Allied Turn

The weather roll is a ‘1’ for clear weather. The US receive 3 more Inf XX’s. In southern France there are: for the US 6x Arm XX’s, 2x Abn XX’s, and 18 Inf XX’s; for the British 5x Arm XX’s, 2x Abn XX’s, 1x Mtn XX, and 12 Inf XX’s; for the French 2x Arm XX’s, 1x Mtn XX, and 4x Inf XX’s (not counting the 8x little Vichy XX’s); for the Canadians 2x Arm XX’s and 3x Inf XX’s; for the Polish 1x Arm XX and 2x Mtn XX’s; for the Indians 1x Mtn XX and 2x Inf XX’s; a grand total of 64 Allied XX’s. The US rebuilds the 2nd Arm XX and the 34th and 36th Inf XX. The British rebuild the 78th Inf XX and finally upgrade their 1st Arm XX. The US replace 2 air groups and repair 6. The British repair 1 air group, as do the French.

The first Allied attack is against a 19-pt stack 2 hexes northwest of Dijon by the US 5th Arm XX, the French 1st Arm XX, the US 1st, 4th, and 29th Inf XX, and the Canadian 2nd Inf XX. The Allies fly in a CAP of 2 fighter groups, and then in the combat phase a GS mission of 8 air groups. German AA aborts 1 and returns 2. At 6:1, -1 the Allies roll a ‘1’ for an EX. The Germans reduce a Res Pz XX and an Inf XX, and eliminate the rest of their stack. The Allies reduce the US 4th and 29th Inf XX’s.

The next attack is against a 21-pt stack 2 hexes southwest of Auxerre by the British Guards Arm XX, the French 2nd Arm XX, the NZ Mech XX, the British 1st Abn XX, the British 43rd Inf XX, and the Canadian 1st Inf XX. The Allies fly in a CAP of 2 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 8 air groups. German AA aborts 1 and returns 1. At 6:1, -1 the Allies roll a ‘6’ for a DE. The Germans reduce a Pz XX and an Inf XX, and eliminate the rest of their stack.

The third attack is against a 17-pt stack 2 hexes northwest of Auxerre by the US 30th and 36th Inf XX’s and the British 15th and 50th Inf XX’s. The Allies fly in a CAP of 4 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 10 air groups. German AA misses. At 6:1, -1 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DH. The Germans reduce an Inf XX and eliminate a Res Pz cadre.

The fourth attack is against a 19-pt stack 2 hexes west of the town of Sens by the British 11th Arm XX, the US 9th Inf XX, the British 3rd Inf XX, and the Canadian 3rd Inf XX. The Allies fly in a CAP of 4 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 10 air groups. German AA aborts 2 and returns 1. At 5:1, + 1 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DE. The Germans reduce 2x Inf XX’s and eliminate the rest of the stack.

The fifth attack is against a 19-pt stack 2 hexes southwest of Sens by the US 2nd, 4th, and 6th Arm XX’s, and the British 1st Arm XX. The Allies fly in a CAP of 4 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 14 bomber groups. The Germans fly in a DAS mission of 4 attack groups. The Allied CAP intercepts and abort 1 and return 1 at a cost of 2 killed to themselves. German AA aborts 1 and returns 3 bomber groups. Allied AA aborts 1 DAS group. At 5:1, + 3 the Allies roll a ‘2’ for a DE. The Germans reduce 2x Inf XX, but their cadres can not retreat thru Allied ZOC’s, so the entire stack is eliminated.

The sixth attack is against a 21-pt stack just 3 hexes southwest of Paris by the US 3rd Arm XX, the British 6th Arm XX, the US 101st Abn XX, the US 3rd and 88th Inf XX’s, and the British 5th Inf XX. The Allies fly in a CAP of 4 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 8 air groups. German AA aborts 1 and returns 1. At 6:1 the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DE. The Germans reduce a PzG XX and an Inf XX.

The seventh attack is against a 17-pt stack 2 hexes east of Chartres by the US 1st Arm XX and the Canadian 4th Arm XX, along with a host of smaller c/m units. The Allies fly in a CAP of 4 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 12 air groups. German AA aborts 2 and returns 4. At 5:1, + 2 the Allies roll a ‘3’ for a DE. The Germans reduce an Inf XX and eliminate the rest of the stack.

The eighth attack is against a 15-pt stack just northwest of Le Mans by the British 7th Arm XX, Canadian 5th Arm XX, and Polish 1st Arm XX and another host of smaller c/m units. The Allies fly in a CAP of 2 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 6 air groups. German AA returns 1. At 6:1, + 3 the Allies roll a ‘5’ for a DE. The Germans reduce 2x Inf XX’s and eliminate an ant.

The final attack is against a 19-pt stack in bocage just east of the town of Laval by the US 82nd Abn XX, the US 2nd, 5th, and 8th Inf XX’s, and the British 1st and 78th Inf XX’s. The Allies fly in a CAP of 2 fighter groups, and then a GS mission of 18 air groups. German AA returns 2. At 7:1, -1 the Allies roll a ‘1’ for an HX. The Germans reduce a Res Pz XX and an Inf XX, and eliminate the rest of their stack. The Allies reduce the US 8th Inf XX.

During exploitation there is little movement along most of the Allied line, the Axis second line is holding up well. The Allies achieved an 8:1 low-odds overruns with full AECA against a 7-pt stack 5 hexes west of Paris. They also achieve an 8:1 low-odds overrun with full AECA against an 8-pt stack just west of the town of Alencon. Allied ants spread out over an empty Brittany.

SF 42 1944 Apr I Allied Turn situation map

Situation in the WTO after Allied Sep I Turn, 1943, during the SF42 game

Axis Turn

The Germans retain an Inf XX from going east, and receive a large Pz cadre arriving from the east. The Germans replace 2x Res Pz XX’s, a PzG X, and 6x Inf XX’s. They disband a Jager XX and a tiny Pz II. The Germans replace 4 air groups and repair 4 more.

The Germans manage to retreat all their c/m units out of Normandy, but had to leave behind an Inf XX and a Static XX. The Axis defense line now starts at the port of Le Havre and goes southwest for 4 hexes. It then goes southeast in a straight line for 11 hexes, running just 2 hexes west of Paris. The line jogs 1 hexes southwest just west of the town of Auxerre, before again running southeast in a straight line for 10 hexes to the Swiss border. By the end of the turn the Axis defense line had shrunk to 24 hexes long with an average defense strength of 18.7 pts.