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Insurgent Aug II 36 player turn

March 19, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Initial Phase

Ground weather is automatically clear, as is the Med.  In the Atlantic, a minor storm system runs along the northwest Iberian cost, causing some minor operations difficulties primarily to previous planned Loyalist naval ops (6 rolled for rough weather, so NGS will be ½ strength, should it matter.)  Supply and isolation go into effect, per the normal rules.  On the Insurgent side, units in Oviedo and southern Asturias go U-1 black, thanks to Mieres being unpacified and ungarrisoned.  In the south, north of Almeria the line goes out of supply thanks to a number of unpacified towns along the low volume lines, as does Jaen, though a few units can draw supply via the port of Motril (unpacified, but with a unit sufficient for garrison purposes.)  Lastly, near Teruel the one unit defending that front goes U-1 black as well, due to the rail lines in its rear still being unowned.  On the loyalist side, only the PA III’s in Estramadura are U-1 black.  No units on either side are isolated, though significant portions of the Northern Gobernito’s will be to PA units shortly (for the time being, there are holes in the Insurgent lines, so the ‘infinite’ LOC is sufficient to ensure non-isolated status, at least until the combat phase check.)  No border garrisons are in place yet, as they won’t be checked till the Loyalist Sep I 36 turn.  Throughout Spain, Insurgents begin tracking down Loyalist terrorists and fear-mongers, as pacification forces begin their work in Merida, Heulva, Jerez, Ronda, Jaen, Loja and Motril.  These are all towns or small cities so all should be cleared of terrorists and communists next turn.  There are no reinforcement or production activities, but there are 2 pts of Nat Inf (from drafting and specials) and 1 pt of arty available (via imports) for some replacement activity.  Northwest of Malaga, as the Loyalists stayed in the mountains and left the 2 LE Inf III out of ZOC, the regiment becomes the bases for the Van Inf XX in 2-3-6 mode (this XX will eventually convert to one of the first XX’s with a cadre, so it gets used on a more offensive line of operations.  Most of the other small XX’s get used in defensive sectors.)  It is then equipped to supported 3-6 status at the cost of .5 Art.  The destroyed 2 GC Sec III is rebuilt at Cordoba for use on the Malaga front, while its twin the 10 GC Sec III is rebuilt in Zaragoza, using up all available Nat RPs.  Safety protocols remain in place in the Insurgent Navy (5 rolled for mine damage check.)  Neither side declares CAPs or naval patrol and no harassment is flown by the Loyalists.

Movement Phase

The CTV subs return to Ceuta, where they replenish and await the rest of the move phase.  NT-1 loads the E Art III at Larache, then moves to Cadiz & unloads it.  It then returns to Larache and loads the 1 LE Inf III, moves to Sevilla and unloads it, with 1 nmp left to return down river towards the sea.  NT-2 loads the elite (meaning supported) 38th Inf III on Tenerife, then moves it to Vigo, moving back towards the Canaries whence it came.  The BBTF and CATF move to Malaga, and prep for NGS, avoiding any potential reaction from Loyalist naval units at Cartagena via some coastal mov’t near Malaga itself.  Once the prep is completed they await the combat phase.
In ground mov’t, 1 Tet Col III moves to invest Malaga on its western flank, while 6th Lt Inf II moves to the northwest of Malaga from Cadiz, and the rebuilt 2 GC Sec III moves in to attack from the northeast, these later two attacking from across the mtn hexsides.  Meanwhile O Art III and 2 Lt Inf II move around Malaga’s north flank to take the anarchist X in the mountains in its eastern flank.  They are joined on their right side by 2 Eng, assaulting the anarchists from their northeast, and ensuring that all forces reducing the Malaga pocket will have access to attack supply.  Units on the Gaudix front, facing Lorca and Almeria remain in place for the time being.  On the Guadalquivir front, near Jaen, 1 Lt Inf II from near Malaga joins the Col and Fal III’s current pacifying the city and the the 1 P Art III looking on.  The O MG II rails in along low volume lines to join as well, with the whole stack planned for a cross river assault (while the 2 units pacifying may not spend mps, they can attack out of the city, so long as they remain in it for the upcoming pacification garrison check… a III in Loja will do likewise in the planned assault against anarchists in the Malaga mountains noted previously.)  Meanwhile, the Van XX joins the river line and plans an assault to retake Linares on the east bank of the river.  The recently shipped in E Art III and 1 LE Inf III join them by railing to a point 30 miles northwest of Jaen, then crossing the river to take the northern part of the Loyalist line in the flank.  To their rear, two III’s of inf and engineers cartage attack supply from Sevilla to Cordoba, while trucks move A/S already in Cordoba south to supply the Malaga front.  In Morocco, units continue to move to air and sea ports for mov’t to the front.  The 2 Mel Col III and 2 II’s of Lt Inf and machinegun units are airlifted from Tetuan to Jerez.  Tetuan is a better airlift spot now that Malaga is expected to fall.  In southern Estramadura, 4 Lar Col III rails in to engage the PA’s 3rd III at 2821, just southeast of Almendralejo, with the Nat 6th III supporting to its east, while the 1st Sev Fal X and supporting 3 L Arty III move around the PA unit, enter that town and attack the 3rd in the rear.  The unit in Merida remains in place, screening the PA’s 11 GC Sec III north-northeast of Badajoz.  7thBdr remains in Caceres defending that town, joined by 21GC Sec III on its northwest side, essentially trapping the PA Sec unit against the Badajoz-Portuguese border area.  On the Madrid front, two units from near the rail junction at 2217 move down the line and take up positions east and southeast of Talavera, leaving that city unpacified in their rear.  15 L Art III rails in from Galicia to hold the mountain pass at sector 2412.  4 P Art and 28th Inf sit on the arty unit’s right flank at the wooded rough sector 2513, while to its left, 2nd Cav shifts a hex eastward.  The Insurgent line runs due east in the clear hexes through to 2407, which is empty, whereupon the line doglegs southeast down to 2706.  To the rear, 6GC admins to a point 30 miles east of Salamanca, while the 35th Inf III admins to just behind the gap in the line at 2407, taking up residence in 2307 and minimizing the chance of any raiders.  However, 13 L Art III still holds a salient in the Loyalist line at mountain hex 2510.  This whole line is somewhat weak, mostly made up of 1 pt units, including a few scattered arty III’s, but only the wooded rough at 2513 actually has an arty unit & infantry in support.  The line’s flank sort of hangs against the wooded rough of eastern Castilla la Nueva.  Through this same wooded rough, the Insurgents send a cavalry raid.  9th Cav moves due southwest from 2706, converting ownership of Cuenca on the low-volume Aranjuez-Valencia line, then putting at least a zoc on the high volume Aranjuez-Alcazar line, thereby cutting access to Madrid from the south, albeit temporarily to be sure.  (I was one mp shy of being able to occupy hex 3111, or better yet, putting a zoc on the Alcazar-Albecete line, which would have prevented rail reinforcement of the critical Linares-Ubeda front, which ultimately leads to Valdepenas and thence to Alcazar.  IMO, the fall of Alcazar is the death knell of Loyalist Spain, as Madrid cannot be easily supplied or reinforced but through that one line, assuming the Loyalists don’t control nearly all of Aragon, which is a difficult prospect in a standard start game.)  Over on the Teruel front, 20GC Sec III moves west into the mountains flanking the pass, with 17th Inf moving into its previous positions from near Calatayud.  This opens up the rail line and supply, and allows 24th Inf III to admin in from Galicia to help join the front.  In Aragon, Insurgent GHQ faces a bit of a choice.  They are currently outnumbered 2:1 or worse, but the PA has decided to form lines essentially behind rivers.  The Insurgents can advance a bit and form a line based on terrain and rivers, or back up a bit, but without that terrain for protection.  It’s decided to advance to contact, more or less, and put some zoc pressure at least on the Catalunian line.  Should Loyalists attack on this front, they will likely make some gains, but it’s believed the damage will be contained at least a bit as no hex appears to be over-runnable, and besides, units attacking southern Aragon aren’t helping hold the line btw Valdepenas and Linares.  The line runs from the wooded rough at 4631 into the rough at 4630, then due northwest eventually along the Cinca river, with a salient at 4428.  This salient is occupied by 2nd Mech and 9 L Art III’s, and while attackable from 4 sides, all such sides face rivers.  To its rear are single small units, protected by rivers themselves, while the rail line hex at 4530 has 2 pts supported.  No hex appears to be overrunnable, as noted, but the line is otherwise not particularly strong.  Still, even facing the best Loyalist forces not near Madrid, it should hold a turn till next turn’s reinforcements arrive (to include a planned build of the 1st Cas XX, plus others that can be built up or show as reinforcements (a pair of 2-3-5 XX’s, the Caceres and Oviedo XX’s arrive next turn, so should the Loyalists choose to launch an offensive on the Aragon front, the Insurgents can get at least 2 or 3 good defensive units into the area quickly via Zaragoza (given that a 3 pt unit is huge in the early game of FWTBT!)
Up in the north in Euzkadi, San Sebastian is cut off from the rest of Basque territory… there are only 3 pts of units capable of attacking out of the city, and no attack supply in it, so single units can probably hold the line directly in northern most Navarre… however, 3131, the hex btw San Sebastian and the rest of Euzkadi is held ‘in force’ with 2 pts of supported troops.  Other units nestle up to the Basque lines as well, so they are complete up through 1703, just shy of the PA held mtns at 1603.  Santander province is screened mostly at a distance, though zoc’s hem the territory in while the rough terrain gap btw the mountains at 1604 is held directly.  In Asturias, despite my recent battle losses, the Insurgents remain aggressive.  The 2nd MG II advances to the coast to take 1106, while 8th Mtn II moves out of Oviedo to take up position in the vacated mountains at 1206.  Seventh Mtn II also departs Oviedo, taking up position in the mountains at 1207, while the 38th Inf III (supported), just delivered to Vigo, rails into Meires’ hex.  The 32nd Inf III (supported) sends out patrols to gain ownership of the town of Tineo in northern Asturias (it moves out and back into the city, gaining ownership via zoc).  In this way, Gijon is nearly encircled, and no attack supply is currently in the city.  The MG II is likely going to be attacked, but the Asturians will be halved for lack of attack supply (the factory at Gijon does not produce a/s until later in the game when it upgrades.)  The Loyalists must attack the II, using NGS I’m sure, otherwise they risk leaving themselves unable to link up with the rest of the Gobernitos.  However, if they are attacking along the coast they are not attacking the mountain hex at 1206, which zoc’s in the southern part of Asturias (when I get a unit with a zoc there… for now, I’m still keeping myself at 4 RE’s or less in the province, by using the II’s and the supported III’s for strength.  Next turn I’ll need to make the call on whether to release the Asturian garrison by sending in more than 4 RE’s.  I have too many hexes (5!) to hold with a meager 4 RE’s of troops, especially when the intrinsic defense of Oviedo counts as ½ of one of those RE’s.  Again, letting the Asturians attack in the south ensures they aren’t coming up with plans to improve on any sort of attack against Oviedo (even with pulling units out of the city, the Loyalists would need their whole AF to get even a 2:1 -2 against the city, what with their being no attack supply available to them for the moment.)  Lastly, up in Galicia, nearly all the units in that backwater have been railed or admin’d out, the exception being the 30th III, which was used to finally connect up the rail lines.

Combat Phase

The Loyalists fly DAS to a threatened hex near Madrid, ensuring no attack would be launched (I probably wouldn’t have attacked there anyway, since even the 5:1 odds I might have gotten would have risked exchange losses I wasn’t interested in (they would have necessitated taking losses in troops that would have left arty units alone in the hex, and I didn’t have attack supply in the area to ensure very high odds attacks.)  The first Nationalist attack goes off without difficulties, when Bre19’s scare off the “Independent Republic of Malaga” Anarchist infantry brigade.  The anarchists panic a bit despite their excellent terrain and are destroyed to a man, with the 2nd Eng III taking their works by assault (5:1 -2 attack, w/ a/s, Anarchists ½’d by morale effects, odds go to 11:1 -2, 4 rolled for a DE.)  Next, the guns of the fleet open up on Malaga proper, while the 1stTetuan Col III and 6th Lt Inf fix the defending 8th PA III in place on their west and northwest sides… 2nd GC Sec III sneaks in from the northeast, across the mounts using local guides to find routes through the peaks.  The defenders are caught surrounded by forces on every front, with their only retreat routes eliminated thanks to the collapse of the anarchists to the east.  The city falls quickly as the defenders rout (6:1 -1, with a/s and 3 pts of NGS supporting the otherwise unsupported units attacking, 4 for no effect on PA morale, but 6 rolled for DE.)  Next the Guadalquivir river position is taken in turn.  Ubeda is seized, but the attack is mishandled by newly arrived troops and the defending PA 18th GC Sec II manages to escape eastwards (8:1 -1, some a/s, but just 1 RE shy of enough to ensure a 9:1, no morale for PA, 1 rolled for a DR.)  Linares however changes hands for the third time, as units assault from northwest and west across the river, with the Van XX in the lead (9:1 -1, some a/s, no morale for PA, 6 for a DE.)  Lastly, the rail lines near Almendralejo are cleared of the patrols of the PA 3rd III, when a mixed bag of Nat Arty and Nat, Col and Fal Inf assault and force the soldiers of the 3rd into captivity (5:1 +0, some a/s, no morale for PA or Fal, 3 for a DR zoc kill.)

Exploitation Phase

SS-1 and -2 wait till the end of the turn, and then slip off out of Ceuta and arrive off station, 30 miles off the coast of Almeria, arriving at night time.  Naval units in Cartagena choose not to respond (-1 on success roll, no reaction attempted.)  NT-1 moves down the river to the Atlantic, heads to Ceuta where it replenishes, then moves to Larache to await next turn’s mov’ts.  NT-2 moves to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, replenishes, and then awaits the end of the turn.  The BBTF with low ammo moves to Ceuta, replenishes, and then waits, while the CATF moves north towards El Ferrol, slipping into the port using night movement and the rough seas to ensure the Loyalist BB at Gijon can do nothing to respond (-1 mod for rough and -1 mod for night mov’t ensure no reaction could be successful…)  It is now positioned to receive additional cruisers next turn (Sep I 36 is an NRP receiving turn for the Insurgents, and the unit being reinforced has to be in the port at the start of the turn and remain there the entire turn to be brought up in strength.  No ground mov’t occurs in exploit and neither side flies any exploit turn air missions, so the turn ends at this point.

 

Loyalist Aug I 36 player turn

March 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Initial Phase

All units remain in supply and unisolated by rule.  Purification is complete in Lerida, and continues for the 2nd of 3 turns in Barcelona.  Units begin removing insufficiently leftist populace in Gerona, Tarrasa & Reuss (8th Eng, 1st Cat Inf & 15th Inf begin purification respectively.)
At Gijon the Di Ast Inf X and 1st Ast Cons X report for duty.  Likewise, at Bilbao sees the arrival of the 1st Bas Cons X, while a small number of ships are gathered and armed, creating the LtTF-1 in the naval base.  Down south, the Cataluna folks manage to scrape up sufficient shipping to form up the Cat NT-1 naval unit.  1 Attack supply is imported from the French (presumably at this date) at Gijon, while 1 arty pt each is imported at Bilbao and Barcelona.  8 Asturian Inf X’s go into garrison, as do 3 Santander Inf X’s and a Cons X, plus 2 Basque Inf X’s and a Bas Cons X.  The staffs for 4 Arty and Mtr III’s are assembled and just await their tubes (4 III’s to the replacement pool for rebuilding).  Finally, trucks are assembled from the economy of southern Spain sufficient to bring on line 5 SMPs.
Next, the 5 Loyalist controlled factories begin pumping out war materiel, totaling 1 a/s, 2 res pts, .5 Arm and 1.0 arty in the northern Gobernitos and 3 a/s, 3 res pts, .5 arm and 1 arty in the south.  The PA earns .5 PA RPs for specials, insufficient to rebuild any of last turn’s losses.  However, the Asturian AD Art III is replaced at Gijon, while the AD (San) and Ortiz (Bas) Mtr III’s are built in Bilbao using imported and self-produced arty RPs this turn.
A mine damage roll of 7 ensures that the BBTF in Santander harbor does not blow up.  Finally, the Loyalist plan some sort of special op… as the Insurgent player, I do hope it’s against the island of Majorca… performing the historical attempt to seize the island would be grave mistake I’d love to see happen.  Heck, I’d empty the island just to let him give it a go.  Reason being, the island cannot be held in the face of the Italian response forces (granted, just a single Mxd 2-6 X and a pos AA pt in ground forces, but all 3 RMTF’s would immediately get to encircle the island and there’s no way the Loyalist fleet can tangle with the Italians.)  With the RMTF off the port of Palma, the Italians can simply blockade the city until any loyalists die of starvation (no Loyalist transports to fly in GSPs, and the intrinsic CD of the port would be permanently eliminated upon capture by the Loyalists, so those guns couldn’t be turned on the Italian blockading force.)  Hence, for the price of a useless CD pt and perhaps 3-4 months of infantry production at Palma the Insurgents would gain the use of the Italian LC’s for the remainder of the game… they don’t arrive except as a reaction to an invasion of Majorca, and they don’t go away once that reaction occurs.  This would give the Insurgents a naval invasion threat they cannot otherwise gain in the game.  So, note to Loyalist players… never invade Majorca!  I’ll just assume that Sam is either planning some sort of invasion of Spanish Morocco (unlikely to succeed… I always keep at least one unit at each port plus fleet units in Ceuta, or put out the doc as a fake threat.  Neither are a concern.)  Granted, all the above entails a level of hindsight the actual participants never had access to, but so do all wargames… we can all read the OBs after all!  At the end of the phase the Insurgent Mxd T at Larache goes on naval patrol since there will be little opportunity for DAS given its location, and on naval patrol it can help guard the Straits from any attempt to send the BBTF south, or run supplies/arty into Malaga.

Movement Phase

The mov’t phase opens with Loyalist naval moves, albeit limited ones.  The NT’s at Barcelona and the SS and CLTF at Cartagena replenish in port and remain in place throughout the turn.  In the north, the newly arrived Basque LtTF replenishes at Bilbao, then moves to San Sebastian and preps for possible NGS.  NT-3 just sits in port at Bilbao after replenishment.  The BBTF, after spending the first turn murdering its officers, is now at low fuel, so it slowly moves to Gijon, and then slowly refuels (15 nmps vice 30 per naval substep), at which point it doesn’t have sufficient points to prep for NGS, so it just sits in port for usage later.
In ground mov’t, remaining in the north, 40th Inf moves out of Gijon to the southeast, while 22GC Sec III moves up into Asturias from Santander, reopening a tenuous coastal LOC with the remaining portions of the northern Gobernitos.  As expected, 1st San Inf X and 21st Inf III’s seize the mtn hexes at 1505 and 1603 to start building a line in front of Santander city.  6th Mtn II moves out of the line at 1801 and up to 1602 to link up with this line in northern Euzkadi.  The new 1st Bas Cons and Ortiz Mtr III move into the wooded rough at 1702, where I’m sure a fort will begin construction next turn.  1st Bas Inf X moves into 1801, which was otherwise emptied.  Interestingly, the Santander AD Mtr III moves into the Basque line at the wooded rough at 3032, to the southeast of the city.  I guess the Santanderos are protecting the Basques rather than their homeland :)  10th Car Bdr moves out of San Sebastian and completes the Basque line to the sea at 3031, just east southeast of Guernica.  That leaves San Sebastian with 5 pts ground defense, plus NGS.
In Catalonia, the RN An Inf X rails in from Valencia to Sabadell, preparatory to more purification I’m sure.  2 MG II’s, one railed in from Valencia, move to Manresa to do likewise, while 3 GC having just finished purifying Lerida admins back to Tarragona to do similarly.  Then the Loyalists build a solid line of troops running from the Pyrenees to the Cataluna/Valencia border, taking advantage of terrain and rivers to the max extent possible.  However, no offensive moves are made at this point.  Doing this took 7.5 RE’s of rail capacity, and brought in one more unit from Valencia to accomplish.  North of Valencia, 3 units form a screen in front of Teruel, while apparently attempting to threaten the flanks of that insurgent position as well.  In the Madrid zone, units move east of Guadalajara, bumping up against the Insurgents at 2706, then form a line northwest into the mtns, around the single Insurgent 13 L Arty III at 2510, then back into the mtns at 2511 and into the wooded rough at 2512, then southwest to the Tajo river.  Other units, including the 1st Mech II and 5L Arty and 3 Eng III’s engage Toledo’s defenders from the southeast and east, with the later two railed in over low volume lines from Valencia (the high volume line is blocked by insurgent ownership/intrinsic defense at Albacete), for the cost of 4 more RE’s of cap (of note, the Loyalists spent 1 res pt to temp increase their cap number this turn to 18 vice 12, after all the rail yards were connected with one another in the south.)  The AAC Lt Arm III moved along the low volume lines to help accomplish the connection of rail yards.  Near Valdepenas, 23 GS Sec III gains ownership of some rails so that 4th GC Sec III can rail in from the Madrid zone and retake possession of the town of Linares, on the east bank of the Gaudalquivir river in Andalucia province.  18th GC Sec III moves out of the mtns and occupies Ubeda to the southeast of Linares, also on the east bank of the river, creating a mini line in front of Jaen’s occupiers.  North of Almeria, the An and PA X’s swap locations (putting the Anarchists into mtn terrain) but otherwise hold in place.  3 Bdr III rails west out of Murcia along low volume lines, and then 34th Inf III admins forward as well, filling the rough terrain valley leading to Lorca.  Other units gain ownership of lines in Murcia, allowing 11th Inf III and 6th Arty III’s to rail up to Albacete and engage the intrinsic defense on the southwest side.  The hapless defenders of Malaga remain in place, with one PA III in the city and an An X to the east in the mountains.  This area should easily fall to the Insurgents next turn.  Up in Estramadura, 3 Inf III moves south and crosses the rail line, moving to 2821, just southeast of Almendralejo, engaging a Fal X and arty to their southwest.  11 GC Sec III moves one hex into the wooded rough just west of Caceres.  Lastly, 1 SMP is used to move a/s one hex north of Murcia (allowing a supplied attack against Albacete), and 4 SMPs are used to move an a/s pt from Bilbao to Santander.

Combat Phase

The Loyalists failed to fly a cap over Toledo, so the Insurgents manage to get their otherwise weak Bre19 unit over the city on DAS.  The Loyalists respond with a gnashing of teeth, and send their own Bre19 on a GS mission to the same hex, while the Vild stages up to Bilbao and flies a GS mission to the wooded rough 1107 hex, just southwest of Gijon.  At Toledo, a potentially damaging 2:1 +1 attack goes off without a hitch (a/s from Madrid, no morale roll made as the PA units being ½ wouldn’t have affected the odds, 6 rolled for a DH with zoc’s, killing the 2nd GC sec III), avoiding the potentially disastrous 1 in 3 of an AS or 1 in 3 of either an EX or HX.  3rd Eng III advances across the river into Toledo, staging a victory parade.  The poor soldiers of the mech and arty III’s are denied medals however, as that would be too militaristic :)  Oh well.  At Albacete, another a/s is burned to ensure no morale roll or poor combat roll might generate a 3:1 AS combo, so the final odds of 8:1 can’t be dropped to less than a 6:1, resulting the city’s automatic fall to the Loyalists.  The Loyalists gather up otherwise well-meaning citizens and put them under arms (.5 PA RPs drafted).  Finally, another potentially damaging attack in Asturias goes off without a hitch too… an 11:1 -2 attack rolls a 6 for no morale affects and then follows with a 6 for a DE, ensuring the valiant 10GC Sec III is sent off to the dead pool.  Only the PA unit in 1106 on the coast advances into the hex, so that will leave some potential for Insurgent mischief next turn, as the coastal hex is thereby emptied.  The loss of 2 Insurgent units will generate .5 specials next turn, to go along with the 1.5 already drafted, so both can immediately be brought back, and it will be useful to be able to position potential pacifiers where I need them at least!

Exploitation Phase

Essentially none.  All fleet elements remain in port.  The BBTF now preps for NGS up in Gijon, so Gijon and San Sebastian can both count on defense fires from naval forces.  The AAC III moves west to Alcazar.  The Mech III cannot exploit since it attacked this turn.  No air missions are flown.

 

Insurgent Aug I 36 player turn

March 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Initial Phase

Weather is auto clear on the ground and in the Med.  The Atlantic is clear with a 4 rolled.  All units remain in supply and unisolated.  The CATF, strength 3 but w/ 2 hits shows up at El Ferrol.  Italian submariners stealthily join the war by arriving at the grand naval base in Ceuta.  A host of other Italian naval units, an air unit, a Mixed ground X, pos AA and some attack supply show up in Cagliari as well, all awaiting future developments in Spain.  Il Duce intends to ensure Italy’s strategic considerations are well taken care of.  Franco begins marshaling trucks to help run the war effort (5 SMPs added to the pool, bringing the total to 5!)  Finally, German and Italian imports begin arriving, with a res pt, attack supply, and .5 Arty RPs showing up at La Coruna’s docks.  Two  more attack supply and a res pt are produced at Sevilla, while one of each is produced at Oviedo.  The pool has 0.5 Nat and 1.0 Arty in it.  Two supported XX’s are formable now (Van & 1st Cas), but neither is particularly needed at this point, so the Insurgents will wait a bit before doing so (the best units for forming a 3-6* XX are the 3-2-6 Inf III’s.  They can single handedly fulfill the 2.5 inf necessary to form the XX unsupported, followed by a .5 arty upgrade to 3-6 * status.  However, the 3-2-6’s are also the most efficient units on the board in terms of attacking (3 AS for a single RE’s worth of attack supply spent… good units (nearly all Colonial Inf III’s, plus a few of the better Arty III’s) will get you 2 AS per RE, while the mass of Spanish units are just 1 per RE… so pulling one off the board for a turn to create a XX isn’t necessarily best, especially in the early game before the XX’s are really necessary.  In a turn or two, once the lines start to form and full support and full ZOC’s are more important, these XX’s will definitely be formed (though even then they are at best defensive formations, since you are getting just 1 AS per RE of attack supply for a 3-6 XX.)  A mine damage roll of 2 indicates that safety protocols are still in effect for the BB, and it doesn’t blow itself up.  Neither side flies any CAP (the Insurgents don’t even have a fighter unit!) and neither side declares naval patrol.

Movement Phase

[Sidebar:  The Insurgents can get up to 4 RE’s of units transferred into mainland Spain per turn via naval mov’t, 2 of which could go to Sevilla, if the NT’s are properly placed.  The trick is to ensure that no more than 30 mps are spent transiting back and forth btw ports on the double trip.  NT’s can start in Ceuta or Larache (at least one must be at Ceuta because Larache is a minor port) to get 2 RE’s to Sevilla.  The first cycle must drop 1 RE off at Cadiz using each NT; each NT then returns to Larache and runs the next 2 RE’s into Sevilla.  If the optional ground mp cost rule is not used the ground units will have plenty of mps available for additional mov’t.  If the rule is used, then the units at Cadiz will typically have ½ or more of their mps, while the ones landed at Sevilla will have just 1 or 2.  In my case, I’ve got some future plans involving units in the Canaries and was more interested in protecting units from air strike, so on this turn 3 RE’s will go to Cadiz and just one to Sevilla (as both NTs start at Larache, the NT that has to go to Ceuta to pick up unit(s) for its second run will be 1 nmp shy of making Sevilla.]
The recently arrived Italian subs take on provisions, then head for hex 2408, 2 hexes southwest of Malaga, just out of range of Bre19 range from Almeria, but well within interdiction range of the port or reaction range of any naval mov’ts into the Straits-Malaga-Almeria area.  They remain on station the whole turn.  NT’s 1 and 2 load 2x Col Inf III’s (2-6’s) at Larache and then bring them to Cadiz, followed by a return trip to Larache and Ceuta, where they pick up 2 Lt Inf II’s and the ZMO Eng III respectively.  The Lt Inf II’s are dropped off at Sevilla, while the Eng III goes to Cadiz.  The NT’s end mov’t at sea west of Larache and on the river leading to Sevilla respectively.  The CATF departs El Ferrol for the coastal hex just south of Huelva, and begins prepping for NGS.  The BBTF moves to Ceuta, replenishes, and spends the rest of the phase relaxing in port… er, guarding the Straits of Gibraltar from Loyalist aggression.  None of the above mov’t is within reaction range of a Loyalist TF.
In ground mov’t, 6th Car Bdr & 7th Cav engage the militia garrison of Huelva, 6th Car aligned w/ the cruiser off shore.  The victors of Jerez then move to clear the gap to Malaga at 2406, the O Arty III taking the overland route while 2LE Inf III travels via train (with other units described below gaining ownership of the rail lines leading to the gap.)  These units are joined by the 1 Tet Col Inf III offloaded at Cadiz and the 1st & 2nd Lt Inf II’s offloaded at Sevilla, with the Col III moving via train and the LtInf cutting through the woods.  7th Inf, moving from the La Linea hex occupies Ronda just west of these units.  To the north, 2nd Eng occupies 2304, which cleared the rails for mov’t to Malaga via zoc projection across the river.  Further east, 2P Art and 1 Cor Fal X invest Jaen, defended by the meager intrinsic garrison, with the PA’s 18GC Sec III having tucked tail and scampered into the mountains.  These units are joined by 3 Ceu Col III, railing in from Cadiz after being offloaded by NT’s at that port.  One attack supply point is moved via SMP from Sevilla to Cordoba.  On the Granada front, 5th III occupies Loja, simultaneously screening the town from the Anarchists in the mountains and protecting Granada’s western flank.  1 Gran Fal X occupies the port town of Motril, while the 2 Lt Inf II’s flown in to Malaga last turn, as well as the 4 L Arty and 8 GC Sec III’s form a line facing Murcia and the port of Almeria, running from the gap east of Gaudix southwest to the pass NW of Almeria then west in the mountains, with their flanks covered by the high mtn hexsides further west.  This line should easily hold off units in Almeria or coming up from east of Lorca, at least until units clearing out the Malaga pocket are available to join them.  Back near Sevilla, 6th Inf moves up the rail line towards Merida and Badajoz, allowing arty and the 1 Sev Fal X to admin into hex 2922.  Behind them are the ZMO Eng III and 33rd III, admining in from the Cadiz-Jerez area.  27th Inf III occupies Merida itself, while 21 GC Sec III from the Salamanca region moves to the rail junction at 2217, which joins Estramadura to Leon and leads southeast to Madrid.  7th Car Bdr III shoots the gap and admins into Caceres to help defend the town and seal it off from PA III’s moving out of Badajoz, while the 26th Inf & 8th Car Bdr admin up to the rail junction from central Leon.  Near Madrid, 2 GC Sec returns to Toledo to prepare for the city’s defense, while 9 or so units, including 3 arty III’s move to seize mtn passes northwest of Madrid and terrain near Segovia.  Only two hexes of the Cordillera Central are occupied by Insurgent forces, but the western half will be Insurgent owned next turn, while the PA will likely own  all but 1 hex of the eastern half.  9th Cav and 10 L Arty III’s take up position 30 miles east of Guadalajara, cutting off the Madrid line running east and protecting the town of Calatayud and the rail lines leading down to Teruel.  20 GC remains in the pass southeast of Teruel against any incursions coming up from Valencia, while 17th Inf moves to join them, albeit at some distance.  We’ll see whether the Loyalists in Valencia wish to engage our brave defenders of the Spanish Thermopylae.  In Aragon, 8 units have nearly completed seizing all of the region, forming a northeast-southwest running line roughly parallel to the southeast border of the province, about a hex or two back from it.  For now they face only 3 PA units on the east bank of the Cinca, but other Loyalists will no doubt arrive on scene shortly, despite the injustices taking place in Catalonia by ‘pacification’ forces of the Loyalists.  Up in Navarre-Euzkadi, 8 Nat units, including 2 arty III’s, plus the two big Req X’s form a strong line facing Basque forces protecting Bilbao.  San Sebastian is laid siege to at a distance, with small units unable to completely close the city off until supporting artillery can arrive on the scene (San Sebastian starts with strong units, including a 2 pt Arty III, so unsupported 1 pt units would be foolish to engage directly.)  Basques are unlikely to leave the city itself however, so we should be able to more fully invest the city next turn.  22nd Inf and 1st Cav occupy a portion of Santander province, but Insurgent units start the game too far from the best defensive terrain in this area, so the mtn hexes will be taken by the Santander and PA defenders in their turn no doubt.  In Asturias, the Nationalist High Command is taking a both an aggressive and defensive approach, albeit not via the Asturias gambit.  A Mchg II rails into 1206, completing a line from Oviedo southeast to the border, all in excellent terrain, albeit the 2 southernmost hexes are weakly held with single unsupported units.  Even so, the Asturians are for now weak and without artillery, and are currently limited to just the coastal hexes of the province.  If the current line can be held, the Nationalists believe they can prevent Asturian XX’s from forming up later in the game (to form a XX, even in garrison, you must have a friendly hex not in zoc… by holding this line, the Nationalists prevent the Asturians from forming those XX’s since they will have no hex free of enemy zoc’s.  The only solution would be to slowly send units into Santander province and then slowy bring them back along the coastal route.  This should help weaken the Asturian defense through the upcoming winter… I don’t anticipate a chance to seize Gijon directly, unless the Loyalists make some sort of obvious mistake, given I wouldn’t play the gambit card, as they’ll have good garrison forces for the city and arty next player turn.)  In the meantime, two II’s of mtn troops are railed into Oviedo itself to bring its defense up to 3.25.  This should be sufficient to prevent any 3:1 -2 craziness on the Loyalist side (typically managed by bringing the arty III from San Sebastian into the city via NT’s and praying for luck… bit risky in my opinion, but some are gamblers… I had a face to face game collapse when the opponent risked a 4:1 -2 and rolled an AR at Oviedo, causing all his units in Gijon to die via zoc kill.  Gijon fell the next turn of course and the opponent decided to toss in the towel halfway through turn 3.)  Obviously, this strength will need to be increased over time as the Asturians form up units… the hard part is deciding when to release the Asturian garrison.  Oviedo is hard to defend with a 4 RE limit forever, even more so if you make the attempt to seize the terrain line I have.  It doesn’t help that the intrinsic garrison of Oviedo counts as ½ RE, or that Mieres to the city’s rear starts as Loyalist owned, so it goes Insurgent as soon as the game starts and therefore cannot be drawn supply through.  Odd that you can draw supply overland through enemy terrain, including enemy owned towns, but if they are friendly but not pacified, you cannot!  Pacifying the town of Mieres, occupying the line and defending Oviedo should prove a worthy challenge.  Finally, up in Galicia 7 units make their way as best they can out of the province and into the war.

Combat Phase

The Loyalists fly no DAS, and the Insurgents no GS.  First, Huelva is seized in an NGS supported assault (7:1, +0, no a/s provided, no morale effects rolled (4 for Loyalist), 6 for a DE.  Next, Jaen is taken after a shaky start by both sides (both sides roll a ½ effect for morale, but while this reduces both sides by .25, this cuts the defenders in half and has a negligible effect on the Nationalists).  The Cordoban Fal X is provided no attack supply, no doubt the reason they were hesitant to jump off on the assault, but 1P Arty and 3 Ceu have no problem routing the defenders after being provided plentiful shells and bullets (34:1, -1, partial a/s, 1 rolled for H PA morale, 2 rolled for H Fal morale, 5 rolled for DE vs the garrison of the city.)  Lastly, the AoA clears the pass to Malaga at 2406 with a massive assault against 2 unsupported PA units (9:1, -1, a/s provided for all units, no morale effects (3 for PA), 5 rolled for a DE.)  5th Car and 16GC III’s shuffle off to the dead pool, the first non-intrinsic garrison units to die in the war.  1 a/s at Cordoba is used to supply the units in the latter two attacks.  0.5 Nat RPs each volunteer for duty at Huelva and Jaen, while the PA will earn 0.5 specials for the loss of their 2 units.

Exploitation Phase

The Italian SS’s hang off the shores near Malaga, while the CATF moves to Ceuta to replenish and wait out the turn, along with the BBTF.  NT-1 moves to Cadiz from the river leading to Sevilla, then moves to Larache for next turn’s transfers.  NT-2 heads off to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it too replenishes and then waits for future mov’ts.
In the war’s first real c/m exploit, 2nd Mech III moves into the line w/9L Arty in Aragon.  The Bre19 hiding out in La Coruna transfers south to Salamanca, from which point it can provide DAS to Toledo or the units in the Cordillera Central region.  The Loyalist Vild, that had transferred from Cartagena to Bilbao last turn now transfers to Barcelona this turn, at which point the turn ends.

Loyalist Jul II 36 player turn

March 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Initial Phase

Again, no units are isolated or out of supply by rule 37C.  3 GC Sec III begins pacifying the good folk of Lerida, while 13 & 14 Inf III’s, 19 GC Sec III, 3 & 4 Cav III, 4th Eng III & 1 Car Bdr III’s do the same in the two hexes of Barcelona.  Three X’s of Asturians are formed up in Gijon, while another three Santandero form up in Santander city.  The 1st Bas X shows up at Bilbao, while the 2ndstarts its war at San Sebastian.  The AmL Anarchist X begins terrorizing the city of Almeria, while the RIM An X does the same at Malaga.  More such X’s show up in Murcia, Valencia and Barcelona, while that later city also ends up with a X of anti-Stalinist communists in the Le POUM X.  Lastly, the 1st and 2nd Cat III’s form up in Barcelona as well.  A mine damage check is passed, so the BBTF in Santander is safe while its crew murders its officers.  No CAP is flown by rule, and neither side declares any naval patrol at this juncture.

Movement Phase

The Insurgents open the phase with two air missions, which the Loyalists kindly allow.  The Mxd T transfers from Cadiz and its scant flak protection to Larache, out of range of all possible Loyalist a/c.  The Bre19 in Valladolid then heads for La Coruna, similarly safe from Loyalist bombing.  It is fairly important to note that the Nationalist AF is very brittle at the beginning of the game.  They get only 1 ARP per 4 a/c in play, rounded down.  They don’t get a 4th air unit until Jan I 37, so their first ARP doesn’t arrive till Mar I 37, some 7 ½ months after game start.  Early losses, especially of the Mxd T, could be unrecoverable.  Fortunately the interventionist CTV and Kondor Legion get their ARPs from a ‘round up’ perspective, so they have some staying power.  Also, after the first turn through the first winter, the Loyalist will most often need his air units to help buck up his militia (all Loyalist units but arty & armor are militia, requiring militia reliability checks.)  GS and DAS can help mitigate these reliability checks, so the Loyalists are often better served to get the double bonus of GS/DAS plus the +1 for the check, rather than the 1 in 6 chance of a successful bombing.  But since the Loyalists cannot attack on turn 1, it serves the Insurgent to be well away from the Loyalist AF during this turn.
The Loyalist TF’s are unable to move, as they are busy killing off their officers at this point.  However, LC-1 and 2 depart Cartagena for Barcelona, while the NT-3 naval unit at Santander runs for the safety of the naval base at Bilbao.  All naval units spend the remainder of their turn replenishing and hiding in port.  5th Car Bdr & 16 GC Sec III’s depart Malaga to the NW, blocking the valley leading to the nearly surrounded city.  The RIM Anarchists move east to protect the mountain flank of the city, and perhaps to threaten Granada.  18GC in Jaen scampers into the mountains, hiding from the advancing Insurgents no doubt.  Over in Murcia, PA units move west towards Lorca, while the TL An X heads north towards Albacete, an Insurgent owned city right in the heart of Loyalist Spain.  Units in Valencia head west and north towards Teruel and the coast road leading into Catalonia.  Over in Catalonia, the 16th Inf III moves northwest out of Lerida, joined by the 4th Mtn II, which crosses the Cinca river, creating a 3 hex line along that river.  The host of other units in Catalonia begin moving towards the front, except the An and POUM X’s in Barcelona, which remain in place.  No doubt the PA enforcers in the city aren’t doing a sufficient job pacifying the city, so the Loyalist gov’t feels the need to being in even worse offenders (these 2 X’s will probably swap out as part of the pacification garrison next turn, hence their lack of mov’t.)  Up near Madrid, units scatter in nearly every direction, moving north to secure the mtn terrain, west to take up positions in wooded rough the following turn, while c/m units and artillery move towards the heroic Insurgent city of Toledo, famed for its steel.  Two III’s of troops move out of Badajoz in Estramadura towards Merida, flanking that city on two sides.  Insurgent ZOCs prevent the town from swapping sides however.
Up in the far north, 2 Bas X’s and a PA III secure 3 wooded rough hexes south and west of Bilbao, while all units in San Sebestian hold up in preparation for a presumed siege.  Two Santander X’s and 2 PA III’s likewise move south and west, hoping to seize good defensive terrain next turn.  Finally, 3rd Ast X moves northwest to protect the town and port at Aviles, key to the aforementioned “Asturian Gambit.”

Combat Phase

None, per rule.

Exploitation Phase

No mov’t by Loyalist naval units.  No c/m units are allowed to move due to the rising and revolution limit of 1 hex per turn, all having already moved in the move phase.  The ancient Nieuports in Madrid launch a strafing mission against the empty air base at Toledo, but miss.  The Vild flying boats transfer up to Bilbao, while the Bre19 transfers from Madrid down to Almeria, from which point it can both patrol the nearby coastal waters and protect against forth coming Insurgent offensives in southeast Andalucia.

Insurgent Jul II 36 player turn

March 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Initial Phase

Weather is automatically clear in all ground zones, as well as in the Med.  In the Atlantic, there is a 1 in 6 chance of rough, which comes up with a 6 rolled.  All units on both sides are in supply & non-isolated per rule 37C.  No gobernito garrisons are required at this time.  Two X’s of Requetes volunteer for duty at Burgos and Vitoria, while four X’s of Falangists march off to war at Zaragoza, Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada.  A random mine damage roll of 9 ensures my BBTF doesn’t blow itself to bits in El Ferrol harbor.  All a/c are fully operational, and none are put on naval patrol (while CAP is forbidden in turn 1).

Movement phase

NT’s don’t start in the most useful locations, one in El Ferrol and the other in the Canaries.  Both, along with the BBTF, head for Ceuta in Spanish Morocco to begin ferrying the elite Army of Africa across to mainland Spain.  In this first turn the O Arty III and the elite 2nd LE Inf III are brought to Cadiz for a turn one attack against Jerez.  The BBTF replenishes at Ceuta, then waits, while the NT’s move to Ceuta after they unload and being the replenishment process as well.
In ground mov’t, mainland Insurgent units are limited to 1 hex of mov’t, while AoA units are allocated ½ their normal mps.  Those remaining in Africa begin flowing west to Ceuta and Larache for future air and naval transport, while 2 LtInf II’s move to Tetuan, where they are flown to Granada (I could get twice as many RE’s flying a short range mission, but Cadiz already has enough troops and I won’t have enough rail cap next turn to get units at Cadiz forward given the ones I’ve already naval landed, so for this turn at least I decide to get units closer to the front, where they can immediately engage next turn.  Granada serves as the light infantry units can quickly advance over the mountains and seize the passes leading to Lorca and Almeria.  The Mxd T lands at Cadiz, where it is at least covered by a single flak point in the fortress, albeit in range of potential air attack should Loyalist air units be willing to base out of Malaga.  Also near Granada, the 1st Gran Fal X moves toward Motril, while the 5th Inf III moves towards Malaga.  The two units landed at Cadiz advance on Jerez and prepare to assault the ill organized defenders (intrinsic garrison only.)  6th Car Bdr III advances on the northwest road towards Huelva, while 17 GC Sec III advances towards Jerez from the rear, in anticipation of occupying that city next turn for the purposes of clearing out undesirable leftists, which will allow the elite AoA elements to move on other locations in Andalucia.  Also in Sevilla, III’s of Inf, Eng, Arty, supported by Sevilla’s Falangist volunteers move east.  Cordoban Falangists and an elite Arty III (1P) move southeast towards Jaen.  In Estramadura, 27th Inf III advances on Merida from Caceres, taking it via zoc.  2GC Sec III advances southeast out of Toledo, seizing the rail line leading to Madrid.  A number of units in the Salamanca-Valladolid region move south towards Estramadura and Castilla la Neuvo, while those in central Leon at Zamora do likewise.  The majority of units in Burgos move east to begin encircling the northern Gobernitos, but the 5th Cav III moves southwest preparatory to seizing the Burgos-Soria rail line.  Units in Vitoria move to seize important terrain in Euzkadi, while those in Pamplona move north to do likewise.  Units in Lograno are too busy putting down a minor peasant uprising and are stuck in place (I forgot to move them J)  That sort of thing doesn’t prevent the units in Zaragoza and nearby from beginning to move south in a campaign towards the Ebro.  Units in Calatayud move west to lock off Madrid’s eastern approaches, while the 20 GC Sec III in Teruel moves south to seize the mountain pass leading to Valencia.  Up in Asturias, the 10th GC Sec III seizes the wooded rough to the southeast of Oviedo, beginning the encirclement siege of Gijon (I don’t play the Asturian gambit, nor will I the Santander gambit; a bit too ahistoric and game changing for my tastes.)  31st Inf III moves from Leon towards Asturias as well.  Finally, the units in Galicia move south to get into the war.

Combat Phase

Only one combat is possible, a 10:1 blow out against the Loyalist militia forces in Jerez by O Arty III and 2LE Inf III (no A/S, no mods, no morale effects (3 rolled), DE (3 rolled.)  Both attacking units advance into the city.  The local people are so relieved by the arrival of god fearing Nationalists that half a regiment’s worth of troops immediately volunteer for service (0.5 Nat Inf RP drafted.)

Exploitation Phase

NT’s complete replenishment, and then all naval forces move to Larache, from which point they cannot be attacked by Loyalists air units (10 hexes distant from Malaga, with the longest range Loyalist a/c having a range of 9.)  The Bre19 air unit launches a single raid against the airfield at Madrid, where both the Loyalist Bre19 and N.52 are located.  A 3 is rolled for a miss, with the Insurgent a/c landing at Valladolid, within range of Loyalist counter air.

December 1938

September 23, 2000 / / 0 Comments

Dec I 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The Insurgents get a breather as the weather across Spain worsens (Winter in Zone D, Mud in Zone E, Storms in the Atlantic, and Rough in the Med.). The Nationalist CR.32 is rebuilt. With the return of mud in the south, the withdrawing Rebels pause in a delaying postion in rugged terrain south of Carceres. Another air raid targets Madrid; no hits are scored by the bombers but in air combat a KL Me109D is killed by an I-16 while a Nationalist Me109B/D aborts a G.E.23 which attempted to bypass the escorts.

Loyalist Player Turn

An I-16 is rebuilt. Three Sec X’s are upgraded to the 2A XX. In an air raid on Cordoba, AA fire aborts a SB-2. No attacks are attempted due to a lack of attack supply at the front.

Dec II 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

Bad weather continues. The KL Me109D and a Nationalist Mxd A air unit are rebuilt. Units in Extremadura resume their withdrawl, demolishing rail lines and airbases as they pull out.

Loyalist Player Turn

The SB-2 is rebuilt. With the bad weather and continued supply shortage, no attacks are launched.

November 1938

September 9, 2000 / / 0 Comments

Nov I 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The rainy weather in the north expands into southern Spain (Mud in both weather Zones). The Rebels hope the bad weather will hold off further Loyalist attacks until a new defence line can be patched together. One immediate effect of the mud is that the Loyalists now have some bad supply problems. Had Merida not fallen, supply could have really become a disaster for the Republic. As it is, they really need to capture the rail line from Merida to Badajoz to resolve their supply issues.

A Ju52 is rebuilt. In an Insurgents raid on a Loyalist airfield (hex 2818), a Me109D kills an I-16, A Nationalist CR.32 aborts an I-15. All the bombers get thru, and though they only get 1 hit on the airfield which now has no aircraft present, the operation is a big success for the Insurgents.

Loyalist Player Turn

An attack on the FA XX and some supporting non-divisionals (hex 2421) brings on another big air battle as both sides again attempt to get in close support aircraft. Once again, neither side’s fighers are able to keep enemy ground attack planes from reaching the battlefield, though the Loyalists do make the Insurgents pay a price as an I-15 kills a Do17E and an I-16 aborts a CTV SM-79. Desperate to open the supply lines, and despite the poor weather, the Loyalist are able to destroy the Rebel force at considerable cost (4:1 -3 = EX).

Nov II 38

Insurgent Player Turn

Weather clears over southern Spain to the dismay of the Rebel leadership. The CTV SM-79 and the Nationalist Do17E are rebuilt. A withdraw to the next river line in Extremadura, the Tajo, is begun. With all the Loyalist fighers currently based in Extremadura, the Insurgent launch a big raid against Madrid with all their bombers and attack planes. Despite the lack of interceptors and ineffective AA fire, the raid fails to score a single hit.

Loyalist Player Turn

An I-16 is rebuilt. It is decided to change the direction of attacks in Extremadura and strike south into Andulasia instead of heading north. The withdrawing Rebels are followed, but by second class troops as the best units turn south. In an air raid on Cordova, an R-Z eliminates a Nationalist CR.32 which had chosen to remain at base and depend on flak to protect it.

October 1938

September 2, 2000 / / 0 Comments

Oct I 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The Lit XX converts to LA XX. All Insurgent forces in Extremadura withdraw to north of the Guadiana.

Loyalist Turn.

The Republicans try to breach the new Rebel line along the Guadiana with a direct assault on the reinforced 84 XX at Merida. An inconclusive air battle is fought, which results in both sides getting close support. The attackers fail to succeed in the cross-river attack, and fall back in some disarray, though with casualties are light as they did not press the attack vigorously (3:1 -1 = AR). To the west, a very weak, unsupplies corps takes Badajoz from its intrinsic garrison (6:1 0 = DR).

Oct II 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

Rains come to northern Spain (Mud in Zone D, rough seas in the Atlantic), but as the northern fronts are mostly inactive, this has no effect on operations. The “F” XX is upgraded to form the FA, FN, & FV XX’s. The FN XX is sent to reinforce the 84 XX at Merida.

Loyalist Turn.

An R-Z is rebuilt. The attack on Merida is renewed. In the air, a KL Me109E kills an I-16, but both sides again get close support. The arrival of the FN XX makes a renewal of the cross-river assault dicey, but the Loyalists are more determined now, and manage to penetrate the river line with fewer casualties than might have been expected (2:1 -1 = HX). (Rolled another 6!)

September 1938

July 30, 2000 / / 0 Comments

Sep I 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

A Nationalist CR 32 is rebuilt and the 1 Sor XX converts into 19 XX. There are no good prospects currently for a counterattack so the Rebels concentrate on patching up the front.

Loyalist Turn.

The French border is closed again. The other SB-2 is rebuilt. The success in taking Almendralejo is followed up by an attack on 21 XX and supporting units to the east (hex 2721). With the 2nd SB-2 back in service, the Loyalists are now able to fly in DAS, which contrbutes the the easy capture of the position, with the supporting units sacrificing themselves to allow the division to escape (5:1 -1 = DH).

Sep II 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The Nationalist R0-37 is rebuilt. As Don Benito is now nearly surrounded, the difficult decision is made to abandon it and fall back on Merida itse

Loyalist Player Turn.

An R-Z is rebuilt. Don Benito is occupied and attacks are launched on the 21 & 19 XX’s (hex 2621). This time, both sides get close air support, but the Loyalists are able to push forward (4:1 0 = DR).

August 1938

July 23, 2000 / / 0 Comments

Aug I 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The 1 Av XX converts to the 20 XX. An air raid on Madrid goes badly as an I-16 manages to get past an escorting Me109B and kill a Ju 52. In eastern Andulasia, all units are now in the new defensive line in the mountains.

Loyalist Turn.

The French border is opened. An I-15 is rebuilt. The 3 Est XXX is attacked (hex 2821). A successful attack will allow Loyalist forces to exert a ZOC on a stretch of the Sevilla-Caceres-Salamanca rail line. The Rebels again fly in DAS, which gets thru, though an I-16 does abort an escorting Nat CR.32. The Rebels give way with surprisingly little fight (3:1 0 = HX); even better from the Republican perspective, none of the divisions in 3 Ext XXX have cadres and all are eliminated

Aug II 38

Insurgent Player Turn.

The 1 Mad XX converts to 17 XX. Studying the map, the Rebel command notices that as long they control Merida, Loyalist units in Extramadura will have supply problems once bad weather hits. Therefore, the order goes out that Merida must be held. It’s decided that the best way to hold Merida is to hold Don Benito. Therefore, Insurgent movements this turn are directed to this goal, more so than eliminating the threat to the high-volume rail line to the south around 2821.

Loyalist Player Turn.

The French border reopens. An SB-2 is rebuilt; the PA air force has finally gotten all its available fighters back in service and is now able to start reforming its bomber force. The Insurgents have garrisoned Don Benito too strongly for it to be attacked at this time; instead the Peoples Army decides to take Almendralejo (hex 2722) to the west first. This battle is unusual in a couple aspects: niether side has any close air support, and the defenders are capable of AECD due to the presence of 2 lt arm III’s. The armor is unable to prevent the loss of the town (4:1 -1 = HX).

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