Allied Turn

In Britain the Canadian 4th Arm XX becomes full, is upgraded, and embarks on transports for the Med. The Allies spend 12 resource pts to increase the French rail cap to 24. A US Port Cons X begins repairing the destroyed port of Sete. The US repairs 2 bomber groups, the British repair an attack group.

The British rail their 46th Inf XX to Nice to replace the 43rd Mixed XX. Farther north the US 1st and 9th Inf XX’s liberate the medium city of Grenoble. From there they join the British 52nd Mtn XX and the French 3rd Mtn XX to attack an Italian stack defending the mountain hex just east of Grenoble. They fly in a CAP of 6 fighter groups, then during the combat phase fly in a GS mission of 8 bomber groups, which 4 of the CAP escort. The Germans intercept with 3 fighters from Lyon, and then fly in a DAS mission of 3 Fw190 attack groups, which the 2 remaining CAP intercept along with 4 fighters within intercept range on the ground. The 3 German interceptors try to bypass and suffer 1 killed and 2 returned. The German DAS suffers 1 aborted, but inflicts 1 killed and 2 aborted against the Allied interceptors. The Italian AA of 1 returns a bomber group, and the Allied AA of 2 miss. At 3:1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for an EX. The Italian reduce the 184th Para XX and eliminate the rest of their stack. The Allies reduce the US 9th Inf XX. The US 1st Inf XX and British 52nd Mtn XX advance into the hex.

The US 3rd Inf XX replaces the British 6th Arm XX defending mountain hex 2 hexes north of Ales. The 6th Arm XX and the 43 Mixed XX, which railed from Nice, move into the hex northwest of Ales. Just west of them are the British 50th Inf XX and a Canadian Arm X. The 3 stacks join together for an attack against a German 5-7-6 Inf XX in a mountain hex of the Massif Central. The Allies fly in a CAP of 6 fighter groups, and then in the combat phase fly in a GS mission of 12 assorted groups, which 3 of the CAP escorts. The Germans intercept with 3 fighter groups from St.Etienne. The Allied escort kills 1 and returns 1 of the interceptors which try to bypass. The surviving German interceptor returns a US bomber group. The Germans then send a DAS mission of 3 groups, which the remaining 3 CAP intercepts. They kill 1 and abort 1 of the DAS mission at the cost of 1 of their own aborted. At 5:1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘2’ for an EX. The German Inf XX is reduced, as is the British 50th Inf XX. The 43rd Mixed XX advances into the hex.

Once again targeting a German c/m XX are the British 1st Arm XX, the British 15th and 53rd Mixed XX’s, the British 5th and 78th Inf XX’s, and the British 1st Abn XX as they mass against the German 29th PzG XX. Here the Allies fly in a GS mission of 12 air groups escorted by 8 fighter groups. The Germans don’t react. The German AA of 3 abort 1 and return 3. At 10:1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘3’ for a DH. The 29th PzG XX gets reduced. The 53rd Mixed XX advances into the hex.

In their final attack the US 2nd Arm XX, the British Guards, 7th, 11th, and 42nd Arm XX’s, and the Canadian 5th Arm XX line up to attack a 16-pt German stack sitting in a coastal hex. The Allies call up the British battleships Nelson and Rodney, along with 2 pairs of cruisers, for 11 pts of NGS. The Allies fly in a CAP of 6 fighter groups, and in the combat phase fly in a GS mission of 8 assorted air groups, which 4 of the CAP escort. The Germans don’t react. The German AA of 3 miss. At 8:1, +2 the Allies roll a ‘2’ for a DE. A German Inf XX gets reduced, and the rest of the stack gets eliminated. The Allies advance the US 2nd Arm XX, the Canadian 5th Arm XX, the British 11th Arm XX, and 2 British Arm X’s into the hex. This stack then executes a low-odds overrun against the Inf cadre and a Mixed X. On a roll of ‘3’ they achieve a DE. They advance into the town of Narbonne with half their stack, which can then go no farther.

Axis Turn

The Germans place the newly formed 14th Pz XX at Toulouse, along with the 305th Inf XX and the quickly reorganized 364th Inf XX. Arriving from Germany are 2 small reserve Pz XX’s and another Res XX. Also appearing at the border of the Southeast Theater in Italy is the 1st SS Pz cadre. The Italians gain 2 more Coast XX’s. The Germans replace an Inf XX, a PzG X, and a Mixed X. The Italians replace their 5th Alp XX. The Germans replace 3 air groups and repair 2 more. The Germans start airfields at Toulouse and next to Lyon, as they realize they don’t have enough airbase capacity near the front.

The Italians shift more units north along the Tyrrhenian coast, figuring if they can keep any Allied landing south of Gaeta, they can be stopped at the Cassino Line. Noticing the Allies have not crossed the border into Italy (triggering the Northern Italy Invasion Alarm) the Axis player is still trying to figure out the best strategy when the Allies completely bypass Italy. The 1st SS Pz cadre rails thru northern Italy, thru the French province of Savoy, and into southern France. The Italians are now holding 11 hexes of the Axis perimeter, but are only defending 7 of them as the others are blocked with high mountain hexsides. The 7 mountain hexes the Italians are defending have an average defense strength of 13.4 pts.

The Germans take over defending the perimeter in the mountain hex northeast of Grenoble, and then with 3 strong stacks along the north bank of the Isere River. They also maintain a strong stack on the west bank of the Rhone. Behind this front line the Germans have built a second defense line 4 hexes long just south of Lyon and St.Etienne. The Germans still hold 2 of the mountain hexes along the southern edge of the Massif Central, but the Allies have now gained a pair of these mountain hexes, 2 hexes north and northwest of Ales.

The Germans hold the mountain hex east of the town of Millau, then Millau with the 1st SS Pz cadre, then 2 rough hexes with weak 10-pt stacks. The Germans felt compelled to give up the minor city of Beziers and the wooded rough hex to its northeast, but form a line of 3 strong stacks, including 1 based on the 14th Pz XX, just west of Beziers. The western side of the German perimeter has more of a second defense line now, with only a pair of gaps. The German share of the Axis perimeter is 19 hexes long and has an average defense strength of 12.5 pts.