Author Topic: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26  (Read 34536 times)

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Mark

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ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« on: June 29, 2015, 03:41:27 PM »
Well, I think all the players from the CSWX 2015 game are still in recovery. . .it was a 4 day slug-fest that started Tuesday morning and went until late Friday afternoon - and it was a BLAST!  Amazing how time flies when you are playing this game. . .

The after action report may take me a while to post in its entirety - but I will get started on it.  Took a lot of pictures - but did miss a couple turns. . .

The ALLIES were played by: Dave Simmons (Britain & France 39-40), Ron (Soviets), Mark (US), George (Allies NW Europe 41-44), Lance (Allies Med 41-44), and Gerry (?) (China).

The AXIS were played by: Dave Young (East Front Axis), John (West Front Axis), Charles (Med Axis), and Wolf (Japan).

No pictures from the first couple turns (I guess we were all anxious to get started!).

The German invasion of Poland went off mostly without a hitch except that the Polish fighter chose to bypass the German interceptors and shot down a Stuka group. . .an ominous start for the Axis.

In the Winter, The Soviets managed to win the Winter War against Finland with light casualties.  A German invasion of Norway was thwarted when the transports shuttling the German invasion force was sunk by a British submarine flotilla off the coast of Denmark. 

The Germans attempted a surprise Winter invasion of Belgium which was stopped cold by the Allies.  The Belgian Army hung on long enough for French reserves to come up and stopped the Bosch in their tracks.

The Italians declared war on the mechanized phase of the first turn of the game, but made little progress.  The French fleet managed to blockade the Italian Navy for the first few game turns.

In Asia, The Japanese made good progress in pushing back the Nationalist Chinese.  Early victories convinced the Army Command to invest more in China and take the production the Emperor needed from the Chinese Nationalists.

So - overall, a bit of a tough start for the Axis, but progress was being made across the board.

In the first picture, the Axis high command plans their Winter offensive into Flanders and the Ardennes.

In the second attached pic, Dave Simmons plans his brilliant defense of Belgium and moves in the French Army and BEF in reserve to halt the German offensive.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2015, 04:46:48 AM by Mark »

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2015, 04:13:13 AM »
Spring 1940

In the Med, Wavell takes advantage of Italian indecision and the French blockade of the Italian fleet to push Graziani out of Bardia and occupy Tobruk.

In France, the Germans quickly recovered from the Winter debacle and sliced through both Belgium and Holland in the good Spring campaigning weather.  Guderian's panzers have blitzed through to the coast and occupy Calais and the channel ports.  Also, a successful Falschirmjager assault on Norway (launched from occupied Denmark) has established a German foothold in Norway.  The British, however, are not about to give up, landing reinforcements at Bergen and bolstering Norwegian defenses around Oslo. . .

In the Pacific, the Japanese offensive into China overextended itself, with Okamura being cut-off by nationalist forces deep in China (a hopeful Tojo placed Yamashita and Homma on the board early, but alas they needed to be removed until Spring 1941). . .
« Last Edit: July 02, 2015, 01:10:51 AM by Mark »

Yoper

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2015, 09:55:03 AM »
It's nice to see you are still using a Yope dice tower. 

I really should send you guys a couple of the newer look towers (no dowels showing).  You've earned it.

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2015, 01:10:25 AM »
Yes - I have two Yoper dice towers - but could only fit one in my luggage for the expo. . .
So - one design feature you may want to consider for the next version: Wolf made a temporary fix for is to tape a flap over the 'exit' from the dice tower into the tray because dice kept rolling back under the tower and were hard to read - the added flap prevented the dice from rolling back under the tower - it ws pretty helpful.

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2015, 01:20:35 AM »
Summer 1940

In France, the German First Army took Paris.  The French and BEF had reinforced it with quite a large army, but were unable to get reinforcements into the battle fast enough and Guderian's panzer chewed them up in a couple rounds.  France surrendered and the remnants of the BEF has retreated to Normandy and Brittany.

The Germans reinforced their position in Norway and the Luftwaffe was able to cut the British reinforcements in Southern Norway out of Supply.  The Kriegsmarine has invested in a massive u-boat building campaign. . .Also note the two factories the Germans have built in Berlin to boost their economy for the rest of the game.

In North Africa, the Italians have retreated to Tripoli.  Wavell has taken Tobruk and is fortifying British defenses there.

In the Pacific, Okamura got the initiative and was able to break out of the pocket.  The war of attrition in China continues. . .

John D.

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2015, 03:35:59 AM »
Couple of memorable events included losing 2 of the 3 u boat aces to defending ASW. The Brits were not intimidated by the covering Luftwaffe over Norway and it seemed to be paying off...

Yoper

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2015, 04:36:22 AM »
There are a couple of issues with that early tower design of mine and the dice combo you are using.

The main thing is that it was really designed to work with six sided die.  But really the problem is the length of the tray.  Add that to the d12s and you have a lot of action that causes them to bounce back into the tower area.

I did do a couple of towers for my buddy Dan with a step to stop the dice from going back under the lip, but then it causes more of the dice to fly out of the tray.

The newer ones are a bit wider and a bit longer. I no longer have my buddy selling them online so I only make them sporadically.  But for you guys I would fire up the production line.

« Last Edit: July 02, 2015, 04:38:57 AM by Yoper »

John D.

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2015, 02:08:16 PM »
Yoper - can you make the perfect D12 dice tower?

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2015, 12:13:42 PM »
Autumn 1940

Limited pics for Autumn 1940.  In the Pacific, Okamura managed to get the initiative and break out from the encirclement he found himself in China. The Communist Chinese managed to liberate Peking.  The struggle continues in China. . .

For some reason  :) a picture of Cunningham's fleet in the Eastern Med and British reinforcements pouring into Egypt.

Elsewhere in Europe, The Germans redeployed the bulk of their Army from France to the Balkans and Eastern Europe.  The battle continued in Norway with the Royal Navy bravely reinforcing and resupplying the BEF in Norway through a hail of Luftwaffe fighters and bombers. . .

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #9 on: July 03, 2015, 12:26:32 PM »
Spring 1941

no pics from Winter 1940.

The ongoing struggle in Norway came to a climax in the Spring of 1941.  The Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe finally eliminated the remnants of the BEF and Norwegian defenses.  While the Allied effort may be regarded ultimately as futile, it delayed the Germans from redeploying the bulk of the Luftwaffe and other units for Barbarossa.  Will this delay make the difference between the ultimate victory in Russia or defeat?  Only time will tell. . .

The Germans and Italians mopped up most of the Balkans in Winter 1940 and Spring 1941.  The Axis opted for an Italian only invasion of Greece - which, while taking more time, will give the Italians a morale bonus that may be critical later in the game.

In Winter of 1940, The Germans landed a mechanized corps in Africa and by the end of Spring 1941, Rommel had conquered Tobruk.  Wavell's Western Desert Force was building up around Sidi Barani.

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2015, 04:36:35 AM »
Summer 1941

We all held our breath on June 22nd 1941, when Dave unleashed operation Barbarossa on the poor unsuspecting Russians. . .
Panzers rapidly overran Western Ukraine and encircled a Soviet army around Zhitomir.  Guderian advanced as far as Smolensk by the end of Summer, however, much of the Soviet forces in the Baltics were able to withdraw in good order back toward Leningrad.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2015, 04:37:52 AM by Mark »

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #11 on: July 07, 2015, 05:14:02 AM »
Autumn 1941

In Russia, Hoeppner's 3rd Panzer Army takes Kharkov. Army Group Center, spearheaded by Guderian's panzers, swung North to help the German advance on Leningrad.  They successfully eliminated Soviet resistance around Veliki Luki and Pskov, but allowed the Russians to stiffen their defenses before Moscow.

In our second photo, Stalin (left) emerged from seclusion looking more positive about the situation than he did at the end of Summer. . .our German player (Dave) studies the map and is beginning to ask himself why the invasion of Russia is not the swift campaign he originally thought. . .

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2015, 03:13:51 AM »
Autumn 1941 (cont)

In North Africa, Rommel advances to the Egyptian border.  A major naval engagement in the sea South of Crete led to the sinking of the Italian battleship group and several capitol ships of Cunningham's Eastern Med fleet damaged.  The British are worried about Italian paratroopers in Crete and are looking at Cyprus as a potential airborne invasion target.  The British, under Slim, eliminated the pro-German Vichy units in Syria and are mopping up the Iraqi insurrection further East.

In Western Europe, the occupation of France continues, with the increasing threat of the u-boat menace.  Several Italian submarines escaped the Med past Gibraltar earlier in the year and now the Axis have 8+ u-boat flotillas in the Bay of Biscay.  The British, who have under-invested in ASW assets up until now (but have been lucky with what they had) are now in full destroyer building mode in both England and Canada. . .

Mark

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2015, 04:33:32 AM »
Winter 1941

In the Pacific, an undetected Japanese fleet of 3 carrier groups is refueled by a replenishment ship and sails out from behind a storm front on its way to Pearl Harbor. . .

The Japanese attack was a turn that will live in infamy. . .They sank both US battleship groups and the destroyer group. . .leaving the US Pacific surface navy in shambles.

The surprise Japanese attack also managed to take Luzon and Leyte in the Philippines with light casualties, most of the Solomons, the Gilberts, established a foothold in the Dutch East Indies, as well as an invasion of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians.

In the second pic, our China-India-Burma theater player scrambles to stem the Japanese onslaught. . .

georgemak1

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Re: ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2015, 01:03:26 PM »
If I'm not mistaken Auntum 41 is when Day 2 started