Initial Phase: The Weather remains clear in Zones D and E, but the Atlantic and Mediterranean remain rough. All units are in supply Spain generates 3 GSPs in Sevilla. Germany uses 3 ARPs to replace an aborted Me109E and an eliminated He111. The fighters are brought on at Jaen and the bombers at Madrid. No units are in the replacement pool to reactivate this turn. From Sevilla, Spanish Me109s are joined by British Hurricanes and Spitfires in a CAP mission over the Allied armour in 3619.

Movement Phase: The 1st RR Engineer regiment repairs the rail hit in 2412 north of Madrid, then moves to 2511. This allows the 22nd Air Landing division to entrain and head north to the mountains of Galicia. It ends its movement in 1013 with the 15th Mountain Corps. However, the 15th splits up in order to surround the Spanish units in 0914. The 3rd Mountain division moves to 0915 while the 2nd Mountain division heads around the other flank to Monforte de Lemos. The 98th Mountain regiment stays with the 22nd Air Landing in 1013, and the two regiments of the 11th Infantry also move into that hex. The AT guns of the 616th battalion stay in reserve in 1113.

In the German rear near Barcelona, the port of Tarragona is occupied by a regiment of the 263rd Infantry division, as a precaution against any Allied amphibious landings. Nearby the 4th RR Engineer repairs a hit in 3530 before regauging the hex. In the west, the 5th Infantry division is ordered to moves down the road towards Caceres, which it does via admin movement, and it ends its turn in the reference city.

As the Allied line has been pushed back, it is now out of range of some of the forward airbases constructed last turn. Therefore closer fields are required. To facilitiate this, some shuffling of Engineer units takes place. Firstly, the 108th Construction regiment moves to 3313. This frees the 674th Combat Engineer regiment to advance towards the front to 3516. It is joined there by the 512th Combat Engineers, who move south from Cuidad Real. Together they use quick construction to build a temporary airfield in the hex.

Next, the 71st Construction regiment uses rail movement to get to the airfield in 3312. Following that, the 604th Combat Engineer can now move ahead to 3415. Along the way it picks up the 667th from 3313, and they combine to clear an airfield in 3415. A final temporary airfield is built in 3215 by the 517th Combat Engineer, which advances from 3213. The maintenance of the 3213 airfield is taken over by the 519th Engineer regiment from 3211.

Meticulous preparations are made before the assault on the Allied front line. After much analysis it is decided that there will be 3 points of attack. The largest concentration of defenders is in Cordoba, so 3 full Corps are sent to deal with it. The 65th moves around the north flank to 3220, the 25th with its tanks is ordered to 3219, and the 66th moves laterally across the German positions and the Guadalquivir river to 3319. Looking south, the Colonial units in 3620 are considered a weak link. The 64th Corps moves forward to assembly positions in 3519 and the 53rd advances into 3419. Finally, the 23rd and 92nd divisions in 3719 are targeted for an armoured thrust, despite the unfavourable terrain. The 33rd Corps moves into Martos, overrunning the British 8th Artillery brigade which was left behind last turn. This is the first British casualty of the campaign. The German 62nd Corps is kept in reserve, but it moves up to Jaen.

Combat Phase: All the Allied bombers fly defensive support over Cordoba. There are no Axis fighters in intercept range so they are unescorted. However, there are 2 effective points of AA thanks to the German 35th Corps, and it manages to abort a Whitley and a SM79-1. 2.5 points of DS are delivered for the city. 2 Me110C1s and 2 Me109Fs escort a bomb-laden Me110C4 and a unit of He111s against 3719. There is no interception or AA fire so 5 points of GS reach the target.

Cordoba is attacked by the rest of the German Luftwaffe, consisting of an escort of 4 Me109Es, and a mission force of 5 Ju87s, 3 He111s and 2 Ju88s. The fighters in the city fly up to intercept. Spanish 1-16s and British Hurricanes take on the escorts, while the Spitfires try to bypass the screen. The I-16s and Hurricanes are both aborted, while the Germans also suffer an abort to one of their Me109Es. The Spitfires get past the first fighter but are aborted by the second one. Having got past the fighters, the German bombers have to negotiate the huge barrage of AA fire that rises towards them from the ground (7 points total). All the Stukas are able to evade the flak, but a Heinkel is aborted, and a second Heinkel plus a Ju88A are returned. 25 points of GS will be added to the attack.

Cordoba is held by good quality units, including the 1st Canadian Infantry division, the Tdl Colonial infantry brigade, 3 AA regiments, plus artillery. There are not enough German tanks attacking for any ATEC modification, so the roll will be modified by -1 for rough terrain. The Allied force is worth a total of 19 plus 2.5 points of air support for a total of 21.5. Ranged against them is the 25th, 65th and 66th Corps, which are all strong units, and worth a total of 87. The Luftwaffe provides an extra 25 for a total of 112. This is enough for a 5:1 -1. 2 is rolled, modified to 1 for a HX. The Allied forces are eliminated as they cannot retreat due to ZOCs. The Germans cadre the 57th Infantry division and lose the 610th artillery from the 66th Corps, which advances into the city.

Hex 3519 is held by various non-divisional units headed by the Mar Colonial Cavalry brigade. It is attacked by the 53rd and 64th Corps. The attackers have a total of 55, while the defenders can only muster 10. There is a -1 on the roll due to the rough terrain, and the final odds are 5:1. In a carbon copy of the Cordoba assault, 2 is modified to 1 for another HX. The Spanish are destroyed, and the Germans cadre the 267th Infantry division. The 53rd Corps advances.

2 German Panzer divisions backed up by 2 Motorised divisions attack the Spanish in 3719. The unfavourable terrain ensures that there is only a +1 on the roll despite full AECA capability. The Spanish divisions holding the hex are backed up by British engineers, and they are worth 13. The German 33rd and 34th Corps, assisted by 5 points of GS have 52, for a 4:1 +1 attack. 3 comes up, modified to 4 for a DR. The Spanish and British retreat to the mountains in 3720. The 33rd Corps advances into the empty hex.

In Galicia, 3 Spanish units are surrounded by German Mountain and Air Landing divisions. The defenders are worth a mere 5, and are outgunned by the 30 points of the enemy. Rough terrain modifies the attack by -1 but it is still 6:1. In a brave effort, the Spanish fight to the last man, taking many Germans with them. A 1 comes up, modified to 0 for an EX. All the Spanish are eliminated, while the Germans lose 2 regiments of the 11th Infantry division. The 22nd Air Landing advances, as do the 2nd and 3rd Mountain divisions, and 98th Mountain regiment.

In the air return step, the Allied fighters land at Sevilla, as do all the bombers except the A-22, which go to Gibraltar. German fighters land at the newly captured Cordoba, plus Jaen and the forward temporary airfields. Long and short ranged bombers are also placed on temporary airfields.

Exploitation Phase: The 616th Motorised AT battalion is ordered south to 2115. 25th Corps is sent around the flank of the Allied forces from 3219 to 3424, on the far bank of the Genil river. From this position they are threatening the Allied supply lines.

Losses

  • Spanish Unisolated – 9+9+5 = 23 (4.5 Special RPs received)
  • Spanish Isolated – 0
  • Spanish Air – 2A
  • German Unisolated – 7+4+5 = 16 (4 Special RPs received)
  • German Isolated – 0
  • German Air – 2A
  • British Unisolated – 4+8 = 12 (2 Special RPs received)
  • British Isolated – 0
  • British Air – 3A