Oct I 41 Allied Turn

End of Turn dispositions

Malta [{beginning of turn}/end of turn]:

• Malta Status: 10, end of turn [at turn’s start 12, – 2 repairs this turn, at step 19 of the I. Phase = 10]
• Malta Repair Rate: beginning on the Jul I 41 turn, 2 repair points each I turn and 1 repair point each II turn, per the WitD Allied OB booklet.
• At the start of the Allied turn there were 4 gsp’s present in the Valletta hex. However, there are 5 REs of ground units on Malta, so the Allied player designates the 0-4 Cons X MC as the 1 RE unit that is definitely Red U-2, and makes the rest of the ground units at Malta technically U-2, but in special general supply by tracing to the available gsp’s at Valletta. Malta’s intrinsic flack is not affected by supply, as in the EA game reports for the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario we are not using WW Optional Rule 12E4-Intrinsic AA and General Supply Effects.

Valletta (18A:0407) [rough terrain point city major port hex, w/ a strong natural harbor]:
3-cap permanent airfield; one hit of damage

• Valletta hex flack factor: 7 (3 intrinsic, + a total of 4 for the two Br 0-1-8 hv AA II units now in special general supply)

3-6* Inf X 1 M [technically Red U-2]
3-6* Inf X 3 M [technically Red U-2]
0-1-8 Hv AA II  AA=2  10 [technically Red U-2]
0-1-8 Hv AA II  AA=2  4 [technically Red U-2]
0-4 Cons X MC [definitely Red U-2]
5 pos flk unit  AA=1 [British; sea transported to here from Gibraltar in a turn reinf NTP in the naval movement step of the M. Phase; disembarked at Valletta and remained in the hex, as it had no MPs left after its long voyage]
Hurri 2  5F5  1/9 [operative; began turn here; never moved]
4 gsp’s [sea transported to here from Gibraltar in a W Med NTP in the naval movement step of the M. Phase of the current Allied turn]
{4 gsp’s [sea transported from Alexandria in an E Med NTP in the naval movement step of the Sep II 41 Allied M. Phase; removed from the maps at step 24 of the current Allied I. Phase]}

18A:0307 [rough terrain hex, NW of Valletta]:

• This hex currently has an intrinsic flack factor of 2, per the WW Intrinsic Light AA Summary, found on Game Play Chart 2–Air War.

2-6* Inf X 2 M [began turn at the adjacent Valletta hex (18A:0407); technically Red U-2; moved to here]

In Libya [end of turn]:

Tobruch (18A:4817) [clear terrain fortress point city standard port road junction hex, w/ a strong natural harbor]:

• Improved fortress; construction of the improved fortress was completed in the May II 41 Allied I. Phase.
• Per the WW Airbase Summary, improved fortresses have a permanent airfield capacity of 1.

3-cap temporary airfield
one hit of airfield damage [at the start of the turn the Tobruch hex had three hits of airfield damage, but 2 hits of damage were repaired by the 0-1-4 cons X expending 4 MPs in the M. Phase]
0-1-4 Cons X 66 RPC (Col) [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4; spent 4 MPs in the hex repairing two hits of airfield damage]
3-8* Mtn X Karp (Pol) [began turn here; never moved; technically Black U-1]
7-8 Inf XX 50 Nth [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4]
0-1-8 Hv AA II  AA=2  51 [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4]
3-8 Inf X 22 G [began turn here; never moved; technically Black U-3]
2-8 Inf X 14 [began turn here; never moved; technically Black U-2]
3-8 Art X 13 [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4]
Hurri 1  5NF5  1/8 [inop.; began turn at Alexandria; late in the M. Phase it air transferred to here, at night]
12 gsp’s [generated at step 16 of the Sep II 41 Axis I. Phase from a step of attack supply present in the Tobruch hex; these provide special general supply this turn and in the following Oct I 41 Axis turn; they will be removed from the maps at step 24 of the Oct I 41 Axis I. Phase, after the step 11 supply determination step]
one step of attack supply [turn reinf; successfully sea transported into Tobruch in the naval movement step of the M. Phase of the current Allied turn, in 3 turn reinf NTPs]

In Egypt [{beginning of the turn}/end of turn]:

19A:0818 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
6-4-6 Arm X 32 T [began turn here; never moved]
1-10 Recon II 6 (SA) [began turn here; never moved]
1-10 Recon II 4 (SA) [turn reinf; disembarked at Alexandria and railed to 19A:0919, then moved one hex to here; remained in the hex]
3-8 Art X 10 [began turn here; never moved]
5 pos flk unit  AA=1 [British; began turn here; never moved]
5 pos flk unit  AA=1 [British; began turn here; never moved]

19A:0819 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
7-6-10* Arm XX 2 [assembled from its component parts at the end of the M. Phase]

• 3-2-10 Arm X 7 [began turn here; never moved; assembled into the 7-6-10* Arm XX 2 at the end of the M. Phase]
• 3-2-10 Arm X 22 [turn reinf; disembarked at Alexandria and railed to 19A:0919, then moved one hex to here; assembled into the 7-6-10* Arm XX 2 at the end of the M. Phase]
• 1-10* Mot SG X  AA=1  2 [began turn here, in the M. Phase it moved westwards along the Egyptian coast road, capturing for the Allies in all the Egyptian coast road hexes previously owned by the Axis, up to and including 19A:0519 and Sidi Barrani (19A:0718), and then it double backed and returned to here; assembled into the 7-6-10* Arm XX 2 at the end of the M. Phase]

2-1-10* Lt Arm X 9 [began turn here; never moved]
1-10* Mot Inf X 3 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

19A:0920 [clear terrain hex]:
6-4-6 Arm X 1 T [began turn at 19A:0819; regular moved to here; remained in the hex]
1-2-10* Mot SG X  AA=1  7 [began turn at 19A:0819; regular moved to here; remained in the hex]
1-8 Art II 1 (Aus) [began turn here; never moved]
1-8 AT II 65 [began turn here; never moved]
1-10 Recon II 1 DG [began turn at 19A:0818; regular moved to here; remained in the hex]

19A:0919 [clear terrain hex; containing the Tobruch-Matruh railway line completed in the M. Phase of this turn]:
railhead marker

• The Matruh-Tobruch railhead marker was not advanced this turn, as a cons/eng unit was not in place for its construction.  The last time the railhead marker advanced was into this hex, in the Sep II 41 Allied M. Phase, from 19A:1019.

2-8* Inf X 151 [began turn here; never moved]
2-8 Inf X 16 (Aus) [unsupported component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 6; the inf XX began the turn at 19A:1018 and broke down into its unsupported component parts at the beginning of the M. Phase; this component part regular moved one hex to here]
one step of attack supply [began turn at 19A:0819; in the M. Phase it spent 3 SMPs to move one hex to here]
7 gsp’s [4 gsp’s were railed to here from Alexandria and 3 gsp’s were railed to here from Suez]

19A:0918 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
3-cap temporary airfield [completed on the Sep II 41 Allied turn]
2-8* Inf X 150 [began turn here; never moved]
1-2-8 Eng X 8 [turn reinf; sea transported to Alexandria in a turn reinf NTP and disembarked; railed to 19A:0919 and then moved one hex to here]
Hurri 1 5F5  1/8 (SAAF) [operative; began turn here; never moved]
P-40C  5F5  1/13 [operative; began turn here; never moved]
Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 [inop; began turn here inoperative; flew the Harassment air mission on the Sep II 41 Axis turn]

19A:1018 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
{7-8 Inf XX 6 (Aus) [began turn here; at the beginning of the M. Phase it broke down into its unsupported component parts]}
8 Inf XX HQ 6 (Aus) [unsupported component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 6; the inf XX began the turn here and broke down at the beginning of the M. Phase; this component part remained in the hex]
2-8 Inf X 17 (Aus) [unsupported component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 6; the inf XX began the turn here broke down at the beginning of the M. Phase; this component part remained in the hex]
2-8 Inf X 19 (Aus) [unsupported component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 6; the inf XX began the turn here and broke down at the beginning of the M. Phase; this component part remained in the hex]

19A:1119 [clear terrain major rail line (Matruh to Tobruch railway) hex, SW of Matruh]:
7-8 Inf XX 2 (SA) [began turn here; never moved]

Matruh (19A:1218) [clear terrain point city/minor port road-major rail line junction coast hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
fort marker
2-8* Inf X 26 (Aus) [began turn here; never moved]
1-8 MG II 1 RNF [began turn at 19A:0919; regular moved to here]
0-1-8 Hv AA II  AA=2  68 [began turn here; never moved]
0-8 Marine Cmdo II ME [began turn at 19A:0920; regular moved to here]
one step of attack supply [began turn here; never moved]
P-40C  5F5  1/13 (SAAF) [operative; began turn here; never moved]
Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 (RAAF) [operative; began turn here; never moved]
Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 [inop.; began turn here; in the naval movement step of the M. Phase it flew the CAP air mission over the all-sea hex at 19A:0717, N of Sidi Barrani; returned to base here at the end of the naval movement step]

19A:1319 [major rail line coast hex, SE of Matruh]:
3-cap temporary airfield
2-8* Inf X 20 (Aus) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 9; never moved]
2-8* Inf X 24 (Aus) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 9; never moved]
0-8 Hv AA II  AA=1  2 (Aus) [began turn here; never moved]
Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 [operative; turn ARP repair; placed at Alexandria at step 14 of the I. Phase; late in the M. Phase it air transferred to here]
A-22  3A3  2-1/19 (SAAF) [inop.; began turn here inoperative; flew the Harassment air mission on the Sep II 41 Axis turn]
Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 [inop.; began turn here inoperative; flew the Harassment air mission on the Sep II 41 Axis turn]

19A:1418 [clear terrain major rail coast hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
0-8 Lt AA II  AA=1  57 [began turn here; never moved]
A-22  3A3  2-1/19 [inop.; began the turn at 19A;1319; late in the M. Phase it air transferred to here]
Well 1C  3NB4  1-6/28 [inop.; began turn here; late in the M. Phase it flew a night Port strat Bombing air mission to the Derna hex, in Libya, Miss; rebased here]
Well 1C  3NB4  1-6/28 [inop.; began turn here; late in the M. Phase it flew a night Port strat Bombing air mission to the Derna hex, in Libya, Miss; rebased here]

19A:1419 [clear terrain hex]:
8 Inf XX HQ 2 (NZ) [began turn here; never moved]
2-8 Inf X 6 (NZ) [began turn here; never moved]
2-8 Inf X 4 (NZ) [began turn here; never moved]

19A:1520 [clear terrain hex]:
2-8* Inf X 7 (Ind) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 4 (Ind); never moved]
2-8* Inf X 6 (SA) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 1 (SA); never moved]

19A:1521 [clear terrain hex]:
2-8* Inf X 5 (Ind) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 4 (Ind); never moved]
2-8* Inf X 3 (SA) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 1 (SA); never moved]

19A:1621 [clear terrain hex, adjacent to Qattara Depression]:
2-8* Inf X 11 (Ind) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 4 (Ind); never moved]
2-8* Inf X 1 (SA) [began turn here; supported breakdown component of 7-8 Inf XX 1 (SA); never moved]

El Alamein (19A:2119/20A:5033) [clear terrain point city major rail coast road hex]:
3-cap temporary airfield
fort marker [completed in the Jul II 41 Allied I. Phase]

Alexandria (20A:4930/19A:2416) [full city hex/major port major rail line coast hex]:
Supply Terminal marker
3-cap permanent airfield
2-8* Inf X 161 [began turn here; supported breakdown of the Br 7-8* Inf XX 6;]
0-8 Lt AA II  AA=1  27 [British; began turn here; never moved]
Glad  3F3  0/8 [inop.; began turn at Ismailia (20A:3516); late in the M. Phase it air transferred to here]
Bombay  1T2  1-2/15 [operative; began turn here; late in the E. Phase of the Sep II 41 Axis turn it did a non-phasing air transfer to here from Nicosia, on Cyprus; never moved]
one step of attack supply [began turn here; never moved]
two steps of attack supply [turn reinfs; both disembarked at Suez in the naval movement step of the M. Phase; both railed to here]

Cairo (19A:3219) [full city hex transportation line junction hex, NW of the Cairo partial city hex]:
0-1-6 RR Eng X MEF (Emp) [began turn here; Egypt Garrison eng/cons unit; never moved]

• This unit can’t move from here w/out violating the Egypt Garrison eng/cons unit provision, unless another 1 RE eng/cons unit takes its place.

Cairo (19A:3320) [clear terrain partial city hex, SE of the Cairo full city hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield

Ismailia (20A:3516) [sand reference city/standard port/Suez Canal transportation line junction hex]:
1-8 Cav X 6 [began turn here; never moved]

Suez (19A:3718) [clear terrain reference city/major port transportation line nexus coast hex]:
Supply Terminal marker
1-8 Cav X 5 [began turn here; never moved]

El Arish (19A:4012) [sand major rail line coast hex, in the Sinai, in Egypt]:
2-8 Eng X 1 (Aus) [began turn at 19A:0918; moved one hex to 19A:0919, where it entrained, and railed to here]

In Palestine [end of turn]:

• Per WW Game Play Chart 5–Allied Garrisons, the Palestine garrison requirement is 3 REs of Garrison-category units. The Allied garrisons are determined at step 17 of the Allied I. Phase. However, per WW Rule 37E4, Forming units in the ME Replacement Pool count at their regular RE size for the Palestine Garrison requirement, as do also ME Replacement Pool units, but they count at 1/3 their regular RE size. In addition to the 1.5 Garrison-capable REs present on-map in Palestine, the Allied player is counting some of the 3.5 Garrison-capable REs in the Forming Box of the Middle East Command Replacement Pool. See below, in the Middle East Replacement Pool section, for further details.

Haifa (20A:4710) [clear terrain dot city/major port transportation line junction coast hex]:

• Railhead marker [per WW Rule 41B1a-Western Desert Campaign Starting Conditions, “the transportation line from Haifa to Tripoli (20A:4005) is a road, not a railroad.” This stipulation is used in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario.

3-8* Inf X 1 FL (FF) [began turn here; never moved]

20A:4810 [clear terrain major rail line hex]:
0-1-6 Cons X 61 RPC (Col) [began turn at Matruh (19A:1218), in Egypt; railed to here]

20A:4911 [clear terrain major rail line hex]:
0-1-4 Cons X 43 RPC (Col) [began turn at 19A:0919; railed to here]

Tel Aviv (19A:4308 [clear terrain dot city/minor port major rail line junction coast hex]:
2-8 Inf X 29 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Allied Units in Armistice Lebanon & Syria [end of turn]:

• Per the WW Game Play Chart 5–Allied Garrisons (Rule 37E), it appears the Allied player is fulfilling the garrison requirements for the Vichy French Levant, and has been since the beginning of the Allied invasion of the the Levant on the Jun I 41 Allied turn.

Beyrouth (20A:4207) [rough terrain dot city/standard port transportation line junction coast hex]:
2-8* Inf X 25 (Aus) [began turn here; supported component of the 7-8 Inf XX 7 (Aus); never moved]

Tripoli (20A:4005) [rough terrain reference city/minor port transportation line coast hex]:

• Railhead marker [per WW Rule 41B1a-Western Desert Campaign Starting Conditions, “the transportation line from Haifa to Tripoli (20A:4005) is a road, not a railroad.” This stipulation is used in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario.

2-8* Inf X 18 (Aus) [began turn here; supported component of the 7-8 Inf XX 7 (Aus); never moved]

Lattique (20A:3405) [clear terrain reference city/minor port road terminus coast hex]
2-8* Inf X 21 (Aus) [began turn here; supported component of the 7-8 Inf XX 7 (Aus); never moved]

Homs (20A:3902) [clear terrain reference city transportation line junction hex]:
hit marker on reference city airbase

Hama (20A:3702) [clear terrain reference city major rail line hex]:
hit marker on reference city airbase

Alep (21A:3231) [clear terrain partial city transportation line junction hex]:
vacant

21A:4220 [clear terrain hex]:
1-10 Mot Cav III AL (T-J) [Arab Legion; began turn at 21:4721, in Iraq; regular moved to 21A:4219, in Syria; exploited one hex to here]

• This is a provisional new unit introduced in the 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario on the May I 41 Allied turn. For more details, see that posted EA game report.

On Cyprus [end of turn]:

Limassol (20A:3615) [clear terrain point city/standard port coast road hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip

Famagusta (20A:3411) [clear terrain point city/standard port coast road hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip

Nicosia (20A:3414) [clear terrain reference city road hex]:
1-8 MG II 2 Ch [began turn here; Black U-1; never moved]
1-8 Inf II 11 (CS) [began turn here; Black U-1; never moved]

Larnaca (20A:3513) [clear terrain point city/minor port road hex]:
one gsp [generated at Suez at step 14 of the I. Phase of the current Allied turn; sea transported to here in the naval movement step of the Allied M. Phase in an E Med NTP]

Non Phasing Axis Air Activity in the Allied Exploitation Phase:
Late in the M. Phase the It  Ca 311  2B2  1/L/14 air unit based at 18A:0603, at Sicily, air transferred to 18A:3617, in Libya.

Middle East Command Replacement Pool [{beginning of turn}/end of turn]:
3-8 Inf X 5 (NZ) [moved to here from Balkan Command Replacement Pool]
3-2-10 Arm X 4 [in the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario this unit is at-start in the ME Replacement Pool, per F. Watson’s ER-II Europa battle scenario, published in TEM#71]
3-2-10 Arm X 1 [moved to here from Balkan Command Replacement Pool; this is the original pre-conversion unit of the one sent to Greece]

Aborted Air Units Box:

{Hurri 1 5F5 1/8 [turn ARP repair; placed at Alexandria at step 14 of the I. Phase; in the prior Sep II Axis turn it was aborted in air combat over the Tobruch target hex]}
Eliminated Air Units Box:

Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 [in the Jun I 41 Allied C. Phase it participated in the first Allied attack in the Vichy French Levant, flying the GS air mission at 20A:4607; it was Killed in air combat there by the bypassing Vichy Fr D 520 F type air unit, flying the Interception air mission to the target hex]

Forming Box:

3-8* Mtn X 1 (Gk) [counted as part of the Palestine Garrison]
0-1-8 Inf II Gd (Yugo) [counted as part of the Palestine Garrison]
2-8* Inf X 2 FL (FF) [placed here at step 14 of the Aug I 41 Allied I. Phase after the Allied conquest of the Levant, per the WitD Allied French Conditional Reinforcements: Forces from the Levant, in the WitD Allied OB booklet, p. 6; this unit will be Full on the Apr II 42 Allied turn; this turn it counted as part of the Levant Garrison]
1-2-6 Inf X 3FL (FF) [placed here at step 14 of the Aug I 41 Allied I. Phase after the Allied conquest of the Levant, per the WitD Allied French Conditional Reinforcements: Forces from the Levant, in the WitD Allied OB booklet, p. 6; this unit will be Full on the May II 42 Allied turn]

The Allied Near East (NE) Command on the Oct I 41 Allied turn:

• Iraqi coup collapse occurred in the May II 41 Axis I. Phase, per the dice roll done then using the Variable Iraqi Coup Collapse Table. At that time all Iraqi forces/production were removed from the map and the Iraq Replacement Pool. By the end of the I. Phase all Iraqi territory was Allied owned; except in our case the Mosul hex, which at the time contained the Axis Conditional Reinforcement Ger LW Mxd A type air unit. Seeing that the Iraqi coup had indeed collapsed, the Axis Conditional Reinforcement promptly air transferred out of the Mosul hex later in the May II 41 Axis turn, and Mosul was captured by the Allies in the following Jun I 41 Allied turn.
• The current Allied Iraqi railnet-cap is 3 1/2.
• At step 14 of the Sep II 41 Allied I. Phase the Allied player transferred back to the Middle East Command the 10 SMPs that had been transferred to the Near East Command on the Aug I 41 Allied turn, per WW Rule 12H2b. They cannot be used in the ME Command until the following Oct I 41 Allied turn.
• At step 4 the Aug II 41 Axis I. Phase Iran surrendered to the Allies, per the Iranian Surrender Table. All Iranian forces surrendered to the Allies and were removed from the map.

In pro-Allied Iraq [end of turn]:

• Per the WW Game Play Chart 5–Allied Garrisons (Rule 37E), it appears the Allied player is fulfilling the garrison requirements this turn, for Iraq. This would be per the horizontal line reading: “EJIS [Jul II 41] – Sep I 41”. For a more detailed discussion of the Iraq garrison, see the Jul I 41 Allied game report.

21A:4921 [stony desert pump station road hex]:
2-8 Inf X 10 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Rutbah (21A:5023) [stony desert point city road junction hex]:
1-cap permanent airstrip
2-8 Inf X 9 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]
Audax  1A1  1/8 [operative; began turn here; never moved]

Ramadi (22A:2830) [clear terrain reference city road hex]:
1-8 Inf X 20 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Habbaniya (22A:2828) [clear terrain point city road hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
0-1-4 Static II 1 As (Col) [began turn here; never moved]

Baghdad 22A:2825 [clear terrain partial city transportation line junction hex]:
one hit marker on the airbase
8* Inf XX HQ 10 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]
2-8 Inf X 25 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Shaibah (22A:4314) [clear terrain secondary rail line hex]:
3-cap permanent airfield
0-1-4 Static II 2 As (Col) [began turn here; never moved]

Basra (22A:4313) [clear terrain dot city/major port, w/ a major river hexside]:
Allied Supply Terminal marker
8 Inf XX HQ 5 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]
2-8 Inf X 19 (Ind) [began turn here; formerly an unsupported component of the 6-8* Inf XX 8 (Ind); never moved]
0-8 Lt AA II  AA=1  1 [turn reinf; British; disembarked here from a turn reinf NTP and remained in the hex]
1-pt river flotilla AA=1 PAIC (RN) [began turn here; never moved]
2 steps of attack supply [began turn here; never moved]
3 gsp’s [generated here at step 16 of the I. Phase of the current Allied turn; the 4th gsp generated in the I. Phase at Basra was later sea transported in the naval movement step of the M. Phase to Ganaweh (22A:4802), in Iran, on the east coast of the Persian Gulf, in an E Med NTP]

In Iran [end of turn]:

Karaj (32:1413) [clear terrain point city major rail line/road junction hex]:
2-8 Inf X 24 (Ind) [began turn at 32:1419; regular moved to here along the transportation lines; on the way it captured reference city Kasun (32:1217) for the Allies]

22A:2807 [rough terrain major rail line hex]:
2-8 Inf X 21 (Ind) [began turn at Burujird (32:2420); regular moved to here; on the way it captured point city Kharramabad (22A:2711) for the Allies]

32:1710 [clear terrain major rail line hex]:
2-1-10* Lt Arm X 252 (Ind) [began turn at 32:1505; regular moved 6 hexes along the secondary rail line to point city Damghan (32:1101), at the edge of map 32, and then double backed along the secondary rail line to 32:1402, ending the M. Phase there; on the way it captured reference city Samnan for the Allies; in the E. Phase it exploited along the transportation lines to here]

Ahwaz (22A:3810) [clear terrain reference city major rail line-road junction hex]:
8* Inf XX HQ 8 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Bandar Shahpur (22A:4407) [clear terrain point city/standard port major rail line terminus island hex, w/ a causeway to the mainland]:
2-8 Inf X 18 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]

Ganaweh (22A:4802) [clear terrain point city/minor port coast hex]:
one gsp [began turn at step 16 of the I. Phase at Basra, when it was generated along w/ three other gsp’s; this one was sea transported to here in the naval movement step of the M. Phase, in an E. Med NTP]

Bushier (22A:5101) [clear terrain point city/minor port road terminus hex]:
1-8 Inf X 17 (Ind) [began turn at Ganaweh (22A:4802), on the Iranian Persian Gulf coastline; Black U-1; regular moved to here, capturing the point city for the Allies]

Turn Activity

The weather die roll was a 1 this turn, and so it is clear in the E, D, and C weather zones. Part of the C weather zone is visible in northern Iran on map 32, as is also part of D weather zone, but on map 32 both these weather zones are in the Soviet occupation zone and therefore are not a factor in the new Scenario. On the WD map group of 18A and 19A, (and 20A) the rough terrain notch of the Cyrenaica is in weather zone E, as is part of the coastal littoral of Palestine, and all of the coastline of Lebanon and NW Syria. In addition to these North African and West Asian mainland areas that are indicated on the WD map group, a number of Mediterranean islands are also in weather zone E, namely: Cyprus, Crete, the Dodecanese, Sicily, and Malta. On the Oct I 41 game turn the weather is automatically clear in weather zones E and F (eg., the F weather zone prevailing in the Western Desert and Mesopotamian regions).

At step 11 of the I. Phase the Allied ground and air units at the isolated Tobruch hex that began the turn at technically Red or Black U-4 essentially remain at this U-4 status, as per WW Optional Rule 12E, U-4 is in effect the most severe supply status for a unit. All ground units and the two air units beginning the turn at Tobruch are in special general supply at step 11 of the I. Phase due to the 12 gsp’s in the hex. These twelve gsp’s were generated from a step of attack supply present in the hex on the Sep II 41 Axis I. Phase. They will be removed from the maps at step 24 of the Oct I 41 Axis I. Phase, after the supply determination step for that turn. At Malta, at the supply determination step of the I. Phase, 4 of the 5 REs of Allied ground units are declared technically Red U-2, but in special general supply via the 4 gsp’s which were sea transported to Valletta in the previous Sep II 41 Allied turn.  The Br 0-4 Cons X MC at the Valletta hex, on Malta, is the ground unit designated as being definitely Red U-2.

At step 14 of the I. Phase the Allied player spends one ARP to repair the Br Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 air unit in the Aborted Air Units Box of the Middle East Replacement Pool and places it at Alexandria. He does no other RP or ARP builds. He could rebuild the Br Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 air unit in the Eliminated Air Units Box of the Middle East Command, but wants to wait another turn before doing this, in case more valuable Allied air units are aborted or eliminated in the meantime, which he thinks might happen, under the circumstances.

At step 16 of the I. Phase the Allied player generates 4 new gsp’s at the Suez, Alexandria, and Basra (in Iraq) Allied Standard Supply terminals.

At step 22 of the I. Phase the Axis player flies the Ger LW Ju 87B  2D3  4-1/9 air unit based at 18A:4718, SW of Tobruch, on the Harassment air mission to hex 18A:5020. From the same 3-cap temporary airfield adjacent to Tobruch the Axis player assigns to the Naval Patrol air mission the It SM 79-2  2B3  3-2/V/20 air unit. The Ger LW Ju 87B D type air unit based at the 3-cap temporary airfield at 18A:4818, S of Tobruch, is also assigned to the Naval Patrol air mission.  The two CR 42  3F3  0/9 air units based at 18A:3617, in Libya, both fly a CAP air mission.  One flies the CAP air mission over the Bengasi hex, at 18A:3121; the other flies the CAP air mission over the Derna hex, at 18A:4116.

At step 24 of the I. Phase the Allied player removes from the maps the old 4 gsp’s at the Valletta hex, on Malta. The gsp’s at Malta were generated on the previous Sep II 41 Allied I. Phase.

In the naval movement step of the M. Phase the Allied player does a series of naval transport activities in the East and Central Mediterranean sea zones. This turn he will very likely be compelled to attempt to sea transport to Tobruch one of his turn reinforcement steps of attack supply. The subsequent naval actions done this turn are listed below in sequential order.  This turn, after the step 14 of the I. Phase replacement of some of his eliminated NTP assets, the Allied player has 8 E Med NTPs and also his single W Med NTP available for his sea transport requirements.

The first naval transport of the Allied naval movement step are 4 fresh gsp’s generated this turn at off-map Gibraltar and embarked on the Allied player’s single available W Med NTP. In this same naval group from Gibraltar is a turn reinf NTP carrying the turn reinf Br 5 pos flk unit, which the Allied player wants to get to Malta, and so he opts to bring this cargo naval group on-map from Gibraltar, per the WW Rule 40A3 Special #3 proviso.  The cargo naval group enters the west edge of map 18A at all-sea hex 0107, and both NTPs survive the Naval Table dice rolls for Axis anti-shipping effects in the Cent Med sea zone, and so they continue their voyage to the port of Valletta, at Malta, where the 4 gsp’s and the 5 pos flk unit finally disembark.

Now, taking out and scrutinizing the Torch map group of maps 24A and 25A, which would be the western parts of the vast map group comprising a WW War in the Desert (WitD) Campaign Scenario, which encompasses both Gibraltar and Malta on the war game maps, we see that there is an 84 naval movement point count through 82 all-sea hexes from Gibraltar to Valletta (18A:0407) inclusive [82 n.m. points for the all-sea hexes, +2 n. m. points for the island coast hex, = 84], assuming the Allied naval group enters WD map group map 18A at the west edge all-sea hex 0107, which is one of the closest west edge hexes to Malta.  Adding the 30 naval MPs for its embarkation and the 30 MPs for its disembarkation to the 84 naval movement point count for the voyage of the 5 pos flk unit, we see that per the WW Naval Transportation Costs Summary, found on Game Play Chart 3–Naval War, it has no ground MPs left for the ground movement step of the M. Phase.

At this time the Allied player sends the Br Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 air unit based at Matruh (19A:1218) on the CAP air mission to all-sea hex 19A:0717, north of Sidi Barrani, certainly in preparation of a big convoy to Tobruch.

After this the Allied player sends one of the turn reinf steps of attack supply towards Tobruch, which begins the turn at step 14 of the I. Phase embarked on 3 turn reinforcement NTPs at all-sea hex 19A:5126, at the SE edge of the map in the Red Sea.  After entering the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal this naval group continues on a westwardly course, mostly along the Egyptian coastline.  At Egyptian coast hex 19A:0918 it veers NW to all-sea hex 19A;0817, thereby avoiding the Axis-held Sidi Barrani coastal hex, and ultimately preparing to enter all-sea hex 19A:0717, the last daylight hex before the final all night leg of the voyage to Tobruch.  But as has been his habit at this stage of the game, the Axis player declines to engage in a major aero-naval battle at the all-sea target hex 19A:0717, evidently saving his assigned Naval Patrol air units for just the Allied naval groups voyaging from Egypt to Malta.  The cargo naval group continues its westward voyage, and upon entering the Cent Med sea zone at 18A:5117 rolls good on the Naval Table, thereby evading the Axis anti-shipping forces, and finally enters the safety of the Tobruch harbor.

Then the Allied player brings in his turn reinforcement ground units, per the WitD Allied OB booklet, and all his turn reinforcement Replacement Point (RP) production, all embarked in turn reinforcement NTPs, and sends the whole lot in a large cargo naval group to the Alexandria hex, where they disembark.  However, due to port capacity considerations, he sea transports the two remaining turn reinforcement steps of attack supply to Suez, where they disembark. Then an E Med NTP embarks 1 gsp generated at Suez earlier in the I. Phase and transports it to the port of Larnaca (20A:3513), in Cyprus, where it is disembarked.  Finally, in the far away Persian Gulf, on map 22A, an E Med NTP embarks one of the gsp’s generated in the I. Phase at Basra, in Iraq, and transports it to the Iranian port of Ganaweh (22A:4802) on the east coast of the Persian Gulf, where it disembarks.

At the very end of the naval movement step the Allied player rebases the Br Hurri 1 F type air unit flying the CAP air mission over the all-sea hex at 19A:0717 at Matruh.

In the M. Phase the Allied player rails two of the Col 0-1-4 Cons Xs and the Aus 2-8 Eng X 1 in the Egyptian Western Desert towards the Levant, intending to have them in Lebanon by the end of the upcoming Allied Oct II 41 turn.  That way they can be in place there at step 17 of the I. Phase of the Nov I 41 Allied turn, when required Garrison compliances are checked, and thereby enable the Allies to presumably then finally be in compliance with the Haifa-Tripoli RR garrison requirement as indicated on the Allied Garrisons chart, found on WW Game Play Chart 5–Allied Garrisons.  If three 1RE cons/eng units are in Lebanon at the beginning of the Nov I 41 turn, and remain there until the end of a WW Middle East Campaign Scenario game, which ends at the competition of the Jan II 43 game turn, then the Haifa-Tripoli RR should be finished, and this act of competition presumably fulfills the WW Allied garrison requirement.  The 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario is based on the WW Middle East Campaign Scenario.

With the arrival of the 3-2-10 Arm X 22 turn reinf, the Allied player is finally able to assemble a British armored XX again, which he has been unable to do since the costly Sep I 41 Allied turn 6-4-6 Arm X 32T conversion, which left him with only one 3-2-10 arm X on the maps.  However, in our case, he elects not to assemble this turn the probably preferred and much more used 7-10* Arm XX 7, but rather he assembles the weaker and probably much less used 7-6-10* Arm XX 2, in order to keep on-map the broken down Br 1-2-10* Mot SG X 7 unit, which he feels he needs at another hex in the desert front line shield in west-central Egypt.

Turn rail movement inventory on the Middle East railnet:

• 2 REs = the 3-2-10 Arm X 22 turn reinf; disembarked at Alexandria and entrained there
• 1 RE = the 1-2-8 Eng X 8 turn reinf; disembarked at Alexandria and entrained there
• 1 RE = the 1-10 Recon II 4 (SA) turn reinf; disembarked at Alexandria and entrained there
• 1 RE = the 0-1-4 Cons X 61 RPC (Col); began the turn at Matruh, where it entrained
• 1 RE = the 2-8 Eng X 1 (Aus); began the turn at 19A:0918; moved one hex to major rail line hex 19A:0919, where it entrained
• 1 RE =the 0-1-4 Cons X 43 RPS (Col); began the turn at 19A:0919, where it entrained
• 6 REs = the two turn reinf steps of attack supply that disembarked at Suez, where they both entrained
• 1 RE = 4 gsp’s, which were generated at Alexandria at step 16 of the I. Phase, where they entrained
• .75 REs = 3 gsp’s, which were generated at Suez at step 16 of the I; Phase, where they entrained.

Allied Middle East rail net railcap: 16, per ER-II Allied OB Initial Forces, Mar II 41 Axis turn.

Allied Middle East (ME) Command and Near East (NE) Command SMP Recap/Update:

The Allies began the WW 1941 ME/ER-II/Crete Scenario with 25 SMPs, per F. Watson’s ER-II Europa battle scenario Mar II 41 Allied at-start OB.  On the Aug I 41 Allied turn, 10 ME Command SMPs were transferred to the  Allied NE Command.  These same 10 SMPs were subsequently  transferred back to the ME Command on the Sep II 41 Allied turn, and were available for use this turn in the ME Command.  Then this turn, per the WitD Allied OB booklet, 10 additional SMPs Arrived in the ME Command from East Africa.  So, by the M. Phase of the current Oct I 41 Allied turn the Allied player has a total of 35 SMPs available for use in the ME Command.  In the NE Command the Allied player currently has 10 SMPs available for use.  5 SMPs Arrived there on the Coup Turn 3/May I 41 Allied turn, in this particular game, per the WitD Allied OB booklet, under the Allied Conditional Reinforcements Iraqi Coup Reaction Forces listings, on p. 5; and 5 more SMPs Arrived there on the Aug I 41 Allied turn, per the WitD Allied OB booklet.

At the beginning of the Allied turn the Allies had the following Replacement Point (RP)/ARP inventory in his ME Command: 11.5 Br inf, 2.5 Br arm, 1.5 Aus inf, 2.5 NZ inf, 3 Ind inf, and 5 Allied ARPs, all of which were stored in Alexandria.  At step 14 of the I. Phase one ARP stored at Alexandria is expended to repair the Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 air unit.  At that time it was removed from the Aborted Air Units Box of the Middle East Command Replacement Pool and placed at the Alexandria hex, in Egypt.

This turn the Allied player receives a number of production RPs as Middle East Command Arriving Reinforcements.  By the end of the naval movement step of the M. Phase the Allied player has the following new inventory of Middle East Command RPs/ARPs stored at the Alexandria hex:  13.5 Br inf, 3.5 Br arm, 2.5 Aus inf, 3 NZ inf, 4 Ind inf, and 4 Allied ARPs.

Commentary

The Allied player is getting very close to being ready to launch a Western Dessert offensive.  Next turn he can build with Br arm Replacement Points another 3-2-10 arm X, which would strengthen his attack clout.  He presently has 5 steps of attack supply in Egypt, although he will likely attempt to sea transport one of them to Tobruch his next turn.  He can take no more from his Near East Command, as the Iraq/Iran Garrison requirement calls for two steps of attack supply to be present there, which is what he presently has, and per the WitD Allied OB booklet there are no more reinforcement steps of attack supply in store for the NE Command.

At the end of the Allied turn the big question is what will the Axis do next turn, which likely means:  Will they attack Tobruch, or not?  Right now the Allied player feels he could use another forward airfield at maybe 19A:0919, where the railhead marker is, and mulls whether he should have let the Aus 2-8 Eng X 1 unit build even a small 1-cap temporary airfield there, and then rail away towards Lebanon.

In any event, until the Allied player attacks the Afrika Korps, and attacks with a writhing blow, he will have to count on the wayward die to get him off the hook when and if the Axis player rolls it for the war prize of Tobruch.