Mainland Europe off-map holding box [end of turn]:
2.5 Italian inf replacement points [The Axis player begins the turn with 3 It inf RPs and gets .5 It inf RPs as reinforcement. In the I. Phase one It inf RP is used to build the 0-6 Cons III 10A, which is successfully sea transported to Libya in the M. Phase via an Axis Med/NA NTP]
2 Ger ARPs [ER-II at start; no builds this turn]
In Sicily [end of turn]:
Licata (18A:0102) [point city/minor port]:
3-cap permanent airfield
SM 79-1 2B3 1-5/22 [inop., strat bombed Malta Status; Hit; began turn here]
Coast hex 18A:0403:
3-cap permanent airfield
Ca 309 2B1 1/L/9 [inop., tac bombed Malta Status; returned by flack; began turn here]
Coast hex 18A:0603:
3-cap permanent airfield
MC 200 3F4 1/8 [inop., tac bombed Malta Status; Miss; began turn here. Note that this air unit did a non-phasing air transfer to here in the previous Apr I 41 Allied E. Phase]
Syracusa (18A:0702) [reference city/minor port]:
3-cap permanent airfield
Augusta (18A:0701) [point city/minor port]:
3-cap permanent airfield
Malta Status:
At the beginning of Axis player turn: 10
At the beginning of the Movement Phase: 10, + 1 for Malta Status hit early in the M. Phase = 11 at the beginning of the Axis Naval Movement Step and at the EOT.
In Libya [end of turn]:
Tripolitania Garrison Box:
0-1-6* Inf III 280 GaF
0-1-6* Inf III 290 GaF
0-1-6* Inf III 340 GaF
0-1-6* Inf III 350 GaF
0-2-6* Inf III 330 GaF
Tripoli (18A:0121) [clear terrain dot city/major port transportation line junction coast hex]:
Axis Supply Terminal marker
fort marker
2 steps of attack supply [both are turn reinf steps of attack supply; both are successful sea transport arrivals; both remain here at the end of the Axis turn]
1 resource point [never moved]
0 pos flk unit AA=3 [Italian]
18A:0122 [Castel Benito; clear terrain secondary rail line hex; S of Tripoli]:
3-cap permanent airfield
Homs (18A:0522) [rough terrain point city/minor port road junction coast hex]:
1 step of attack supply [never moved]
18A:0923 [clear terrain road hex]:
1 step of attack supply [never moved]
Misurata (18A:1022) [clear terrain point coast road hex]:
1-cap temporary airfield
18A:1627 [clear terrain coast road hex; W of Sirte]:
3-6 Inf XX 55 Sav [began at 18A:0923; admin moved 12 hexes along coast road to here]
Sirte (18A:1727) [clear terrain point city coast road hex]:
fort marker [completed in the Mar II 41 Axis initial phase]
3-cap permanent airfield [enlarged in Mar II 41 Axis M. Phase by the It cons III 5A]
1 resource point [never moved]
18A:2227 [sand coast road hex]:
10 Pz XX HQ 15 (Ger) [end of E. Phase; turn reinf]
3-10 Mot Inf III 104 (Ger) [end of E. Phase; turn reinf]
Both these turn reinforcements are successfully sea transported from the Mainland Europe off-map holding box to Homs; then they both admin moved 12 hexes along the coast road to hex 18A:1226—Buerat el Husn; later they both exploited to 2227.
18A:2730 [Arco dei Feline; clear terrain coast road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
El Agheila (18A:2930) [clear terrain point city coast road hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip
3-4-6 Art III 5 A [began at Sirte; admin moved 12 hexes along coast road to here]
1-6 Hv AA II 29 [began at Sirte; admin moved 12 hexes along coast road to here]
18A:3129 [clear terrain coast road hex];
0-6 Cons III 5 A [began at 18A:1927; admin moved 12 hexes along coast road to here]
18A:3328 [clear terrain road hex, S of Agedabia]:
4 pos flk AA=1 [Italian; began at 18A:2529; admin moved 8 hexes along coast road to here]
Agedabia (18A:3327) [clear terrain point city road junction hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip
1-6* Inf III A [brkdwn of 3-6 Inf XX 25 Bol at the beginning of the M. Phase; began @ 18A:2730; admin moved 7 hexes to here]
one step of attack supply [spent 7 SMPs moving along road from 18A:2730 to here in E. Phase]
18A:3528 [clear terrain road hex to Oasi di Gialo]:
1-6* Inf III A [brkdwn of 3-6 Inf XX 25 Bol at the beginning of the M. Phase; began @ 18A:2730; admin moved 9 hexes to here]
18A:3425 [clear terrain road to Zaulet Msus hex]:
3-6 Inf XX 27 Brs [began at 189A:2829; admin moved 8 hexes along coast road to here]
18A:3223 [clear terrain road hex to Bengasi; S of Soluch];
2-3-6 Art III 24 C [began at 18A:2730; admin moved 11 hexes along coast road to here]
Soluch (18A:3222) [clear terrain point city secondary rail terminus hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
1-8* Inf III 61 [began at 18A:2730; admin moved 16 hexes along transportation lines to here]
Bengasi (18A:3121) [clear terrain reference city/major port transportation line nexus coast hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
12 hits on the port
0-6 Lt AA II AA=1 36 [It turn reinf; successfully sea transported from M. Europe holding box; amph landed @ 18A:3122 w/out disruption, then moved into the adjacent Bengasi hex]
0-6 Cons III 10A [It RP build this turn; successfully sea transported from M. Europe holding box using one Axis Med/NA NTP; amph. landed @ 18A:3122 w/ out disruption, then moved into the adjacent Bengasi hex]
one step of attack supply [began at Slouch; captured on Mar II 41 Axis E. Phase; spends 2 SMPs moving to here along transportation line in E. Phase]
18A:3320 [rough terrain secondary rail line hex]:
1-8* Inf III 62 [began at 18A:2730; admin moved 16 hexes along transportation lines to here]
Zaulet Msus (18A:3523) [stony desert point city road hex]:
3-6 Inf XX 17 Pav [began at 18A:2730; admin moved 12 hexes along road to here]
18A:3617 [rough terrain road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
CR 42 3F3 0/9 [inop., air transferred to here from Agedabia in E. Phase]
G 50 3F3 0/9 [inop., air transferred to here from 18A:0403, in Sicily, in E. Phase]
Br 20M 3NB4 2-5/24 [inop., air transferred to here from Tripoli in E. Phase]
18A:3618 [Maraua; rough terrain road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
CR 42 3F3 0/9 [inop.; air transferred to here from El Ageheila in E. Phase]
18A:3719 [stony desert hex; SE of Maraua airfield]:
1-8 Mot Art III 2 AC [began turn at 18A:3427; admin moved 16 hexes along road to 18A:3816; exploited to here]
18A:3917 [rough terrain road to Derna hex]:
1-8 Mot Art III 3 AC [began turn at 18A:3426; admin moved 15 hexes along road to 18A:4317; exploited to here]
18A:3721 [stony desert hex]:
1-8 Mot Art III 1 AC [began turn at 18A:3324; regular moved to 18A:3920; exploited to here]
18A:3921 [stony desert road to Mechili hex]:
3-2-8 Art III 16C [began at 18A:2730; admin moved 16 hexes along road to here]
1-10 Mot AT II 605 (Ger) [began at 18A:3425; moved to 18A:4119; exploited to here]
Derna (18A:4116) [rough terrain point city/minor port coastal cliffs road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
2-10* Mot Inf III 7 B
Began at 18A:3223; regular moved 10 hexes from there to 3717, gaining road hex control, using “northern” route through Jebel Akhbar rough terrain zone. It captured Barce hex and the 3-cap permanent airfield at 18A:3617.
Me 109E 7F5 1/7 (Ger LW) [reinf; inop.; air transferred from the M. Europe holding box in the E. Phase]
Ju 87B 2D3 4-1/8 (Ger LW) [inop.; air transferred from Soluch in the E. Phase]
Ju 87B 2D3 4-1/8 (Ger LW) [inop.; air transferred from the 3-cap permanent air field @ 18A:2730 in the E. Phase]
El Mechili (18A:4019) [point city stony desert road hex]:
5-8 Lt Arm XX 132 Ar [The lt arm XX’s supported components assembled here at the end of the E. Phase.]
2-1-8* Lt Arm III 32 [began at 18A:3424; regular moved to Mechili (18A:4019) in M. Phase; assembled here in E. Phase]
2-10* Mot Inf III 8 B [began at 18A:3423; regular moved to 18A:4318 in M. Phase; exploited to Mechili in the E. Phase]
18A:4318 [stony desert road hex]:
8-7-10* Px XX 5 Le (Ger) [The Ger pz XX’s unsupported components assembled here at the end of the E. Phase.]
10* Pz HQ 5 Le (Ger) [began at Slouch (18A:3222); regular moved to 18A:3816 in the M. Phase; moved to 4318 in the E. Phase]
5-3-10 Pz III 5 (Ger) [began at Slouch; regular moved to 18A:3816 in the M. Phase; moved to 4318 in the E. Phase]
1-10 Mot MG II 2 (Ger) [began at 18A:3423; moved to 18A:4417 in the M. Phase; moved to 4318 in the E. Phase]
1-10 Mot MG II 8 (Ger) [began at 18A:3223; admin moved to 18A:3916 in the M. Phase; moved to 4318 in the E. Phase]
1-10 Mot Hv AA II II/33 (Ger LW) [began turn at Soluch; admin moved to 18A:3916 in the M. Phase; moved to here in E. Phase]
one step of attack supply [began at Agedabia; in the E. Phase spent 14 SMPs moving to here along the road]
On Scarpanto:
Scarpanto (19A:0701): [rough terrain minor port point city hex]
3-cap permanent airfield
At Rodi:
Rodi (20A:2230): [clear terrain major port point city coast hex]
3-cap-permanent airfield
20A:2331: [rough terrain coast hex]
3-cap permanent airfield
In pro-Axis coup Iraq [end of turn]:
Per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft rules, the pro-Axis Iraqi Coup “automatically” occurs in the Apr I 41 Axis Initial Phase. Per WW Rule 38J4-[Iraqi] Coup, the Axis player may not move the Iraqi forces this turn.
The Iraqi rail cap is 5. The Iraqi supply terminal is Baghdad (22A:2825). [per the WitD Neutral Nations OB booklet, p. 2]
In playing the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario it is currently recommended to use WW Optional Rule 38J7-Iraqi Armor, giving the Iraqi lt arm X neutral AECA/AECD instead of full AECA/half AECD.
Pro-Axis Iraqi coup forces: initial dispositions:
Kirkuk (21A:3904) [dot city transportation line junction hex]:
1-6* Inf XX 2
Baghdad (22A:2825) [clear terrain partial city transportation line nexus hex]:
1-2-6 Inf XX 3
1-6* Inf XX 1
1-0-8 Lt Arm X 1
Mxd 1A2 1/8
Diwaniya (22A:3623) [canal intensive reference city secondary rail line hex]:
0-1-6* Inf XX 4
Rutbah (21A:5023) [stony desert point city road junction hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip [per the WitD Neutral Nations OB booklet, p. 2]
0-1-8 Inf II Fawzi (Bandit) [Guerrilla-Capable Unit; began turn at 21A:4717 (H-1 Pump Station); regular moved to here]
Bandit Fawzi al Qawukji :
WW Optional Rule 39E4-Fawzi al Qawukji action die roll: 5; Fawzi is under control of the Axis player for the player turn.
It is currently assumed here that after the Iraqi Coup the national territory in the pro-Axis neutral Iraq is still not 100% Axis “friendly-owned” for the purposes of Rule 39D3-Changing Modes. Perhaps this occurs after a pro-Axis coup Iraq “join[s] the Axis,” per Rule 38J4 [Iraq] Coup. I’m also currently thinking the Fawsi unit cannot, in any mode, admin move in Iraq (or in Vichy Levant, in any case) until Iraq at least “joins the Axis.”
The Axis player keeps the Fawzi unit in Combat Mode and in the M. Phase regular moves it 8 hexes SW down the road from 21A:4717 (H-1 Pump Station) to the Rutbah hex (21A:5023), where it ends its move.
Neutral Vichy Levant in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario on the Apr I 41 Axis turn:
Per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB the Axis may try to gain entry into the Levant starting in the Initial Phase of this Axis turn. This coincides with the bullet text indicated in the WitD Axis OB for the Apr I 41 Axis turn, which is used as a basis for the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Axis OB. This is certainly because in both our 1941 WW ME-based Scenario and in the older WitD Rules/Axis OB it is explicit that on the Apr I 41 Axis turn the “historical situation” occurs in the Balkans, eg., clear weather, German intervention, and thus Operations 25 and Marita. But this turn in the EA reported war game the Axis player opts not to roll the dice using the Vichy Levant Table, found on WW Game Play Chart 8. More below on why.
Axis Considerations in the Near East beginning on the Apr I 41 Axis turn
First, we establish the following Scenario turn chronology for the second quarter of 1941 regarding pertinent historical developments occurring in that part of the Balkans not in play in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario that are essentially embedded in the WW Rules as written and related to Near East WWII strategy of that time period:
Per Rule 38V3a-Axis Privileges [in the Levant] “Germany intervenes in the Balkans…[on the] Apr I 41 [game turn] if the Southeast Command is not under Axis control….” On this turn in the standard WW ME Scenario the Axis player may begin using the Vichy Levant Table found of WW Game Play Chart 8 and try to gain special privileges in the Levant, if he has not violated the neutrality of any Vichy region.
Per Optional Rule 38J6-Axis Intervention in Iraq we see that “Athenai is considered to be Axis-owned … on … [the] Apr II 41 [Axis turn, presumably in the Movement Phase].” Therefore in our Scenario, per (new) Optional Rule 23J-Axis Air Ops from Aegean Islands (found in the Wavell’s War Errata-28 October 2005) Axis air units based on the Axis air fields at Scarpanto or Rodi are released from the supply restrictions of Rule 23I-Out-of-Supply Airbases beginning on the May I 41 Axis turn.
Assuming the use of Optional Rule 38J6 in the EA reported scenario, we use the Optional Axis Near East Forces Axis OB found on pp. 27-28 of the WW OB booklet. We see that very likely in our 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario war game, Coup Turn 3 = the May I 41 Axis turn, Coup Turn 4 = the May II Axis turn, Coup Turn 6 = the June II Axis turn, and so on.
Per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft Rules and OBs, the added-on Assault on Crete segment definitely begins on the May II 41 Allied turn, using essentially the forces found in the Axis and Allied OBs for the WW Assault of Crete Scenario (along with some additions) found in the WW OB booklet. The Assault on Crete segment continues until the Axis player ceases operations in the Balkans per, Rule 3E5.
Per Rule 12C2a-Unrestricted Full Supply Sources, we see that in our Scenario, where we have an added-on Assault on Crete segment, “each Axis-owned port in the South Aegean Islands [becomes an] … Axis unrestricted full supply source [eg., may then generate up to 4 gsp’s in an Axis Initial Phase] … after the Axis player ceases operations in the Balkans (Rule 3E5).”
Per Rule 31D1-[Allied Anti-Shipping Forces:] Eastern Mediterranean, we see that in our Scenario “the Axis player may not use naval transport anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean unless all hexes in Crete … are Axis-owned.”
To be sure, in our Scenario where we have an Axis Assault on Crete segment, WW Rule 3E5b-Voluntary Cessation of Operations in the Balkans says that “the Axis player may cease operations in the Balkans at the start of any Axis initial phase in which … no South Aegean Island has both Axis and Allied units present.” But more below on this.
Finally, since our Scenario is based on the WW Middle East Campaign (Rule 41B5), it is possible in some circumstances to implement Rule 38T2-[Turkish] Participation (Limited Intervention).
It appears that at least in WW ME-based Scenarios, the Allied player may invade the neutral Vichy French Levant at any time. Following an Allied invasion of a neutral Vichy French Levant, per the provisions of Rules 38Va & b-Allied Invasion, the Axis player is restricted in any force intervention into the French colony, meaning that although the Axis player subsequently gains control of the Vichy forces in the Levant after an Allied invasion, “… the Axis player may not operate any non-Vichy Axis forces in the Levant except as allowed by the Vichy Levant Table.”
WW Optional Rule 38V3f-Variable Levant Surrender to Allies is recommended for use in the new Scenario, which calls for the use of the Variable Levant Surrender Table, found on Game Play Chart 5. This Optional Rule and the Variable Levant Surrender Table applies only to the surrender of the Levant to the Allies. In the new Scenario the following + dice roll Modifier is added: +1 for every 5 Allied-owned Levant cities except for Beyrouth, Damas, and Alep, for a possible total of 3.
Pending the final text of the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario rules, for the EA demonstration the following provisional ad hoc stipulation is added to WW Optional Rule 38J6-Axis Intervention in Iraq:
Axis Intervention in Iraq may occur only after the Iraqi Coup, which in the new Scenario “automatically” occurs on the Apr I 41 Axis turn Initial Phase. However, the Axis player must always announce the Axis intervention in Iraq only in conjunction with an Axis pressure of Vichy France to grant Axis Privileges in the Levant (see Rule 38V3), which per the WW Master Sequence of Play Summary occurs prior to the mandatory check for an Iraqi coup. Therefore (in the new Scenario) the earliest the Axis player may declare an Axis intervention in Iraq, per Optional Rule 38J6, is in the Apr II 41 Axis Initial Phase. Once the Optional Rule 38J6 Axis intervention in Iraq is announced in the Axis Initial Phase, the optional Near East Axis forces are activated, and the first are available on Iraqi Coup Turn 3: in the May I 41 Axis Initial Phase, at the earliest.
The purpose of this admittedly technical procedural stipulation is to make absolutely sure the Levant Status proviso is in effect, allowing the Allied player to subsequently invade the Levant, in the case of Axis intervention in Iraq exclusively per Optional Rule 38J6. Per the same Levant Status proviso the Levant is also accordingly made a “part of the Allied Middle East Command”, which is good for the Allied player. Now, in our EA game reporting situation, when the Axis player will likely declare for Optional Rule 38J6-Axis Intervention in Iraq in the Apr II 41 Axis Initial Phase, he may or may not do this along with a dice roll on the Vichy Levant Table, which could certainly stimulate additional Axis force availability in the Near East coming from the Axis Med/NA Command’s forces found in the WitD Axis OB booklet. There are good intentions here that eventually all these various procedural nuances broached here will be integrated into a comprehensive, focused, streamlined, and updated revision of Rule 38V3-Axis Privileges [in the Levant] and Optional Rule 38J6-Axis Intervention in Iraq, to be done for the new Scenario.
Per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario’s Axis draft OB, beginning on Iraqi Coup Turn 4: in the May II 41 Axis Initial Phase, at the standard port/3-cap permanent air field hex of Rodi (20A:2230), the Axis player receives as a reinforcement one gsp, along with the Ju 52 T type air unit reinforcement called for in the Optional Axis Near East Forces Axis OB found in the WW OB booklet. For now it is assumed this gsp was successfully sea transported to Rodi at the beginning of the Movement Phase, and therefore was generated in the same May II 41 Axis Initial Phase. Then the Axis player continues to receive one gsp at the port hex of Rodi in each following Axis initial phase in the same manner until the Axis either ceases operations in the Balkans per Rule 3E5b, thereby kicking in Rule 12C2a, or the Axis player voluntarily withdraws from the Near East the Axis intervention in Iraq air units, per Optional Rule 38J6, whichever comes first. For those who wish a source for the possibility of a single gsp at Rodi at the admittedly relatively early date of the May II 41 Axis Initial Phase, see The Mediterranean and the Middle East, Vol. 2, “The Germans Come to the Help of their Ally” (1941) by Playfair; 1956; p. 196.
Finally, in the new 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft Rules, when and if we get to the May II 41 game turn in the EA postings, at Rule 3E5b-Voluntary Cessation of Operations in the Balkans, the first sentence may be amended to read “…the Axis player may cease operations in the Balkans at the start of any Axis initial phase … [when] … no South Aegean Island [eg., on Crete, in our case] has both Axis and British units present.” Here “British” units has been substituted for “Allied” units; this is “British” in terms of British Empire national forces per Rule 3b2-Allied [Side]. This means that if there are still only one or more of the three Greek static IIIs alone remaining on Crete, it is assumed under the circumstances they have surrendered in the meantime, seeing that the original British Creteforce is no more.
Comments, constructive criticisms, and new ideas are of course welcome; that is the point of all the above. In a big Europa war game project like the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario one person can’t do everything and come up with a superior product; but he can start it.
Med/NA Replacement Pool
1 x 2-6 Inf XX 60 Sbr
1 x 2-10 Mot Inf III 10 B
1 x 2-1-8 Lt Tnk III 3
2 x 1-8 Lt Tnk X 1,2
5 x 1-6 Tnk II 1, 3, 5, 6, 21
1 x Para Inf III Tonini
3 x 0-1-6* Inf III 300 GaF, 310 GaF, 320 GaF
1 x 3-4-6 Art III 24 dM
3 x 2-3-6 Art III 10 C, 20 C, 21 C
1 x 1-6 Art III 23 C
4 x 0 pos flk unit AA=1 [Italian]
Med/NA aborted air units box:
1 x SM 79-1 2B3 1-5/22
1 x CR 42 3F3 0/9
Med/NA eliminated air units box:
1 x SM 79-1 2B3 1-5/22
Turn Activity
Per the WW ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario rules the Iraqi coup automatically occurs in the Apr I 41 Axis Initial Phase, after the supply determination segment.
Axis Replacement Point inventory at end of the Apr I 41 Axis initial phase: German: 2 ARPs, Italian: 2.5 inf RPs.
The Axis spends 1 It inf RP to rebuild 0-6 Cons III 10A; the Axis gets .5 It inf RPs as reinf.
The Axis player receives two steps of attack supply as turn reinforcements. In the M. Phase these two steps of attack supply are successfully sea transported across the central Mediterranean to Tripoli, in Libya, where they remain at the end of the Axis turn.
Axis uses one Med/NA NTP to sea transport 0-6 Cons III 10A to clear terrain coast hex 18A:3122, adjacent to Bengasi. Here the unit makes an amphibious landing without disruption. In this same coastal hex the Axis also amphibious lands the 0-6 Lt AA II 36 turn reinforcement, using Axis turn reinf sea transport. This ground unit also lands without disruption.
Commentary
This turn in the Initial Phase the big LW air unit withdrawals are done for the giant German intervention into the off-map Balkans. So imagine this: a combination of the 1941 ME/ER-II Scenario with the WW Marita-Merkur (M-M) Scenario would make for the creation of a giant rip-snorter 1941 ME/ER-II/M-M Scenario. Whew!
Meanwhile, back on our game board, we see that the Axis player has made some strategic choices with the now reduced Axis air units. This turn the Axis has kept the Italian BR 20M NB type and both remaining German LW Ju 87B D type air units in the Cyrenaica rather than positioning them on map 18A in order to do Malta Status air mission attacks the next Axis turn. Other Rommels might play this Europa turn differently, at least with the Axis air assets. What do you think? Also, what about the forward panzer spearhead at hex 18A:4318; is it too far forward and vulnerable, or is it a bit cautious? What would Rommel do?