Allied Turn

The weather roll was a ‘4’ which continued clear in zone E, mud in zone D and C, and calm seas. The French replace 2x 1-8 mot Inf III’s. Using a house rule that requires players to disband units on the map when the OB calls for their removal from the Replacement Pool, the British disband the 2nd mot Support Group for .5 Inf RP’s and .5 Arm RP’s. This house rule prevents duplicate units roaming the map when a unit never gets removed and later re-appears in the OB with the same unit ID. The permanent airfield at Port de Bouc upgrades to 12 capacity. The Allies start quick construction of a permanent airfield northwest of Marseille. In GB the British expend a NRP to start repairing the 2nd hit on KGV.

The British TF at Marseille puts to sea to rendezvous with the convoy from the US at dawn in hex 17A:4916. The Axis decline to attempt naval patrol attacks. The convoy with an AA III and 2x c/m ants puts into Port de Bouc. Meanwhile the British convoy in Marseille disembarks the British 1st and 7th Arm XX’s in the 1st naval step. The British TF and all the NT’s make their way back to Gibraltar to replenish, and from there will make their way back to Alger before the end of the turn.

In Tunisia the British 8th and 10th Arm XX’s, the British 51st and 56th Inf XX’s, the Indian 4th Inf XX, and the NZ 2nd Inf XX move in to attack the German stack in Bizerte. The Allies fly in a CAP of 5 fighter groups over Bizerte, and then fly in a GS mission of 8 air groups escorted by 6 fighter groups. Although the Axis have a handful of fighters in Sicily, they decline to respond. The German AA of 5 aborts an A-30 and returns another. At 5:1, -1 odds the Allies roll a ‘4’ for a DR, which pushes the Germans into the sea. With no friendly ports left in North Africa the remaining Axis stack surrenders. During exploitation the British 8th and 10th Arm XX’s and assorted other c/m units stream towards Alger for transport to France.

In southern France the Allies mass 4x Arm XX’s, 2x Mixed XX’s, and 3x Inf XX’s for an attack on Avignon. The Allies fly in a CAP of 12 fighter groups over Avignon. They then fly in a GS mission of 10 air groups, dropping the 12 fighters out of CAP to escort. Because they didn’t think the Allies would attack in the mud, all the Axis bombers are assigned to naval patrol. The Germans choose to let their AA of 10 do its job. The AA aborted 5 and returned 1, 60% of the GS mission force. This dropped the odds down to 4:1, -2, but the Allies roll a ‘6’ for an anticlimactic DR. The Allies advance into Avignon and expand their perimeter in southern France to 14 hexes long.

Axis Turn

The Germans rebuild the 6th Pz XX. They also start quick construction of 4 forts along the English Channel. The Italians scan the North Africa Replacement Pool with regret for the few non-c/m units they should have flow out, including a potentially loyal fascist Para III. The biggest regret for the Germans is that they could not evacuate the Ramcke brigade which historically formed the basis of their 2nd Para XX.

The Italians continue to strengthen the coastal defenses in front of Roma and at the northeastern corner of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The air groups that were defending Sicily are transferred north to defend these areas.

The Germans do not attempt any attacks against the ever stronger Allied stacks and their numerical air superiority. They do manage to pull 2 of their 5-6 Inf XX’s out of the front line to start the beginning of a second line. The Germans have the 6th and 7th Pz XX’s, which they kept from going east, the 10th Pz XX, which they kept from going to Tunisia, and the 26th Pz XX, the only Pz XX historically in France in this period. The Allies now have 7 Arm XX’s in their beachhead, and there is a 1/3 chance of clear weather next turn.

Mar II VP Check

Former Axis Major Cities: Tunis = 3
Former Axis Medium Cities: Tripoli = 1
Former Axis Naval Bases: Tripoli, Tunis, Bizerte = 3
Net Ground Losses: 0
Net Air Losses: 0
Net Naval Losses: 0
Previous Total: – 11.5 VP’s
New Total: – 4.5 VP’s