in Valladolid.  The two new Req X’s are brought in at Burgos and Vitoria, and a goodly number of Fal X’s arrive at their specified cities, except the Bad Fal X, which is delayed as that city hasn’t yet come under Nationalist control.  A third CTV sub shows up at Larache for duty.  Italian bullets and shells are offloaded at the docks of Sevilla, Malaga, Cadiz and La Coruna, while rail cars are imported to Malaga as well (1 res pt), and artillery tubes are imported at Vigo.  The Italians send a CR.32bis (in this game, a beast of a fighter!), arriving at Malaga as well.  Finally, 1 NRP arrives in the form of a completed cruiser, added to the CATF currently at that port.  In production, 7.5 Nat, 1.5 Col, 3.5 Fal, 2.0 Req RPs are received, but sadly no ARPs are yet on the books.  0.5 arty is spent to equip the Cac and Ov XX’s.  The 2 LE Inf III is replaced at Zaragoza, then immediately formed into the 1 Cas XX, which then is equipped with the last 0.5 arty remaining to the Nationalists.  All units in the pool are rebuilt, except the just returned 2 LE Inf III which must spend the remainder of the turn in the pool since it’s already been built once.  The 8th Car Bdr arrives at Valladolid, the 9th Cav (the raiders) at Zaragoza, and the 2 MG II’s survivors regroup and are reinforced at Oviedo.  At end of phase, the Nationalists have 3.0 Nat, 1.5 Col, 3.5 Fal, 2.0 Req and no other RPs.
Next, 2 res pts at Sevilla and 1 just landed at Malaga are used to rebuild the Malaga RMY up to 1.5 RE’s cap (from the 0.5 it was at after the combat in the city occurred during late Aug.)  A mine damage check results in another 5, so the BBTF remains afloat.  Neither side flies any air missions.

Movement Phase

NT-1 at Larache loads the ZME Eng III, carries it to Cadiz, then returns to Larache, picks up the 5 Alh Col Inf III and carries it to Sevilla.  NT-2 takes the elite 39th Inf III off Gran Canaria and carries it to Vigo, then heads south.  All 3 subs units move to Ceuta, where they replenish, joining the BBTF there which does likewise.  The BB with the subs in ‘escort’ then head out to sea.  They are in 2 groups, as subs can’t ‘officially’ travel in a group w/ TF’s, but they travel the same path at the same time, to ensure that the subs combat zone is consistently with the BBTF.  In this way, they will screen the BBTF (2 pts, after 1 hit it begins the game with) from any reaction that the Loyalist CLTF (3 pts, no hits) might choose to make (sub combat occurs prior to surface combat, so they make a good screen.)  This combined force moves to 2511 during the day, then runs into Almeria’s hex at night.  There, the BBTF begins preparing for NGS, while the subs create a cozy perimeter.  The CLTF does attempt to react (I’m not sure if Sam’s intent was to do so in the 3rd substep, or later in the 5th), but it fails, and it makes no other attempt during the 3 substeps NGS prep took.  Meanwhile, the new cruiser in the CATF (now at strength 2) shakes out (the CATF must remain in port the entire turn since it is being ‘repaired’ with an NRP.)
Ground mov’t opens with a pair of important overruns.  First, the PA unit sitting in 2420, just southwest of Caceres, is overrun at 12:1 by the 4th Lar Inf III and the 3L Art III (thanks to the PA force being U-2, 3 pts was sufficient.)  The Colonial III has no more mps, but the Arty started 1 hex closer, so it chooses not to advance into the overrun hex from Merida (where the OV was initiated), and then moves NW one hex along the rail line to Badajoz.  The 21 GC which had been screening Cacares’s north side takes control of the rail line leading to Portugal at 2122 via zoc, then turns south and joins the arty for an eventual cross river assault on Badajoz.  Elsewhere in Estramadura, the 7th Cav III was freed up for field duty after pacifying Huelva… it moves into south Estramadura, gaining ownership of wide swaths of unowned territory in NW Andalucia and SW Estramadura, essentially cleaning up the Nationalist rear.  27th III, at Merida, moves down the Don Benito line, gaining ownership of the town, then heads into the rough at 2817, to begin the advance into Castilla la Nueva’s western reaches.
The second OV occurs just outside of Almeria, blowing open the line to the city and allowing for a follow-on assault on the city during the coming combat phase.  The 8th GC holds the mtn pass at 3206, where it is joined by the 1Tet Col Inf III and O Art III’s via rail mov’t on low volume lines (4 rail cap used, of 8.5 available now that the Nationalist rail nets are linked.  These two units are the heroes of Jerez and Malaga, and now soon to be Almeria… they are the two units immediately positioned to move out of Africa on turn 1, so they have been my strike force from the beginning of the game.  This pile is joined by  5th Lt Inf.  These 6 units are able to OV the hapless PA unit defending sector 3307 at 12:1.  The Tet and O arty remain in place, but the 5th Lt Inf II continues the advance to 3407, followed by the 4th Lt Inf II to 3408, thereby encircling the city on its eastern approaches.  1st Gran Fal X moves from Motril through the mountains to 3108, engaging the AmL An X on its western side, putting zoc’s into any retreat available to the Almerian defenders and fully isolating the pocket.  5th Inf at Loja moves up to join the GC Sec in the mtn pass (the Sec cannot move, as it was preventing zoc’s from prohibiting the rail mov’t that got the Tet and O Art units to Almeria), ready to engage the AmL An as well.  2nd Lt Inf II, at Loja as well, advances to take the mountains at sector 3205, which had been vacated by the 5th Lt Inf which performed the overrun.  To these units rear, 7th Inf moves from Ronda to Antequera, where it can continue hunting bandits next turn, and also ensuring a good supply line to the Guadix-Almeria front.
On the Linares-Valdepenas front, the Nationalist’s launch a full scale assault against the northern 2 hexes of the Loyalist line.  The Van XX, plus the units that assaulted Jaen two turns ago, and crossed the Gaudalquivir river last turn take on the southern bit of the northern part of the line, joined by a few other units from the rear.  1st LE Inf III and the E Art III, another great striking pair, attacks the northern hex (just 1 pt unsupported, but in good wooded rough terrain.)  To their southwest, the O MG II assaults as well, keeping the supply lines open.  Key, the 1st Lt Inf II shoots the gap in the Loyalist line, and takes the line in the rear by occupying 3315, thereby ensuring these two hexes will be isolated come the combat phase.  To the rear, two pairings of III’s and II’s each admin and cartage forward attack supply from the Sevilla storehouses.  Three SMPs move another point from east of Jerez into those same storehouses, while 2 more are used to move the Granada a/s to Gaudix, from which point it can supply some of the Almeria attackers and some of the southern attackers on the Linares-Valdepenas front.  In this area, the 6th Inf moves out of Estramadra and down the Don Benito-Puertollano line, ensuring ownership of that low volume line as far south as Puertollano itself.  All in all, the assault against the rail lines leading towards Valdepenas-Alcazar and from Gaudix towards Almeria and perhaps Lorca are going very well, with little in the way of Loyalist units to stop them.
The Madrid front is on the other hand pretty much in a designed stalemate at this point.  The Nationalist line is reinforced a bit, so 2 arty units are each on the western and eastern ends, with single units in the mtns or just north of the mountains.  The line runs, roughly, from 2706 to 2407, thence to 2412 and then back southwest to 2613.  The ends are held in ‘strength’, as is the salient at 2510… strength meaning an arty unit is present, even if no other unit is!  The western tail of the line is reinforced a bit, such that the line continues west to 2615, with its flank against the lonely mountain at 2616.  Both sides seem inclined to let the Madrid front settle into a defensive front (neither has sufficient force really to attack the other, at least not without moving arty away from the ends towards the middle… and attacking the middle means attacking mountains if the Insurgents attack, or into clear terrain that leads nowhere unless you can get 5 hexes distant if the Loyalists attack.)  I expect this front to be stable for some time, since all the real action is in Andalucia.
Which is not to say the other fronts are without any at all… On the Teruel front, 3 additional small units are railed in to protect the flanks from purple slime, which allows the forward positions in the mountains at 3404 & 3404 to remain held.  This also allows a link up with the Cataluna front.  The front remains the same as last turn, since no Loyalist attacks were launched, but is extended by occupation of wooded rough hexes north of the southeast Cordillera Iberica, and then into the mountains joining the Teruel front defenders.  Units were freed up for the extension and link up thanks to 2 big XX’s (a 2-3-5 and 3-6!) joining the line.  The first takes the open terrain area at 17:4530, just south of the bend in the Ebro river where it turns eastwards.  The 3-6 1st Cas XX moves into the river salient at 4428, allowing the Mech/Arty stack to back up and defend the salient western flank.  The northern one still relies on 1 pt unsupported units, as the line along the Cinca has not changed.  These XX’s may begin the process of entrenching next turn, assuming no major Loyalist assaults materialize, which seems unlikely given more pressing concerns in Andalucia and southwest Castilla la Nueva.
On the northern front, 2 Req X’s move into the line in Euzkadi, freeing up some units for moves to the south into southern Aragon.  The hex to the southeast of San Sebastian on the French border is abandoned to free up more troops, as there seems little risk that the weakly garrisoned city would send out any of its defenders to take an otherwise worthless hex.  Units in north Euzkadi and on the Santander front are spreadout and joined by reinforcing units too, such that the line is nearly complete all the way to Asturias.  In Asturias itself, the decision is made to move significant forces into the province, which will result in the release of the Asturian garrison forces.  Four X’s were going to be released anyway, and it seems impossible to hold the hexes Nationalist high command wishes to hold given the 4 RE limitation.  So, the Generalissimo decides to send in the troops to create a strong defensive front that should hold the terrain and prevent major attacks by the released garrisons.  First, the elite 32nd Inf III moves out of Oviedo, and takes the 0908 hex across the river from Aviles.  The elite 39th III rails into the Oviedo itself from Vigo, where it had been dropped off after arriving from the Canaries (3 of the 4 elite, supported III’s are now in Asturias, with only the one on Majorca not yet actively engaged.  That will arrive as soon as shipping is freed up from duties moving the AoA and Canary island forces, and hopefully poorer weather arrives in the Med, mitigating to a degree possible reaction by Loyalist naval forces (the other option would be to bring in the Italian fleet, but with just 1 call up per year, I’d prefer to leave them sit till later, as a threat-in-being against any Loyalist naval adventures.  Using them as escorts for a single III and a cons unit seems overkill to say the least.))  The elite 38th is currently in Mieres, but plans are laid to assault the wooded rough in sector 1107, which would shorten the frontage, and require the 38th to abandon pacification and move into the hex.  The Leon Fal X is moved into the mountains at sector 1207, and the 2 Mtn II’s consolidate at 1206, which should limit Asturian counterattacks.  Assuming the planned attack goes well, the Nationalist line will be one hex off the coast from 1206 through Oviedo to the 0908 coastal hex.  Just one would be subject to NGS, and that one would be cross river and not adjacent to the Gijon hex, presumed to be the center of any Asturian defense.  In addition, the 2nd Mtn Arty III is railed in from the Euzkadi front, bringing support to the 2 MG II and the intrinsic defense unit, raising the DS of Oviedo to 4.5.  Any attack would be subject to a -2 roll as well, so the city and factory appear safe even from a released garrison, at least as long as the frontage against the city can be kept to 30 miles.  To the rear, the Oviedo Inf XX is admin’d up from Valladolid, where it arrived and was equipped earlier in the turn, but it remains just behind the line due to admin limitations.
Way in the south in Africa, only a few units remain to be sent out, including 2 strong Cav III’s and a few weaker inf 1-6 III’s.  They position themselves for mov’t next turn, though the plan is to leave 2 1-6’s and and a 1-8 Cav III in Africa to act as a defense/garrison against Loyalist adventures.
Overall rail cap usage was 8.5 RE’s, so to date the Nationalists have managed to avoid spending res pts to temp increase cap.  At the end of the turn the CR.32’s fly CAP over the 24:3415 hex on the Linares-Valdepenas front (the larger of the two stacks, and the one subject to a greater impact on DAS should it get through (the other hex will presumably get the Bre19’s, which would move a 10:1 -2 to a 5:1 -2, but I’d prefer the 5:1 -2 rather than an odds shift against the bigger stack, hopefully to reduce the chances of an EX/HX in the potentially more costly attack.

Combat Phase

The Loyalists assign 2 pts of NGS to Aviles, and 1 pt to 1106, ensuring support for each.  The Vild air unit flies DAS to 1107 in Asturias, which was expected.  The PA Bre19 flies to the wooded rough at 3316 in southwest Castilla la Nueva, as expected/desired as well.  The Nationalist Bre19 flies GS to Almeria to bump the odds there up to 6:1, while the Mxd T ends its transportation of AoA units, and flies GS to 3415 in the attack against that 2 pt stack on the Linares-Valdepenas front.  Both NGS points from the Nationalist BBTF off Almeria are assigned to that attack.
The BB lights up the Almeria harbor, while Bre19’s drop bombs on the unfortunate souls in the defending PA 3 MG II plus the militia in the city.  Despite this, morale remains high, and the 2 II’s of Lt Inf get off to a slow start in the assault.  The defenders attempt a fighting withdraw, but with troops closing in on all sides, they are eventually forced to surrender (6:1 -1, 6 for PA morale, a/s to one of 2 II’s attacking, 2 rolled for a DR zoc kill.  Almeria is occupied by both II’s, 0.5 Nat’s drafted.)  Taking the city ensures that no less than 6 Anarchist X’s will never see action (one X shows at Malaga, and another at any city in Andalucia Sep I… 2 more show up in the next two consecutive months at any city in the district… since reinforcements in FWTBT are delayed, not killed into the replacement pool if there reinforcement location is enemy owned, they are effectively removed from the Loyalist OB until such time as they can seize a city in Andalucia to free up the 5 “any” X’s for reinforcement.  Given the state of affairs in Andalucia at the moment, this seems unlikely.  A nifty byproduct of an Insurgent focus on Andalucia.)  Just to Almeria’s north, the heroic 1st Tet & O arty III’s, joined by a few other units, make short work of the Anarchist AmL unit hiding in the mountains, though they too march off to POW camps singing leftist diddies (5:1 -2, 6 for Loyalist morale, 4 for Fal morale, so no morale effects on either side, partial a/s provided, 5 rolled for another DR zoc kill.)  Both these attacks were against isolated foes, so no specials were generated for the Loyalists.
Moving to the Linares-Valdepenas front, the 3316 hex on the north is first assaulted by the 1st LE Inf III and E Art, supported by a single II of machinegunners to take any possible exchange.  The defending 23rd GC Sec III acquits itself well, but the force arrayed against it is overwhelming and they too are sent to the deadpool (5:1, -2, no morale effects possible due to good terrain and DAS, 2 RE’s of A/S provided, 6 rolled for a DH, though zoc’s would have killed on a DR too.)  The larger battle to the south, in sector 3415, sees costly errors on both sides.  Surrounded, the PA’s 12th Inf III panics, but the 6L Art continues firing into the whites of the Nationalist’s eyes… the professional ZMO Eng & 6th Lt Inf assaulting from the southwest sustain heavy casualties, but when the slower moving Van Inf XX joins the field, ultimately the PA units are wiped out to a man (6:1 -1, 1 rolled for PA morale, ½’ing the Inf III, most Nat units receiving attack supply, 1 rolled for an EX.  Lt inf II & eng III taken as Insurgent losses, since the 2-6 Col III in the fight could not have been immediately replaced, no specials on the Loyalist side due to isolation.)
Next up, Badajoz is easily cleared of the local militia (3:1 +0 up to a 6:1 +0 when the morale roll is a 2 for a PA ½’ing, no a/s provided, 6 for a DE.)  The attacking 21 GC Sec III advances into the hex to complete mop up operations next turn, while the arty remains on the east side of the river to move to the trains at Merida next turn.  Falangist volunteers flock to the flag (0.5Fal drafted.)  Finally, the 40th Inf III is attacked from four sides at sector 1107 in Asturias, giving a good account of itself and taking down a Fal X before succumbing and giving up the ghost (5:1 -2, attack supply provided to all, PA morale solid due to DAS and terrain, but Falangists halved due to a 4 rolled (didn’t shift odds, they were included as EX/HX fodder), 2 rolled for an EX, with Leon Fal X dying).  The 38th Inf III abandons pacifying Mieres (the 31st Inf III remains to restart that process next turn), moving into the battlefield to being preparing for any counter attack from the soon-to-be-released Asturian army.
All told, 6 attacks were launched, causing 8 points of Loyalist losses, none generating specials, while 3 pts of Nationalist troops died in EX’s.  Even so, 4 of the 6 attacks had the potential for an AS, and none resulted, so not a bad turn for the Nationalists.  Loyalist air units land at their originating hexes, while the CR.32’s land at Jaen, where they can cover both the front and the Bre19’s landing at Granada and the Mxd T’s landing at Cordoba.

Exploitation Phase

NT-1 and -2 both head for Ceuta, where they replenish and finish out the turn, positioned to move larger Cav III’s next turn.  The combination of Italian subs and the Nat BB head west at night from Almeria, generating no reaction attempt by the Loyalists.  The BB eventually reaches Ceuta, where it too replenishes and sits tight for the rest of the turn.  The Italians peel off and head for the coastal hex at the eastern tip of Spanish Morocco, using inshore waters to screen their mov’t.  There they wait until 10 nmps remain in the 5th naval substep of the exploit phase, whereupon they move towards Cartagena at night.  They reach a point 5 hexes distant (4009) from the major port and naval base, home of the Loyalists Med fleet, without incident (no reaction attempts), where they are well positioned to interdict the port or react to future mov’ts by the Loyalists.  No air missions are flown.

 

Loyalist Aug II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

The French border remains open by rule.  Supply effects are in full force, as mentioned above.  For the Insurgents, things are a bit cleaner now that the Malaga pocket has been cleared, but not perfect.  Two hexes on the Guadix front are still out of supply, because Gaudix and some other towns to the rear are unpacified and ungarrisoned.  One hex of the line can trace to Motril through the mountains, while the northernmost hex of the line in the gap at 3204 can now trace up to Jaen, but the fact that the PA unit at Ubeda retreated away prevents the rest of the line from tracing via Jaen.  Up in Asturias, all but the forward most hex of the Nationalist line, at the coast, is in regular supply now that Mieres is occupied.  Needless to say, the 9thCav III raider east-northeast of Alcazar is out of supply  On the Loyalist side, staying in the north, all PA units but one are isolated, though all are in supply.  The single PA unit still in Estramadura is out of supply, but not isolated.  Likewise, much of the Madrid front goes out of supply since an enemy zoc is on the high volume line 3111, and the low volume line is both partially enemy owned and too long for supply purposes.  All units north of 28xx hexrow go OOS for the Loyalists, but since none are c/m, the impact will be minimal, except to limit rail movement and act as a distraction.
In pacification actions, the 7 units rampaging through Barcelona have nearly completed their dirty work (3rd turn of 3 begun.)  Gerona, Tarrasa and Reuss are cleared of all undesirables, while the 3 GC Sec III at Tarragona and the RN An Inf X in Sabadell begin purifying their respective locations.  Two units, one critical artillery, consider pacifying Albacete, and ultimately decide to leave it to some other time.  The Loyalists use their 1.0 PA Inf RPs to replace the destroyed 16 GC Sec III at Madrid.  A 5 is rolled for random mine damage, so the PA BB in the north remains undamaged.  The damaged LC rolls a 4 in Barcelona and remains so.  Perhaps surprisingly, no forts are begun in the north, which is a bit odd given the cons units and res pts are in place and available.  Perhaps Sam forgot… or he plans to push his ‘oblasts’ out a bit.  The Loyalist’s fly no ini phase air missions, while the Nationalists put their Mxd T at Tetuan on naval patrol.  The Loyalist amphibious plan A remains in effect.

Movement Phase

All Loyalist naval units first replenish.  Then the BBTF and LtTF in the north move to 1205, just near to my MG II, and prep for NGS, as expected.  Rough seas though will cut NGS from each by ½, so later the LtTF chooses not to fire it’s ineffective NGS.  NT-3 moves to Gijon, loads up the 1st Ast Con X, and moves it to Bilbao.  Clearly the northern Gobernito’s are all about supporting one another ;)
Starting in the southeast this time, the Loyalists surprise me a bit, by not advancing as strongly as I would have guessed.  I had sort of encouraged an advance here, putting my single armor unit in a strong position, albeit with weak flanks.  Even so, the Loyalists appear satisfied with their Cataluna front, by and large.  Machinegun II’s take up position in the mountains on the line’s northeast section, some 30 miles from the Insurgent lines on the west bank of the Cinca.  First Mtn Art III and 1st Cat Inf hold the bend in the Segre river, at sector 4426, and then the elite 2P arty and 2nd Cat Inf hold Lerida, where the two lines actually come face to face.  From there, the Loyalist line runs southwest rough to the east-west mountains in the far southeast portion of the Cordillera Iberica. The center of the line is supported with artillery, but the flanks are generally single units.  To this line’s rear, 3 GC sits in Tarragona and some 7 units are in Barcelona, “purifying” the populace.  15th Inf moves to Manresa to do likewise, while 8th Eng III admins to Tortosa, cartaging a res pt along for good measure.  These two towns are the last not yet purified or going through purification.  On the Teruel front, the PA sends 5 units forward on a “purple slime” strategy, apparently trying to slip around to the Teruel defenders’ rear.  No surprises there.  In the Madrid area, the line thins just a bit, looking a bit like a capital “M” thanks to the Insurgent salient at 2510 in the Cordillera Central.  To the rear, 1st Mech III, with 5L Arty move to engage the raiding 9th Cav III on its west side, with the AAC Arm Car III moving in from the opposite eastern flank.  In the process of moving into position, the AAC retakes Cuenca, but it sits ungarrisoned for pacification at this point.  Four units join the 18th GC, survivors of the attack on Ubeda on the Valdenpenas front.  Rail is used extensively to get troops into position, forming a line roughly NW-SE, from the wooded rough in 3316 down to the mountains in 3302.  However, the rough at 3101 is left open, so the 5 hex line has a gap.  Only one arty unit can be spared… the 6L Art III, victors at Albacete last turn, takes up position in the last hills before the clear central valleys leading to Valdepenas and beyond, astride the rails at 3415.  It’s joined there by the 12th Inf from near Valencia province.  These 5 units cannot hope to stop the cream of the Army of Africa, but the PA is pressed for troops on multiple fronts… I might have expected some troops to be drawn out of Cataluna, since it appears no attacks will be launched on that front.  Clearly this line is just a stop gap until the big Sep I 36 reinforcement turn.  In the far south, in the eastern corner of Andalucia province, some six units create a line holding the hilly gap leading to Lorca.  The line runs from 3404, to 3505, thence southeast to Almeria, with Anarchists holding position forward of this line at 3207, just northwest of the port city.  In the rear, another An X puts zoc’s into the eastern section of the Cordillera Penibetica, at 3602, while 16GC Sec III admins into Albacete for some pacification work next turn.
In the far north, units shift about a bit.  1st Bas Cons X holds the eastern part of the main Basque line, then single units hold the wooded rough hexes at 3032 and 3033.  There, the line turns northwest, with the recently arrived 1st Ast Cons X and the Bas Ortiz mortar III holding the wooded rough at 1702.  I guess the Basques are getting first dibs on fort building!  The line continues northwest, then into the mountains at 1603, then to the hilly gap at 1504, and into the mountains of western Santander province.  The Santandero AD mortar III guards the gap at 1504 with the PA’s 6th Eng III… clearly another location prime for fort building.  A res pt is SMP’d up to Santander city, for just that purpose I suppose.  The southeastern-most hex of Asturias remains occupied by the 22 GC Sec III, with the Spanish BB and Basque light TF in attendance, both prep’d for NGS.  Inside the Gijon pocket, a slight stronger X (the Di, a 1-2-4) takes possession of Aviles, while the 3rd returns to the city.

Combat Phase

No Insurgent planes are within striking distance of any hex being obviously threatened, so no DAS is flown.  The PA Vildebeest floatplanes fly to 1106, where a massive assault on the MG II is made.  Attack supply is unavailable thanks to Gijon being cut off, but with ample naval shells available and the GS above, the attack is nearly a foregone conclusion.  Even so, the Loyalists make a go of turning into a touch and go affair… The Loyalists roll a 4 for morale, and a 1 in combat, so ultimately they are successful (2 ones would have resulted in an HX, allowing the machinegunners take some Loyalists with them (9:1 -1, no AS, 1 pt GS, 4 pts of naval units, but the LtTF cannot provide effective NGS in the rough wx, and the 3 pt BB is ½’d and rounded down as well, so just 1 pt effective NGS, 1 rolled for DH.)  On the Madrid front, the 1st Mech and its supporting arty make short work of the 9th Cav raiders. (4:1 +2, AS provided, 1 pt GS from Bre19, no morale affects as no militia are present, 3 rolled for DH.)  Lastly, a spoiling attack is made against the 8th Car Bdr III at 2613 (this hex weaker than originally planned due to a lack of rail cap available to get arty into the hex).  The attack goes off without a hitch, but the Loyalists choose not to advance (10:1, +0, AS provided, 4 rolled for no morale effects, 6 for a DE.)  The Loyalist Bre19 returns to Madrid and the Vilds return to Bilbao, their starting airbases.

Exploitation Phase

Exploit is minimal.  The TF’s return to port, replenish, and then prep for NGS in Gijon (BB), and San Sebastian (LtTF).  The other naval units just stay in port.  The AAC, which simply pinned the 9th Cav and didn’t attack, can exploit given it didn’t, so it heads back up to west Madrid, where it is protected (it’s got a 0 DS, so it needs help defending itself.)  The Insurgents fly no air missions, and the ancient PA Neiuport 52’s remain in place in Madrid as well.

 

Insurgent Aug II 36 player turn

Initial Phase

Ground weather is automatically clear, as is the Med.  In the Atlantic, a minor storm system runs along the northwest Iberian cost, causing some minor operations difficulties primarily to previous planned Loyalist naval ops (6 rolled for rough weather, so NGS will be ½ strength, should it matter.)  Supply and isolation go into effect, per the normal rules.  On the Insurgent side, units in Oviedo and southern Asturias go U-1 black, thanks to Mieres being unpacified and ungarrisoned.  In the south, north of Almeria the line goes out of supply thanks to a number of unpacified towns along the low volume lines, as does Jaen, though a few units can draw supply via the port of Motril (unpacified, but with a unit sufficient for garrison purposes.)  Lastly, near Teruel the one unit defending that front goes U-1 black as well, due to the rail lines in its rear still being unowned.  On the loyalist side, only the PA III’s in Estramadura are U-1 black.  No units on either side are isolated, though significant portions of the Northern Gobernito’s will be to PA units shortly (for the time being, there are holes in the Insurgent lines, so the ‘infinite’ LOC is sufficient to ensure non-isolated status, at least until the combat phase check.)  No border garrisons are in place yet, as they won’t be checked till the Loyalist Sep I 36 turn.  Throughout Spain, Insurgents begin tracking down Loyalist terrorists and fear-mongers, as pacification forces begin their work in Merida, Heulva, Jerez, Ronda, Jaen, Loja and Motril.  These are all towns or small cities so all should be cleared of terrorists and communists next turn.  There are no reinforcement or production activities, but there are 2 pts of Nat Inf (from drafting and specials) and 1 pt of arty available (via imports) for some replacement activity.  Northwest of Malaga, as the Loyalists stayed in the mountains and left the 2 LE Inf III out of ZOC, the regiment becomes the bases for the Van Inf XX in 2-3-6 mode (this XX will eventually convert to one of the first XX’s with a cadre, so it gets used on a more offensive line of operations.  Most of the other small XX’s get used in defensive sectors.)  It is then equipped to supported 3-6 status at the cost of .5 Art.  The destroyed 2 GC Sec III is rebuilt at Cordoba for use on the Malaga front, while its twin the 10 GC Sec III is rebuilt in Zaragoza, using up all available Nat RPs.  Safety protocols remain in place in the Insurgent Navy (5 rolled for mine damage check.)  Neither side declares CAPs or naval patrol and no harassment is flown by the Loyalists.

Movement Phase

The CTV subs return to Ceuta, where they replenish and await the rest of the move phase.  NT-1 loads the E Art III at Larache, then moves to Cadiz & unloads it.  It then returns to Larache and loads the 1 LE Inf III, moves to Sevilla and unloads it, with 1 nmp left to return down river towards the sea.  NT-2 loads the elite (meaning supported) 38th Inf III on Tenerife, then moves it to Vigo, moving back towards the Canaries whence it came.  The BBTF and CATF move to Malaga, and prep for NGS, avoiding any potential reaction from Loyalist naval units at Cartagena via some coastal mov’t near Malaga itself.  Once the prep is completed they await the combat phase.
In ground mov’t, 1 Tet Col III moves to invest Malaga on its western flank, while 6th Lt Inf II moves to the northwest of Malaga from Cadiz, and the rebuilt 2 GC Sec III moves in to attack from the northeast, these later two attacking from across the mtn hexsides.  Meanwhile O Art III and 2 Lt Inf II move around Malaga’s north flank to take the anarchist X in the mountains in its eastern flank.  They are joined on their right side by 2 Eng, assaulting the anarchists from their northeast, and ensuring that all forces reducing the Malaga pocket will have access to attack supply.  Units on the Gaudix front, facing Lorca and Almeria remain in place for the time being.  On the Guadalquivir front, near Jaen, 1 Lt Inf II from near Malaga joins the Col and Fal III’s current pacifying the city and the the 1 P Art III looking on.  The O MG II rails in along low volume lines to join as well, with the whole stack planned for a cross river assault (while the 2 units pacifying may not spend mps, they can attack out of the city, so long as they remain in it for the upcoming pacification garrison check… a III in Loja will do likewise in the planned assault against anarchists in the Malaga mountains noted previously.)  Meanwhile, the Van XX joins the river line and plans an assault to retake Linares on the east bank of the river.  The recently shipped in E Art III and 1 LE Inf III join them by railing to a point 30 miles northwest of Jaen, then crossing the river to take the northern part of the Loyalist line in the flank.  To their rear, two III’s of inf and engineers cartage attack supply from Sevilla to Cordoba, while trucks move A/S already in Cordoba south to supply the Malaga front.  In Morocco, units continue to move to air and sea ports for mov’t to the front.  The 2 Mel Col III and 2 II’s of Lt Inf and machinegun units are airlifted from Tetuan to Jerez.  Tetuan is a better airlift spot now that Malaga is expected to fall.  In southern Estramadura, 4 Lar Col III rails in to engage the PA’s 3rd III at 2821, just southeast of Almendralejo, with the Nat 6th III supporting to its east, while the 1st Sev Fal X and supporting 3 L Arty III move around the PA unit, enter that town and attack the 3rd in the rear.  The unit in Merida remains in place, screening the PA’s 11 GC Sec III north-northeast of Badajoz.  7thBdr remains in Caceres defending that town, joined by 21GC Sec III on its northwest side, essentially trapping the PA Sec unit against the Badajoz-Portuguese border area.  On the Madrid front, two units from near the rail junction at 2217 move down the line and take up positions east and southeast of Talavera, leaving that city unpacified in their rear.  15 L Art III rails in from Galicia to hold the mountain pass at sector 2412.  4 P Art and 28th Inf sit on the arty unit’s right flank at the wooded rough sector 2513, while to its left, 2nd Cav shifts a hex eastward.  The Insurgent line runs due east in the clear hexes through to 2407, which is empty, whereupon the line doglegs southeast down to 2706.  To the rear, 6GC admins to a point 30 miles east of Salamanca, while the 35th Inf III admins to just behind the gap in the line at 2407, taking up residence in 2307 and minimizing the chance of any raiders.  However, 13 L Art III still holds a salient in the Loyalist line at mountain hex 2510.  This whole line is somewhat weak, mostly made up of 1 pt units, including a few scattered arty III’s, but only the wooded rough at 2513 actually has an arty unit & infantry in support.  The line’s flank sort of hangs against the wooded rough of eastern Castilla la Nueva.  Through this same wooded rough, the Insurgents send a cavalry raid.  9th Cav moves due southwest from 2706, converting ownership of Cuenca on the low-volume Aranjuez-Valencia line, then putting at least a zoc on the high volume Aranjuez-Alcazar line, thereby cutting access to Madrid from the south, albeit temporarily to be sure.  (I was one mp shy of being able to occupy hex 3111, or better yet, putting a zoc on the Alcazar-Albecete line, which would have prevented rail reinforcement of the critical Linares-Ubeda front, which ultimately leads to Valdepenas and thence to Alcazar.  IMO, the fall of Alcazar is the death knell of Loyalist Spain, as Madrid cannot be easily supplied or reinforced but through that one line, assuming the Loyalists don’t control nearly all of Aragon, which is a difficult prospect in a standard start game.)  Over on the Teruel front, 20GC Sec III moves west into the mountains flanking the pass, with 17th Inf moving into its previous positions from near Calatayud.  This opens up the rail line and supply, and allows 24th Inf III to admin in from Galicia to help join the front.  In Aragon, Insurgent GHQ faces a bit of a choice.  They are currently outnumbered 2:1 or worse, but the PA has decided to form lines essentially behind rivers.  The Insurgents can advance a bit and form a line based on terrain and rivers, or back up a bit, but without that terrain for protection.  It’s decided to advance to contact, more or less, and put some zoc pressure at least on the Catalunian line.  Should Loyalists attack on this front, they will likely make some gains, but it’s believed the damage will be contained at least a bit as no hex appears to be over-runnable, and besides, units attacking southern Aragon aren’t helping hold the line btw Valdepenas and Linares.  The line runs from the wooded rough at 4631 into the rough at 4630, then due northwest eventually along the Cinca river, with a salient at 4428.  This salient is occupied by 2nd Mech and 9 L Art III’s, and while attackable from 4 sides, all such sides face rivers.  To its rear are single small units, protected by rivers themselves, while the rail line hex at 4530 has 2 pts supported.  No hex appears to be overrunnable, as noted, but the line is otherwise not particularly strong.  Still, even facing the best Loyalist forces not near Madrid, it should hold a turn till next turn’s reinforcements arrive (to include a planned build of the 1st Cas XX, plus others that can be built up or show as reinforcements (a pair of 2-3-5 XX’s, the Caceres and Oviedo XX’s arrive next turn, so should the Loyalists choose to launch an offensive on the Aragon front, the Insurgents can get at least 2 or 3 good defensive units into the area quickly via Zaragoza (given that a 3 pt unit is huge in the early game of FWTBT!)
Up in the north in Euzkadi, San Sebastian is cut off from the rest of Basque territory… there are only 3 pts of units capable of attacking out of the city, and no attack supply in it, so single units can probably hold the line directly in northern most Navarre… however, 3131, the hex btw San Sebastian and the rest of Euzkadi is held ‘in force’ with 2 pts of supported troops.  Other units nestle up to the Basque lines as well, so they are complete up through 1703, just shy of the PA held mtns at 1603.  Santander province is screened mostly at a distance, though zoc’s hem the territory in while the rough terrain gap btw the mountains at 1604 is held directly.  In Asturias, despite my recent battle losses, the Insurgents remain aggressive.  The 2nd MG II advances to the coast to take 1106, while 8th Mtn II moves out of Oviedo to take up position in the vacated mountains at 1206.  Seventh Mtn II also departs Oviedo, taking up position in the mountains at 1207, while the 38th Inf III (supported), just delivered to Vigo, rails into Meires’ hex.  The 32nd Inf III (supported) sends out patrols to gain ownership of the town of Tineo in northern Asturias (it moves out and back into the city, gaining ownership via zoc).  In this way, Gijon is nearly encircled, and no attack supply is currently in the city.  The MG II is likely going to be attacked, but the Asturians will be halved for lack of attack supply (the factory at Gijon does not produce a/s until later in the game when it upgrades.)  The Loyalists must attack the II, using NGS I’m sure, otherwise they risk leaving themselves unable to link up with the rest of the Gobernitos.  However, if they are attacking along the coast they are not attacking the mountain hex at 1206, which zoc’s in the southern part of Asturias (when I get a unit with a zoc there… for now, I’m still keeping myself at 4 RE’s or less in the province, by using the II’s and the supported III’s for strength.  Next turn I’ll need to make the call on whether to release the Asturian garrison by sending in more than 4 RE’s.  I have too many hexes (5!) to hold with a meager 4 RE’s of troops, especially when the intrinsic defense of Oviedo counts as ½ of one of those RE’s.  Again, letting the Asturians attack in the south ensures they aren’t coming up with plans to improve on any sort of attack against Oviedo (even with pulling units out of the city, the Loyalists would need their whole AF to get even a 2:1 -2 against the city, what with their being no attack supply available to them for the moment.)  Lastly, up in Galicia, nearly all the units in that backwater have been railed or admin’d out, the exception being the 30th III, which was used to finally connect up the rail lines.

Combat Phase

The Loyalists fly DAS to a threatened hex near Madrid, ensuring no attack would be launched (I probably wouldn’t have attacked there anyway, since even the 5:1 odds I might have gotten would have risked exchange losses I wasn’t interested in (they would have necessitated taking losses in troops that would have left arty units alone in the hex, and I didn’t have attack supply in the area to ensure very high odds attacks.)  The first Nationalist attack goes off without difficulties, when Bre19’s scare off the “Independent Republic of Malaga” Anarchist infantry brigade.  The anarchists panic a bit despite their excellent terrain and are destroyed to a man, with the 2nd Eng III taking their works by assault (5:1 -2 attack, w/ a/s, Anarchists ½’d by morale effects, odds go to 11:1 -2, 4 rolled for a DE.)  Next, the guns of the fleet open up on Malaga proper, while the 1stTetuan Col III and 6th Lt Inf fix the defending 8th PA III in place on their west and northwest sides… 2nd GC Sec III sneaks in from the northeast, across the mounts using local guides to find routes through the peaks.  The defenders are caught surrounded by forces on every front, with their only retreat routes eliminated thanks to the collapse of the anarchists to the east.  The city falls quickly as the defenders rout (6:1 -1, with a/s and 3 pts of NGS supporting the otherwise unsupported units attacking, 4 for no effect on PA morale, but 6 rolled for DE.)  Next the Guadalquivir river position is taken in turn.  Ubeda is seized, but the attack is mishandled by newly arrived troops and the defending PA 18th GC Sec II manages to escape eastwards (8:1 -1, some a/s, but just 1 RE shy of enough to ensure a 9:1, no morale for PA, 1 rolled for a DR.)  Linares however changes hands for the third time, as units assault from northwest and west across the river, with the Van XX in the lead (9:1 -1, some a/s, no morale for PA, 6 for a DE.)  Lastly, the rail lines near Almendralejo are cleared of the patrols of the PA 3rd III, when a mixed bag of Nat Arty and Nat, Col and Fal Inf assault and force the soldiers of the 3rd into captivity (5:1 +0, some a/s, no morale for PA or Fal, 3 for a DR zoc kill.)

Exploitation Phase

SS-1 and -2 wait till the end of the turn, and then slip off out of Ceuta and arrive off station, 30 miles off the coast of Almeria, arriving at night time.  Naval units in Cartagena choose not to respond (-1 on success roll, no reaction attempted.)  NT-1 moves down the river to the Atlantic, heads to Ceuta where it replenishes, then moves to Larache to await next turn’s mov’ts.  NT-2 moves to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, replenishes, and then awaits the end of the turn.  The BBTF with low ammo moves to Ceuta, replenishes, and then waits, while the CATF moves north towards El Ferrol, slipping into the port using night movement and the rough seas to ensure the Loyalist BB at Gijon can do nothing to respond (-1 mod for rough and -1 mod for night mov’t ensure no reaction could be successful…)  It is now positioned to receive additional cruisers next turn (Sep I 36 is an NRP receiving turn for the Insurgents, and the unit being reinforced has to be in the port at the start of the turn and remain there the entire turn to be brought up in strength.  No ground mov’t occurs in exploit and neither side flies any exploit turn air missions, so the turn ends at this point.

 

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