18.64MB - View From The Trenches

If then, in this case, how should the British player
deploy his forces to take advantage of the situations
which arise on his front. With a total of 27 non-
naval units available to him at the start, the British
player soon realizes that to crowd everything into
Italy is wasteful and unnecessary. To start with, the
six replacement units should be used to garrison the
North African holdings, as they can function as
attrition losses as well there as anywhere else on
this front. As shown in Illustration #5, the majority
of the remaining forces go on the Italian mainland,
with the air units and airbases stationed at Taranto
and Brindisi to afford adequate air coverage. The
infantry units form the line and its support with the
1-3 infantry units garrisoning Sicily, Malta and
Gibraltar. This, then, leaves the airborne unit from
our ground forces unaccounted for, and Ajaccio
suits it as a base perfectly. As to the naval forces,
three are stationed at Alexandria and Port Said solely
for the purpose of keeping the British forces in sup-
ply. Of the seven remaining, three fleets can be
initially deployed at Gibraltar, one at Malta and the
remaining three at Brindisi.
The goal of all of this is to add flexibility to the
Allied first turn. What choices might the British
player consider? First, dependent as always upon
the Axis set up, his forces are positioned to attack
straight towards Rome, trying to gain it with ex-
ploiting armor. Or, the fleets at Gibraltar could
change base to Naples. Once there, they would
embark an infantry unit before sailing to Brindisi
and joining the three fleets there, as well as two
armored units, before setting out to perform an end
run of the Axis position, ala Anzio. For British
purposes, there exists three beaches which are suit-
able for this play: U19, W24 and W26. From any
one of these beaches the British player can march
into northern Italy and head south, trapping the
German troops defending there. Once Italy is
secured, hopefully by Winter 1944, the British
should attempt to clear the Balkans, garnering as
many of those objectives ahead of the Russians as
possible.
Now, what of the Americans? While maintain-
ing an adequate garrison of the British Isles, they
are charged with the cross-channel invasion. Look-
Illustration #4 The situation in Italy at the beginning of the Winter
1939 turn.
ing at the available points, Wilhelmshaven would
be ideal, though the more likely landing points are
Dieppe (M23) and Caen (N21). I've a slight pre-
ference for the beach at Dieppe due to the adjacent
port at Calais (M24). Remember, in this scenario,
the destruction of German forces is secondary to
the capture and holding of Berlin. But, by the same
token, the territory behind the Allied front lines must
contain a sufficient number of objectives to win.
Once a landing is effected, the American player
must push to eliminate the sources of supply for
bypassed German units. This will entail the capture
of certain capital cities (Paris and Brussels) while
sealing the French border with Germany. The Axis
supply fleets, both in Italy and Germany, must be
disposed of so that these encircled units do not re-
main active.
With France and the Low Countries secured, only
one obstacle remains between the Americans and
Berlin-the Rhine. In actuality, the Rhine and the
West Wall together form this barrier. From the
American point of view, the easiest crossing points
will be those that do not involve German fortifica-
tions: K27, L27 and 425. Hex L27 is especially
favorable for it is the closest to Berlin. Once the
Rhine line is breached, the American forces should
be split into three unequal parts. Of these three
divisions, the smallest, composed almost entirely
of infantry, will secure the Denmark peninsula. The
second group will strive to isolate Berlin, protect-
ing it from Russian capture until the other two wings
complete their missions. The last element will seek
to capture Breslau and, eventually, link up with the
advancing British forces. As much as possible, this
must be accomplished during the Summer 1945 turn,
as Berlin must be occupied on this turn at the latest.
With the fall of Berlin, the war and the scenario
ends, and the accounting begins.
Other Possibilities
" . . . nothing can be gained except by calculation."
I have not mentioned the Campaign Game in this
article, and this is with reason. An amalgam of the
first two scenarios (1939 and 1942) actually con-
veys my beliefs as to the course which players of
the Western powers should pursue. We must
remember, though, that the Italian offensive is just
as much a threat as it is an actual operational option;
merely setting up the possibility of initiating it will
cause the Axis players some concern as to which
course they should take themselves in 1939. Too,
the Balkan campaign posited for 1942 is ideally
suited to this scenario as it presents a united front
by all of the Allied powers against Germany instead
of allowing that country to concentrate upon each
in turn.
With regards to the Murrnansk convoys and Lend-
Lease, once the Axis declares war upon the Soviet
Union, the British player (followed in 1942 by
the American) will need to send the maximum
allowance of BRPs per turn that she can afford.
Without the continued survival of the Russian
player, the Western Allies cannot hope to win.
Remember, however, Great Britain must not send
everything they have, as some BRPs will be neces-
sary to replace losses and, at critical moments, to
launch certain offensives. Generally, I concur that
1941 will see Great Britain on the defensive. But
1942 should see the British, as discussed earlier,
attempting to complete the occupation of North
Africa, while the Americans deploy and build their
arsenal. In this year, the Americans should bear the
toll extracted by Soviet BRP needs. Hopefully, with
the opening of the new fronts in Italy and the
Balkans, strident Russian demands for BRPs shall
have started to level off as the Western Allies
attempt to relieve German pressure in the East.
Perhaps the least understood country in THIRD
REICH is Vichy France, primarily because it is
usually a "do-nothing" entity. It does perform,
though, several important functions for the Axis
players. First, of course, it covers the German
player's southern flank in the West, limiting any
Allied advance through Spain, as well as shielding
the beach at U19. Second, it forms a reserve pool
of troops, especially naval units. A careful eye must
be kept upon Axis actions regarding Vichy, as any
flow of German foreign aid to this country can only
mean that the Axis plan to activate it. The only thing
that can prevent this is massive British aid, some-
thing the English player may not be able to afford.
What can Britain do? To be truthful-nothing much.
Especially if Britain is committed to expenditures
to Russia. The only Allied recourse is to endeavour
to assure the destruction of the French forces be-
fore they surrender, with emphasis on the air units.
Conclusions
"I have never committed a crime. I have done worse
than that: I have committed mistakes."
Rashness is not a virtue for any of the Allied
players; their greatest advantage is that time is on
their side. Eventually, if the Allied players have sur-
vived, the Axis will have reached the extent of its
leash. Spread thin, they will find themselves forced
onto the strategic defensive. Once this occurs, the
initiative shifts to the Allied powers and, except-
ing limited German offensives, should be held by
them for the remainder of the game. Early on in
the game, the Allies are outclassed by the Axis in
all but one category-naval units. So, in any con-
certed Axis assault, the results will be foregone.
At the start of the game, then, Allied players need
to set themselves a realistic objective for their early
years. As we have stressed, taking territory from
the Axis, except in North Africa, is unrealistic.
Economics will win the war, not military strength.
The Allied goal must be to deprive the Axis of valu-
able BRPs. This is the intent of the Italian invasion,
as well as the foreign aid to Germany's minor allies.
They will have to match or exceed the Allied BRP
expenditures to save Italy or activate her minors,
BRPs they might rather use to pay for an offensive
or purchase units. Other methods are available too.
Whenever possible, inflict damage upon the Axis
air units-especially those of Germany. These are
expensive to build, yet they must have them.
As for British expenditures, after the fall of
France, try to keep them minimal. The majority of
your BRPs are destined to go east. *
Illustration #S The initial British troop deployment in Italy, in-
cluding two armored units and two air units (at Taranto and Brindisi)
and three fleets at Brindisi.