Month: March 2014 (Page 2 of 2)

All units remain in supply and unisolated by rule.  Purification is complete in Lerida, and continues for the 2^nd of 3 turns in Barcelona.  Units begin removing insufficiently leftist populace in Gerona, Tarrasa & Reuss (8^th Eng, 1^st Cat Inf & 15^th Inf begin purification respectively.)

At Gijon the Di Ast Inf X and 1^st Ast Cons X report for duty.  Likewise, at Bilbao sees the arrival of the 1^st Bas Cons X, while a small number of ships are gathered and armed, creating the LtTF-1 in the naval base.  Down south, the Cataluna folks manage to scrape up sufficient shipping to form up the Cat NT-1 naval unit.  1 Attack supply is imported from the French (presumably at this date) at Gijon, while 1 arty pt each is imported at Bilbao and Barcelona.  8 Asturian Inf X’s go into garrison, as do 3 Santander Inf X’s and a Cons X, plus 2 Basque Inf X’s and a Bas Cons X.  The staffs for 4 Arty and Mtr III’s are assembled and just await their tubes (4 III’s to the replacement pool for rebuilding).  Finally, trucks are assembled from the economy of southern Spain sufficient to bring on line 5 SMPs.

Next, the 5 Loyalist controlled factories begin pumping out war materiel, totaling 1 a/s, 2 res pts, .5 Arm and 1.0 arty in the northern Gobernitos and 3 a/s, 3 res pts, .5 arm and 1 arty in the south.  The PA earns .5 PA RPs for specials, insufficient to rebuild any of last turn’s losses.  However, the Asturian AD Art III is replaced at Gijon, while the AD (San) and Ortiz (Bas) Mtr III’s are built in Bilbao using imported and self-produced arty RPs this turn.

A mine damage roll of 7 ensures that the BBTF in Santander harbor does not blow up.  Finally, the Loyalist plan some sort of special op… as the Insurgent player, I do hope it’s against the island of Majorca… performing the historical attempt to seize the island would be grave mistake I’d love to see happen.  Heck, I’d empty the island just to let him give it a go.  Reason being, the island cannot be held in the face of the Italian response forces (granted, just a single Mxd 2-6 X and a pos AA pt in ground forces, but all 3 RMTF’s would immediately get to encircle the island and there’s no way the Loyalist fleet can tangle with the Italians.)  With the RMTF off the port of Palma, the Italians can simply blockade the city until any loyalists die of starvation (no Loyalist transports to fly in GSPs, and the intrinsic CD of the port would be permanently eliminated upon capture by the Loyalists, so those guns couldn’t be turned on the Italian blockading force.)  Hence, for the price of a useless CD pt and perhaps 3-4 months of infantry production at Palma the Insurgents would gain the use of the Italian LC’s for the remainder of the game… they don’t arrive except as a reaction to an invasion of Majorca, and they don’t go away once that reaction occurs.  This would give the Insurgents a naval invasion threat they cannot otherwise gain in the game.  So, note to Loyalist players… never invade Majorca!  I’ll just assume that Sam is either planning some sort of invasion of Spanish Morocco (unlikely to succeed… I always keep at least one unit at each port plus fleet units in Ceuta, or put out the doc as a fake threat.  Neither are a concern.)  Granted, all the above entails a level of hindsight the actual participants never had access to, but so do all wargames… we can all read the OBs after all!  At the end of the phase the Insurgent Mxd T at Larache goes on naval patrol since there will be little opportunity for DAS given its location, and on naval patrol it can help guard the Straits from any attempt to send the BBTF south, or run supplies/arty into Malaga.

The mov’t phase opens with Loyalist naval moves, albeit limited ones.  The NT’s at Barcelona and the SS and CLTF at Cartagena replenish in port and remain in place throughout the turn.  In the north, the newly arrived Basque LtTF replenishes at Bilbao, then moves to San Sebastian and preps for possible NGS.  NT-3 just sits in port at Bilbao after replenishment.  The BBTF, after spending the first turn murdering its officers, is now at low fuel, so it slowly moves to Gijon, and then slowly refuels (15 nmps vice 30 per naval substep), at which point it doesn’t have sufficient points to prep for NGS, so it just sits in port for usage later.

In ground mov’t, remaining in the north, 40^th Inf moves out of Gijon to the southeast, while 22GC Sec III moves up into Asturias from Santander, reopening a tenuous coastal LOC with the remaining portions of the northern Gobernitos.  As expected, 1^st San Inf X and 21^st Inf III’s seize the mtn hexes at 1505 and 1603 to start building a line in front of Santander city.  6^th Mtn II moves out of the line at 1801 and up to 1602 to link up with this line in northern Euzkadi.  The new 1^st Bas Cons and Ortiz Mtr III move into the wooded rough at 1702, where I’m sure a fort will begin construction next turn.  1^st Bas Inf X moves into 1801, which was otherwise emptied.  Interestingly, the Santander AD Mtr III moves into the Basque line at the wooded rough at 3032, to the southeast of the city.  I guess the Santanderos are protecting the Basques rather than their homeland :)  10^th Car Bdr moves out of San Sebastian and completes the Basque line to the sea at 3031, just east southeast of Guernica.  That leaves San Sebastian with 5 pts ground defense, plus NGS.

In Catalonia, the RN An Inf X rails in from Valencia to Sabadell, preparatory to more purification I’m sure.  2 MG II’s, one railed in from Valencia, move to Manresa to do likewise, while 3 GC having just finished purifying Lerida admins back to Tarragona to do similarly.  Then the Loyalists build a solid line of troops running from the Pyrenees to the Cataluna/Valencia border, taking advantage of terrain and rivers to the max extent possible.  However, no offensive moves are made at this point.  Doing this took 7.5 RE’s of rail capacity, and brought in one more unit from Valencia to accomplish.  North of Valencia, 3 units form a screen in front of Teruel, while apparently attempting to threaten the flanks of that insurgent position as well.  In the Madrid zone, units move east of Guadalajara, bumping up against the Insurgents at 2706, then form a line northwest into the mtns, around the single Insurgent 13 L Arty III at 2510, then back into the mtns at 2511 and into the wooded rough at 2512, then southwest to the Tajo river.  Other units, including the 1^st Mech II and 5L Arty and 3 Eng III’s engage Toledo’s defenders from the southeast and east, with the later two railed in over low volume lines from Valencia (the high volume line is blocked by insurgent ownership/intrinsic defense at Albacete), for the cost of 4 more RE’s of cap (of note, the Loyalists spent 1 res pt to temp increase their cap number this turn to 18 vice 12, after all the rail yards were connected with one another in the south.)  The AAC Lt Arm III moved along the low volume lines to help accomplish the connection of rail yards.  Near Valdepenas, 23 GS Sec III gains ownership of some rails so that 4^th GC Sec III can rail in from the Madrid zone and retake possession of the town of Linares, on the east bank of the Gaudalquivir river in Andalucia province.  18^th GC Sec III moves out of the mtns and occupies Ubeda to the southeast of Linares, also on the east bank of the river, creating a mini line in front of Jaen’s occupiers.  North of Almeria, the An and PA X’s swap locations (putting the Anarchists into mtn terrain) but otherwise hold in place.  3 Bdr III rails west out of Murcia along low volume lines, and then 34^th Inf III admins forward as well, filling the rough terrain valley leading to Lorca.  Other units gain ownership of lines in Murcia, allowing 11^th Inf III and 6^th Arty III’s to rail up to Albacete and engage the intrinsic defense on the southwest side.  The hapless defenders of Malaga remain in place, with one PA III in the city and an An X to the east in the mountains.  This area should easily fall to the Insurgents next turn.  Up in Estramadura, 3 Inf III moves south and crosses the rail line, moving to 2821, just southeast of Almendralejo, engaging a Fal X and arty to their southwest.  11 GC Sec III moves one hex into the wooded rough just west of Caceres.  Lastly, 1 SMP is used to move a/s one hex north of Murcia (allowing a supplied attack against Albacete), and 4 SMPs are used to move an a/s pt from Bilbao to Santander.

The Loyalists failed to fly a cap over Toledo, so the Insurgents manage to get their otherwise weak Bre19 unit over the city on DAS.  The Loyalists respond with a gnashing of teeth, and send their own Bre19 on a GS mission to the same hex, while the Vild stages up to Bilbao and flies a GS mission to the wooded rough 1107 hex, just southwest of Gijon.  At Toledo, a potentially damaging 2:1 +1 attack goes off without a hitch (a/s from Madrid, no morale roll made as the PA units being ½ wouldn’t have affected the odds, 6 rolled for a DH with zoc’s, killing the 2^nd GC sec III), avoiding the potentially disastrous 1 in 3 of an AS or 1 in 3 of either an EX or HX.  3^rd Eng III advances across the river into Toledo, staging a victory parade.  The poor soldiers of the mech and arty III’s are denied medals however, as that would be too militaristic :)  Oh well.  At Albacete, another a/s is burned to ensure no morale roll or poor combat roll might generate a 3:1 AS combo, so the final odds of 8:1 can’t be dropped to less than a 6:1, resulting the city’s automatic fall to the Loyalists.  The Loyalists gather up otherwise well-meaning citizens and put them under arms (.5 PA RPs drafted).  Finally, another potentially damaging attack in Asturias goes off without a hitch too… an 11:1 -2 attack rolls a 6 for no morale affects and then follows with a 6 for a DE, ensuring the valiant 10GC Sec III is sent off to the dead pool.  Only the PA unit in 1106 on the coast advances into the hex, so that will leave some potential for Insurgent mischief next turn, as the coastal hex is thereby emptied.  The loss of 2 Insurgent units will generate .5 specials next turn, to go along with the 1.5 already drafted, so both can immediately be brought back, and it will be useful to be able to position potential pacifiers where I need them at least!

Essentially none.  All fleet elements remain in port.  The BBTF now preps for NGS up in Gijon, so Gijon and San Sebastian can both count on defense fires from naval forces.  The AAC III moves west to Alcazar.  The Mech III cannot exploit since it attacked this turn.  No air missions are flown.

Weather is auto clear on the ground and in the Med.  The Atlantic is clear with a 4 rolled.  All units remain in supply and unisolated.  The CATF, strength 3 but w/ 2 hits shows up at El Ferrol.  Italian submariners stealthily join the war by arriving at the grand naval base in Ceuta.  A host of other Italian naval units, an air unit, a Mixed ground X, pos AA and some attack supply show up in Cagliari as well, all awaiting future developments in Spain.  Il Duce intends to ensure Italy’s strategic considerations are well taken care of.  Franco begins marshaling trucks to help run the war effort (5 SMPs added to the pool, bringing the total to 5!)  Finally, German and Italian imports begin arriving, with a res pt, attack supply, and .5 Arty RPs showing up at La Coruna’s docks.  Two  more attack supply and a res pt are produced at Sevilla, while one of each is produced at Oviedo.  The pool has 0.5 Nat and 1.0 Arty in it.  Two supported XX’s are formable now (Van & 1^st Cas), but neither is particularly needed at this point, so the Insurgents will wait a bit before doing so (the best units for forming a 3-6* XX are the 3-2-6 Inf III’s.  They can single handedly fulfill the 2.5 inf necessary to form the XX unsupported, followed by a .5 arty upgrade to 3-6 * status.  However, the 3-2-6’s are also the most efficient units on the board in terms of attacking (3 AS for a single RE’s worth of attack supply spent… good units (nearly all Colonial Inf III’s, plus a few of the better Arty III’s) will get you 2 AS per RE, while the mass of Spanish units are just 1 per RE… so pulling one off the board for a turn to create a XX isn’t necessarily best, especially in the early game before the XX’s are really necessary.  In a turn or two, once the lines start to form and full support and full ZOC’s are more important, these XX’s will definitely be formed (though even then they are at best defensive formations, since you are getting just 1 AS per RE of attack supply for a 3-6 XX.)  A mine damage roll of 2 indicates that safety protocols are still in effect for the BB, and it doesn’t blow itself up.  Neither side flies any CAP (the Insurgents don’t even have a fighter unit!) and neither side declares naval patrol.

[Sidebar:  The Insurgents can get up to 4 RE’s of units transferred into mainland Spain per turn via naval mov’t, 2 of which could go to Sevilla, if the NT’s are properly placed.  The trick is to ensure that no more than 30 mps are spent transiting back and forth btw ports on the double trip.  NT’s can start in Ceuta or Larache (at least one must be at Ceuta because Larache is a minor port) to get 2 RE’s to Sevilla.  The first cycle must drop 1 RE off at Cadiz using each NT; each NT then returns to Larache and runs the next 2 RE’s into Sevilla.  If the optional ground mp cost rule is not used the ground units will have plenty of mps available for additional mov’t.  If the rule is used, then the units at Cadiz will typically have ½ or more of their mps, while the ones landed at Sevilla will have just 1 or 2.  In my case, I’ve got some future plans involving units in the Canaries and was more interested in protecting units from air strike, so on this turn 3 RE’s will go to Cadiz and just one to Sevilla (as both NTs start at Larache, the NT that has to go to Ceuta to pick up unit(s) for its second run will be 1 nmp shy of making Sevilla.]

The recently arrived Italian subs take on provisions, then head for hex 2408, 2 hexes southwest of Malaga, just out of range of Bre19 range from Almeria, but well within interdiction range of the port or reaction range of any naval mov’ts into the Straits-Malaga-Almeria area.  They remain on station the whole turn.  NT’s 1 and 2 load 2x Col Inf III’s (2-6’s) at Larache and then bring them to Cadiz, followed by a return trip to Larache and Ceuta, where they pick up 2 Lt Inf II’s and the ZMO Eng III respectively.  The Lt Inf II’s are dropped off at Sevilla, while the Eng III goes to Cadiz.  The NT’s end mov’t at sea west of Larache and on the river leading to Sevilla respectively.  The CATF departs El Ferrol for the coastal hex just south of Huelva, and begins prepping for NGS.  The BBTF moves to Ceuta, replenishes, and spends the rest of the phase relaxing in port… er, guarding the Straits of Gibraltar from Loyalist aggression.  None of the above mov’t is within reaction range of a Loyalist TF.

In ground mov’t, 6^th Car Bdr & 7^th Cav engage the militia garrison of Huelva, 6^th Car aligned w/ the cruiser off shore.  The victors of Jerez then move to clear the gap to Malaga at 2406, the O Arty III taking the overland route while 2LE Inf III travels via train (with other units described below gaining ownership of the rail lines leading to the gap.)  These units are joined by the 1 Tet Col Inf III offloaded at Cadiz and the 1^st & 2^nd Lt Inf II’s offloaded at Sevilla, with the Col III moving via train and the LtInf cutting through the woods.  7^th Inf, moving from the La Linea hex occupies Ronda just west of these units.  To the north, 2^nd Eng occupies 2304, which cleared the rails for mov’t to Malaga via zoc projection across the river.  Further east, 2P Art and 1 Cor Fal X invest Jaen, defended by the meager intrinsic garrison, with the PA’s 18GC Sec III having tucked tail and scampered into the mountains.  These units are joined by 3 Ceu Col III, railing in from Cadiz after being offloaded by NT’s at that port.  One attack supply point is moved via SMP from Sevilla to Cordoba.  On the Granada front, 5^th III occupies Loja, simultaneously screening the town from the Anarchists in the mountains and protecting Granada’s western flank.  1 Gran Fal X occupies the port town of Motril, while the 2 Lt Inf II’s flown in to Malaga last turn, as well as the 4 L Arty and 8 GC Sec III’s form a line facing Murcia and the port of Almeria, running from the gap east of Gaudix southwest to the pass NW of Almeria then west in the mountains, with their flanks covered by the high mtn hexsides further west.  This line should easily hold off units in Almeria or coming up from east of Lorca, at least until units clearing out the Malaga pocket are available to join them.  Back near Sevilla, 6^th Inf moves up the rail line towards Merida and Badajoz, allowing arty and the 1 Sev Fal X to admin into hex 2922.  Behind them are the ZMO Eng III and 33^rd III, admining in from the Cadiz-Jerez area.  27^th Inf III occupies Merida itself, while 21 GC Sec III from the Salamanca region moves to the rail junction at 2217, which joins Estramadura to Leon and leads southeast to Madrid.  7^th Car Bdr III shoots the gap and admins into Caceres to help defend the town and seal it off from PA III’s moving out of Badajoz, while the 26^th Inf & 8^th Car Bdr admin up to the rail junction from central Leon.  Near Madrid, 2 GC Sec returns to Toledo to prepare for the city’s defense, while 9 or so units, including 3 arty III’s move to seize mtn passes northwest of Madrid and terrain near Segovia.  Only two hexes of the Cordillera Central are occupied by Insurgent forces, but the western half will be Insurgent owned next turn, while the PA will likely own  all but 1 hex of the eastern half.  9^th Cav and 10 L Arty III’s take up position 30 miles east of Guadalajara, cutting off the Madrid line running east and protecting the town of Calatayud and the rail lines leading down to Teruel.  20 GC remains in the pass southeast of Teruel against any incursions coming up from Valencia, while 17^th Inf moves to join them, albeit at some distance.  We’ll see whether the Loyalists in Valencia wish to engage our brave defenders of the Spanish Thermopylae.  In Aragon, 8 units have nearly completed seizing all of the region, forming a northeast-southwest running line roughly parallel to the southeast border of the province, about a hex or two back from it.  For now they face only 3 PA units on the east bank of the Cinca, but other Loyalists will no doubt arrive on scene shortly, despite the injustices taking place in Catalonia by ‘pacification’ forces of the Loyalists.  Up in Navarre-Euzkadi, 8 Nat units, including 2 arty III’s, plus the two big Req X’s form a strong line facing Basque forces protecting Bilbao.  San Sebastian is laid siege to at a distance, with small units unable to completely close the city off until supporting artillery can arrive on the scene (San Sebastian starts with strong units, including a 2 pt Arty III, so unsupported 1 pt units would be foolish to engage directly.)  Basques are unlikely to leave the city itself however, so we should be able to more fully invest the city next turn.  22^nd Inf and 1^st Cav occupy a portion of Santander province, but Insurgent units start the game too far from the best defensive terrain in this area, so the mtn hexes will be taken by the Santander and PA defenders in their turn no doubt.  In Asturias, the Nationalist High Command is taking a both an aggressive and defensive approach, albeit not via the Asturias gambit.  A Mchg II rails into 1206, completing a line from Oviedo southeast to the border, all in excellent terrain, albeit the 2 southernmost hexes are weakly held with single unsupported units.  Even so, the Asturians are for now weak and without artillery, and are currently limited to just the coastal hexes of the province.  If the current line can be held, the Nationalists believe they can prevent Asturian XX’s from forming up later in the game (to form a XX, even in garrison, you must have a friendly hex not in zoc… by holding this line, the Nationalists prevent the Asturians from forming those XX’s since they will have no hex free of enemy zoc’s.  The only solution would be to slowly send units into Santander province and then slowy bring them back along the coastal route.  This should help weaken the Asturian defense through the upcoming winter… I don’t anticipate a chance to seize Gijon directly, unless the Loyalists make some sort of obvious mistake, given I wouldn’t play the gambit card, as they’ll have good garrison forces for the city and arty next player turn.)  In the meantime, two II’s of mtn troops are railed into Oviedo itself to bring its defense up to 3.25.  This should be sufficient to prevent any 3:1 -2 craziness on the Loyalist side (typically managed by bringing the arty III from San Sebastian into the city via NT’s and praying for luck… bit risky in my opinion, but some are gamblers… I had a face to face game collapse when the opponent risked a 4:1 -2 and rolled an AR at Oviedo, causing all his units in Gijon to die via zoc kill.  Gijon fell the next turn of course and the opponent decided to toss in the towel halfway through turn 3.)  Obviously, this strength will need to be increased over time as the Asturians form up units… the hard part is deciding when to release the Asturian garrison.  Oviedo is hard to defend with a 4 RE limit forever, even more so if you make the attempt to seize the terrain line I have.  It doesn’t help that the intrinsic garrison of Oviedo counts as ½ RE, or that Mieres to the city’s rear starts as Loyalist owned, so it goes Insurgent as soon as the game starts and therefore cannot be drawn supply through.  Odd that you can draw supply overland through enemy terrain, including enemy owned towns, but if they are friendly but not pacified, you cannot!  Pacifying the town of Mieres, occupying the line and defending Oviedo should prove a worthy challenge.  Finally, up in Galicia 7 units make their way as best they can out of the province and into the war.

The Loyalists fly no DAS, and the Insurgents no GS.  First, Huelva is seized in an NGS supported assault (7:1, +0, no a/s provided, no morale effects rolled (4 for Loyalist), 6 for a DE.  Next, Jaen is taken after a shaky start by both sides (both sides roll a ½ effect for morale, but while this reduces both sides by .25, this cuts the defenders in half and has a negligible effect on the Nationalists).  The Cordoban Fal X is provided no attack supply, no doubt the reason they were hesitant to jump off on the assault, but 1P Arty and 3 Ceu have no problem routing the defenders after being provided plentiful shells and bullets (34:1, -1, partial a/s, 1 rolled for H PA morale, 2 rolled for H Fal morale, 5 rolled for DE vs the garrison of the city.)  Lastly, the AoA clears the pass to Malaga at 2406 with a massive assault against 2 unsupported PA units (9:1, -1, a/s provided for all units, no morale effects (3 for PA), 5 rolled for a DE.)  5^th Car and 16GC III’s shuffle off to the dead pool, the first non-intrinsic garrison units to die in the war.  1 a/s at Cordoba is used to supply the units in the latter two attacks.  0.5 Nat RPs each volunteer for duty at Huelva and Jaen, while the PA will earn 0.5 specials for the loss of their 2 units.

The Italian SS’s hang off the shores near Malaga, while the CATF moves to Ceuta to replenish and wait out the turn, along with the BBTF.  NT-1 moves to Cadiz from the river leading to Sevilla, then moves to Larache for next turn’s transfers.  NT-2 heads off to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it too replenishes and then waits for future mov’ts.

In the war’s first real c/m exploit, 2^nd Mech III moves into the line w/9L Arty in Aragon.  The Bre19 hiding out in La Coruna transfers south to Salamanca, from which point it can provide DAS to Toledo or the units in the Cordillera Central region.  The Loyalist Vild, that had transferred from Cartagena to Bilbao last turn now transfers to Barcelona this turn, at which point the turn ends.

Again, no units are isolated or out of supply by rule 37C.  3 GC Sec III begins pacifying the good folk of Lerida, while 13 & 14 Inf III’s, 19 GC Sec III, 3 & 4 Cav III, 4^th Eng III & 1 Car Bdr III’s do the same in the two hexes of Barcelona.  Three X’s of Asturians are formed up in Gijon, while another three Santandero form up in Santander city.  The 1^st Bas X shows up at Bilbao, while the 2^ndstarts its war at San Sebastian.  The AmL Anarchist X begins terrorizing the city of Almeria, while the RIM An X does the same at Malaga.  More such X’s show up in Murcia, Valencia and Barcelona, while that later city also ends up with a X of anti-Stalinist communists in the Le POUM X.  Lastly, the 1^st and 2^nd Cat III’s form up in Barcelona as well.  A mine damage check is passed, so the BBTF in Santander is safe while its crew murders its officers.  No CAP is flown by rule, and neither side declares any naval patrol at this juncture.

The Insurgents open the phase with two air missions, which the Loyalists kindly allow.  The Mxd T transfers from Cadiz and its scant flak protection to Larache, out of range of all possible Loyalist a/c.  The Bre19 in Valladolid then heads for La Coruna, similarly safe from Loyalist bombing.  It is fairly important to note that the Nationalist AF is very brittle at the beginning of the game.  They get only 1 ARP per 4 a/c in play, rounded down.  They don’t get a 4^th air unit until Jan I 37, so their first ARP doesn’t arrive till Mar I 37, some 7 ½ months after game start.  Early losses, especially of the Mxd T, could be unrecoverable.  Fortunately the interventionist CTV and Kondor Legion get their ARPs from a ‘round up’ perspective, so they have some staying power.  Also, after the first turn through the first winter, the Loyalist will most often need his air units to help buck up his militia (all Loyalist units but arty & armor are militia, requiring militia reliability checks.)  GS and DAS can help mitigate these reliability checks, so the Loyalists are often better served to get the double bonus of GS/DAS plus the +1 for the check, rather than the 1 in 6 chance of a successful bombing.  But since the Loyalists cannot attack on turn 1, it serves the Insurgent to be well away from the Loyalist AF during this turn.

The Loyalist TF’s are unable to move, as they are busy killing off their officers at this point.  However, LC-1 and 2 depart Cartagena for Barcelona, while the NT-3 naval unit at Santander runs for the safety of the naval base at Bilbao.  All naval units spend the remainder of their turn replenishing and hiding in port.  5^th Car Bdr & 16 GC Sec III’s depart Malaga to the NW, blocking the valley leading to the nearly surrounded city.  The RIM Anarchists move east to protect the mountain flank of the city, and perhaps to threaten Granada.  18GC in Jaen scampers into the mountains, hiding from the advancing Insurgents no doubt.  Over in Murcia, PA units move west towards Lorca, while the TL An X heads north towards Albacete, an Insurgent owned city right in the heart of Loyalist Spain.  Units in Valencia head west and north towards Teruel and the coast road leading into Catalonia.  Over in Catalonia, the 16^th Inf III moves northwest out of Lerida, joined by the 4^th Mtn II, which crosses the Cinca river, creating a 3 hex line along that river.  The host of other units in Catalonia begin moving towards the front, except the An and POUM X’s in Barcelona, which remain in place.  No doubt the PA enforcers in the city aren’t doing a sufficient job pacifying the city, so the Loyalist gov’t feels the need to being in even worse offenders (these 2 X’s will probably swap out as part of the pacification garrison next turn, hence their lack of mov’t.)  Up near Madrid, units scatter in nearly every direction, moving north to secure the mtn terrain, west to take up positions in wooded rough the following turn, while c/m units and artillery move towards the heroic Insurgent city of Toledo, famed for its steel.  Two III’s of troops move out of Badajoz in Estramadura towards Merida, flanking that city on two sides.  Insurgent ZOCs prevent the town from swapping sides however.

Up in the far north, 2 Bas X’s and a PA III secure 3 wooded rough hexes south and west of Bilbao, while all units in San Sebestian hold up in preparation for a presumed siege.  Two Santander X’s and 2 PA III’s likewise move south and west, hoping to seize good defensive terrain next turn.  Finally, 3^rd Ast X moves northwest to protect the town and port at Aviles, key to the aforementioned “Asturian Gambit.”

None, per rule.

No mov’t by Loyalist naval units.  No c/m units are allowed to move due to the rising and revolution limit of 1 hex per turn, all having already moved in the move phase.  The ancient Nieuports in Madrid launch a strafing mission against the empty air base at Toledo, but miss.  The Vild flying boats transfer up to Bilbao, while the Bre19 transfers from Madrid down to Almeria, from which point it can both patrol the nearby coastal waters and protect against forth coming Insurgent offensives in southeast Andalucia.

Weather is automatically clear in all ground zones, as well as in the Med.  In the Atlantic, there is a 1 in 6 chance of rough, which comes up with a 6 rolled.  All units on both sides are in supply & non-isolated per rule 37C.  No gobernito garrisons are required at this time.  Two X’s of Requetes volunteer for duty at Burgos and Vitoria, while four X’s of Falangists march off to war at Zaragoza, Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada.  A random mine damage roll of 9 ensures my BBTF doesn’t blow itself to bits in El Ferrol harbor.  All a/c are fully operational, and none are put on naval patrol (while CAP is forbidden in turn 1).

NT’s don’t start in the most useful locations, one in El Ferrol and the other in the Canaries.  Both, along with the BBTF, head for Ceuta in Spanish Morocco to begin ferrying the elite Army of Africa across to mainland Spain.  In this first turn the O Arty III and the elite 2^nd LE Inf III are brought to Cadiz for a turn one attack against Jerez.  The BBTF replenishes at Ceuta, then waits, while the NT’s move to Ceuta after they unload and being the replenishment process as well.

In ground mov’t, mainland Insurgent units are limited to 1 hex of mov’t, while AoA units are allocated ½ their normal mps.  Those remaining in Africa begin flowing west to Ceuta and Larache for future air and naval transport, while 2 LtInf II’s move to Tetuan, where they are flown to Granada (I could get twice as many RE’s flying a short range mission, but Cadiz already has enough troops and I won’t have enough rail cap next turn to get units at Cadiz forward given the ones I’ve already naval landed, so for this turn at least I decide to get units closer to the front, where they can immediately engage next turn.  Granada serves as the light infantry units can quickly advance over the mountains and seize the passes leading to Lorca and Almeria.  The Mxd T lands at Cadiz, where it is at least covered by a single flak point in the fortress, albeit in range of potential air attack should Loyalist air units be willing to base out of Malaga.  Also near Granada, the 1^st Gran Fal X moves toward Motril, while the 5^th Inf III moves towards Malaga.  The two units landed at Cadiz advance on Jerez and prepare to assault the ill organized defenders (intrinsic garrison only.)  6^th Car Bdr III advances on the northwest road towards Huelva, while 17 GC Sec III advances towards Jerez from the rear, in anticipation of occupying that city next turn for the purposes of clearing out undesirable leftists, which will allow the elite AoA elements to move on other locations in Andalucia.  Also in Sevilla, III’s of Inf, Eng, Arty, supported by Sevilla’s Falangist volunteers move east.  Cordoban Falangists and an elite Arty III (1P) move southeast towards Jaen.  In Estramadura, 27^th Inf III advances on Merida from Caceres, taking it via zoc.  2GC Sec III advances southeast out of Toledo, seizing the rail line leading to Madrid.  A number of units in the Salamanca-Valladolid region move south towards Estramadura and Castilla la Neuvo, while those in central Leon at Zamora do likewise.  The majority of units in Burgos move east to begin encircling the northern Gobernitos, but the 5^th Cav III moves southwest preparatory to seizing the Burgos-Soria rail line.  Units in Vitoria move to seize important terrain in Euzkadi, while those in Pamplona move north to do likewise.  Units in Lograno are too busy putting down a minor peasant uprising and are stuck in place (I forgot to move them J)  That sort of thing doesn’t prevent the units in Zaragoza and nearby from beginning to move south in a campaign towards the Ebro.  Units in Calatayud move west to lock off Madrid’s eastern approaches, while the 20 GC Sec III in Teruel moves south to seize the mountain pass leading to Valencia.  Up in Asturias, the 10^th GC Sec III seizes the wooded rough to the southeast of Oviedo, beginning the encirclement siege of Gijon (I don’t play the Asturian gambit, nor will I the Santander gambit; a bit too ahistoric and game changing for my tastes.)  31^st Inf III moves from Leon towards Asturias as well.  Finally, the units in Galicia move south to get into the war.

Only one combat is possible, a 10:1 blow out against the Loyalist militia forces in Jerez by O Arty III and 2LE Inf III (no A/S, no mods, no morale effects (3 rolled), DE (3 rolled.)  Both attacking units advance into the city.  The local people are so relieved by the arrival of god fearing Nationalists that half a regiment’s worth of troops immediately volunteer for service (0.5 Nat Inf RP drafted.)

NT’s complete replenishment, and then all naval forces move to Larache, from which point they cannot be attacked by Loyalists air units (10 hexes distant from Malaga, with the longest range Loyalist a/c having a range of 9.)  The Bre19 air unit launches a single raid against the airfield at Madrid, where both the Loyalist Bre19 and N.52 are located.  A 3 is rolled for a miss, with the Insurgent a/c landing at Valladolid, within range of Loyalist counter air.