[WarInEur] Amph and Baltic Queries

[Buckley, John D.]

I'm in the midst of a BWIE game and a couple of queries have emerged.

1. A 6-5 is amphibiously assaulted and has nowhere to retreat to, and thus is unable to fulfil the requirement to so as a result of combat. Is it completely destroyed i.e. does not form a 1-5?

2. The Axis North Sea coastal defence interdiction rule stretches to the southern ports of Norway but not Kristiansand or Oslo. In the game we are playing the Allies have reached Kristiansand and Oslo and opened them up for the RN. They can land troops without fear from the Axis coastal forces in those ports, but if they land in the High Seas ports in Southern Norway they are still subject to interdiction. Odd?

3. The Germans have pushed into the Soviet Union whilst the Soviets are at limited war. They have captured two starred cities and surrounded a couple more. They are closing in on Moscow and Leningrad. The Soviet player knew the rule and took the risk but is carping about realism. I'd be interested to see views on the historical underpinning of this rule. Two major cities will be captured, a couple completely surrounded, Leningrad isolated and German troops a few miles from Moscow, and the Soviet Union still not at total war. What's the rationale? It does raise the issue of whether there should a fixed gamey device of capturing three cities to trigger total war, or if there should be a more random sliding scale which would introduce an element of doubt into the German and Soviet players' planning.

John