Apr I 41 Allied Turn

Malta [end of turn]:
Malta Status: 10, at the end of turn [at turn’s start 11 (for 1 hit on Mar II 41 Axis Turn) – 1 repair this turn = 10]
Malta Repair Rate: 1 repair point each turn.
Valletta hex flack factor (intrinsic + hv AA II):  5
Valletta (18A:0407):
3-cap permanent airfield
3-6* Inf X 1 M
2-6* Inf X 2 M
1-8 MG II 2 Ch
0-1-8 Hv AA II AA=2 10
0-4 Cons X MC
4 gsp’s generated on the Apr I 41 Allied turn initial phase. [from Gibraltar, using a W Med NTP]
Note: All units are technically Allied U-2, but are in special general supply due to the gsp’s.

Allied end of Movement Phase dispositions: eastern Libya & Egypt

In Libya [end of turn]:
All indicated hexes are Allied owned.
Bengasi (18A:3121) [clear terrain reference city/major port transportation line nexus coast hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
12 hits on the port

18A:3617: [rough terrain road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield

18A:3618: [Maraua; rough terrain road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield

Derna (18A:4116) [rough terrain point city/minor port coastal cliffs road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield

Ain el Gazala (18A:4518) [clear terrain point city coast road escarpments hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip is present in hex at the turn’s start, but in the M. Phase it is destroyed by the Ind 1-10* Mot Inf X 3.
[vacant]

18A:4618 [clear terrain coast road escarpments hex; E of Gazala]:
8 Inf XX HQ 9 (Aus) [admin moved 16 hexes along road from Bengasi (18A:3121)]
2-8 Inf X 20 (Aus) [admin moved from Bengasi]
1-8 MG II 1 RNF [admin moved from Bengasi]
1 step of attack supply [spent 12 SMPs moving along the road from Barce]

Tobruch (18A:4817) [clear terrain point city/standard port/fortress road junction escarpment coast hex]:
unimproved fortress
1-cap temporary airfield, constructed in the M. Phase by the 0-1-4 cons X in the hex.
0-1-4 Cons X 66 RPC (Col) [never moved; spent 4 MPs building the 1-cap temporary airfield]
0-1-8 Hv AA II AA=2 51 [never moved]
2-8 Inf X 24 (Aus) [at start at Tobruch; moved one hex to 18A:4818 and inflicted 2 hits on the 3-cap permanent airfield, then moved back into Tobruch]
one step of attack supply [one of the two steps beginning at Zaulet Msus (18A:3523); used 16 SMPs in the M. Phase moving to here along the road]
1 resource point [broken down in the I. Phase from the step of attack supply beginning the turn at Tobruch; in the M. Phase the other two resource points are shipped out of Tobruch to Martuh and Alexandria]
Blen 4 3B3 1-2/23 [inop.; air transferred to here from 18A:3618 in the M. Phase]

18A:4818 [clear terrain escarpment road hex; S of Tobruch]:
3-cap permanent airfield w/ 2 hits of damage done this turn
3-8 Art 13 [admin moved 15 hexes to here along road from Barce (18A:3418)]
2-8 Inf X 26 (Aus) [admin moved 15 hexes to here along road from Barce]
Hurri 1 5F5 1/8 [operative; never moved]

18A:4819 [clear terrain road hex; 2 hexes S of Tobruch]:
1-10* Mot Inf X 3 (Ind) [began at 18A:4818; in M. Phase it regular moved to Ain el Gazala and destroyed the 1-cap permanent airstrip, then moved back to 4818; in the E. Phase it first moved to 18A:5018 and inflicted two hits of damage on the 3-cap permanent airfield there, then moved to here]
1-10 Mot Inf II 1 M (FF) [in M. Phase regular moved from Zaulet Msus to 18A:4318; later exploited to here]
1-2-10* Mot SG X AA=1 7 [railed from Alexandria to Matruh, then admin moved along road to 19A:0618; later exploited to here]
3-2-10 Arm X 7 [railed from Alexandria to Matruh, then admin moved along road to 19A:0618, later exploited to here]
2-1-6 Tnk II 4 RT [turn reinf; disembarked at Porto Bardiya, then regular moved two hexes to 18A:5119; in the E. Phase it first moved one hex to 18A:5018 and inflicted one hit of damage on the 3-cap permanent airfield there, then moved to here]

19A:0319 [clear terrain coastal cliffs coast road border hex; S of Porto Bardiya]:
3-8 Inf X 22 G [began at Alexandria; railed to Matruh, then admin moved along the road to here]

Porto Bardiya (19A:0318) [clear terrain point city/minor port/fortress escarpment road terminus coast hex]:
unimproved fortress hex
1-8 AT II 65 [began at Tobruch; regular moved to here]

Apr I 41 Allied EOT dispositions; Eastern Libya and Western Egypt

In Egypt [end of turn]:
Halfaya Pass (19A:0419) [coast road escarpments border hex]:
7-8 Inf XX 7 (Aus) [assembled here at the end of the M. Phase]
8 Inf XX HQ 7 (Aus) [began at Alexandria; railed to Matruh, then admin moved to here along the coast road]
2-8 Inf X 21 (Aus) [began at Alexandria; railed to Matruh, then admin moved to here along the coast road]
2-8 Inf X 25 (Aus) [began at Alexandria; railed to Matruh, then admin moved to here along the coast roadd]
2-8 Inf X 18 (Aus) [began at Matruh; admin moved along the coast road to here]

19A:0618 [clear terrain coast road hex; SW of Sidi Barrrani]:
2-1-6 Tnk II 7 RT [began at Disuq (20A:5026/19A:2815); railed to Matruh, where it ends the M. Phase; moved to here in E. Phase]

Matruh (19A:1218) [clear terrain point city/minor port transportation line junction coast hex]:
railhead marker
3-cap permanent airfield
2-8 Eng X 1 (Aus) [turn reinf.; sea transported to Suez, then railed to here]
1 resource point [sea transported to here from Tobruch using one E Med NTP]
Glad 3F3 0/8 [inop.; air transferred to here from Alexandria in E. Phase]
Blen 4 3B3 1-2/23 [inop.; air transferred to here from Alexandria in M. Phase]

19A:1418 [clear terrain major rail line coast hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield

Alexandria (20A:4930/19A:2416) [full hex city/major rail line coast hex]:
Supply Terminal marker
3-cap permanent airfield
2-8 Inf X 16 [began at Suez; admin moved along transportation lines to here]
0-2-6 Hv AA X AA=4 NMBDO 1 (RM) [never moved]
one step of attack supply [turn reinf; sea transported to Suez, then railed to here]
one resource point [sea transported to here from Tobruch using one E Med NTP]
Glad 3F3 0/8 [inop.; air transferred to here from Ismailia in E. Phase]

Cairo (19A:3219): [full hex city/transportation lines nexus hex]:
2-8 Inf X 23 [never moved]

Cairo (19A:3320) [clear terrain partial city hex; SE of Cairo full hex city hex]:
3-cap permanent air field

Ismailia (19A:3516) [sand reference city/standard port/Suez Canal transportation line junction hex]:
1-8 Marine Cmdo X Layf [never moved]

Suez (19A:3718) [clear terrain reference city/major port/Suez Canal transportation line junction coast hex]:
Supply Terminal marker
1-8 Inf II 11 (CS) [moved to here from Port Said]

Apr I 41 Apr I 41 Allied EOT dispositions: Eastern Libya & Egypt

In Palestine [end of turn]:
Gaza (19A:4211) [clear terrain point city major rail line coast hex]:
1-8 Cav X 5 [never moved]

Tel Aviv (20A:5011/19A:4308) [clear terrain dot city/minor port major rail junction coast hex]:
1-8 Cav X 6 [never moved]

19A:4608 [rough terrain road hex; NE of Jerusalem]:
2-1-8 Cav X 4 [moved 1 hex to here from Jeursalem (19A:4509), where it began]

Haifa (20A:4710/19A:4305) [clear terrain dot city/major port transportation line junction coast hex]:
railhead marker
3-8* Mtn X Karp (Pol) [never moved]
0-8 Marine Cmdo II ME [began turn at Limassol (20A:3615), on Cyprus; sea transported to here using one E Med NTP]
Bombay 1T2 1-2/15 [operative; never moved]

Greece Off-Map Holding Box [end of turn]:
4-3-10* Arm X 1
3-8 Inf X 5 (NZ)
2-8 Inf X 16 (Aus)
2-8 Inf X 17 (Aus) [sea transported to Greece from Port Said using one E Med NTP; done this turn per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB; transfer based on ER-II and WitD/WW WD Scenario Allied OBs]
2-8 Inf X 19 (Aus) [sea transported to Greece from Port Said using one E Med NTP; done this turn per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB; transfer based on ER-II and WitD/WW WD Scenario Allied OBs]
2-8 Inf X 4 (NZ)
2-8 Inf X 6 (NZ)
2-8 Inf X 14
8 Inf XX HQ 2 (NZ)
8 Inf XX HQ 6 (Aus)
3-2-28 Art X W
0-8 Lt AA II AA=1 57
0-1-4 Cons X 43 RPC
5 pos AA AA=1
1 step of attack supply [turn reinforcement; sea transported to here; done this turn per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB; based on ER-II and WitD/WW WD Scenario Allied OBs]
Well 1C 3NB4 1-6/28 [remains here this turn per the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB]
Blen 1 2B3 1-2/16
Hurri 1 5F5 1/8

WW ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario

In Iraq:
Iraq is still a pro-Allied neutral.
Habbaniya (22A:2828) [clear terrain point city road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
0-1-4 Static II 1 AS (Col) [never moved]
Audax 1A1 1/8 [operative; never moved]

Shaibah (22A:4314) [clear terrain point city secondary rail line hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
0-1-4 Static II 2 AS (Col) [never moved]

ME Command Replacement Pool:
1-10* Mot SG X AA=1 2 [began 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario @ El Agheila (18A:2930); eliminated in Mar II 41 Axis Combat Phase]
3-2-10 Arm X 3 [began 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario @ El Aghelia; eliminated in Mar II 41 Axis Combat Phase]
3-2-10 Arm X 4 [per ER-II, begins “at-start” in ME Replacement Pool]

Non-Phasing Axis Air Activity in the Allied Exploitation Phase:
Late in the Allied Exploitation Phase the Italian MC 200 F type air unit based at the 3-cap permanent airfield at Slouch (18A:3222) does a non-phasing transfer air mission to the 3-cap permanent airfield at 18A:0603, in Sicily.

Turn Activity:
Weather die roll: 2, for clear weather in weather zone D; calm seas.
Replacement Points (RPs) are brought on as reinforcements, but no builds are done this turn.
The 4 gsp’s beginning the turn at the Valletta hex (18A:0407) on Malta generated on the Mar II 41 Allied Initial Phase (per the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario draft OB) are removed near the end of the Apr I Allied Initial Phase.
In the Movement Phase the Allies destroy one step of attack supply @ Zaulet Msus (18A:3523).
In the course of the Movement Phase the Allies destroy the 1-cap permanent airstrip at Ain el Gazala (18A:4518) and the 3-cap permanent airfield at 18A:5018 [Gambut]. They also inflict two hits of damage on the 3-cap airfield at 18A:4818 [El Adem]

In the Initial Phase a step of attack supply at Tobruch is broken down into three resource points. Also at Tobruch, in the Movement Phase the 0-1-4 Cons X 66 RPC (Col) spends 4 MPs in the hex to construct a 1-cap permanent airstrip there.

Apr I 41 Allied EOT; Axis dispositions

In the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario, it is given that the “historical situation” occurs in the off-map Balkans and that therefore, in game terms, the Axis player in effect “calls” for German intervention in the Balkans at the competition of the Apr I 41 Allied turn, per WW Rule 38F2b.  This certainly could be the case in a WW “Southern Theater of Operations” Scenario or in a WW “Wavell’s War” Scenario, both of which combine the Balkan with the Western Desert and the Near East map groups, along with some others.  In our new scenario, the automatic Apr I 41 German intervention in the Balkans is important for the neutral Vichy Levant, as per WW Rule 38V3a, the Axis may afterwards (eg., as early as the Apr I 41 Axis turn) pressure Vichy France to grant Axis privileges in the Levant, per the results of a dice roll done in the following Axis Initial Phases, using the Vichy Levant Table, found on WW Game Play Chart 8.  Indeed, per the WW Master Sequence of Play Summary, in the Axis Initial Phase the voluntary dice roll for possible Axis privileges in the Levant occurs before the mandatory dice roll for the Iraqi Coup.  More later on Rule 38V3a-Axis Privileges in the Levant, Optional Rule 38J6-Axis Intervention in Iraq, and the new WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario.

Mar II 41 Iraq set-up

Rail movement:
8 Inf XX HQ 7 (Aus) [railed from Alex. to Matruh, then admin moved to 19A:0419]
2-8 Inf X 21 (Aus) [railed from Alex. to Matruh, then admin moved to 19A:0419]
2-8 Inf X 25 (Aus) [railed from Alex. to Matruh, then admin moved to 19A:0419]
2-1-6 Tnk II 7 RT [railed from Disuq (20A:5026/19A:5026) to Matruh]
2-8 Eng X 1 (Aus) [turn reinf. railed from Suez to Matruh]
one turn reinf step of attack supply [after disembarkation at Suez it railed to Alexandria]

Eastern Med. sea transport movement:
2-8 Inf X 17 (Aus) [sea transport on NTP from Port Said to Greece]
2-8 Inf X 19 (Aus) [sea transport on NTP from Port Said to Greece]
0-8 Marine Cmdo II ME [sea transport on NTP to from Cyprus to Haifa (20A:4710)]
one resource point sea transported on NTP from Tobruch to Alexandria
one resource point sea transported on NTP from Tobruch to Matruh

Western Med sea transport movement:
4 gsp’s generated on the Apr I 41 Allied Initial Phase at Gibraltar [to Malta; on 1 W Med NTP]

Replacement Point Inventory:
Br inf: 5 at-start + 2 turn reinf. = 7 EOT
Br arm: 1.5 at-start + .5 turn reinf. = 2 EOT
Aus inf: 1.5 at-start + .5 turn reinf. = 2 EOT
NZ inf: 1.5 at-start + .5 turn reinf. = 2 EOT
Note: All accumulated Allied inf and arm RPs are stored at the Alexandria hex.

Apr I 41 Allied EOT off-map display detail

Commentary:
It appears the Allied player can do little this turn but retreat as the newly constituted Afrika Korps asserts itself.  The Allies must watch their losses and brace up for the numerous upcoming demands.  The element of the surprise offensive inherent in the Scenario’s ER-II Mar II 41 Axis turn start date and the forward and vulnerable Allied at-start set-up at El Ageheila both make for the destruction of the Allied armored force there and also for the belated beginning of the fortress improvement construction labor at Tobruch.  Also, contrary to what is offered in the ER-II Scenario and WW Western Desert Scenario Allied OBs, in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario the British Well 1C NB type air unit will remain in the Greece off-map holding box until the May II 41 Allied turn.  Here it is assumed that it will be needed each turn in Greece against a good Axis player executing Operation Marita.

War-game strategists may take notice that the Axis player has again done nothing with the LW Ju 87B and Ju 87R air units (one each, for a total of 2 units) based this Allied player turn at Soluch. Beginning the 1941 ME Scenario at Sicily, these LW air units did not fly the Malta Status bombing mission from there; instead they flew the air transfer mission to Soluch (18A:3222), in Libya, in the Axis Exploitation Phase. This turn they could have flown non-phasing harassment air missions in the Cyrenaica, thereby certainly hindering the eastwards admin movement of the forward Allied ground units there; but again they fiddled in their tents, perhaps poised for the unlikely DAS air mission just in case the Allied player rashly attacked the spear points of the forward Axis motorized columns just south of Soluch and Zaulet Msus. But throughout the second quarter of 1941 the Axis player might ought to watch his losses in the MTO, especially the air units.  I’m currently thinking that “success” in the Middle East campaign in this epoch will revolve around what will happen at Tobruch, Habbaniya, and Baghdad on likely either the May I or the May II 41 turns.  And so in the opening turns of the Scenario both sides perhaps should be patient and prudent, preparing for these critical future turns by preserving until then their decisive assets and maneuvering these assets to be readily available in those crucial zones.