Storm over Scandinavia: Northern Theatre of Operations

This game was originally intended as a three player game to try and introduce a newbie to the game system and so I was selected as the Joint commander of the Nazi-Communist Alliance (fifth game in a row now I’ve flown the banner of world domination and villany – what is it with me, do I have “Axis Stooge” tatooed on my forehead?).

Unfortunately the newbie was called away to attend a birth of his newborn (of all the excuses!) so the game ended up a one on one minus the cigars which were in the new fathers coat pocket. Damn.

Set up: A fairly routine affair, Finns covering the roads and coast, Mannerheim armed to the teeth, Ski units on the border practising for the 1940 Winter Olympics (Shoot and Scoot a specialty). The central reserve has placed its units around the border north east of Lake Ladoga.

The Red Army is massed along the border two divisions high, and the plan is to drive onto Lake Janis and rip the heart out of the Finns. Confidence is high, KV-1 tanks are massed, plucky little Ivan has linked arms with his neighbour and is prepared to charge valiantly headlong into the enemy while shouting patriotic slogans of the Motherland.

Turn Reports

• Dec I 39 - Weather – Zone A = Snow, B = snow, C = snow, D = winter, Sea = Rough, Baltic = Rough (Note hereafter weather is summarised as S,S,S,W & R, R) Soviet Player Turn North of Leningrad – the Red Army lurches ungainly into the forests towards the Mannerheim Line. They are delayed in their advance […]
• Dec II 39 - S,S,S,W & R,R Sweden and Norway In response to the actions in Finland, a partial call out is made of reserves and civilians form up at depots throughout Scandanavia. The mobilisation is influenced by local German diplomatic personnel who point out the threat of Allied incursions into Scandanavian territory so Narvik, Mosjoen and Trondheim are […]
• Jan I 40 - Weather – no change Soviet Player Turn The whole strategic reserve is released and Uncle Joe peers at the situation map in the Kremlin and can’t locate Leningrad for the mass of cardboard. Some are railed north to the front NE of Ladoga while a reorganised stack and reduced stack again go in against 4717 […]
• Jan II 40 - S,S,S,W & R & Calm Axis Player Turn Ribbentrop calls on the Scandanavian Ambassadors and announces their perfidity in dealing with Britain and France has meant Germany must protect its interests in the north. German troopships and the KM set sail in the Baltic to land troops at Kobenhjaven, Trelleborg, Oslo and Karlshamn while the […]
• Feb I 40 - S,S,S, Mud and R & C Axis Player Turn The thaw in southern Sweden and Denmark is greeted with groans of dismay by the Germans. The 14th MG II struggles to make it to Thyboron – the only port accessible to the British and french to reinforce the Danes but falls 16 miles short. At […]
• Feb II 40 - S,S,S, M & R,R Axis Player Turn The 181 and 198 XXs arrive in Denmark to counter the British threat. The 214 XX attempts to take Aarhus but is held back by the stubborn (and now supported) Danes. 169 and 170 XX try and destroy the last of the Danes at Hoelbaek but the Danes […]
• Mar I 40 - S,S,S,M & R,C To try and drive the British out of the country, an attack is lauched by 198, 214 and 181 XXs on 49th WR XX, but mud and the woods they occupy turn it into a German nightmare (3:1 -3 = AH). The German CinC language is very ungentlemanly and totally lacks dignity […]
• Mar II 40 - S,M,M,M & C,C Axis Player Turn The big thaw hits the region. Allanurti falls to an attack by 2 Soviet XXs and a NKVD III (6:1 -4 = DR). At Joensuu, the British forces in Finland (5th XX cadre, Scots Guards and 51st Artillery) hold off two Soviet Corps courtesy of the melted river. At […]
• Apr I 40 - S,S,M,M & R,R Axis Player Turn In Denmark and attack on the 44th HC XX fails (AS) while the Luftwaffe go searching for the Royal Navy off the coast. Contact is made and AA fails to prevent the LW anti shipping planes scoring hits on the Rodney and Valiant. At 4717 another attack is launched […]
• Apr II 40 - S,M,M,M & R,C Axis PLayer Turn Attempts to locate the British Fleet at sea by the LW fail. The Denmark front is quiet. In Finland an all out effort to break into the terrain behind the Mannerheim Line is made – massive air battles break out as the Allied fighters try to prevent the Soviets […]
• May I 40 - M,C,C,C & C,C Axis Player Turn With clear crisp and sunny weather throughout most of the theatre, the Soviets launch a massive offensive – not on the thrice accursed 4717, but on 4615. Despite the improved wether, the sun obviously dazzled the troops eyes and caused the attack to go in half botched and the […]
• What went wrong – or the Axis commander lament - I have never thrown such rubbish dice in any game I have played before – honest! Most of the time all I needed was to roll 4+ on a dice to get an EX or HX result which would have hurt the Finns enough to allow a break in their lines and allow me to […]