Understament of the day…
Turn 4 Begins-October, 1936
A) MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE PHASE (MAP)
(Nationalist, then Republican in all segments)
I. Event Chit Segment (6.0)
a) Draw chit
b) Add new chits (if appropriate)
II. General Mobilization Segment (Republican only, 7.10)
III. Resource Point and Reinforcement Segment
a) Withdrawals & Conversions
b) Receive RPs and Rebuild Units
c) Reinforcement Entry
IV. Strategic Movement Segment (11.0)
a) Sea Movement (11.5) & Paradrops (PB 17.5.5.12)
b) Rail movement
V. HQ and Reserve Formation Segment (12.1)
a) Flip all in-supply HQs to available side
We’ll go through the end of Nationalist III Segment. The Communists will go then,. Segment II, General Mobilization, cannot occur unless Republican Morale is 20 or less, which it is not. It is over 35.
So:
I. Event Chit Segment (6.0)
a) Draw chit
b) Add new chits (if appropriate)
Both sides draw, and both sides keep quiet…
Now for Nationalist:
III. Resource Point and Reinforcement Segment
a) Withdrawals & Conversions
b) Receive RPs and Rebuild Units
c) Reinforcement Entry
There are no withdrawals or conversions.
Replacements: The Nationalists receive 1 Resource Point giving them a total of 1. This is used to rebuild the Plasencia Column in 1610.
Reinforcements: So many…
In or adjacent to Sevilla: Sevilla can stack 5 more units, then I must place in supplied hexes within 2 of Sevilla. So 3 standard Infantry Columns, the Buiza, Redondo, and Arizón, are placed there, Then the colonial 2 Tercio of La Legion and Tella Columns are placed there. That leaves the colonial Asensio, Barrón, and Delgado Serrano Columns, which are all placed in 1609.
Granada: Is out of supply, but the Baturone Column can be placed in 1610, 2 hexes away, which is in supply and under control.
Finally,the colonial Alonso and Mehala Columns are placed in Cadiz and 1207, respectively.
As well, the Italians provide volunteer Bombers and Pilots, which are added to the Air Unit Pool.
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81s are ready to provide support!
Here is the Map at the end of Nationalist Resource Point and Reinforcement Segment. I now hand over to the Prime Minister or whoever he is leading the criminal radicals determined on Spain’s damnation
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This Reinforcement turn is interesting because we see the first conversions and withdrawls. It’s a preview on the sweeping change on the nature of the rules we are about to see.
thse column in Soria converts to an organized Brigade, that exert movement ZoC and does not duffer the usual penalties:
The column in Talavera withdraws. I am allowed to replace it with one of my regular reinforcements entering this turn. Because it’s in a city, I could place reinforcements there anyway, but this will become important when withdrawing units in the field without leaving holes in the line:
I get no northenr RPs but I get 2 regular RPs this turn. This is great, because I lost no northern units, so I had no use for them anyway.
Finally 6 full force units (one step, but ZoC capable and without penalties ) can be deployed anywhere. They are used to reinforce the south just in time.
The delay strategy did its work.
NATIONALIST SURRENDER
The inevitable loss of the Provincial capitals in Galicia (NW Spain) this turn make a Republican Sudden Death Victory inevitable. As this was both my and Juan’s first time playing this game, and given the very finite play required for the Nationalist Player in this game, we have decided to begin again. A new thread has been started right here
The war was much shorter than expected, and by Christmas day 1936 the final disarmament took place.
There will be purges, and of course many officials will face the wall. There’s no way the government goes for a compromise, and certainly the sacrifice and resilience of the Anarchist columns in the war makes really likely in the coming years Spain will pivot hard left, although the absence of Russian intervention will likely mean an Stalinist regime can be avoided.
So come 1940-1 Spain will be radicalized against the German regime and have a military with some experience and built up. Will probably mean nothing against the German war machine long term, but at the very least it seems like Barbarossa will be delayed…
As for the game, I have not made my mind about it yet.
Certainly it can swing hard against the Nationalists on the very first few turns if a mistake or a couple bad rolls happen at critical battles. It seems to expect very, very experienced players to reach full potential.
The next game will help equate it better.
I did have a lot of fun with it so far, so there is that.
I agree 100% with Juan. On both the “very experienced at full potential” part AND the fun part. And that the next game will sum the evaluation for me as well.
Again, the new thread can be found right here.
My main question is whether the balanced relies on the Nationalists losing early or if a long term game is viable for the Republicans (Assuming use of ALL optional rules).
We’ll see. The Nationalists still have to do a LOT, even in a long game.
Just to elaborate on the “very experienced players part”. The systems seems to demand use and abuse of the ruleset to the extreme. The many circumstances when supply is as isn’t checked, for example, is a lot of rule detail that allows and forbids certain strategies that are not obvious on just a cursory, casual or inexperienced play.
There are also some errata/revisions that add special cases to already tricky rules. Probably done for balance reasons.
I got @Navaronegun out of step on supply in the very first turn, but then he used the strategic move constraints skillfully to give back supply to hexes I thought were written off.
The severity and rule detail of that system means it’s easy to do a fatal (game ending) mistake without realizing it. Thankfully the mistake is aparent early on and it’s not the situation when on turn 10 you realize you can’t win because of a turn one mistake.