Bomb Alley Strategy in 1940
By Doug McNair
March 2009

Geography and history combine to make Bomb Alley my personal favorite from our Second World War at Sea series. The “Battle in a Bathtub” nature of the conflict puts danger right on each player’s doorstep from the get-go, and gives each turn’s decisions added urgency for both players. Also, because the makeup and commitment of forces in the Mediterranean changed substantially over the war years, players can fight repeatedly for the same objectives but encounter entirely new strategic and tactical problems each time.

For these reasons, I begin herewith a series of articles analyzing Bomb Alley strategy in each of the war years covered by the game. The factors that drive Bomb Alley play in 1940 are as follows:

A CANt Z506 of 82nd Stormo prepares for action.

Air Power (The Lack Thereof)

Unlike in most SWWAS situations, players must use strengths other than airpower in order to defeat the enemy in the Med in 1940.

This is not due to any shortage of aircraft. The Italians have abundant aircraft, but they ... well ... suck. The Italian fighter wing consists mainly of the Cr. 42 biplane, which has a Range/Endurance of only 7/1 and an Air-to-Air strength of only 1. This makes it incapable of doing much but flying CAP over its own base (and doing a bad job of it, too).

As for the Italian bomber wing, the SM79-2 level bomber is the most populous, with a Range/Endurance of only 14/1. This means that even when flying out of Tobruk, it can’t bomb the main British airbase of Alexandria unless it cuts its bomb load in half for a long-range mission (see special game rule 24.31). So, it’s all but incapable of reducing British airbase capacity, and can’t do much but bomb Malta (where the British can only base 4 air steps anyway).

Even against naval targets its capabilities are laughable, because of the horrid but dogged Italian tactic of having all their level bombers attack from high altitude to avoid anti-aircraft fire. Even when such bombers attacked in massive waves, the British could see the bombs coming from so far off that they were able to turn their ships and dodge them with ease. This is expressed in the SWWAS rules by requiring all Italian level-bomber hits to be re-rolled, with only a 5 or 6 on the second die-roll scoring an actual hit.

This, plus the complete absence of Axis dive- or torpedo bombers from the Med in 1940, means that the only effective naval-strike aircraft the Italians have is the Z506 seaplane. This puts the Italians in a double bind. The Z506 is one of their few long-range reconnaissance aircraft, so putting them on strike duty reduces Italian search strength. Also, land-based aircraft in Bomb Alley cannot perform ASW patrol (see special game rule 21.3), leaving that job entirely to seaplanes. The heightened importance of submarines in Bomb Alley (see below) means both sides must devote as many seaplanes as possible to ASW hunter-killer duty. So, no matter where the Italians commit their Z506 squadrons, they’re leaving some bases uncovered.

As for the Allies, they have some fine aircraft in the Med in 1940, but will be lucky if they can ever use them. This is because of the French propensity for surrender. The Vichy armistice with the Germans in June 1940 puts all Allied airbases in France, Corsica and Tunisia out of action except in Scenario 1. This leaves the Allies with no airbases between Malta and Alexandria, and creates a huge hole in Allied air cover right in the middle of the Med. Italian bombers have nothing better to do than bomb Malta, so they will, as often as possible.

This means it’s pointless for the Brits to keep strike aircraft in Malta (they’ll get destroyed on the ground either before or after their first mission), and eventually the Brits won’t be able to operate search and ASW aircraft out of Malta either (due to airfield damage). And at other end of the Med, the British bombers and recon aircraft out of Alexandria have a range of only 12.

So, the Allies will eventually be blind from the air on the western map, except for whatever aircraft the Brits can fly off carriers. Their airstrike capability will be equally limited, and since the main Allied carrier-based torpedo bomber in 1940 is the venerable Swordfish, there’s not much potential in that department anyway.

Beware of Greeks bearing ... submarine Papanicoles, late 1940.

Submarines

In most SWWAS games, submarines fulfill their traditional role of interdicting merchant shipping and covering the approaches to ports. This is because subs are slow-moving and incapable of keeping up with most fleets.

But the geography of the Mediterranean gives submarines a starring role in Bomb Alley. This is because most ship traffic in the Med has to pass through chokepoints, mainly between Crete and Africa on the one hand and the Ionian sea on the other. A submarine flotilla has a reconnaissance and attack radius of two zones, so players can place flotillas in the middle of these chokepoints and be guaranteed frequent shots at enemy fleets for much of the game.

This is especially important to the British. Each sub in a flotilla makes contact with an enemy fleet within its radius on a 9 or better on two dice, and upon making contact the enemy has to give an accurate report of its composition (no rolling on a “Lying Table” as with air search). So, a couple of well-placed sub flotillas can make up for much of the British deficiencies in air search capability.

Lions of Venice. Cruisers Zara and Pola.

Battleships

The British took out much of the Italian battleship fleet in a nighttime air raid on Taranto in November 1940 (see Scenario 11, “Operation Judgement.”) The importance of this raid cannot be overstated, both from the historical perspective (Admiral Yamamoto studied it closely) and from that of the game.

In most scenarios prior to November 1940, the British have not committed enough capital ships to the Mediterranean to pose a challenge to the Italian fleet of five fast battleships plus substantial cruiser and destroyer support. This, plus their lack of serious air cover, makes all their troop and resupply convoys highly vulnerable to Italian surface and submarine attack.

Historically, the British were lucky enough to get the better of the Italians on most occasions during this period. However, a competent Italian player in Bomb Alley doesn’t have to work too hard to bring the British fleet to grief through superior firepower. The British need to deal with Italian superiority in the Med in 1940 through deception, using scout and decoy fleets to confuse the enemy as to where their main fleet assets are. This will force the Italian player to split his battlefleet into squadrons of just a few battleships plus support forces. This will at least give the British a chance in battle if they keep their main battlefleet unified.

Game Summary

The following summary of a recent game of Operational Scenario 9: “Soldiers for Malta,” illustrates the importance of these factors.

Allied Setup

The Allied objective in this scenario is to get two light cruisers loaded with troops from Alexandria to Malta, using speed instead of firepower as protection. This is all well and good, but the massive numerical superiority of the Italian Navy will let them blanket much of the intervening waters with scout fleets, which can contact the Allied transport fleets and attack them, or pursue and lead the Italian BBs to them. Also, the Italians can easily blockade Malta, so the British player needs to keep his troop carriers in small task forces that can attempt to run such a blockade at night.

So, the British decide to hide their ships in plain sight, creating four identical Task Forces composed of one light cruiser and one destroyer each. They plot the movement of these fleets on widely divergent courses. Task Force 1 will steam quickly North to the east coast of Rhodes, and then west through the Ionian Sea and on to Malta. Task Forces 2 and 3 will steam east (out of Italian air search range), then head west on a night dash through the middle of Bomb Alley south of Crete. Task Force 4 will head west immediately, hugging the north coast of Africa all the way and finally coming at Malta from the west.

Whenever the Axis player spots one of those task forces, he won’t know whether it carries troops, and will only be able to find out by engaging it. This plus the speed of the Allied task forces means he has to spread his forces thinly enough to catch them, but not so thinly that they can’t attack and sink the British CL/DD task forces when they contact them. That, plus the fact that the CLs involved can get from Alexandria to Malta in a minimum of 8 turns, means the Italians will have only a few chances to contact and sink their targets.

The remaining British escort forces of two battleships, one carrier and numerous destroyers are deployed in two separate Task Forces, so that they can screen the CL/DD task forces from the enemy and encounter the Italian BBs without involving the troop carriers. Finally, the British player places one submarine flotilla just a few zones southeast of Taranto (with orders to sink an Italian BB before it can get anywhere), and the other at the entrance to the straits between Greece and Crete.

Axis Setup

The Italians deploy the maximum amount of aircraft possible to Tobruk, hoping to spot and bomb the British as they go west. They put seaplanes in Benghazi for ASW and search duty, and the remainder of their air forces in the vicinity of Malta. Next, the Italians split their battleships into three Task Forces. TF1 is designated the forward intercept fleet, and is composed of the fastest and most powerful Italian BBs (Vittorio Veneto and Littorio) plus two heavy cruisers and five DDs. TF2 is the secondary line of defense (composed of the BBs Cavour and Giulio Cesare, plus CAs and DDs), with orders to keep station east of Malta and catch any British task forces that get past the advance forces. Both TF1 and TF2 outgun the two British BBs in the Allied escort forces, so the Italian player loses nothing by splitting his forces this way.

Then, the Italian player designates his slowest BB, Andrea Doria, to blockade Malta with some weaker DDs supporting. Finally, he splits his remaining ships into as many fleets as possible, with some containing a CL and two DDs (capable of engaging and sinking a CL/DD task force, and the rest containing individual DDs (for scouting purposes only).

Finally, the Italians place one submarine flotilla just west of Alexandria, another near the straits west of Crete, and another in the central Med to deal with troop carriers that slip by the forward Italian intercept fleets.

Italian submarine Argonauta and her brave crew.

Turn 1

All ships move out of port. Italian search planes from Tobruk spot British TF4 heading west along the African coast, plus the British Carrier force just behind it. They send a squadron of SM79-2 level bombers to hit the carrier. It is intercepted by a squadron of Fulmars flying CAP from the carrier, and they reduce the Italian squadron by one step. But then, the Italians roll boxcars on their defensive fire, and wipe out the Fulmars, leaving Illustrious denuded of all fighters! Then the remaining half-step attacks Illustrious, but is destroyed by AA fire before it can release its bombs.

A British submarine south of Taranto spots the Italian TF1 (the primary battle group) on a roll of 12. This allows it to attack whichever ship in the task force it wants, so after surviving Italian ASW, it attacks one of the battleships. It misses and dives, hoping nobody (including Admiralty) notices.

Then, an Italian submarine west of Alexandria spots one of the CL/DD British task forces with a roll of 11. This lets it attack anything but a BB, so it attacks the CL and misses. The remaining action for the turn is level bombers attacking enemy airbases (with minimal results).

Turn 2

The weather stays clear, but the Italians fail to maintain air search contact with any British fleet except the CL/DD task force heading west on the African coast. A British sub south of Taranto again makes contact with the main Italian battlefleet, and this time the sub skipper is far more careful in his attack, and torpedoes Vittorio Veneto! However, the torpedo involved seems far less motivated than the sub crew, and only does 1 Hull for damage. The sub skipper writes up a long complaint letter for Naval Ordnance ... Finally, a salvaged step of Fulmars flies out of Alexandria and lands on the deck of Illustrious, giving it back some CAP fighters.

Launch the Fulmar!

Turn 3

The weather changes to Cloudy, and the Italian planes from Tobruk still can’t find anything new. British ASW aircraft from Illustrious spot an Italian sub west of Alexandria but fail to kill it. Then Italian level bombers from Tobruk try to hit the British TF4 they’ve been tracking west, but they fail to locate it in the cloudy weather.

Turn 4

The weather stays cloudy, but the search planes from Tobruk re-establish contact with the British carrier group and maintain contact with TF4. Two Italian scout fleets which have been heading south from Messina move to within one zone of TF4, which is now on the north coast of Lybia between Tobruk and Benghazi. The rest of the Italian fleets move to block the straits between Africa, Crete and Greece, with the main Italian battle group positioning itself between Crete and Greece. Most British fleets are still far to the east, waiting for night to fall, but a British sub in the straits spots the main Italian battlefleet. It is unable to attack, however.

Turn 5

Night falls, and the weather is still cloudy. All British CL/DD task forces steam west at maximum speed. TF1 in the Ionian steams for the western straits, while the main Italian battlegroup steams eastward to Suda Bay, placing itself two zones in front of TF1 and directly in its path. Then TF4 steams SW past Benghazi, where an Italian fleet crosses its path but is unable to make contact in the darkness.

Then an Italian sub spots the main British battle group almost exactly between Crete and Tobruk. It takes aim and fires, sinking the British DD76 Hyperion. A British sub in the straits west of Crete tries to return the favor, but misses.

Turn 6

The weather clears, but it’s still nighttime. TF1 shoots NW two zones and then SW one zone. The main Italian battlefleet, not wanting to let TF1 get by and outrun it, guesses wrong and moves SW one zone. It’s now just south of where TF1 ended up. However, an Italian scout fleet moves eastward into the straits as TF1 is moving west, and the two cross paths. TF1 gets a surprise sighting the scout fleet, and the Australian CL03 Sydney and British DD72 Hero sink the lone Italian DD02 Da Noli before it can do any damage.

Then the main British battlefleet moves NW to try and intercept the Italian battlefleet before it can contact the CL/DD task force. The two battlefleets end up one zone away from each other. Then two Italian subs spot the British battlefleet but their torpedoes miss. A British sub also spots the Italian battlefleet, so know both fleets know it will likely be a lively morning.

Turn 7

The weather remains clear, and the Italians put up maximum search aircraft to try to spot the oncoming British CL/DD task forces. They leave only some bombers in Tobruk and the seaplanes in Benghazi in the Ready boxes for naval strikes on such fleets if found. Italian air search loses contact with the British carrier group. The Italian scout fleets fail to maintain contact with the British TF4 heading west along the African coast. An Italian scout fleet crosses paths with the British TF1 to the north but fails to contact it. Meanwhile, another scout fleet crosses paths with the British battlefleet, and is contacted and sunk.

British sea power. Valiant before losing movement.

Then, the two battlefleets finally meet, in zone AU25, two zones SW of Crete. The captain of BB03 Valiant sounds general quarters and sends his steward down for a cup of tea, unaware that Valiant is in the crosshairs of an Italian submarine skipper. He thanks the steward, takes a sip, and keeps a stiff upper lip when the tea spills all over him. Italian torpedoes slam into Valiant, doing 5 Hull and slowing it to a Speed of 1, just as the Italian BBs Vittorio Veneto and Littorio are steaming down on him. He is now in no position to make a run for it if things continue to go badly (“Jenkins?” “Sir!” “Would you bring up my brown corduroy trousers, please. ...”)

Surface Combat

Impulse 1: Both sides set up their fleets with the BBs one hex behind their escort ships. The Allies get the initiative.

Impulses 2-5: Both sides’ escort ships move directly for the enemy BBs, hoping to make torpedo runs. The Italian BBs close on the British. However, being placed suddenly in a desperate situation seems to do wonders for the gunnery crews aboard Valiant and BB02 Warspite. They score 6 hits on Vittorio Veneto and 4 hits on Littorio. Littorio loses 1 speed, so now both sides are equally challenged. The escorts close range, and the Italian cruisers sink the British DD114 Janus.

Impulses 6-9: The British battleships stay together and move out of range of the slowed Littorio, giving them a gunnery advantage over Vittorio Veneto. They score 8 hits on Vittorio Veneto, slowing her to Speed 1 (and there was much rejoicing!).

Impulses 10-13: Ships continue to move and fire, and Vittorio Veneto seems to have learned something from the British, because she hits Valiant five times. This hurts, but would not be crippling except for that confounded Italian sub! Valiant has now taken more than half its hull boxes in damage, so it loses another speed factor and is now dead in the water. DIW ships can’t fire, so Warspite is alone against the two Italian BBs. The Italian escort ships are closing for a torpedo run on the British BBs, so the British destroyers change course and make a torpedo run on them instead of the Italian BBs. The torpedoes miss, and the Italian escorts fire and sink the Australian DD01 Stuart.

Impulses 14-17: The Italian CAs and DDs close on the British BBs, sinking the British DD69 Hasty and DD70 Havock on the way.

Impulses 18-22: The captain of Valiant waves Warspite away, and Warspite takes off to avoid being torpedoed. She fires at the Italian escorts, but to no avail. The Italian cruisers hold their torpedoes in readiness for Warspite, while the Italian destroyers fire their torpedoes at Valiant and sink her. Littorio and Vittorio Veneto then fire at Warspite and hit her four times, causing it to lose 1 speed. Warspite sees her doom coming, and makes a roll to disengage at the end of the round, but fails.

In culo alla balena! Destroyer Sella looses a torpedo.

Round 2, Impulses 1-9: The Italian cruisers close in on Warspite, which fires at them and knocks out the cruiser Trento’s torpedo mount! The remaining Italian cruiser fires its torpedoes and misses, but the Italian battleships fire and sink Warspite. The battle is over, with the main British battlefleet completely destroyed.

At this point, the Italians have racked up so many victory points that there’s almost no way for the British to win. For honor alone, Illustrious launches her Swordfish against the Italian battlefleet, but they miss. The British troop ships may still make it to Malta, but that won’t give them enough VPs to win the game.

The Italians win!

This piece originally appeared in January 2006.