With the overthrow of Mussolini on the 24^th of July and his replacement as head of government by Marshal Ugo Cavallero in place, secret talks were started with the Allies for an armistice for Italy. Hitler was ignorant of this, but was naturally suspicious. He started to send reinforcements into northern Italy to safeguard German communications.

Field -Marshal Albert Kesselring, the German supreme commander in the south reckoned that the Allied conquest of Sicily would soon be followed by a landing in Italy, just south of Naples. On September 3^rd BAYTOWN was launched and the British Eighth Army made a landing on the toe of Italy, at Reggio di Calabria. This was a diversionary attack designed to draw German reinforcements down from the Salerno area which Kesselring had correctly suspected the main invasion would be.

Aircraft

Allied:

B17G (if used a min of 10 formations or 30 aircraft)

B24J (if used a min of 10 formations or 30 aircraft)

A20G
B-25C
P47D-11
P38G
Spit V
Spit IX
P-40E
P-39Q

Allies have 10 aircraft types and must use at least 8 of the 10 types listed.

One of the 8 aircraft must be the B-24 or the B-17

 

Active Fields:

A152

A155
A157
A162
A163
A172  

 

Axis:

Ju-88

Ju-87

110G2
109G2
109G6
190A5 (limited to 40)
C202
C205 (limited to 40)

Axis have 8 aircraft types listed and must use at least 5 of the 8 listed.

 

Active Fields:

A115

A130

A132

A137

A140

A143

 

Special Rules:

None

 

Scoring:

Single engine fighters 5 points

Twin engine fighter bombers 10 points
Twin engine bombers 15 points
Heavy bomber 20 points
Hangers 20 points each
Escorting Destroyers 60 points each
Town buildings 1 point each

 

Arena Settings:

-Fuel Burn 1.0

-Icons friendly/enemy 3k

-Ack .4
-Fighter and Bomber warning range 52,800 (10 miles)
-Tower range set to 52,800 (for display to match the above setting)
-Visibility full 17 miles
-Radar on (tower only)
-Enemy collisions on
-Friendly collisions off
-Killshooter off
-Time 1100 (11 AM) Game clock
-Bomber calibration manual
-Winds none

 

Designer's Notes:

This new terrain has convoy ships, but due to a bug they will not be targets. Only the destroyer escorts will be targets in the convoys. I will again make use of the 'tower only' option for radar. Downed pilots may vector friendly aircraft toward or away from combat as desired.

 

 

 

Adventure in the Dodecenes
Operation Accolade (1943)

PLAYBILITY NOTES
Several non-historical adaptations have been made to this campaign to make it playable for 400+ players. 

1) Obviously the both sides had more planes involved in the battle than were historical available and involved in the battle for Dodecanese campaign in 1943.

2) British air assets were based out of Cyprus and later Kos. British Carriers were not involved in the scaled campaign of just invading the Dodecanese instead of the Dodecanese and Crete. British CVs have been added to the event to allow for flexibility and increase the theater of operations.

3) We do not have the appropriate British Carrier dive bomber so the SBD will be subbing for it. 

4) Historically the Italian air assets in the Dodecenes and Greek theater were SM.79s, Cant.Z1007s, CR.42, and M.200s. For playability sake the Italians will be given M.202s, M.205s, and Ju87s; all of which they operated at the time of their capitulation but in a different theater.

5) The theater of operations has been widen to the original goals of Accolade, which were Crete, the Greek Islands, and the Dodecenes islands. 

6) The B26 and Mossie have been added to the British side. The British did not have bombers involved historically in this campaign except 3 days in October and 2 days in November. Beaufighters were used so the Mossie should be a decent replacement. 

7) I have given the Germans 110G2 for balance purposes. 

8) Historically P38s were involved in the campaign but only to cover the British withdrawal from the Dodecenes. So they will be available in frame 3

DESCRIPTION
With the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa in spring 1943, Winston Churchill advocated that the Allies should strike German forces in the Aegean next. He envisaged an operation to capture the Dodecanese and Crete which would not only deprive the Axis of excellent forward bases in the Mediterranean, but also apply pressure on neutral Turkey to join the war. In addition, this would also provide a supply route through the Dardanelles to Russia as an alternative to the current Arctic Convoys and route through Iran in use. At the Casablanca Conference, the initial go-ahead was given, and Churchill ordered his commanders to lay out relevant plans on 27 January 1943.

The plans, codenamed "Operation Accolade," called for a direct attack on Rhodes and Karpathos, with three infantry divisions, an armored brigade, and relevant support units. Landings at Crete were dropped because it was too well fortified and had a strong German garrison. The main problem faced by the planners was the difficulty of countering the X Fliegerkorps of the Luftwaffe because of a lack of air cover, since the allied aircraft were based in Cyprus and the Middle East. Demands for aircraft, supplies, ships, and troops for the upcoming invasion of Sicily further exacerbated operational planning for Accolade. The United States was also skeptical about the operation, which they regarded as aiming mostly at post-war political benefits for Britain, and an unnecessary diversion from the main front in Italy. Ultimately, the U.S. refused to support Operation Accolade and warned the British that they would have to go on alone.

As an Italian surrender became increasingly possible, in August 1943 the British started preparations to take quickly advantage of a possible Italian-German split, in the form of a scaled-down "Accolade". A force based on 8th Indian Division started being assembled, and America assistance in the form of P-38 Lightning long-range fighter squadrons was requested. As a result of the Quebec Conference however, and the American refusal to assist the British plans and the forces and ships earmarked for "Accolade" were diverted to other fronts, barely a week before the surrender of Italy on 8 September.

On the announcement of the Armistice, the Italian garrisons on most of the Dodecanese Islands either wanted to change sides and fight with the Allies or just return to their homes. However, in anticipation of the Italian surrender, German forces, based largely in mainland Greece, already had plans in placed to counter this and rushed to block the British from taking control of the islands as they launched operation Accolade.



PLANESET FOR THE FSO

BRITISH (Allied)
B-26B
Mosquito MK VI
P-38G (limited and only in Frame 3)
Spitfire V
Spitfire IX
Seafire II
SBD

ITALIAN (Allied)
C.202
C.205
Ju87D-3

GERMAN (Axis)
Bf 109G-2
Bf 109G-6
Bf 110G-2
Ju87D-3
Ju 88A-4

 
COUNTRY PERCENTAGES
The sides will be divided into roughly 49% Allies and 51% Axis, do to the Axis historically turning out slightly less than the allies in events.

 
SCORING

AIRCRAFT
05 pts - Single Engine AC with 1 crew
10 pts - Single or double engine AC with 2 crew
15 pts - Double Engine AC with 3+ crew

BASES
288 - Small Airfield
396 - Medium Airfield
572 - Large Airfield
219 - Vehicle Base

SHIPS
CV - 120 points
CA - 60 points
DD - 30 points

NOTE: When a base is attacked the attacker gets the points for objects destroyed at the base while the defender gets the points for all objects not destroyed at the base. 

 
ARENA SETTINGS
- Greece
- Fuel 1.00
- Icons --> Friendly and Enemy 3K at all altitudes
- .5 Ack 
- Radar: none
- Fighter and Bomber warning range 26,000 (about 5 miles) 
- Tower range set to 26,000 (for display only to match the above setting) 
- Clouds / visibility 
  Frame 1, 11 miles
  Frame 2, 7 miles
  Frame 3, 8 miles
- Radar off 
- Friendly collisions off 
- Enemy collisions on
- Kill shooter off 
- Calm winds 
- Time: 11 AM
 
 
SPECIAL RULES
 
NOTE: special rules sent out with the objectives trump these special rules.

1. Nobody gets a second life. 

2. Bomber formations are enabled for B26s and JU88s.

4. Partial damage is awarded for CV damage. If the a CV suffers 2000 lbs of damage  40 points are awarded. If a CV suffers 4000 lbs of damage another 40 points are awarded for a total of 80. If the CV is sunk the full amount of 120 points is awarded (the last 40 points is added to the previous 80).
 
5. A minimum and maximum number will be assigned to each aircraft type. The CiC of each side must deploy the designated minimum per aircraft type and can not more than the maximum per aircraft type. Outside of that the CiCs can deploy the aircraft types anyway the want (i.e. can have squads fly 2 aircraft types and in split they wish as long as squads are assigned same objective). 

6. If both CiCs agree they may have the setup CM end the frame early. This is usually done if one side wipes out the other side (i.e. 60 versus 5). 

7. Dead pilots may gun bombers. They may not man the guns of airfields or ships. 

8. Ships can maneuver by the their side during the frame as long as they stay in their containment area. Ships must stay in containment area defined in the objective orders. If they go outside of the containment area a penalty will be assessed. 

9. All targets must be attacked within the first hour of the event. Both CiCs should include sending their battle plans to me so that I have proof that they planned to attack their targets by T+60. 

10. All attack targets assigned must be attacked by a credible force. I define a credible force to be at the very least 2 x 4-6 squads (so 8-12 planes) or 1 7x10 squad. Obviously CiCs can deploy a larger force per target as their plan dictates but no defending or attacking with just 1 x 4-6 squad. 

11. All defense targets must be defended by a credible force. I define a credible force to be at the very least I define a credible force to be at the very least 2 x 4-6 squads (so 8-12 planes) or 1 7x10 squad.Obviously CiCs can deploy a larger force per target as their plan dictates but no defending or attacking with just 1 x 4-6 squad. 

12. Bombing calibration will be MA norm.

By the time Allied forces landed in Sicily on July 10th and 11th, 1943 the air war over the island itself had raged on for over 2 months. The battle for the skies over the Italian island began almost immediately after the destruction of Afrika Korps in Tunisia. The surrender of German and Italian forces on May 12th resulted in 130,000 Germans and 120,000 Italians captured along with German General Von Arnim and 25 other Axis generals.

The following month on June 11th, the fortress island of Pantelleria was captured and a new base of operations for Allied fighters and bombers was established outside of Malta. Now, the 19 Axis airfields in Sicily were under attack by a full assortment of Allied aircraft and the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica were forced off the island. The Allies had won the sky and now were in position to land their forces on the island. 

Notable squadrons during the battle for Sicily were the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, America’s first all black fighter squadrons. The Tuskegee Airmen would be awarded their first Distinguished Unit Citations for their actions over Sicily from May to June. Jagdgeschwader 77, commanded by Johannes “Macki” Steinhoff was the main Luftwaffe fighter group taking on the Allied onslaught. Despite insurmountable odds, JG 77, IV./JG 3, and JG 53 still managed to put up a valiant defense.

The fight for the island of Sicily would last until August 17th when the last Axis units evacuated onto the Italian peninsula. The invasion of Italy would begin a few short weeks later on September 3rd. This FSO recreates the fight for Sicily after the launch of Operation Husky.