world at war [Updated October 2004]  

2004 WBC Report     

 2005 Status: pending 2005 GM commitment

Bill Moodey, PA

2003 Champion

2nd: Eric Schuelin, GA

3rd: Alvaro Martin, Spain

4th: Brian Conway, NY

5th: Ernest Copley, ME

6th: Jim Sparks, MD

Event History * = Global War/ **A3R
1992    Joe Brophy**       8
1993    Conrad Struckman**     20
1994    Jason Moore**     17
1995    James Sparks**     41
1996    Bruce Harper*     17
1997    Rob Carl*     26
1998    David Middleton*     27
1999    Greg Wilson*    19
2000    Herbert Gratz**    25
2002    Jon Hogen**    17
2003    Vic Hogen**    20
2004    Bill Moodey     24


Offsite links:

AREA Ratings

boardgamegeek

 Laurels
Rank Name

From

Last
Total
 1. Herbert Gratz

AUS

00
66
 2.  Bill Moodey

PA

04
60
 3. Vic Hogen

CA

03
60
 4. Greg Wilson

NJ

99
60
 5. Brock Heathcote

AZ

00
48
 6. Eric Schuelin

GA

04
36
 7. Jason Moore

NY

03
36
 8. Tim Francis

MD

99
36
 9. Jon Hogen

CA

03
34
10. Alvaro Martin

Spain

04
24
11. Conrad Struckman

NH

99
24
12. Ryan Scoville

NY

00
21
13. Charles Krueger

MA

00
21
14. Brian Conway

NY

04
18
15. Mike Crowe

VA

03
18
16. Ernest Copley

ME

04
12
17. Eric Thobaben

MI

03
12
18. Ernie Faust

CT

99
12
19. Mike Mitchell

GA

00
  9
20. Randall Mac Innis

GA

00
  9
21. Jim Sparks

MD

04
  6
22. Graham Kays

WA

03
  6
23. Boyd Piper

BC

02
  6
24. Mike Stone

OR

99
  6
25. Don Moody

MN

02
  4
26. Joe Brophy

MN

02
  3
27. Keven Leith

VA

02
  2
28. Bruce Harper

BC

02
  1

Past Winners

Joe Brophy - NY
1992

Conrad Struckman - NH
1993

Jason Moore - MD
1994

James Sparks - MD
1995


Bruce Harper, BC
1996


Rob Carl, MD
1997


David Middleton, MD
1998


Gregory Wilson, NY
1999

Herbert Gratz, Austria
2000

Jon Hogen, CA
2002

Vic Hogen, CA
2003
   
 


Making the Transition to A World At War ...

This year's convention featured five hotly contested global campaign games. The participants included two Europeans (Herb Gratz of Austria and Alvaro Martin of Spain). Bruce Harper, the game's designer, traveled slightly less far (Vancouver, Canada). Bill Moodey received first place (Eric and Bill rolled for the plaque) for defeating the formidable team of Bruce Harper and Greg Wilson. At the end of the tournament, Bruce announced that GMT plans to publish a second edition of the game, and discussed some potential rules changes. In particular, Russia seems too strong, making it very difficult for the Axis to make historical gains. At the same time, the Axis seem to lose the Battle of the Atlantic a bit too soon. The proposed rules changes are available on the website (www.aworldatwar.com). The exact outcome of four of the five games remained in doubt, with none getting farther than 1944. All attendees look forward to extending play at the new location in Harrisburg, starting Tuesday afternoon and proceeding until Sunday evening.

Game 1: Bruce Harper (Euro-Axis), and Greg Wilson (Japan) versus Bill Moodey (Russia and Pacific) and Eric Scheulin (Euro-Allies). Eric Scheulin provided this game description.

1939: In Fall, Germany conducts a standard blitzkrieg in Poland: Overrun, 3:1, 3:1; Warsaw: 3AAF lost. German's raid, British sink both pocket battleships (PB2's) with a battlecruiser (BC3) and cruiser (CA). Harbor Attack sinks British battleship (BB3). Russia does not occupy Eastern Poland, and stays out of Eastern Europe prior to the German declaration of war (DoW) on Russia.

The Japanese mobilize elite naval air (eNAS) and infantry. In Winter a sitzkreig occurs. Britain commits a stronger than usual three 3x4's and 2o5 to French defense; Western Allies (WA) announce Anglo-French hex restrictions lifted.

1940: In Spring, Germany DoWs Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Sits in Netherlands, but breaks through Belgium, takes two hexes in the French line ,and one hex adjacent to Paris. In spite of high odds (3:1s), takes two full exchange (EX) results, losing some 4o6's and army air factors (AAFs). Germany also invades the Norwegian Beach with 1x3 and a 2o6. Italy stays neutral. Japanese add one shipbuilding. WA attrition to regain hex adjacent to Paris, walk 2x3 into Luxembourg, sea transport a 3x4 into Bergen, and move to Oslo. In Summer 1940, Germany takes Paris on 3:1 exploitation, rolling another EX. Reinforces Norway with 3x3. Takes Netherlands. Italy DOW's and attritions one hex into Egypt. Germany reinforces air in Med, sends defense to Tunisian- Libyan border. France surrenders with 35 ground factors surviving, for a -2 French Surrender Level. French North Africa and Syria both roll a 2, which converts them to Free French colonies. Britain reinforces Tunisia with a 2o5, and 3x4, takes French 1x3's as Free French. Redeploys 5AAF, two 3x4's to Egypt via South Africa (Saf). Russia's first mobilization - all infantry. Occupies Eastern Poland only. In Fall, Germany invades Britain with a 3x3 on an empty southwestern English beach. Paradrops onto Plymouth port adjacent to beach. British allow invasion under massive Axis air umbrella. Germany postpones Norway offensive due to Sea Lion. Italy gains a hex into Egypt via Attrition. Germany sea escorts a 2o6 and 1x3 into Plymouth. British intercept and a large Naval-Air battle sinks or damages all British slow BB's in the Atlantic, and only damages a German BC3 and PB2 from poor die rolls. Only one German DD is sunk, but the sea escort to Plymouth fails. The Japanese occupy northern French Indochina, and mobilize a large amount of Infantry and a 3o3 armor. The British capture Plymouth, build a fort in London, redeploy subs to Portsmouth, and reinforce Britain with troops, including units previously sent to SAf. WA forces advance in Tunisia towards Libyan border. In Winter, Germany raids with large battleship (BB4) and light carrier (CVL), sinking four transports (TR). Aborts Sea Lion attempt. Builds troops for Barbarossa. Germany DOWs and occupies the Baltic States. Stalemate in Tunisa and Egypt. WA's reinforce Norway with 10 AAF's.

1941: In Spring, the Axis force a positive Allied result in Vichy. Germany DOW's Vichy, and conquers them. German troops in Norway isolated by 10 AAF; Axis abandon Norway. Norway remains Allied for the rest of the game. Axis setup for Barbarossa. British send 4o5, two 3x4's to Egypt. Redeploy 10 AAF, 3x4 to Tunisia. In Summer, Germany launches Barbarossa with occupied Baltic States. Strikes front center and exploits adjacent to the Dneprpetrovsk and Kharkov IC's. Italians take Malta. Axis counterair WA air units in Tunisia, move troops to Tunisian Front line. Russia counter-attacks, taking out two 4o6's and removes an IC from Dneprpetrovsk. Reinforces rear line with builds. British reinforce Tunisia with 10 more AAF and attack towards Libya. WA's achieve combat training level (CTL) of 2. The Japanese occupy Saigon. In Fall, the WA's gain hex control in Turkey diplomatically. Germany exploits, cutting a narrow line to take the Stalingrad and Khakov IC's. Destroy Stalingrad IC. Stalemate in Egypt, but isolate British units in Tunisia. Reinforce Sicily and Malta with Axis AAF from Russia. Builds fort in Malta. British attempt a 1:1 attack in Egypt to break Italian line. Rolls a 1,2. Reinforcements from SAf cover losses. Redeploys one 3x4 to Ankara. In Winter, Germany withdraws from Stalingrad back to a Kharkov salient. Russia attritions, killing several 3x3's which must be taken as losses due to lack of replacements. The British attrition in Egypt, gain a hex, isolate Axis units, threaten to break line.

Japan DOWs the US, and conducts a campaign weighted toward India. Invades Malaya, and exploits to Singapore; attacks in force in Burma, takes Hong Kong, Brunei, Palembang, and invades Leyte, attacking Samar by land route. Takes Rabaul. Stays out of New Guinea.

1942: In Spring, Germany makes a Turkish diplomatic roll, but only ends up securing a Turkish alliance to Britain! Germany reinforces Libya with several forces and a large air force able to attack east or west. Axis isolated units in Egypt take out British 4o5 on 1:2 attack. Axis reinforces Egypt line via railhead in Bengazi.

Japan sends all carriers (CV's) and large naval force to take a reinforced Colombo. The patrol sinks BB3's in defending task force (TF), and the invasion force takes Colombo at 2:1. Due to the large commitment in Colombo, Japan attacks at 2:1 in Manila, Batavia, and Balikpapan. The Balikpapan attack was two 3x2's which marched overland from the Brunei invasion and rolls an "a", and "EX", leaving it unable to take Balikpapan. WA's gain control of the Dutch East Indies (DEI's) ports since Japan did not conquer all three capitals in DEI. The WA base change all available naval units into the Med, run a patrol to knock out air in Taranto, and invade Italian beach across from Rome, exploiting into Rome. The Italians are forced to surrender. At this point, the Axis players decided that the allies would have an eventual victory due to current board situation, and concede.

Aftermath: Bruce commented that the surrender of Italy put he and Greg out of their misery. Certainly bad luck (failure to capture Balikpapan being the last straw) contributed to the break in morale. Coincidentally, some of the proposed rules changes reflect actions taken in this and other games at the convention, in particular, the Russian practice of not entering Eastern Europe, resulting in the first Russian mobilization in Summer, rather than Fall, 1940. Ignoring France and attacking Russia first provides a counter to this ploy, but seems a bit extreme if it represents the best solution.

Game 2: Alvaro Marin (Euro-Axis), Brian Conway (Japan) versus Kevin Milne and Paul Milne (Western Allies) and Rob Carl (Russia). Brian Conway had expressed a preference for playing any side other than Japan, while Rob Carl came only to watch. Nevertheless, Brian agreed to team up with Alvaro playing, you guessed it, Japan, while Rob Carl left the sidelines to defend Russia. Alvaro provided this game description.

1939-40: The Axis take Poland and France with remarkably light losses, but don't set up Vichy France. They used the interval after French surrender to push the Allies back to the Nile.

1941: The German army invaded Russia in Summer 41, making good advances. Meanwhile limited but effective submarine strategic warfare (SW) kept the Allies at bay. At the end of 1941 the Axis continued to advance in the Med, breaking the Nile line but encountering stiffer Allied resistance. The Japanese attacked in Winter, losing surprise in PH due to a roll of 6, and rolled a series of 1s and 2s in the opening attacks.

1942: In Summer 1942, the Axis field an army against Russia including 46 AAF, two 5o6s, and three paratroopers. This force overran a defending infantry unit, making a huge pocket. Meanwhile Japan and the US traded blows in the Port Moresby area. On the Med front, the Allies stabilized the front near Baghdad and started rolling forward. A moderate winter saved Russia from further attacks, but the Axis achieved a huge advance. Thanks to maximized AAF production, both Japan and Axis maintained air superiority in both theaters.

1943: In 1943 the Pacific was a stalemate, featuring constant air battles, while both sides kept their fleets safe. Meanwhile, Japan fortified the outer defensive ring. In spring, the Axis saw an opportunity to counterattack the advancing Allied forces in the Middle East, and using a 1:1, isolated a great part of the Allied army. In Summer, using two 1:1s, the Axis advanced next to Basra while conquering Abadan. In fall, they closed the Eastern Med. This gave the Russians a respite that they used to recover their losses and prepare for the offensive. In their fall turn, the newly rebuilt Allied army crossed the channel, while most of the Axis assets were still in Middle East. Simultaneously, the Russians attacked the Axis line, inflicting a lot of damage. In Winter, the Axis redeployed air to the east, to stop the Russians, while redeploying ground units to the west.

1944: In spring, the Euro-Axis used their 51 AAF to stop the Allies from making advances in France. Then time ran out, ending the game at the start of Allied turn. Alvaro and Brian projected that both Germany and Japan would survive deep into 1945, with Germany having a shot of surviving into 1946

Aftermath: Alvaro was awarded the certificate for Best Axis Play, European Theater. Brian Conway was awarded the certificate for Best Axis Play, Pacific Theater.

Game 3: Jim Sparks (Euro-Axis) and Dave Hanson (Japan) versus Mike Crowe (Western Allies, Europe), Herb Gratz (Russia) and Maurice Buttazoni (Western Allies, Pacific).

Herb Gratz, a long time participant in the Advanced Third Reich tournament, made the transition to A World at War this year, and showed his mettle with a gritty defense of Russia. Maurice Buttazoni made his first appearance at the convention. Maurice showed his gambling nature with a spirited defense of Port Moresby in spite of losing three carriers at Pearl Harbor! Maurice has taken responsibility for the A World at War website, and writes computer games in his spare time. Dave Hanson provided this game description.

The Axis started the war with an anti-Russian research and diplomacy plan (military and intelligence). We had to radically revise it to deal with the Western Allies (to become a naval and military plan). The revised plan ended up working beautifully: at 1941 year end it even forced a low-level British surrender. Jim and I shared planning duties for Europe; with some more experience with naval rules than Jim, I handled the Japanese play.

1939: Poland collapsed fairly cheaply, although the Poles caused about nine BRPs of German casualties.

1940: Germany had intended to conquer France leisurely and keep US-Axis tensions (USAT) low by Italian neutrality, while delaying the first Russian mobilization until Winter. The Russo-German tension (RGT) delay nearly worked, thanks to two covert operations (CovOps); the Allies caught on too late. The only salvation for Russia's Fall 1940 mobilization was - a Spring collapse of France! (Note: because of this RGT finagling Bruce Harper has decided to change the diplomatic rules to prevent diplomatic points (Dps) and CovOps in RGT, and just guarantee Russian mobilization by Fall 1940.) Germany forced Italy into the war when we spied a not-so-obvious weak spot in the Allied double line defending southern France. The Italo-German attack in the Alps vaporized a French 1R, then German armor overran a 2x3 in Lyon with AAF helping...and 4 German 4o6s surrounded Paris and blew away the two 2x3 defending it. The French AAF initially declined combat, but was displaced by the exploiting armor. France fell in one turn without a single German casualty. The Germans took the Low Countries also--a 1:1 on the Hague came through without loss. The sole German casualties for Spring were a 1x3 and 1m3 lost to Norwegian resistance. The Norse surrendered next turn. Meanwhile the Germans established Vichy with a strong pro-Axis slant (+2), and the Axis sub war commenced in earnest. Axis reaction: This stunning success wasn't in the Plan! Now what do we do? Jim and I elected not to go directly for England. Instead we drove into Egypt, which Mike had all but abandoned in order to defend the British Isles. Italian limited offensives took the Axis to Suez and beyond for the rest of 1940. Meanwhile the German submarines consistently drew better-than-average SW rolls in the Atlantic, severely weakening Britain.

Preparing for possible future activity, Japan produced its marines and airborne, and an air transport. Japan also invested in Indian Subversion. Japan's mobilization plans went in the pot when Japan failed both attempts at an air research breakthrough in 1940 and 1941. Instead of building a giant pile of ENAS with Naval Air Training (NAT) expansion, Japan instead decided on using all its non ENAS mobilization BRPs for military builds. Japan mobilized all three 3o3 armor and several 3x2 infantry, and produced more infantry. Again, the Axis *thought* they had an anti-Russian plan afoot.

1941: Left in peace for two years, Herb had steadily built up the Russian Army to formidable power. He produced three 3x3s for each of 1940, 1941 and 1942, besides mobilizing almost all infantry. (Note: From our Russian experience and several other games with similar results Bruce has made another change, to the Russian mobilizations: no more all-infantry or all-armor mobilization strategies, and armor takes six turns to arrive.) Barbarossa went off as planned in Summer 1941--but didn't get too far. Some of the German and most of the heavy Italian units were pushing the British Commonwealth back through Iraq toward the Gulf oil ports. But that ultimately proved helpful: almost by accident, due to the conquest of Egypt, the Axis were able to set up a "Struckman Vise" strategy against Russia. Vichy activates for Germany, solidifying Axis dominion in the Med. Britain accidentally surrendered at the end of 1941 at -1. This could have been avoided through Britain doing its builds differently. But nobody noticed the effects of lost transports together with Japanese capture of Singapore until the 1942 YSS was about to begin. It didn't do much damage to Britain, since the US was in the war then. But Germany did end up getting all of Persia, which the British had obligingly opened for access to Russia, and the British vacated Eurasia. So 1942 began with the Axis camped on the Russian's southern doorstep.

Japan exploded into action in Fall 1941. Despite a peaceful Japanese effort to delay DoW until at least Winter 1941 or into 1942, that early French surrender pushed up the Japanese mobilizations in 1940 and 1941. Tensions shot up in Spring and Summer. Fearing a serious oil crunch if waiting until Winter, Japan DoW'd early, with tensions still in the 20s. That USJT 29 proved highly profitable, when American task force (TF) rolls placed all three CVs in Pearl Harbor! Japan made a single strike (what, stick around and fight ALL that NAS?). Two CV3s destroyed, the third sunk in port, and Japan's aircraft carriers ruled the Pacific. On the DoW turn Japan took the oil centers, Rangoon, the parts of the DEI that would otherwise be off limits next turn due to monsoons, and landed on Luzon. Japan also captured Port Moresby, but suffered an exchange that it never was able to remedy (and ended up losing the port). On the second turn Singapore fell (leading to the British surrender in Europe). Manila fell to heavy air and infantry attack. With the Indian subversion, Japan had built a partisan next to Calcutta in Fall; now that partisan joined with an airdrop attack out of Mandalay to capture Calcutta, while the Japanese Army with Indian National Army (INA) assistance broke through the Burma border hexes to capture Dacca. After these triumphs in India, Japan elected to sit and build 2x2 INA counters to build a huge defensive line. Eventually the INA outnumbered the Regular Indian Army. The US tried to defend Rabaul against a Japanese invasion, intercepting a Japanese patrol. The Japanese caught the US TF and found the last two US CVs in the Pacific (newly arrived from the Atlantic)--sinking one and damaging/almost sinking the other. But several US BB4s and CAs gave the US TF surface survivability against the weak Japanese TF (Yamato and a couple of CA2s). Out of ENAS, the Japanese retreated. The US got its historical Coral Sea outcome--tactical defeat, strategic victory.

1942: 1942 basically proved a "phony war" on land. The Germans could make no headway in Russia--just ground back and forth along the Dniepr and the Caucusus with parity of air and ground forces. This, because they gained hex control of Spain in Spring and elected to send 20 of their 30 AAF to Spain and North Africa to besiege Gibraltar. Ultimately this choice proved wise. The WA dared run no naval challenge to the huge Axis air umbrella. Gibraltar fell in Winter (after beating off a premature Italian invasion attempt in Fall that damaged every BB in the Italian Navy). With the Med an Axis lake the Germans could concentrate all their forces along the Atlantic shore and in Russia. Also during 1942 the Axis submarine technology improved significantly, to +4. (Bruce has decided to reduce the effectiveness of sub tech research; and also eliminate offsetting of sub casualties by pro-Allied modifiers.)

In the Pacific, the Australians reinforced Rabaul, landed at Lae, and cut off and recaptured Port Moresby. That New Guinea loss early in 1942 after strong opener weakened the otherwise strong Japanese Pacific position. Japan stormed back to strike a battleship task force at Port Moresby that the Allies had based without air cover. To Japan's disgust, what should have been a sunken BB5, BB4, two BB3s and a couple CA2 turned into three damaged BB3s and one damaged CA2 due to atrocious dice rolls and (critically) three overlooked ENAS whose counter had accidentally gotten inverted. Kido Butai retreats, admirals commit seppuku, and the IJN suffers a command shakeup. (Worth noting: The ONLY Japanese naval losses for the entire war were a CA2 and DD, lost on a forlorn-hope supply run to Java). Because Japan had systematically destroyed the US carrier air arm but left the old BB3s intact, the US was forced to follow a short-range island hopping strategy into the DEI. You can guess the route: Timor to Kendar to Ambon to Makassar, to bases within US bomber range of the oil centers. Maurice had the Allies follow this route for most of 1942 and into 1943 Meanwhile, Japan's oil reserve brimmed full and Japan busily fortified all the objective hexes on its Resistance Table. With nothing else to do, the huge Japanese Army in China (nine armor units!) demonstrated on the Russian border. Russia cringed and drew its Siberian garrison save a unit in Vladivostok back all the way to Irkutsk. Japan also rolled large attritions against the Chinese. When that got boring, Japan decided to launch Operation Ichi-Go. (I know that cost 1942 growth that I needed, but I wanted to see what would happen! Chunking was empty of units, and Japan had sent its airborne unit and air transport to North China...). Nationalist China collapsed in two turns, Chungking lost to paratroopers, driven completely out of southern China and back west of the Yangtze River by Summer 1943. Chinese surrender level sank to -3, nearly -4. Japan suffered serious casualties on exchanges creating this opportunity, but got a nearly-free Wang result out of it. Anyway, those 3x2s had to start moving back to Japan sometime. And having an overland supply and SR route from Singapore and Rangoon all the way to Seoul proved highly beneficial.

1943: German AAF turned Russia in 1943 from stalemate to slow, grinding Axis progress. The bloody Battle of Kursk went to the Germans this time (Russia just barely avoiding a worse exploitation due to a great DAS air roll that stopped an overrun). German armor exploiting into Baku foretold Russian oil shortages. Isolated Sevastopol fell . And a 1:1 shot on isolated Leningrad succeeded on a roll of "5". (Herb smiled at the lost fortresses: "Now I can shorten my line!") With winter approaching the Russians stood at the western gates of Moscow.

In the Pacific, in Fall 1943 (our last turn) Maurice jumped out a bit: He invaded Palembang, and got a good roll against a 3x2 defender. God wrote on the wall: Japan Will Run Out Of Oil Next Year...Japan's Army had grown so huge by 1943 that it could not all fit in the Home Islands, even double stacked on every hex. Obviously the Navy lost face before the Army in this War.

Aftermath: Here the game ended, with general consensus that the Euro-Axis would survive at least until 1946, if not the entire game. I estimated that, as of Winter 1943 Japan could last at least through 1944 and probably well into 1945. Only the Bomb could, I thought, have ultimately forced a surrender even if Japan were totally bereft of oil and air. Mike thought that Japan's losing Palembang in 1943 would make it happen earlier--but the entire Japanese Navy was available to base at Brunei or elsewhere on heavily defended Borneo and thus draw oil until it was completely sunk.

Game 4: Jon Hogen (Euro-Axis) and Ken Cruz (Japan) versus Jason Moore (Euro-Allies) and Ernie Faust (Pacific Allies)
This was a classic East Coast/West Coast match, with top players from California and New York going head to head. Probably the closest match, and one of the best games. Jon Hogen provided this game description. The European Axis strategy revolved around maximum expenditure for naval research, both submarine and ship building (including torpedoes, sub tech [+7], a 5 factor battleship and two extra 4 factor battleships).

1939: After heavy losses in Poland, Germany attacked the low countries in Winter '39, setting up a standard Summer '40 conquest of France (no Vichy...want BRPs).

1940: While threatening to invade Britain directly in Fall '40, Germany wheeled around for a one turn conquest of Spain in Winter '40, with the help of a '40 winter preparation research result. Italy performed a tricky little invasion of Egypt while the British fleets were out of position.

1941: After a Spring '41 DOW on Russia (for position), Germany carried on a push against Russia. The subs started really bothering Britain in '41.

After a Winter '41 DOW, Japan established an outer perimeter which included a big push in India (with the help of the Indian National Army) but importantly did not include the taking of Port Moresby.

1942: Germany attacks Russia through most of '42 . The Italians (with periodic German help) conquered the Med and took Gibraltar.
Japan's dreams of territorial expansion were brought to a premature end in '42 when a raid by the entire Allied carrier force (British included) on Singapore netted four Japanese carriers sunk (two CV3s and two CVLs). Ken continued his push into India (all the way to the India Box)

1943: Germany voluntarily moves over to the defensive in Russia in '43, to take advantage of a British opening. With the help of the Italian fleets, the Axis got on shore in Britain in Spring, and were on the way to putting Britain out of the war until untimely bad luck on a straight up 2:1 at the gates of London effectively put an end to the Axis British invasion in late '43.

Ken managed to "channel" Jason's advance for 6 turns in a row, thus slowing American progress

1944: In Spring '44 the initial Allied invasion of France was in the process of being turned back when we had to stop (in the first round of naval combat the Italians/Germans lost a combined four factors of CAs and a BB3 while the Allies lost a BB5, three BB3s, and eight CA factors).

Aftermath: Jon predicted that with a '44 Year Start German BRP level of 603 (350 base), roughly equal navies in the west, and slow progress by Russia in the east, the Axis probably would have survived till at least late '46. Jon predicted a draw for Japan.

Game 5: Vic Hogen (Euro-Axis) and Joe Brophy (Japan) versus Ernie Copley (WA Europe), Steve Voros (WA Pacific) and Eric Thobaben (Russia). Eric Thobaben provided this game description.

1939-41: In this game the Axis were aggressive from the start in terms of offensive operations (Euro Axis) and mobilization (Japan). Germany declared war on Spain (Winter 1940), Russia (Spring 1941), and, together with Japan, the U.S. (Summer 1941). Due partly to an all-out German sub campaign, but also to lucky dice rolls, the British transports in the Atlantic were in trouble for much of the game. At the end of Summer 1941, hasty Allied play led to a -5 British surrender because the Allies opted not to put any transports in the Atlantic (because they would have been decimated by the German subs). This gave Germany the Mediterranean (including Gibraltar). On the flip side, a Russian ploy to not occupy any territory lured Germany into occupying the Baltic States in Spring 1940, which resulted in the early mobilization of Russian infantry that all but stopped the Germans at the border when they attacked into Russia in 1941.

1942-43: Japan grabbed its usual territory in 1941 and almost forced India to collapse in 1942 (in part by airdropping into Madras from Ceylon). However, the U.S. fought Japan toe to toe from the start, and after many naval battles around New Guinea throughout 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy was but a shadow of its former self. Brazen U.S. advances near Brunei were countered by Japanese air, which stifled Allied progress in 1943. When the game ended, both players agreed that Japan would have survived until around Summer 1945. In Europe, the British slowly recovered from their surrender and, with massive mobilization of US shipbuilding, managed to turn around the Battle of the Atlantic by late 1943. Even with the British surrender, the Western Allies still managed to invade France in Fall 1943. In the east, Russia never lost an IC (or even Kiev), and by late 1943, Russia had forced the Axis back into Poland and were pushing into the Balkans (most of which remained neutral throughout the entire war due to Russia's non-aggression policies). German super subs and jets came online in mid-1943, but they were largely too late to have much effect.

1944: In Fall 1944 the Russians captured Berlin on a 2:1 exploitation attack, and, using three tactical atomic attacks, the Western Allies broke through the German line at the Swiss-Franco-German border and exploited into an empty Berchtesgaden, forcing a Fall 1944 German surrender.

Aftermath: However, due in part to hasty Allied play, but also to shrewd German redirection, Italy and its Mediterranean empire would have survived until Spring 1945 or Summer 1945, resulting in the game being called as a near draw. All players really enjoyed playing the game.

 GM      Mike Crowe  [6th Year]   5507 Callander Dr, Springfield, VA 22151 
    mcrowe@cox.net   NA

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