Drang Nach Osten: Eric's Game



JA '42

Axis win the initative and elect to go first, Commies last, and Allies forced to go second. Weather is not so great in the Pacific (8 rolled). The Japs take a naval and set themselves up for invasions of India and Australia if the weather clears. The Italians, looking for a fight, DOW the US. Spain is activated as a German ally and the Germans play an OC in the west in a land action. Italian subs start things off by raiding the Bay of Biscay but fail to find the Allied CPs. The Luftwaffe comes into play next smashing the French/Belg/US defenders. Rundstedt is used as the HQ doubling 8 attackers. Antwerp is taken in a 3-1 +1 attack and the attackers remain face up. Liege is assulted as is the eastern hex of the Ardennes Forest. Both are taken but the attackers flip in both cases. Spanish MECHs under Franco blitz along the French Med. coast. 5 French INF and 1 CAV have been killed. The Germans continue their success in Russia. Kiev is taken in a 3-1 (-/2 result) and the Dneiper is crossed with the help of ENG southwest of Dnepropetrovsk. Manstein reorgs the flipped Kiev attackers and in the north Army Group North flips, taking Pskov cutting one Russian corps OOS. Swedes advance and flip in the Finnish marshes. A brilliant impulse for the Germans.

Allies move next and the CW takes a naval. Its Pacific Fleet, or what's left of it, sails from Calcutta under the cover of storm to escape the IJN, and it does manage to escape. Fleets are set in the Med. to protect CW interests there. French take a land and move units along the front to present a stronger defence. US takes a combined and lands more units in France, a MECH and MOT land in Bordeaux to support the French defenders there. US also goes on CP escort duty. The US need a HQ in France.

Russian move sees the Commies advancing their hord of Res. units to the front. They are as short on men as the Germans but can form a line in the path of all German advances. Commie Chinese pass. Turn end roll is at 20.

The weather clears with a 3 rolled. Japs land reinforcements at Chittagong in India. Yamamoto and MAR invade and take port of Cocanda. A GAR lands in NEI. New Caldonia is invaded and taken and IJN MARs land SE of Mackay in Australia. IJA units attack out of Canton in the mud and kill a Chinese INF and shatter a MECH while remaining face up. In Europe Germans try to assault Brussels but the French ARM holds in a */1 result. Air battles over the Belg. capital kill a German TAC and French FTR. Spanish Mech advance on Marseilles. German bombers heavily disrupt the Russian defenders around Dnepropetrovsk, flipping 5 of 6 units. The results of the attack are the same as in Brussels (*/1). This does cause the Russian HQ in the city to flip as the defenders lose more units than the attackers. Units of the Rumanian 3rd Army advance into the Crimea.

On the Allied impulse the CW looking for someone to beat up on, since they can not yet fight the Japs, DOWs the Italians. Combined is taken and Italian CPs are hit. Only sighting is in Italian Coast but the escorts get lucky and shoot down a CW CVP. Units from Turkey advance into Greece with Wavell. French naval forces sail from Marseilles and GS Franco, with success, on the coast. The US/French land forces then go into action attacking Franco. A Spanish MOT is killed but so is a US MECH in the blitz attack. Franco holds (1/1) result. If it had been a retreat the HQ would have died for lack of a retreat hex. So Franco foils the bold Allied counterattack.

Russian only reinforce the depleted defenders of Dnepropetrovsk (ed. note: say that three times fast!) and the Commie Chinese pass. Turn end now at 32.

The Pacific storms over again (5 on weather). The IJA is not swayed though as Lae and Mackay are taken. Germans take a combined and sail Kriegsmarine raiders into the North Atlantic. 4 US CPs are sunk and 2 CAs damaged for no losses to the German sailors. Brussels is assaulted again and taken in a 2-1 attack that KGs a German INF but kills a French ARM and MIL. Kesserling reorgs the flipped attackers. Dnepropetrovsk is attacked at 4-1 +2 and is taken in a bloody exchange that kills an ENG and KGs a Rumanian INF. In a bold and daring move the Italian naval staff decides to sail into the Italian Coast and attack the CW fleet there. Only one CVP is left active. The Italians sneak under the CW air cover and meet the CW fleet on the surface. 3 CW CAs are sunk and 1 CA damaged for the loss of one It. CA. The rest of the CW fleet then retreats to Malta.

CW takes a combined and naval units fail to find the Italian CP in the East Med. again but do successfully GS the Italian INF in Salonika. CW land forces move up in Egypt and Greece. Us takes a combined and repairs the hurt convoy line. French take a combined and sail their fleet into the North Atlantic but fail to find the German raiders. US MECH and MOT advance to the outskirts of Barcelona.

Russians launch an attack on the Turk HQ and shatter it back two hexes. Russian naval forces sweep the CW CP from the Black Sea!!!!! The attack does cost the Soviets a MECH but units reach the Black Sea coast at Batum cutting a Turk corps OOS. Turn end at 50.

Germans are on the move, again. Their last unflipped air units GS Vitebsk, and even shoot down a Russian FTR, flipping both units. The city is taken and the attackers remain face up. In the West a naval moves sees the rest of the German Fleet sail into the North Sea and GS the Belg/French defenders west of Antwerp, flipping one of them. In a stunning amph/para/blitz attack, the defenders are thrown back in chaos in a */R result. The Belgian unit is destroyed as it has no retreat hex, (2 of 4 Belgian units were already out of the country, so the third could not leave). Hitler passes out Iron Crosses to all members of the Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe General Staffs for a combined operation well done. This leaves a MIL in Lille and a flipped INF in Calais. Italians land reinforcements in Greece and the Japs invade Guadacanal.

CW takes another combined and again fails to find the Italian CPs in the Eastern Med. US sends out more CP escorts in the North Atlantic, but the French/German fleets fail to find one another. France, relying on the rivers for defense strips the Ardennes sector to send a MECH and MOT north to boost the defence of Lille.

USSR and China pass. Turn end at 72.

Bad weather continues in the Pacific and the IJA fails to find the port of Brisbane in a port attack. Espiritu Santo is invaded. Italians advance into Egypt in a land impulse and move up reinforcements in Greece. Germany takes another combined and sails its Subs into the Biscay sinking 1 CP and suffering 2 aborts. No land attacks are launched as the Germans are short of face up corps and do not want to attack into France to get 1 hex and give the Frech a +.25 PM.

CW takes a combined and sails it fleet from Brisbane - fleeing the IJN again. Taranto is strat bombed from Malta for no effect. CW naval units fail again to find Italian CPs. The French take a naval and see the German fleet in the North Atlantic. Each side loses a CVP and no bombers get through the AA screen. Then both fleets lose contact with each other. Barcelona is assulted at 4-1 by the US and they are defeated handsomely by the defending Spanish CAV. The result is a 2/1 killing the CAV but also a US MECH and MOT are KGed, and no units are left to advance into the city. The turn now ends.