Allied Turn

The weather roll was a ‘1’ again which continued clear in zone E, continued winter in zone D, remained mud in zone C (high up in the central Alps), and calm seas. The US gives the French 1x Arm RP. The permanent airfield at Toulon upgrades to 9 capacity. A new permanent airfield is started just southeast of Marseille. The US replaces a P-38F and repairs 3 other fighter groups, the British replaced 2x Bftr’s and repair 3 other fighter groups. With arrival of another heavy bomber in the MTO, the Allied player transfers 3x B-17’s, 3x B-24’s, 1x Halifax, and 4x Wellingtons from operational duty in the MTO to strategic duty in the ETO. Tripling the number of heavy bombers already there (per TEM 50) this early should allow the Allies to start the Strategic Air War rolls in SF on Apr I 44.

The Rodney and Nelson, now repaired, sail back to the MTO, while the Duke of York sails back to the Home Fleet. There is no convoy from GB nor the US this turn. Instead the West Med’s 10x NT’s and the British TF congregate at Alger.

In Tunisia the British and French close in on the last 3 Axis stacks. The crowding is such that the British 1st and 7th Arm XX rail out of the way towards Alger. The Allies fly in 4x fighter groups on CAP, and 7x groups on GS. The Axis decline to respond. Using 3 full stacks the Allies attack the 21st Pz XX at 9:1, -1. The Allies roll a ‘1’ for a DH that reduces the 21st Pz to a cadre. It along with the 90th Mot cadre fall back into Bizerte. During exploitation the British 1st and 7th Arm XX’s move to Alger, embark on NT’s, sail 9 sea boxes to Marseille, but don’t have enough MP’s to disembark.

In southern France the Allies line up 2x US Arm XX’s, 2x British Mixed XX’s, and 2x Canadian Inf XX’s to attack the stack across the Rhone from Nimes. They fly in 10x groups on GS with an escort of 4x Spit IX’s. With only 2x Fw190 and a Me109G available the Germans decline to respond. The Allies attack at 5:1, -2, and roll a ‘6’ for a DH. The Germans reduce the 6th Pz XX and retreat back across the Rhone River. The Allies advance a 33-pt stack with full ATEC into the hex.

Axis Turn

The German reinforcements of Luftwaffe ground units are all placed just inside Germany’s border with France. The Germans replace a Mot III and a mot Art III lost earlier in the campaign. The Germans replace 2x Fw190’s and a Ju88.

In North Africa the Axis retreat into 2 hexes, a 17-pt stack in Bizerte, and a 12-pt mostly Italian stack across the narrow strait from Bizerte. They are all praying for mud.

The Italians thin out their defense in Sicily and continue to strengthen their coastal defenses around Roma and along their northwestern coast. The Italians send no more units into France, convinced their average defense strength of 7.4 pts along 9 mountain hexes, many protected by high mountain hexsides, will deter any Allied attacks into the Maritime Alps.

In southern France the Germans shuffle units along the front in order to pull the 6th Pz cadre out of line for rebuilding. They also strengthen the defense of the ports of Sete and La Nouville to 9 pts each. The north coast of France has a solid defense line from Oostende to Le Havre, although many hexes are defended by just a port fort. There is another solid defense line from Granville to Brest along the north coast of Brittany. There is not a single Axis air group in the northern half of France. In southern France the major city of Lyon and the medium cities of Grenoble, St Etienne, and Toulouse are filled to capacity, but add up to less than half the air groups the Allies have in southern France.