Category: FWtBT AAR No 1 (Page 3 of 6)

INSURGENT FEB I 1938

The cold spell was broken by an unseasonable intrusion of warm air. Heavy rainstorms turned all of Spain into a quagmire and caused rivers in the north to flood.

The Nationalists halted their Ebro offensive in the face of atrocious ground conditions. All other fronts also remained quiet.

The rains did nothing to stop air activities. Nationalist fighters retaliated for the attack on the Barbastro airfield by launching a similar raid against a Republican field in the Alcubierre hills (13:3031), where they were met be an armada of subnosed Ratas. In a mother-of-a-dogfight, the largest of the war so far, a number of Italian Fiats were lost (1 kill), but the older Ratas fared even worse (3 aborts). Poor visibility rendered the subsequent airfield strafing unsuccessful.

Day and night bombing raids on Barcelona continued. Anti-aircraft fire brought down several He-111s, and no significant damage was done on the ground. A major raid by attack bombers on Valencia’s airfield met with accurate anti-aircraft fire that downed a number of the older Nationalist planes. Here, too, no significant damage was done on the ground.

LOYALIST FEB I 1938

The lull in the fighting allowed the Loyalists to beef of their defenses even further. Engineers and civil labor worked hard to improve defenses.

SB-2 light bombers attempted another attack on Madrid’s industry, but were waylaid by Me-109s as they took off from Valencia (patrol attack) and lost some of their number.

COMMENTARY

A deep sense of frustration is becoming apparent among the Insurgents. Too many of the strongest attacks they can ever hope to mount have failed to inflict even the slightest loss (five out of six, with an average chance of success close to 50%) and an inordinate share of them has not even gained ground (two out of these six). To add insult to injury, the weather has served up mud in mid-winter at the crucial Ebro front (one chance in six). The only return on the prolific expenditure of precious attack supply has been a gain of a few hexes and, more importantly, a destruction of the Loyalist entrenchments between the Ebro and the mountains of southern Aragon. But the opportunity of capitalizing on this is slipping away with the turn of the weather: Spring inevitably will give the Loyalists enough time to dig in again. For the game, though, this chain of events is likely to be all for the good: Insurgent success in all their big attacks would have made the Loyalist position hopeless, but now the issue whether capitulation can be avoided before the game ends remains still very much in doubt.

At this stage of the game, two optional rules prove to affect play balance quite strongly. Fortunately, they work in opposite directions and so tend to balance one another quite well. The first is the entrenchment rule. With a profusion of infantry divisions, both sides can dig just about everywhere, but only the Loyalists benefit because only they are being attacked. The other rule is the (unmodified) percentile roll we are using for ground combat. (That is, if, say, the odds are 3.72:1 and the percentile roll is 72 or below, combat is resolved on the 4:1 column.) Here, only the Insurgents reap the benefit because they alone are the attackers. With entrenchments almost everywhere, the Nationalist must contend with their additional -1 modifier in most but not all attacks. But the percentile roll often but not always lets an attack go in one column higher on the CRT. Since a -1 die roll modifier and a +1 column shift compensate one another exactly at the typical attack odds, the combined effect is quite small. However, players should be aware that using only one of the two rules, or using entrenchments but normalizing the percentile roll to negate the attacker’s advantage, will seriously alter play balance in the late stages of the game.

INSURGENT JAN II 1938

The strong cold front has now extended its hold to southerm Spain. While snow flurries continued in the north, sunshine and freezing ground brought an end to the mud in the south.

At the Ebro front, the Nationalist offensive continued unabated. The main effort remained concentrated on the south bank of the river. However, the attack stalled (another “1,” at 4:1 -1).

Troop movement to the Zaragoza area continued. Except for the Ebro battle, all fronts remained quiet.

Additional security forces were constituted to take over guard duty on the Gijon-Valladolid rail line. This will link another port to the secure portion of the rail net.

While the Republican fighters were busy at the Ebro front, Savoia-Marchettis kept up their raids on industrial targets in Barcelona. Beefed-up anti-aircraft defenses (now 7CF) did not prevent them from getting through to cause some additional damage.

LOYALIST JAN II 1938

The Loyalists used their success at the Ebro to strengthen their front. No other ground actions.

I-15 and I-16 Fighters conducted a sweep at an airfield near Barbastro. They were met again by Me-109s, but this time dealt them a bloody nose. However, they missed their target in poor visibility.

Russian SB-2 light bombers attacked factories in Madrid and caused some damage.

Communist guerrilleros made an unsuccessful attempt to blow up a railway station near Soria.

COMMENTARY

Stalemate all around, and not much change in sight until the weather will improve in late spring.

INSURGENT JAN I 1938

A cold front moving in from the Atlantic brought freezing temperatures and light snow flurries to Aragon and Cataluna while the south of Spain remained mired in mud.

The Ebro battle continued. Having outflanked the fortified position at Quinto (13:3034) and forced its evacuation, Franco’s troops shifted their Schwerpunkt again to the south bank. With massive support by the airforce and heavy batteries firing across the river, they captured Azaila (13:3133) and are now approaching Hijar and Escatron. This time the Loyalists took heavy casualties (HX).

Troop movement from the south to the Zaragoza area still continued. Except for some changes of guards, all other fronts remained quiet.

Savoia-Marchetti and Heinkel-111 bombers renewed their attacks on Barcelona’s industrial facilities. This week, however, they encountered fighter cover and strengthened anti-aircraft batteries. New Ratas made short shrift of the escorting Italian Fiats (one A one K), but the bombers got through, scored some additional damage, and returned unharmed.

LOYALIST JAN I 1938

The ever vaccilating French government closed the Spanish border once again, but this will have little effect on events.

Thanks to new levies and generous support in materiel from the Soviet Union, the Loyalists patched up their battered Ebro front without much trouble and now stand prepared to face whatever may come. However, they are in no position to counterattack.

Emboldened by the lopsided victory over the Italian Fiats in Barcelona’s skies, the Republican airforce raised itself from its period of rest and recuperation and launched a grandiose attack on a minuscule target, an airstrip near Zaragoza, in the hope of catching Heinkels on the ground. Every available fighter and attack bomber was thrown in. While the outclassed Nationalist Fiats chose caution as the wiser course of action, German Me-109s rose to the challenge and caught the Republican fighter escort over its staging field. Although outnumbered, the Me-109s brought down some Ratas at no loss to their own, but were unable to stem the red tide. The attack bombers got through, but, largely because of poor visibility, caused no damage to speak of.

COMMENTARY

Having taken no losses for two months since liquidation of the Murcia pocket, the Loyalists are able to maintain their front-line strength despite the losses at Azaila and even have accumulated a tidy cushion of reserves. It will take a few more such defeats before they start hurting. Moreover, spring mud is in the offing, and in April and May a huge wave of reinforcements will come in, including no fewer than eleven new infantry divisions. (It’s a bit strange that the rules allow them to raise that much when they control less than 12 percent of Spain’s area and less than a quarter of her population. Maybe the reinforcements should be more tied to cities held.)

DECEMBER II INSURGENT

No change in weather: Aragon and Cataluna kept enjoying a mild winter while the south remains engulfed in rain.

Their efforts toward Quinto (23A:3033) rebuffed, the Nationalists tried their mettle on the other, northern Ebro bank, again with strong artillery and air support and combat engineers in an attempt to crack the entrenchments. Heavy fighting ensued at Pina de Ebro (23A:3032). This time they managed to break into the fortified line, but the Loyalists retreated in good order to fall-back positions. However, Quinto (33:3033), so valiantly defended previously, has now become a threatened salient.

The transfer of forces from the Valencia area to central Aragon continued. The fronts in the Pyrenees and at Teruel and Valencia remained quiet.

Despite poor visibility, Savoia-Marchetti bombers of the CTV continued to pay their attention to Barcelona’s industrial installations. Accurate anti-aircraft fire prevented daytime raids from reaching their targets, but the night-bombers got through and caused some damage.

Skies over the Mediterranean cleared, leaving the Nationalist Fleet vulnerable to air raids. Messerschmidts and Fiats provided cover off Tarragona and discouraged air attacks. The Fleet then set course at night for Maddalena rather than risking to run the gauntlet upon a return to Ceuta or Cadiz.

DEC II LOYALIST

To avoid losses and straighten their front, the Loyalists relinquished the Quinto salient in the Ebro valley. No activities in other sectors.

The Republican airforce continued avoiding combat in order to build back up to strength. It has again become a force to be reckoned with, but is still outnumbered by the Insurgents.

The French border remained open.

COMMENTARY

The Nationalist attack along the Ebro’s north shore marks the fourth time in a row that the big one despite good odds failed to inflict any losses (a probability below 4 percent). As a result, the stalemate continues despite the minor Nationalist gains in the Ebro valley.

DEC I INSURGENT

While dreary weather lingered in the south, a cold front passed through Aragon and Cataluna bringing a bit of sunshine, a drop in temperatures that let the mud dry up a little, and snow flurries in higher elevations (winter weather).

In the south, the pocket has ceased to exist. The last die-hard defenders, the 66th Division clinging to the town of Elche, were easily overwhelmed. The total count of the pocket amounts to five infantry divisions, twelve independent infantry brigades (ten of them Anachist), four regiments of artillery or mortars, and one regiment each of engineers, cavalry, and anti-aircraft guns, for a total of over 60,000 prisoners taken.

At his headquarters in Zaragoza, Generalissimo Franco presented Nationalist Spains highest decoration, the Cross of Merit with Diamonds, to Major von Scheele, commander of the Flak Regiment of the Legion Condor that had isolated the pocket in the first place and then almost single-handedly frustrated all relief efforts. (The Condors have just arrived in Zaragoza, but are unlikely to repeat their performance in Aragon.)

Although the transfer of troops from the Valencia front is far from complete, the better ground conditions in Aragon prompted the jump-off date of the new offensive to be moved forward. As expected, the attack was launched in the Ebro valley, with main thrust on the river’s south bank along the Zaragoza-Tarragona rail line from forward of Fuentes del Ebro toward Quinto (23A:3033). However, despite the efforts of sappers, ample artillery support from the opposite shore, and sorties of the entire Nationalist airforce, the offensive made no headway (another AS at 4:1 -1).

Savoia-Marchettis continued their raids against industrial targets in Barcelona, but this time failed to add to the damage.

Nationalist naval forces and Italian submarines ventured forward in an attempt to interfere with shipping of materiel and supplies to the Catalan ports. They are operating at the outer fringes of fighter range, relying primarily on low clouds and rain squalls for protection (no Republican aircraft has a TBF greater than 1, which is ineffective when halved for rough seas). However, without fighter cover they did not venture too close to Valencia, where a resurgent Republican airforce now is concentrated.

DEC I LOYALIST

The Loyalists scrambled to strengthen their defenses in the Ebro valley even more, turning Quinto (23A:3033) into a formidable stronghold (now 22CF in that hex) in anticipation of further Nationalist attacks.

Work on fortifications continued on the Valencia and Teruel front. Guerrilleros blew up rails at Palencia on the Santander-Valladolid line, one of the few not heavily patrolled by the Guardia Civil. The airforce continued its rehabilitation program, sheltered by poor weather that discouraged Nationalist raid on its bases.

COMMENTARY

With the surrender of the last defenders of the pocket and the halt called to the advance on Valencia, the Nationalist southern campaign has come to an end. Since its start in early June it has cost the Loyalists their last footholds in Castilla Vieja, all of Murcia province, and a good portion of Valencia province, all told more than a third of the territory they still controlled at the outset. The bounty has included the cities of Albacete, Murcia, Cartagena, and Alicante and over 70,000 prisoners. The blow has been severe, but has not in any way diminished the Loyalists’ ability to defend what they still hold.

With more luck in their large attacks north of Valencia, the Nationalists might have succeeded in reaching Sagunto (23A:3703) to cut Valencia itself off from the rest of Loyalist Spain. Valencia being the only surviving Anarchist sopply source, this would have seriously weakened the Loyalist cause. Now the Nationalists face the likelihood of mud for some time to come and 18CF stacks in a line of forts in good defensive terrain (-4 modifiers). In Aragon, in contrast, winter weather can be expected to last for a while and the terrain is clear (modifiers only -2 against entrenched line, -1 once that line is broken or combat engineers are used). Moreover, whereas further headway past Valencia would have shortened the Loyalist front, an advance in the Ebro valley toward the coast will stretch it, so that Loyalist losses should eventually translate into a weaker line. In this light, the switch of Schwerpunkt to Aragon makes sense. Much will now depend on the luck of the die in the large attacks in Aragon that are sure to come. There will be no advance if the Nationalists keep getting the worst possible results on their main-line attacks as they now have three times in a row.

The astute reader will have noticed that “Condor” is now spelled with “C” in these reports. A review of German sources on the Civil War has shown “Legion Condor” to have been the official name and spelling. TEM is now also using “Condor” but still after instead of before “Legion.”

NOV II INSURGENT

Not unexpectedly, the Atlantic low reached southern Spain, causing torrential rains in Murcia and Valencia provinces while Aragon and Cataluna remained mired in mud.

Now faced with abominable weather on top of rough terrain and the formidable defenses of the “no pasaran” line, the Caudillo called off his offensive toward Valencia, just 25 miles short of that city, Spain’s largest after Madrid and Barcelona. Elite formation were pulled out of line and transferred to the vicinity of Zaragoza, straining the overburdened rail net. An offensive in the Ebro valley appears to be in the offing.

Although accorded low priority, Nationalist forces still in place attacked the remains of the coastal pocket, if on a shoestring budget (no ASPs). The Torrevieja bridgehead at the Segura estuary (23A:4309), site of last week’s daring beach evacuation, was liquidated and the town of Orihuela fell to concentric attack. A large number of prisoners were taken. Losses were light. Interestingly, the bag included a group of neutral British observers (on their way home by now) who had closely watched the beach evacuation in anticipation of some future day on which the BEF might have to be rescued in similar fashion from a French or Belgian beach (220/20 foresight!).

The Nationalist Fleet made a belated appearance under ample fighter cover, shelling the Segura bridgehead and keping a tight lid on the Valencia coast to prevent any further evacuations.

The main front from Valencia to the Pyrenees remained quiet.

Despite adverse weather and poor visibility, Savoia-Marchetti and Heinkel bombers resumed their raids on industrial targets in Barcelona, causing moderate damage (2 hits). Anti-aircraft fire remained ineffective.

Cartagena airbase received its first squadrons, attack bombers ready to support mop-up of the pocket and conduct naval patrol.

The French border is now closed again, but this hardly affects operations at this stage of affairs.

NOV II LOYALIST

Faced with the Nationalist Fleet and Italian submarines under ample fighter cover, the Loyalists refrained from any further evacuation attempts from the beaches of the pocket. Morale in the pocket plummeted, and several Anarchist infantry regiments deserted. Worse, the elite 2nd heavy artillery regiment also called it quits. The remaining troops, two infantry divisions and an Anarchist regiment, all without artillery and desperately short of ammunition and supplies, hunkered down around Elche for a last stand. The end is certainly in sight.

The Loyalists used the lull in the main-front fighting to beef up their defenses, both in the “no pasaran” line shielding the approaches to Valencia and in Aragon between the Ebro and Cinca rivers, where the next Nationalist offensive is expected.

The Republican Airforce was on naval patrol, but the strong fighter cover over the Nationalist Fleet (including the new Me-109s) discouraged any attacks.

COMMENTARY

The pocket has no hope to survive the next week. With its elimination, the slugging match is apt to resume. Loyalist front-line strength is now 16 to 19 CF/hex except in mountains, and is fortified or entrenched. This and the additional weather modifier will force the Insurgents either to hold off and stockpile supplies until spring brings fair weather, or make attacks that risk AR or possibly even AH results. They can well afford the losses (empty pool and ca. 120 InfRpl and 7 ArtRpl); at most places they can even afford a retreat because the Loyalists cannot dare to advance out of their fortified line into an exposed position. The problem is attack supply, which is so short that an expenditure of 4 or 5 ASP in an attack that neither causes losses nor gains ground cannot often be contemplated as the per-turn average of incoming ASPs is no higher than that.

By points according to the rules, the Nationalists are by now pretty much assued of a “decisive victory.” The current point score is 194:65 in their favor, 67 short of the needed 4:1 ratio. If the front no longer changes, the city counts in JAN I and JUL I deliver points at 42:11 (just 2 short of 4:1); and at game’s end at 217:41 (more than 50 over 4:1). Lastly, while the Insurgent pool is empty and apt to stay so in view of the abundance of Nationalist Rpls, the Loyalist pool now contains about 100 RE, for 100 points at game’s end, and with new Rpls now at a dribble that number is bound to increase. Thus, even if they make no further headway, the Insurgents should almost gain a 5:1 ratio, certainly one well in excess of 4:1.

Be that as it may, we are not playing to “win” and don’t care much about point scores. Rather, we’d like to see whether or not the Insurgents in our game can force a Loyalist surrender before game’s end. I think chances for that are rather slim, even though Elias isn’t sure whether he can survive 1938. We hope we both shall live long enough to find out.

NOV I INSURGENT

While rain in the north continued as predicted, southern Spain still enjoyed dry days of Indian summer. However, a storm over the Atlantic may portend the arrival of poor weather even here.

Cartagena, attacked from all sides with extremely heavy artillery support, has fallen. As in Alicante, damage was minimal: port, naval yards, airbase and some stocks of supply were seized intact. Instrumental in this quick victory were heavy Italian siege guns and brand-new Nationalist heavy-artillery regiments rushed in from Madrid. Nevertheless, losses were serious (EX).

Concentrating on Cartagena, Franco’s troops merely screened the Orihuela-Elche pocket.

Engineers worked around the clock in Murcia to repair rails and the airbase. They could do little, however, to help rebuild destroyed industrial facilities. Production is not expected to begin until late February or early March (first delivery APR I 38).

Having run into very strong defenses across the Madrid-Valencia highway east of Bunol, the Nationalist shifted their weight slightly to the north. Even here, however, they ran into the newly constructed “no pasaran” line. Despite massive and uncontested air support they were, for once, stopped in their tracks (a “1” at 5:1 -2).

As before, the front from Teruel to the Pico de Aneto in the Pyrenees remained quiet.

Security elements are now spread out all along the rail lines connecting Sevilla, Madrid, Bilbao, and San Sebastian with one another and the fronts at Cartagena, Alcira, Teruel, and Zaragoza and stand by in anticipation of guerilla attacks.

Long awaited but at the moment hardly needed, the first Me-109s from Germany made their debut, finally giving the Legion Kondor a fighter aircraft that even the best Ratas cannot match.

NOV I LOYALIST

A flurry of activity on the beaches of the pocket: In a confused action, Loyalist transports and barges braved the hostile seas and managed to evacuate some of the troops under the eyes of the Nationalist fleet and airforce. Needless to say, the commanders asleep at ythe switch were fired immediately.

(There was a misunderstanding on whether or not shipping to and from beaches was permitted under the rules as agreed upon. The insurgent player was under the impression only port-to-port shipping was permitted after his original suggestion to be given LCs to match the Loyalist ones was discarded (the Insurgents have LCs in the late-war scenario, but through an apparent oversight don’t get them in the campaign game). Accordingly he had not blockaded the pocket’s beaches as he well could have. The Loyalist player understood only the amphibious rules had been scrapped and the transport rules left unchanged. A friendly compromise was reached to leave the transport rules as is but treat LCs as NTs. This allowed the Loyalists to evacuate some troops, but not to land general supply points as he had planned.)

Although they have lost command of the seas, the Loyalists are still receiving ample shipments of materiel from the Soviet Union, especially artillery and tanks. This and local levees enabled them to beef up their “no pasaran” line even farther. The units rescued from the pocket (one crack infantry division, one tank and one armored car brigade, and one artillery regiment) will provide an additional cushion.

No other operations were initiated.

Loyalist guerrillas made their first appearance, unsuccessfully attempting to blow up a railway tunnel in the Guadarramas near Avila.

COMMENTARY

The successful evacuation of about a quarter of the troops in the pocket, among them all the mechanized units, makes the now unavoidable and imminent loss of the others less bitter for the Loyalists. A repetition does not appear possible as the Insurgents are now well aware of what can happen if the beaches are not blockaded.

With the end of the pocket, warfare will inevitably revert to a slugging match. The Insurgents must bleed the Loyalists white, but can hardly ever afford more than one attack per turn, and in winter weather its chances of inflicting a loss even at 6:1 odds, the best they can possibly get against the Loyalist line with 16+CF per hex, are only 50%. On the other hand, a few successive DE, EX, or HX results might weaken the Loyalist line sufficiently to cause real trouble.

OCT II INSURGENT

While the Loyalists in the Murcia-Alicante pocket were still reeling from their failure to break through to Cartagena, the Nationalists attacked in full force and stormed both Murcia and Alicante, meeting with only half-heartded resistance. Losses were light. Many facilities in Murcia had been destroyed, but Alicante fell with its port and airfield undamaged. The main portion of the pocket is now reduced to a small area around Orihuela and Elche, with neither a port nor even an airfield. It still includes a Segura bridgehead at that river’s estuary, but the chances to use it as a springboard for a link-up with Cartagena have dimmed. The latter city, a strong fortress, is now completely and firmly encircled.

While continuing to pound the pocket, the Nationalists moved some of their elite units over to the main Valencia front and attacked along the Madrid-Valencia highway. They dented the new defense line by taking Bunol (23A:3705), a move that threatens to outflank the Loyalist front behind the lower Jucar river. However, the Loyalists managed to retreat in good order (DR on 5:1 -2) into a previously prepared position with strong fieldworks.

In southern Aragon, the Nationalists followed the Loyalists’ retreat and took over evacuated mountain positions as well as the city of Teruel, the last of the few cities the Loyalists had ever captured. Its murdered bishop is now avenged.

At sea, attempts by the People’s Airforce to catch some of the Italian submarines that were blockading Alicante remained fruitless. With the enemy fleet nonexistent and the airforce busy chasing subs, the Insurgents ferried supplies and a construction regiment unmolested from Mallorca to the mainland.

The Insurgents also launched another massive airstrike with all available planes against the Valencia airbase, but once again the results were disappointing: accurate AA fire brought down a number of the attackers, and no damage to speak of was done to installations or aircraft on the ground.

OCT II LOYALIST

Defying the odds, the Loyalists mounted yet another desperate attempt to break through from the pocket’s Segura bridgehead to Cartagena. Although the battlefield was beyond fighter range, the remainder of the Republican bombers and fighter bombers were sent out from Valencia to provide air support. They were waylaid and roughly handled by Fiat fighters, none of them got through, and only a few made it home. The Republican airforce is now effectively reduced to a few squadrons of fighters, of which only the remaining I-16s are a match for their opponents. Even without air support, however, the attack along the coast went in, but despite support by tanks that used the last reserves of gasoline it was once again stopped dead by Franco’s soldiers (AS at 6.5:12.0 -1).

Meanwhile, engineers, construction brigades, and denizens of Valencia worked feverishly to turn that city into a veritable fortress (read improved fort) and build strong fieldworks along the entire front between the mountains and the sea. Once again, “no pasaran” is the catchword now that Valencia is in danger of being attacked or ouflanked.

All other fronts remained quiet.

COMMENTARY

The deperation breakout attempt by the Loyalists was an excellent move. Launched exclusively with units from the pocket, who are doomed anyway, it did not put Cartagena at risk and was with few enough REs to attain 1/7 AECA. Despite probable odds of only 1:2, or 1:1 at the very best, this provided for a 1/3 chance of success (HX or DR). The Loyalists on captured 4409 could then have survived a DR upon counterattack by retreating to 4510, to make their way into Cartagena in the next turn. This addition to the relatively weak garrison would have been highly welcome. As it stands now, however, the rings around the pocket and Cartagena are firm, the pocket is U2 with no way to resupply it, and Cartagena, still with ample supplies and a port through which some ASPs could be sneaked in, can muster only 6CF on defense plus another 2 for its intrinsic garrison and coastal batteries. As things stand now, the pocket is kaput. To conquer Cartagena, on the other hand, will still require a determined effort.

In the air, the Insurgents have further added to their amazing record of hard-to-believe successes against ships, equally improbable failures against airbases, and an absurdly varying performance in air-to-air combat. All told, however, they have now achieved an almost absolute command of the skies.

INSURGENT OCT I 1937

Unseasonably early and heavy rains have turnd roads and fields in Aragon and Cataluna into a quagmire. This makes it even more unlikely that the long dormant front between Teruel and the Pyrenees will see any action for some time to come.

The Insurgents lost no time in taking advantage of having forced the Loyalists to abandon their attempts to restore communications with the Cartagena-Murcia-Alicante pocket. Franco’s main forces finally relieved the Kondor Flak regiment that had blocked the vital Jucar bridges at Alcira and widened the corridor to the sea to about 30 miles. The port of Gandia is operative and has already received supply shipments. The towns of Alcoy and Yecla, vacated by the Loyalists, were occupied without a fight. The line of the Jucar river has been secured except for a Loyalist bridgehead in the rugged country of the Reserva Nacional (23A:3805). All Nationalist Spain celebrates the Kondors’ valiant stand and eventual relief.

Faced with difficult terrain on the north front of the pocket, the Nationalists shifted their weight against the western flank, where the cities of Murcia and Cartagena are now in the front line. In determined attacks they broke into the perimeter both north and south of Murcia. Strong forces surged onto the Murcia-Cartagena rail line and are within striking distance of the coast. This has cut off the main portion of the pocket from Cartagena, its only major port. The only other remaining port, Alicante, is blockaded by submarines, and Murcia city with its industry is now threatened from the north, west, and south.

All other fronts remained quiet.

While signs of impending guerilla actions have become more ominous, security along vital rail lines and on airbases has been tightened. Further Falange, Carbinieri, and Colonial units were pull out of line, no doubt for such purposes in other rear areas. Also pulled out were the remaining Requete division, slated for a major refit under direct Army command.

While ground attack aircraft supported troops assaulting the pocket, Italian Savoia-Marchetti bombers raided industrial targets in Barcelona. Damage was slight, not enough to hamper production.

LOYALIST OCT I 1937

Faced with heavy losses in the pocket, the Loyalist command decided to shorten the front line in Valencia province in order to mount a stronger defense (now 14CF per hex in rough terrain). They evacuated Teruel as well as their Jucar brigehead in the Reserva nacional. Thanks largely to substantial factory deliveries of artillery, the new defense line is very strong (14CF per hex except in the high mountains and behind the Jucar river).

In the pocket the defenders pulled back to a perimeter that still includes Murcia, Orihuela, Elche, and Alicante. A desperate counterattack from both the pocket and Cartagena against the two Nationalist divisions that were blocking the Cartagena-Murcia rail line remained unsuccessful (AS on 2:1 odds). The defenders of Murcia are preparing for the worst, blowing up rail lines and the airport facilities.

The front between Terual and the Pyrenees remained quiet.

Meanwhile, disaster befell the remnants of the Republican Fleet. Caught at dusk off Alicante by waves of Nationalist aircraft of all types that zoomed in at low altitude, every vessel of any combat value was sunk or crippled. the Nationalists will now have full control of the seas.

COMMENTARY

The situation in the pocket has deteriorated decisively with the failure to reopen communications with Cartagena, the only major port. Supplies are beginning to run low, and only Cartagena poses more than an extensive mop-up problem for the Nationalists.

Having lost their superiority in the air some time ago, the Loyalists now can also no longer contest command of the seas. This put an end to their plans of evacuating at least some of the troops from the pocket.

Mop-up of the pocket can be expected to take no more than a few weeks. the Nationalists will then be faced again with having to slug it out against very strong defenses backed up by reserves to prevent breakthroughs. The only question is where they will launch their next offensive.

INSURGENT SEP II 1937

The battle of the Jucar continued full blast. Bypassing the Reserva nacional to the south, the Nationalist main forces pressed forward through the Enguera hills to Canals on the Albacete-Valencia highway (23A:3906) and reestablished contact with the hedgehog at Alcira, but were not yet able to reinforce it. A hapless contingent of Loyalist armor and artillery was caught and obliterated at Enguera between the Nationalist main force and the Kondor group. With naval gunfire support the latter also made short shrift of Loyalist cavalry attempting to screen them. Italian light tanks rumbled on to the coast and holed up in Gandia. The hold onto the Alcira hedgehog and the link to the coast are still quite tenuous, but the main force now sits firmly astride the road and rail links into the Cartagena-Murcia-Alicante pocket.

Although their main effort was at the Jucar, the Nationalists also launched a secondary operation against the weaker western flank of the pocket. The attack obliterated two Anarchist divisions, took Cieza, and threatens to outflank the Loyalist Segura river position that protects Murcia.

All other fronts remained quiet.

Nationalist airmen redeemed themselves for past failures. While a raid by Italian SM-79s on Barcelona’s factories proved futile, another massive attack on the Valencia airbase got through with only negligible losses, caused extensive damage, and destoyed aircraft on the ground. This now gives the Insurgents a clear superiority in the air.

Nationalist upgrading of infantry divisions proceeds apace. The first three of the requipped units saw action at Cieza.

In anticipation of guerrilla and sabotage activities, the Nationalist command continues to pull Guardia Civil and Falange units out of the front lines, allocating them to security duty at airbases, rail junctions, and along the main rail links in the rear areas.

COMMENTARY

The Kondors at Alcira may or may not be able to hold their position, but they have served their purpose: They have prevented reinforcements from reaching the coastal pocket and bought time for the main force to block the only road and rail link and gain good jump-off positions for a final dash to the coast.

The pocket still contains 3 connected supply cities and is well stocked with supplies (8ASP), so its defenders need not fear supply shortages. Two ports allow naval supply to be traced. However, the front already shows first signs of crumbling, and lack of reinforcements will make it hard to hold out for any great length of time once the trap has snapped shut completely.

LOYALIST SEP II TURN

Their defenses in the Murcia-Cartagena-Alicante area crumbling, the Loyalists abandoned their efforts to break the ring that isolates the pocket. Instead, the troops in the pocket pulled back into a tighter perimeter shielding the key cities of Murcia, Cartagena, and Alicante. No attacks were launched against the Legion Kondor’s blocking position at Alcira, still weak on the ground but with solid naval and air protection.

All other fronts remained quiet.

The remnants of the Republican Fleet sallied forth to give protection to the lone infantry division rushed into Alicante.

In the air, Loyalist fighters sortied from Valencia to attack a forward airfield on the approaches to Alcira. They were met by Italian and Nationalist Fiats and lost several obsolescent Ratas while inflicting minor damage to the target.

COMMENTARY

The decision to throw the troops in the coastal pcoket to the wolves cannot have been an easy one, yet was probably the best under the circumstances. Success of a breakthrough was highly questionable and would not have been durable even if achieved. Moreover, attacks even at rather high odds entail the risk of HX or EX results, which greatly favor the Insurgents, given their ample stock of InfRpls and the overflowing Loyalist pool. The Loyalists now pay dearly for having missed their chance to squash the Kondor Flak regiment while there was still time. What they have accomplished, however, is to keep the front forward of Valencia stable without drawing on more than a minimum of troops from the Aragon-Cataluna sector, which they obviously consider absolutely vital. Meanwhile, the Kondor’s standing firm until relieved is cause for joyous celebration in all of Insurgent Spain.

The Cartagena-Mucia-Alicante pocket itself appears doomed in the long run, but may still hold for some time. It has a general supply source as long as the three cities remain “connected,” and can draw supply through Cartagena’s major port. Cartagena itself is an improved fortress and, as such, will be hard to crack. Will that take another intervention by the Regia Marina??