Allied Turn

The weather roll of ‘3’ means continued mud. In Britain the Polish 1st Arm XX upgrades and immediately ships off to France. The British 4th Mixed XX, the last of its kind, converts back to an Inf XX. Assorted US X’s arrive from the US. The British replace the 234th Inf X, eliminated in a typical Churchill fiasco in the Dodecanese.

East of the Rhone the Allies hardly move a unit. The Allies seem to have found a role for the weak former Vichy Inf XX’s, facing the equally weak Italians. The Allied stacks on the south bank of the Isere River remain slightly stronger than the Axis stacks on the north bank. The Allied stacks on the west bank of the Rhone and thru the mountain hexes of the Massif Central also see little change.

The first Allied attack is against an 11-pt stack just northwest of the town of Le Puy by the NZ 2nd Mech XX, the British 6th Inf XX, the Canadian 2nd Inf XX, the US 36th Inf XX, and the British 15th Inf XX. In the combat phase the Allies fly in 10 air groups on a GS mission escorted by 6 fighter groups. The Germans do not react and have no AA. At 9:1, -3 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DH. The Germans reduce an Inf XX and retreat their stack. The Allies advance the Canadian 2nd and British 15th Inf XX’s into the hex.

The next attack is against a 17-pt stack just west of Montlucon by the US 2nd Arm XX, the British Guards and 11th Arm XX’s, the Canadian 4th Arm XX, and the US 101st Abn XX. In the combat phase the Allies fly in in 8 bomber groups on a GS mission escorted by 4 fighter groups. The Germans do not react and have no AA. At 7:1, -4 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a HX. The Germans reduce an Inf XX and a small Mtn XX to cadres, and eliminate their 3rd PzG cadre. The Allies reduce a British Art [xx] and eliminate a US ant. During exploitation the full Allied c/m stack that advanced after combat overruns these 2 cadres in the minor city of Montluconn at 12:1.

The third Allied attack is against the 16th Pz XX 2 hexes northeast of Limoges by the US 3rd Arm XX, the US 3rd Inf XX, and the British 1st, 5th, and 78th Inf XX’s. Here the Allies fly in a CAP of 8 fighter groups, which the Germans match with a CAP of 8 fighter groups. In the combat phase the Allies fly in a GS mission of 10 air groups escorted by 4 fighter, which half the Allied CAP also escort. The German CAP intercepts the Allied GS mission. The Allied escorts kill 2 and return 1 of the interceptors, who all bypass. The surviving interceptors kill 2 GS air groups, but suffer 1 kill and 2 aborts to themselves. They did force 3 of the GS fighter bombers, including 2 Typh1B’s to jettison their bombs. Next the Germans fly in a DAS mission of 5 air groups, which the remaining Allied CAP intercepts. They kill 2 and abort 1 of the DAS mission. German AA of 1 misses, and Allied AA of 10 misses. At the end 5 GS air groups and 2 DAS air groups survive to combat resolution. At 7:1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘5’ for a DE, and the 16th Pz XX is reduced to a cadre.

The fourth attack is against a 15-pt stack 3 hexes southeast of the minor city of Poitiers by the Canadian 5th Arm XX, the British 7th Arm XX, the US 2nd and 9th Inf XX’s, and the British 53rd Inf XX. The Allies fly in a GS mission of 14 air groups. German AA of 2 aborts 1 and returns 2 of the GS air groups. At 6:1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘2’ for a EX. The Germans reduce a Res Pz XX, and eliminate a PzG X, an Inf cadre, and an AA II. The Allies reduce the US 9th Inf XX, and eliminate 2 Arm II’s. During exploitation the Allies overrun the Res Pz cadre at 12:1.

The final attack is against a 17-pt stack in the town of Cognac by the US 1st Arm XX, the US 82nd Abn XX, the US 5th and 34th Inf XX’s, the British 56th Inf XX, and the Indian 8th Inf XX. The Allies fly in a GS mission of 10 air groups. German AA of 2 aborts 2 and returns 1 of the GS air groups. At 8;1, -2 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DH. The Germans eliminate a Static XX, a Res Pz cadre, an Inf cadre, and a Trng X, and retreat the rest of their stack.

Axis Turn

Finally full is the German 21st Pz XX of DAK fame, and of course the Germans keep the 16th Pz XX from transferring east. The Italians receive another Arm XX, and still incredulous that the Allies are completely ignoring them they decide these must be sent to France to help the Germans. The Germans replace their 3rd PzG XX, a PzG X, and 2x Inf XX’s. The Germans replace 3 fighter groups and repair 4 heavy fighter groups, mostly Me110’s. In Greater Germany the Germans disband an Art X, a Tiger II, and an Aslt Gun II, in the West the Germans disband an Art X, 2x RR Art II’s, and a Tiger II, and in the South the Germans disband a Siege Art X for a total of 16x Inf RP’s and 10x Arm RP’s.

There are no Axis cooperation limits in SF, but the Germans feel a little uneasy as the Italians strat rail their 2x Arm XX’s thru Germany into German occupied France. The Italian Arm XX’s fall into line along the upper Rhone as it curves into Switzerland. The rest of the Italian units in southern France give up 2 mountain hexes as they retreat east into Savoy, the French province just south of Geneva that they claim belongs to them.

The German units along the Isere River fall back into the newly built forts on either side of Lyon, into the major city of Lyon, and into the medium city of St. Etienne, giving up 7 hexes east of the Rhone. They also re-position the construction units that were going to start a 2nd fort line in an east-west direction, into a northwest-southeast line, anticipating further retreats.

On the west side of the Rhone the Germans give up 12 hexes, including 3 mountain hexes, up past Clermont. Left behind because they could not retreat 2 hexes back to the main defense line was an Inf XX, an Inf Cadre, and an Art X. The Germans box in the US 2nd Arm XX, British 23rd Arm X, and the Czech 1st Arm X that overran Montlucon on 4 sides. From 3 hexes east of Limoges around to 3 hexes north of Limoges the Germans keep to their existing defense line. However southwest of Poitiers the Germans give up 4 hexes in order to build a defense line around the penetration by the Canadian 5th Arm XX and the US 6th Mech Cav X. The German again had to rail 2 small XX’s down from Brittany as the threat of an Allied amphibious landing subsides with the rough and stormy sea conditions. By the end of the turn the German defense line from the Atlantic to the Rhone River is 23 hexes long and had an average defense strength of 13.8 pts.