Sep II 41 Allied Turn

End of Turn dispositions

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

• Malta Status: 11, end of turn [at turn’s start 12, – 1 repair this turn, at step 19 of the I. Phase = 11]
• 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. The Br Hurri 2 F type air unit based at Valletta is in “special air unit supply” per WW Rule 24I3-Allied Malta Special Air Unit Supply.   Valletta’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.
• At step 14 of the I. Phase the Allied player spends the 2 ARPs stored at the Valletta hex to rebuild the Br Hurri 2  5F5  1/9 air unit, removing it from the Eliminated Air Units Box of the Malta Command Replacement Pool and placing it at the 3-cap permanent airfield in the Valletta hex.

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]
Hurri 2  5F5  1/9 [operative; ARP turn rebuild, expending 2 ARPs; at step 14 of the I. Phase it was placed at the Valletta airfield; never moved]
4 gsp’s [generated this turn at Alexandria at step 16 of the I. Phase; sea transported to here in an E Med NTP in the naval movement step of the M. Phase; this cargo naval group sailed after the W Med NTP carrying the 4 gsp’s voyaging from Gibraltar to Malta was sunk by Cent Med Axis anti-shipping forces, per the Shipping Results Table die roll]
{two ARPs [began the turn at the Valletta hex; expended at step 14 of the I. Phase to rebuild the Hurri 2 F type air unit in the Eliminated Air Units Box of the Malta Command Replacement Pool]}
{4 gsp’s [sea transported from Gibraltar in the naval movement step of the Sep I 41 Allied M. Phase, in a W Med NTP; removed from the maps at step 24 of the current Allied I. Phase]}
18A:0307 [rough terrain hex, NW of Valletta]:
2-6* Inf X 2 M [began turn at the adjacent Valletta hex (18A:0407); technically Red U-2; moved to here]

In Libya [{beginning of the turn}/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}
0-1-4 Cons X 66 RPC (Col) [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4; spent 2 MPs in the hex repairing the hit of airfield damage]
3-8* Mtn X Karp (Pol) [began turn at Matruh (19A:1218), in Egypt; sea transported to Tobruch in the naval movement step of the M. Phase, in an E Med NTP]
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-2]
2-8 Inf X 14 [began turn here; never moved; technically Black U-1]
3-8 Art X 13 [began turn here; never moved; technically Red U-4]
Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 [operative; began turn here; never moved; technically Black U-2]
12 gsp’s [generated at step 16 of the Sep I 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 Sep II 41 Axis turn; they will be removed from the maps at step 24 of the Sep II 41 Axis I. Phase, after the step 11 supply determination step]
one step of attack supply [began the turn at Suez; in the naval movement step of the current M. Phase it was successfully sea transported to here in 3 E Med NTPs; this cargo naval group sailed after the 3 E Med NTPs carrying the step of attack supply from Alexandria to Tobruch was sunk by Cent Med Axis anti-shipping forces, per the Shipping Results Table die roll]

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 1 DG [began turn here; never moved]
1-10 Recon II 6 (SA) [began turn here; never moved]
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]:
6-4-6 Arm X 1 T [began turn here; never moved]
3-2-10 Arm X 7 [began turn here; never moved]
2-1-10* Lt Arm X 9 [began turn here; never moved]
1-10* Mot Inf X 3 (Ind) [began turn here; never moved]
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; remained in the hex]
1-2-10* Mot SG X  AA=1  7 [began turn here; never moved]
one step of attack supply [began turn at 19A:1018; in the M. Phase it spent 2 SMPs moving along the road to 19A:0818 and then 3 SMPs moving off-road 1 hex to here, for a total of 5 SMPs expended]

19A:0918 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
3-cap temporary airfield [constructed this turn by the Aus 2-8 Eng X 1]
2-8* Inf X 150 [began turn at 19A:1320; supported breakdown of the 7-8* Inf XX 6; regular moved to here]
2-8 Eng X 1 (Aus) [began turn here; spent its 8 MPs in the hex constructing the new 3-cap temporary airfield]
Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 SAAF [inop.; ARP turn repair, expending 1 ARP; at step 14 of the current Allied I. Phase it was placed at Alexandria; air transferred to here in the M. Phase]
P-40C  5F5  1/13 [inop; began turn at 19A:1319; air transferred to here in the M. Phase]
Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 [inop.; began turn at 19A:1418; air transferred to here in the M. Phase]

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 advanced into this hex in the M. Phase, from 19A:1019, after the  cons X beginning the turn in hex 19A:0919 declared all its MPs expended in building the railway line there. Doing this also gives the 0-1-4 cons X the ability to voluntarily automatically advance into the adjacent not yet completed Tobruch-Matruh railway hex, per WW Rule 14A1. Per the WitD Allied OB booklet the Tobruch-Matruh railway construction may begin on the Aug II 41 Allied turn.

0-1-4 Cons X 43 RPC (Col) [began turn here; spent all its MPs in the hex completing there the construction of the Tobruch-Matruh railway line; after this construction MP expenditure it elected to remain in the hex and not voluntarily advance into the next not yet completed Tobruch-Matruh railway line hex to the west, which it could have done]
2-8* Inf X 151 [began turn at 19A:1320; supported breakdown of the 7-8* Inf XX 6; regular moved to here]
1-8 MG II 1 RNF [began turn at Matruh (19A:1218); regular moved to here]

19A:0920 [clear terrain hex]:
0-8 Marine Cmdo II ME [began turn here; never moved]
1-8 Art II 1 (Aus) [began turn at 19A:0919; moved south 1 hex to here]
1-8 AT II 65 [began turn at 19A:0918; regular moved to here]

19A:1018 [clear terrain coast road hex]:
7-8 Inf XX 6 (Aus) [began turn at 19A:1119; moved one hex to here]
{8 gsp’s [all generated in the Sep I 41 Allied I. Phase, 4 at Alexandria and 4 at Suez; removed from the maps at step 24 of the current Allied I. Phase]}

19A:1119 [clear terrain major rail line (Matruh to Tobruch railway) hex, SW of Matruh]:
7-8 Inf XX 2 (SA) [began turn at 19A:1018; moved one hex to here]

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 at Tobruch; supported breakdown component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 9; technically Red U-4, but in special general supply via gsp’s; in the naval movement step of the M. Phase it was sea transported to Alexandria in an E Med NTP, where it disembarked; then it railed to Matruh]
0-1-8 Hv AA II  AA=2  68 [began turn here; never moved]
0-1-6 Cons X 61 RPC (Col) [began turn at 19A:1319; moved one hex 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; flew the CAP air mission to all-sea hex 19A:0717 in the naval movement step of the M. Phase; rebased at the very beginning of the ground movement step of the M. Phase]

19A:1319 [major rail line coast hex, SE of Matruh]:
3-cap temporary airfield
2-8* Inf X 20 (Aus) [began turn at Alexandria; supported breakdown component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 9; admin moved along the coast road to here]
2-8* Inf X 24 (Aus) [began turn at 190A:0919; supported breakdown component of the Aus 7-8 Inf XX 9; regular moved to here]
0-8 Hv AA II  AA=1  2 (Aus) [began turn at El Alamein (19A:2119); moved along the road to here]
A-22  3A3  2-1/19 [inop.; began the turn here inoperative; flew the Harassment air mission on the previous Sep I 41 Axis turn]
A-22  3A3  2-1/19 SAAF [inop.; began the turn here inoperative; flew the Harassment air mission on the previous Sep I 41 Axis turn]
Blen 4  3B3  1-2/23 [inop.; began turn at El Alamein (19A:2119); air transferred to here in the M. Phase]

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]
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 at 19A:1219; regular moved 2 hexes to here]
2-8 Inf X 6 (NZ) [began turn at 19A:1219; regular moved 2 hexes to here]
2-8 Inf X 4 (NZ) [began turn at 19A:1219; regular moved 2 hexes to here]

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 at 19A:0919; supported breakdown of the Br 7-8* Inf XX 6; moved to Matruh and then railed to Alexandria]
0-8 Lt AA II  AA=1  27 [British; began turn here; never moved]
Hurri 1  5NF5  1/8 [operative; began turn here; never moved]
one step of attack supply [began turn at Suez (18A:3718); railed to here]
{one step of attack supply [began turn here; in the naval movement step of the M. Phase it was sea transported using 3 E Med NTPs, voyaging to Tobruch, but was sunk per the Shipping Results Table die roll due to Axis anti-shipping]}
{4 gsp’s [generated at Alexandria this turn at step 16 of the I. Phase; successfully sea transported to Malta in an E Med NTP in the naval movement step off the M. Phase; this was done after the initial naval group carrying the 4 gsp’s generated at Suez was sunk in the Cent Med sea zone by Axis anti-shipping forces]}

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 at Haifa (20A:4710), in Palestine; admin moved to here]
Glad  3F3  0/8 [operative; 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 at Ismailia (20A:3516) in Egypt; moved to here]
{one step of attack supply [began turn here; sea transported to Tobruch using 3 E Med NTPs in the naval movement step of the M. Phase; this cargo naval group sailed after the 3 E Med NTPs carrying the step of attack supply from Alexandria voyaging to Tobruch was sunk by Cent Med Axis anti-shipping forces, per the Shipping Results Table die roll after rolling a contact on the Naval Table dice roll]
{4 gsp’s [generated at Suez this turn at step 16 of the I. Phase; sunk by the Cent Med Axis anti-shipping dice rolls when attempting to be sea transported to Malta in an E Med NTP in the naval movement step of the M. Phase]}

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 at Beyrouth (20A:4207), in Lebanon; admin moved along the coast road 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 at Alep (21A: 3231), in Syria; supported component of the 7-8 Inf XX 7 (Aus); admin moved to here along the transportation lines]

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]

Damas (20A:4505) [clear terrain dot city transportation line junction hex]:
vacant

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 at the end of the M. Phase

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 at Suez (19A:3718), in Egypt; late in the M. Phase the Bombay T type air unit based at Alexandria staged to Suez and air transported the unit to Nicosa, at Cyprus on a 1-way air transport air mission; it also air transported the 1-8 Inf II 11 (CS) to here]
1-8 Inf II 11 (CS) [began turn at Rutbah (21A:5023), in Iraq; admin moved westwards 16 hexes along the road to secondary rail line hex 20A:5006, in Trans-Jordan; from there it railed to Suez, in Egypt; late in the M. Phase the Bombay T type air unit based at Alexandria staged to Suez and air transported the unit to Nicosa, at Cyprus on a 1-way air transport air mission; it also air transported the 1-8 MG II 2 Ch to here]
Bombay  1T2  1-2/15 [inop.; began turn at Alexandria, in Egypt; late in the M. Phase it staged to Suez and air transported the 1-8 MG II 2 Ch and the 1-8 Inf II 11 (CS) from there to here; rebased here]

Non Phasing Axis Air Activity in the Allied Exploitation Phase:

In the E. Phase the Ger LW He 111H4  4B4  2-7/22 air unit beginning turn at Derna (18A:4116) does a non-phasing air transfer to Benghazi (18A:3121).

Middle East (ME) Command Replacement Pool [{beginning of the 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 SAAF [in the Sep I 41 Axis E. Phase the air unit was aborted in air combat over the Tobruch target hex; the Allied player expended an ARP to repair it in the current I. Phase, and placed it at Alexandria]}

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 Sep II 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 current 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:4721 [ravines hex]:

1-10 Mot Cav III AL (T-J) [Arab Legion; began turn here; never moved]

• 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.

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 at 21A:4719; moved to here]
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 at 22A:4021; admin moved along the transportation line to here]
2-8 Inf X 19 (Ind) [began turn here; formerly an unsupported component of the 6-8* Inf XX 8 (Ind); never moved]
1-pt river flotilla  AA=1  PAIC (RN) [began turn here; never moved]
2 steps of attack supply [began turn here; never moved]

In Iran [end of turn]:

Kangavar 32:2023 [clear terrain point city road hex]:
vacant by the end of the M. Phase

32:1419 [clear terrain road hex]:
2-8 Inf X 24 (Ind) [began turn at Kangavar (32:2023); regular moved northeastwards along the road to here; captured the dot city hex of Hamadan (32:1922) along the way]

Burujird (32:2420) [clear terrain reference city road hex]:
2-8 Inf X 21 (Ind) [began turn at Kangavar (32:2023); regular moved to here, capturing point city hex Nehavar (32:2222) and point city hex Malayer (32:2220), along the way

32:1505 [clear terrain secondary rail line hex, SW of Samnan]:
2-1-10* Lt Arm X 252 (Ind) [began turn at 22A:2217; regular moved northeastwards along the major rail line to 32:1612, SW of Tehran, capturing dot city hex Qum (32:2013) along the way; exploited eastwards along the transportation lines to 32:1505, capturing partial city hex Tehran (32:1512) along the way]

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

Ganaweh (22A:4802) [clear terrain point city/minor port coast hex]:
1-8 Inf X 17 (Ind) [began turn at 22A:4205; regular moved SE to here, capturing point city hex Behbehan (22A:4304) and point city hex Gach Saran (22A:4402) along the way]

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]

Turn Activity

The weather is clear this turn 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 (eg., strictly speaking, maps 18A & 19A, but in our case including map 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 Sep II 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. Twelve of these gsp’s were generated from a step of attack supply present in the hex on the Sep I 41 Axis I. Phase. They will be removed from the maps at step 24 of the Sep II 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 I 41 Allied turn.  At step 11 of the I. Phase the Br 0-4 Cons X MC is designated as being definitely Red U-2.

At step 14 of the I. Phase the Allied player spends one ARP to repair the SAAF 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.  Per the WitD Allied OB booklet, there are no Allied reinforcements this turn.

At step 16 of the I. Phase the Allied player generates 4 new gsp’s at both the Suez and Alexandria 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.

At step 24 of the I. Phase the Allied player removes from the maps the 8 gsp’s at 19A:1018, and the 4 gsp’s at the Valletta hex, on Malta.  All these old gsp’s were generated on the previous Sep I 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. Those that are numbered with # sign are indicated as such in the naval movement step action activities picture included below in the game report. This turn the Allied player has his full complement of 10 E Med NTPs 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.  The naval group enters the west edge of map 18A at all-sea hex 0107. But then the Allied player rolls a Contact on the Naval Table, using the 9 column, and subsequently, per the Shipping Results Table, the 4 gsp’s and W Med NTP from Gibraltar are in effect automatically sunk and lost.

#1. On the WD map group the first naval movement the Allied player does is embark the 2-8* Inf X 26 (Aus) unit, beginning the turn at Tobruch (18A:4817), on an E Med NTP, which exits the harbor at night to all-sea hex 18A:4917. At this time the Allied player rolls on the 9 column of the Naval Table for Axis anti-shipping effects, but is lucky and rolls a no contact. After doing this, the cargo naval group continues moving eastwards at night in all-sea hexes just north of the North African coastline until it enters all-sea hex 19A:0917, which must be its first daylight hex of the voyage. At this point the Axis player declines to attempt a die roll on the Success Table for Naval Patrol contact.  And so the Allied naval group continues its voyage eastwards, and the E Med NTP carrying the Aus 2-8* inf X finally enters the Alexandria port hex, where it disembarks its cargo. Although the ground unit is technically Red U-4 this turn, it is in special general supply via the gsp’s present in the Tobruch hex in the I. Phase.

Right after this the Allied player flies the Br Hurri 1 F type air unit based at Matruh on the CAP air mission over the all-sea hex at 19A:0717, N of Sidi Barrani, likely preparing for one or more of the turn’s critical naval transport operations.

#2. Next the Allied player embarks the 3-8 Mtn X Karp (Pol) unit, beginning the turn at Matruh (19A:1218), in Egypt, in an E Med NTP and sends it westwards along the Egyptian coastline.  At Egyptian coast hex 19A:0918, it veers NW to all-sea hex 19A:0817, preparing to enter next all-sea hex 19A:0717, thereby avoiding the enemy-owned Sidi Barrani coastal hex, at 19A:0818.  When the cargo naval group enters all-sea hex 19A:0717, where the Br Hurri 1 F type air units is flying the CAP air mission, the Allied player pauses to see what the Axis player wants to do, as this is the last daylight hex of the voyage to Tobruch.  The next sea voyage hex would be to all-sea hex 19A:0617, the first hex of the final night leg of the voyage into the port of Tobruch.  But the Allied player does not want to attempt a Naval Patrol Contact die roll on the Success Table against this Allied convoy, and so the naval group continues its voyage.  It rolls a no contact result on the Naval Table upon entering the Cent Med sea zone at 18A:5016, still at night, and so the E Med NTP carrying the illustrious Polish 3-8 Mtn X Karp unit successfully makes it into the port of Tobruch.

#3.  After this, the step of attack supply beginning the turn at Alexandria is embarked on 3 E Med NTPs and sent westwards, moving along the Allied-held Egyptian coastline starting at coastal hex 19A:2018, NE of El Alamein.  At Egyptian coast hex 19A:0918, it too, veers NW to all-sea hex 19A:0817, just like the previous cargo naval group voyaging to Tobruch, thereby preparing to enter next all-sea hex 19A:0717, and thus avoiding the enemy-owned Sidi Barrani coastal hex, due south at 19A:0718.  The moment of truth appears to be when the naval group enters all-sea hex 19A:0717, but again the Axis player declines to attempt a Contact die roll for either of his two air units assigned to the Naval Patrol air mission, and so the big Allied naval group sails onwards, this time using night movement.  But spiteful disaster strikes anyway, when the naval group enters the Cent Med sea zone and the required dice roll on the Naval Table is done.  It comes up with a Contact result, which is good as a Sunk result for the cargo, even before the subsequent Shipping Results Table die roll, using the Supply/Resource Item column, as its results are in any event either an E (Eliminated) or H (Half Eliminated).  In our case here, the Shipping Results Table die roll was an E, and so the whole of this valuable convoy sinks beneath the sea waves at night, likely by the torpedo of an Axis submarine, or possibly an Italian torpedo boat.  However, I believe that in the event of an H (Half Eliminated) result, the Allied player would retain possession of one of his three used E Med NTPs, assuming that half of the E Med NTPs (eg., 2, in this case) are duly lost/sunk, along with the whole of the step of attack supply cargo, which require 3 surviving NTPs.  Somebody correct me if this line of reasoning is wrong.

#4.  Undaunted, the Allied player forthwith embarks one of the two steps of attack supply at Suez on 3 East Med NTPs and sails them northwards up the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea.  Further into the voyage, the naval group uses night movement from all-sea hex 19A:2217 to coastal hex 19A:1818, inclusive.  It voyages in the daylight from 19A:1719 to 19A:0717, inclusive.  Once again, at all-sea hex 19A:0717, N of Sidi Barrani, the last daylight hex of the voyage to Tobruch, the Axis player declines to attempt a Naval Patrol Contact die roll, using the Success Table.  In pure theory the big aero-naval attack at the said target hex might work, but it would certainly be bloody, with a high attrition rate and certainly some good Axis air units being lost.  And in any event these Axis air units will likely be wanted again for the GS air missions needed in any big Tobruch ground attack follow-up, even when counting on the possible halved ground unit defense factor effects of the U-4 supply status, and pending any possible successful gsp deliveries by sea or air, and the actual results of the elimination due to lack of supply die rolls, not to mention the outcome of the ground combat die roll, itself.  And so this second attempt to get a step of attack supply to Tobruch continues its westwards voyage.  When it enters the Cent Med sea zone it successfully avoids contact with Axis anti-shipping forces and finally enters the safety of the Tobruch improved fortress harbor.

#5.  The Allied player hasn’t forgotten that Malta is still without any gsp’s, and is quite worried about the possibility of a possible all-out Axis paradrop assault on the island the next Axis turn, and so he embarks the 4 fresh gsp’s at Suez on his 9th available E Med NTP and directs it to Malta.  After entering the Mediterranean, the E Med NTP carrying the 4 gsp’s from Suez first sails NW, towards Crete, in order to get as far away as possible from the two Axis air units assigned to the Naval Patrol air mission that are based at two airfields surrounding Tobruch.  The Allied cargo naval group enters the Cent Med sea zone all-sea hex 18A:5005, just south of Crete, which is also the first hex using night movement.  But then Death comes and sways the Naval Table dice roll to indicate a Contact with the Axis anti-shipping forces, which means an automatic Sinking, per the Shipping Results Table; and so this convoy, too, sinks, no doubt with fire and smoke in the darkness.

#6.  Appalled by the recent naval transport losses, but nevertheless sticking to his original plan, the Allied player embarks his remaining 4 fresh gsp’s at Alexandria on his last available E Med NTP, and sails this naval group towards Malta, using essentially the same sea route and chronology schedule as the previous stricken Malta convoy.  This time it successfully evades the Axis anti-shipping forces upon entering the Cent Med sea zone at night at all-sea hex 18A:5005, S of Crete.  Using night movement it proceeds westwards through 9 more all-sea hexes to 18A:4104, which is S of the Greek isle of Andikthyera (18A:4103).  But when the cargo naval group enters the next all-sea hex at 18A:4003, in the daylight, the Axis player tells the Allied player to pause his naval movement there, as he wishes to roll for Naval Patrol Contact on the Success Table, using the It SM 79-2  2B3  3-4/V/20 air unit, based at 18A:4718, SW of Tobruch, 18 hexes away.  For the Success Table die roll for the Naval Patrol contact, there’s a +3 modifier for the calm seas, off-set by a -3 for the range, and in the end the Axis player rolls a 3: No Contact, and so the E Med NTP carrying the 4 gsp’s successfully makes it to the port of Valletta, at Malta, where it disembarks it supply cargo.

In the naval movement step of his Movement Phase the Allied player has lost 4 E Med NTPs and his one available W Med NTP.  On his next turn, on Oct I 41, he can replace the lost W Med NTP and two of the four sunk E Med NTPs, leaving him with a net of 8 E Med NTPs for his Oct I & Oct II 41 player turns.

Late in the M. Phase the Allied player sends the two Well 12C 3NB4 1-6/28 air units based at 19A:1418 on a night Port strat Bombing air mission to the Derna hex (18A:4116), in Libya. Both NB type air units make it past Derna’s 2 factor flack shot, but miss when they each roll on the 5 column of the Bombing Table, with a -1 for bombing at night. He also does a series of air unit transfers in Egypt late in the M. Phase, primarily as a result of building the new 3-cap temporary air field at 19A:0918, requiring a repositioning of the air units in the zone.  The Allied player wonders if he should attempt to air transfer a Hurri 1 F type air unit to besieged Tobruch, perhaps using a risky night air unit transfer technique to avoid intercepts or patrol attacks, but decides against it.

At the beginning of the Allied turn the Allies had the following RP 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 6 Allied ARPs, all of which were stored in Alexandria.  One ARP was expended to repair the SAAF Hurri 1  5F5  1/8 air unit.  The two ARPs stored at the Valletta hex were expended to rebuild the Hurri 2  5F5  1/9 air unit.  The Allied Middle East Command ARP inventory amounted to 5 ARPs at the end of the turn, stored at Alexandria.

Commentary

In an earlier draft version of the Allied EOT disposition for this turn, the Egyptian desert shield front line was backed eastwards a hexrow, to 19A:0919-0920.  This was done in part because of the Axis player’s advance of both his pz XXs to the Libyan-Egyptian border and also due to the additional 2 tac factors of Harassment that appear to be required to protect the final front line position from the Axis mobile units outflanking it from the south.  The Allied player was also a little embarrassed by the contorted supply line “rat tail” extending eastwards along the coast road from the back of the desert shield, towards Matruh and beyond.  But in the end he convinced himself that the contorted rat tail was only a minor element in a momentary EOT frozen snap shot of the over-all Allied front-line position, perhaps essentially more accurately symbolized by the final stout forward position at 19A:1818-1819.  After all, the Axis has one now, too, in between Tobruch and his forward position at the Libyan-Egyptian border.  We shall see if this turn “snap shot” of a “stout final position” does not in fact expose a blunder after its publication, for the Axis player to exploit.

In the meantime the Allied player appears to have maximized his defensive position at Tobruch, with a total of 20 defense factors present in the hex.  All the above presents a short-term dilemma to the Axis player, it seems to me right now.  Should he go ahead and strike at Tobruch, at a raunchy 3 to 2, or hopefully a better 2 to 1 combat die roll?  Should he complete the 3-cap temporary airfield at Porto Bardiya and instigate a major, and certainly bloody aero-naval conflict at likely all-sea hex 19A:0717, north of Sidi Barrani, and hopefully sink the Allied cargo naval groups attempting to bring in steps of attack supply to Tobruch, and then attack the improved fortress later on?  Or, with the wargamer’s cunning advantage of historical foresight, should he sooner pull away from the siege of Tobruch to the west, in order to protect the Axis army better from the Allied Crusader offensive, which in effect symbolizes the maximum strength point of the 8th Army in the Western Desert just prior to the Dec II 41 game turn fact of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese entry into the world war, when big Allied withdrawals from the MTO will be demanded by this new reality, in order to  protect vital Allied off-map interests in the Far East and the Pacific?

Here is what I can tell you about the German 1941 Special Operations Forces strategy, as manifested by WW Rule 33D and the German 1941 Special Operations Forces Conditional Reinforcements, found at p. 4 of the WitD Axis OB booklet.  Up until the previous Axis Sep I 41 turn, the Axis player had a special operation planned, using everything listed in the said German Conditional Reinforcement OB, with the Oct I 41 Axis turn as the planned activation date and Malta island hex 18A:0307, NW of Valletta, as the single target hex.  He planned it for the Oct I rather than the Sep II turn in order to maybe fool the Allied player, who might think that the Axis was wanting to execute a big para-drop operation in the MTO as soon as possible, which in this particular game would be on the Sep II 41 Axis turn.  But on the Sep I 41 Axis turn, at step 8 of the I. Phase, this German LW special para op was cancelled and a new sp op was planned, 5 turns in advance, to occur on the Nov II 41 Axis turn.  Perhaps more later on this new Ger sp op plan and why the original plan was scrapped, if we get that far in the EA game reports.

For now, I will confess that in a hypothetical special truncated GE Scenario linking up Scorched Earth (SE) with a WW ER-II/M-M (Marita-Merkur)/War in the Desert Campaign Scenario game, where it might be agreed to end the big Scenario on, say, either the turn of Axis “in-theater surrender” in the Med/NA Command, per WW Rule 41A, or the Jun II 43 turn, at the latest, and assuming this scenario was being played for the first time, that I would likely want to keep the Ger LW paratroop units in Russia in the fall and winter of 1941-42, for the sake of that decisive WWII campaign, for the Axis side.  A slightly “shorter” version of the previously mentioned monster game might be a 1941-42 SE/WW ER-II/M-M/ME Scenario, likely ending on the Jan II 43 turn.  An even shorter GE “mini-scenario” might be a 1941 FitE (or TW, or BU?)/WW ER-II/M-M/ME Scenario, ending probably on the Mar II 42 turn.  But perhaps all these visions of titanic Europa games are only mirage, caused by the intense desert heat layer just above the Saharan sands, and then the sun’s glare.