Sept/Oct 1939: Germany declares war on Poland and
destroys everything, including all the aircraft, for the loss of a
single INF unit. Third impulse Germany takes Denmark as well. The
weather does turn sour mid-turn, slowing a German redeployment to
the west, however. Italy takes an opening and declares war on the CW
and France in impulse in order to surprise Malta, seizing it without
loss. The CW and French navies sortie, but fail to catch the Italian
fleet. They do manage to sink one CNV and the CA Fiume as well as
damage the fast Italian TRS. The Italian subs strike back, sinking 1
French and 4 CW convoys, lowering the CW build first turn. Overall,
the Italians feel pretty good about the exchange and now have their
main fleet based at the strategic island. Britain moves to defend
Gibraltar, reinforces Egypt, and port strikes the Germans, claiming
2 CNV points. Russia redeploys Zhukov and other units from Siberia
to the Persian border and rumors abound of another secret pact
involving the Soviets, who also revealed a pact with Germany,
seizing eastern Poland. In the Pacific, Japan loses a resource point
in the north to the Communists, but retakes the hex, killing the
Lanchow militia. At the end of the turn, Japan and the Soviet Union
announce a pact. Here is the official pact:
Pact of Neutrality between the Greater Japanese Empire and the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Greater Japanese
Empire (hereafter “Japan”) and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (hereafter “the USSR”), agree to the following provisions
(hereafter “the Pact”):
1.
A neutrality pact, effective immediately, to be maintained by the
“Chit System;”
2.
Upon the USSR coming to war with the Imperial State of Iran
(hereafter “Persia”), the USSR will begin shipping one oil per turn
to Japan, with the following conditions, the failure to meet any of
which will result in the immediate dissolution of the Pact:
a.
Japan will be responsible for providing the convoys necessary to
fulfill oil shipments,
b.
Persia will be aligned to Japan’s Sphere of Influence,
c.
Japan will not send any peacekeeping forces to Persia to prevent its
conquest by the USSR, and
d.
Japan will not send any peacekeeping forces to any minor country
attacked by the USSR in order to prevent the minor country’s
conquest; and
3.
The USSR may join any previously existing embargo of Japanese trade,
thereby cutting off oil shipments to Japan, without breaking Clause
1 of the Pact.
Done in Vladivostok
on October 30, 1939.
Nov/Dec 1939: The Axis win initiative but the weather turns foul
and remains so for most of the turn. The Germans slowly push west,
building up on the Dutch and Belgian borders. The Italians struggle
to send troops to Libya and lose a TRS and 1 CNV to naval battles. A
German naval sortie fails to locate any convoys and the British
start to repair and improve their convoy lines. China is mostly
quiet, but there is a fair bit of movement of Japanese corps. The
turns ends without much fanfare. The US interns the Bearn despite
protests from the French and an aircraft licensing deal is struck
allowing the Chinese to manufacture their own aircraft.
Jan/Feb 1940: The Allies win initiative and elect to move first.
The British reinforce Gibraltar and Egypt and land another corps in
northern France. The French are oddly set back from the border, but
start to rush forward as the Germans attack the Netherlands. Holland
falls without loss to the Germans. At the end of the turn despite
the bad weather, the Germans surprise the Allies, attacking Belgium.
The attacks come off without a hitch, gutting the Belgians. The
Allies now fear a dreaded double-impulse if the Axis win initiative
in March, since the French line looks unprepared. The Brits managed
to damage and scatter the Italian Red Sea flotilla, securing the
flank of Egypt. In the Pacific, the Japanese finally launch an
offensive in southern China, but both attacks fail with minor losses
on both sides. The US passes a trade bill allowing resources to
support the Chinese fight against the Japanese, and an oil deal with
the Burma fields seems imminent.
Mar/Apr 1940: The Axis win initiative and the dreaded 'double
impulse.' Germany uses the advantage to advance through Belgium
unopposed and hit the French line, punching a hole. The weather is
muddy, however, and the advance is slow. Germany also assaults
Lille, and takes the city with heavy casualties, losing an INF and a
PARA in the battle. The Allies steadily retreat in France, just
managing to hold the line. By turn's end the German line has
advance several hexes into France. Italy advances in Egypt, although
they lose two nice TAC to British FTRs in the area. The British lose
another CVP and pilot, but manage to reinforce Egypt with more
corps. The fast Libyan territorial takes Tunis unopposed while the
AOI territorial slowly pushed into A-E Sudan. In the Pacific Japan
resets and attacks a coastal hex next to Canton again. This time
they take the hex, but take two casualties in the process. The line
in northern China bends back, although no combat occurs as the
Chinese rationalize their line. The Soviets build up appreciably on
the Persian border. Persian appeals for international help go
unheeded, especially in light of the news of the Japanese-Soviet
Pact. The Soviets claim the Baltic States and the US seems
uninterested. At the end of the turn the US occupies Iceland and
Greenland, declaring them hostility free zones.
May/Jun 1940: The weather clears and the Allies win initiative, but
they seem uninterested in seriously resisting the German advance.
Instead, the British again reinforce Egypt, hoping to stop the
Italian advance. The Germans slowly chew through the French lines,
failing only in a single attack on the French armor east of Paris.
By the end of the turn the Germans have two hexes of Paris and have
broken the entire Maginot line. The end seems near. The Italians and
Commonwealth continue to wrangle in Egypt and over the control of
the Eastern Med. The British end the turn cutting the Italians in
Africa out of supply, but they lose the BB Ramillies and two CAs in
the process to no Italian losses. The front is stuck just outside of
Alexandria on the ground. Italy conquers A-E Sudan. The Soviets
declare war on Persia, easily conquering the nation in three
impulses and then start moving units west. In China the Japanese are
slowly advancing, but mostly not by attacks. The Chinese line is
solid in the north, but the Nationalist line is thin at points. The
US takes no actions. The turn goes quite long, helping the Axis
cause in France.
July/August 1940: The Allies win initiative and win again after the
Axis demand a re-roll. The weather is of course brilliantly clear
and the Germans continue to grind away at the French, this time
swinging south to destroy more of the French army. By impulse 6 the
Germans have four hexes around Paris. In impulse 8 the final assault
comes and the Wehrmacht overwhelms the defenders. Paris falls. There
is some cost as the valiant French air force shoots down the best
German TAC in the previous battle. In the Med the Italians pick off
another CW cruiser, but their attempt to supply Egypt goes awry.
Despite heavy air superiority, the British carriers shoot down an
Italian NAV and abort two other planes to solidly wrest control of
the area again. The Italians have the CA Pola damaged and a lone
German Me-110 guards the supplies to the Axis forces that still sit
outside of Alexandria. In China the Japanese break the line,
splitting the Communists in the north from the Nationalists in the
south just west of Wuhan. Panic ensues but the Chinese manage to
repair the line before the Japanese can advance on Chungking.
A late turn naval battle in the Western Med results in the loss of
the CA Pola for the Italians, but the Italians sink the CA
Southampton elsewhere in retaliation.
At the end of the turn the US elects to escort in the East Coast.
Germany installs a Vichy government. Morocco and Algeria, French
West Africa, Indo-china, the Asian map territories, and the 'others'
go Vichy. Syria, Madagascar, the Pacific territories, and Equatorial
Africa go free. The new Free French government relocates to Middle
Congo.
Sept/Oct 1940: The Japanese align Siam and reposition in China. Not
much otherwise happens as the weather is poor the entire turn. In
Europe Germany seeks to beat the Soviets to the punch and declares
war on Yugoslavia, activating the Rumanians to join them. The
weather is poor, however, and not much actually happens. The Axis
have to rely on the Italians to get a corps into Yugoslavia to avoid
a lapse of war. The Germans try to raid British convoys, but they
find nothing until the next impulse when a CW hunting fleet runs
into them. The CW loses two cruisers, but the Germans lose the CAs
Admiral Hipper, Graff Spee, and the Deutschland. The German navy
limps home to lick its wounds.
Nov/Dec 1940: Germany starts the turn by activating Hungary,
allowing them to continue to press into Yugoslavia. They take Zagreb
without loss. The Wehrmacht spreads out across France, but
significant forces stream east to the Soviet border. Italy gets
bucky, sinking the CA Exeter and then invading the out of supply
Cyprus. The British retaliate in the Western Med, sinking the
Abruzzi and damaging two other cruisers. BW bombing starts, taking 1
BP from Dusseldorf.
The Japanese resume their perfidious ways. Mid-turn they catch the
Chinese by surprise, occupying Indo-china (but offending the US
while doing so) and sending troops to Hanoi, who promptly march
north around the end of the Chinese line. Kunming and the 3 stored
oil there fall to the Japanese. The Japanese army, heady with
victory, runs amok causing an international incident (failed the US
entry city roll). The turn is surprisingly mild with good weather
for the first impulses. The turn runs fairly long (10 total
impulses, 5 each side) before ending with a whimper.
Jan/Feb 1941: Turn starts with the Allies winning initiative, but
forcing the Axis to move first. The starting weather is horrible,
but the Germans take advantage of the weather to raid CW convoys.
Between the Germans and Italians, 7 cps are lost, resulting in 4
lost production points for the CW at the end of the turn. The
weather clearly somewhat and the Germans use the break to conquer
Yugoslavia and activate Bulgaria as a minor ally. The turns on the
Axis impulse, shifting the initiative marker and rewarding the
Allied ploy. Germans units continue to stream eastwards toward the
Soviet border. The Japanese have a quiet turn, shifting units and
stretching the Chinese line, but some movement of units to rear
echelon areas also takes place. The newly conquered Yugoslavs rise
up in rebellion, with partisans taking to the mountains in southeast
Yugoslavia. There is a rumor of a charismatic leader among them
named Tito.
Mar/Apr 1941: Stinging from the convoy losses, the Allies win and
take initiative. The Germans kill the Yugoslav partisan (without
loss) and continue to push east with more troops. The West Wall
looks slightly denuded. The Brits bomb occupied France, taking 2 BPs
from Germany. The German economy is still the largest in the world,
however, despite the bombing. The Italians catch the Brits by
surprise in the Western Mediterranean, but superior British armor
plating limits the British losses to a single sub sunk and several
ships damaged. The Italians lose a CNV and the BB C. DiCavour. At
the end of this relatively short turn, the US Congress authorizes
the relocation of the Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor.
May/Jun 1941: Allies win initiative and the weather is clear. On the
Axis impulse everyone breathes deeply - but the no declaration of
war is made. Instead, the Germans waits until their second impulse
and then declare war on the Soviet Union, pulling Finland
into the war as well. Both actions irritate the US, and populr
opinion builds against the Axis. The Germans use a chit on a
super-combined for the air and naval moves. The Commonwealth loses 4
CNV, a cruiser, and has two cruisers damaged in the combats. The
Germans initially do well, clearing Poland and pushing into the
Baltics. The next impulse, however, sees the weather turn muddy,
slowing the Germans down and saving the Odessa pocket in the south.
Two Russian factories (Odessa and Kiev) are dismantled and sent to
Siberia. The Italians contribute to the convoy attacks and seek more
battle in the Med. The BB Guilio Cesar is damaged. Italy conquers
Kenya in Africa and the Germans liberate Latvia and Lithuania. Italy
finally manages to put the Brits out of supply and attacks
Alexandria at +8, killing the ENG div but not taking the city. The
turn goes long but the Germans bog down outside of Kiev and Odessa
in the south, and push up near Pskov and Minsk in the north. The
Japanese reposition their fleet, moving it to Truk. Japanese troops
are mysteriously appearing all over the Pacific and they are
withdrawing from some parts of China.
July/Aug 1941: The turn is short - only 8 total impulses - much to
the chagrin of the Germans (but the Japanese seem oddly happy about
it). The Germans make progress against the Soviets, taking Kiev and
encircling Odessa in the south. In the north the attack remains
slow. They take Minsk with a daring blitz attack, but the Soviets
counterattack and reclaim the city right before the turn ends. Three
more Russian factories (Dnepropnevsk, Kursk, and Vitebsk) head to
Siberia. The Soviets also reveal major fortifications between
Leningrad and Novogorod, planning for a defense in depth. Soviet
subs surprise German ore convoys from Sweden, sinking two of them,
but the Germans repair the line before the end of the turn. In the
Med Italy assaults Alexandria again, this time taking the city
(without loss). The Commonwealth line is now thin in Egypt. There
are more small naval skirmishes, and the Italians lose the CA E. Di
Savoia with the Duc d'Aosta damaged. Japan continues to arrange its
forces in a provocative manner. The US is sufficiently alarmed that
they gear up at the end of the turn.
Sept/Oct 1941: Axis win initiative and elect to go first. The
Italians invade and take Port Said, closing the canal and further
weakening the British position in Egypt. But the Brits are not done
yet and send in Indian reinforcements to stabilize the area. Germany
continues a slow advance into Russia, taking Kiev and breaching the
river line but not pushing far beyond. More troops are sent to deal
with the British incursion into Denmark. Despite many attempts, the
Allies and Russia fail to find the Germany convoys in the Baltic.
Italy take Uganda in Africa (world yawns) and sink the CW CA
Liverpool. In China the Japanese try to rationalize their line and
assault Nanning, but fail on the dreaded '14' (3/1 losses). CW
strategic bombing is still weak, but they manage to deprive the
Germans of a resource point in the Netherlands. At the end of the
turn the US imposes an oil embargo on Japan, which also triggers the
cessation of oil from the Soviet Union to Japan as well. The
Japanese are incensed and much saber rattling commences.
Nov/Dec 1941: The Allies win initiative even after a reroll demanded
by the Axis. The Chinese move to stabilize their line, which is
easier since the Japanese seem to be pulling back to shorten their
own lines. Germany manages to take Tallinn in the north and finally
completely encircles Odessa in the south. On the first impulse the
Japanese navy sends a powerful task force which circles around off
the coast of the Hawaiian islands. In response the US sends out its
CVs in Pearl. Next Axis impulse the Japanese strike, declaring war
on the US, CW, and NEI. The port strike on Pearl is a lesson in
American good fortune, as he improbably manages to survive all but
one of the kill/damage rolls. BB North Carolina is sunk, with the
BBs Idaho and New Mexico damaged. The CAs Northampton, Chicago, and
New Orleans are also damaged - but the over all damage is light. The
Japanese fare much better in the rest of the Pacific, however,
taking Rabaul, Midway, Wake, and Guam in the Central Pacific.
Japanese forces take Hong Kong and Malaya as well. Troops land on
the oil resources in the NEI except Palembang, where they land near.
The Japanese also surprise the Brits, conquering Ceylon and taking
the strategic port in the Seychelles. Commonwealth communication
lines to Egypt now look threatened. Germany mid-turn drops its
second chit to take out Odessa, which it does without loss despite
the snowy weather. The turn ends with the Germans repositioning in
southern Russia and advancing towards Pskov in the north, but
progress in the poor weather is slow. The US try to attack Japanese
convoys with a large sub force, but no convoys are found.
Jan/Feb 1942: The Axis win initiative and the Allies do not demand a
re-roll. The weather is predictable muddy and snowy the entire turn,
with no extremes. The Japanese play conservatively in the eastern
Pacific, keeping a huge reaction fleet in Truk, but they shuttle
troops around in the west. A sizeable fleet seeks to cut off British
supply to Egypt. After an initial failure the Japanese do manage to
break the supply chain leaving the Brits defending Egypt on their
own. The Germans and Italians take advantage, striking Wavell in the
port of Suez and then attacking, blitzing successfully into an
undefended Cairo. Egypt is conquered and the Axis set to repairing
the canal. Pockets of British troops remain in Egypt, but some
Italian forces start moving towards Palestine and Transjordan at the
end of the turn. In the USSR Germany has two great successful
attacks clearing obstacles in the south despite the weather. Then an
ill-fated attack involving paratroops fails to secure Dneproptevsk,
causing heavy casualties (Para corps, para div, and a MECH to the
loss of one Soviet MIL). In the north the Germans surround Pskov,
which looks doomed. A rogue Soviet CAV manages to cause brief supply
problems south of the Pripets, but the Germans regroup. The Eastern
Front looks to be balanced, but the Soviets still hold Minsk which
gave them a big boost. For the first turn of the game, the Soviets
outbuild the Germans. The Brits try again to find the Swedish ore
convoys, but fail. A few more troops land in Denmark, but nothing
really happens. Italian subs decimate one convoy line in the Cape
Verde area which, when coupled with convoy losses to the Japanese,
lowers the CW build by nearly a quarter. With Egypt nearly secured
one wonders where those forces will head to next! The Japanese
reinforce their beachhead on Luzon, secure Malaya, and continue to
secure the Palembang oil area. Oddly, Japanese forces are building
up on the border with the Soviet Union near Vladivostock. The turn
ends on the Axis impulse, shifting initiative towards the Allies.
Mar/Apr 1942: The weather turns sour and the turn is short (2
impulses each side only). The Allies win initiative after a re-roll.
The Commonwealth chooses to take a land and shore up defenses in
Egypt and India, but to little avail. The Italian conquer Palestine
and start reducing the pocketed Commonwealth troops. Worse yet, the
Axis on their impulse elect for naval sorties, sinking 7 CW convoys
and three heavy cruisers, including the Newcastle, the York, and the
Glasgow. The foray is costly, however, as on the last Allied impulse
the British navy finds the German fleet, sinking the Bismarck and
the Blucher. The Eastern front is mostly stagnant in the bad
weather, with the Germans making small progress around Kiev and
encircling Pskov in the north. In the Pacific the Japanese play
conservatively against the Americans but use their free hand in the
Indian Ocean to distribute troops. As a result, the US sneakily
retake Midway from the Japanese. More corps land in the Philippines
and oddly troops are redeployed around the Chinese theatre, with
marines and other troops being positioned near Russia. There is a
clear buildup of forces in Manchuria on the Soviet border.
May/June 1942: The Allies win initiative despite the Axis asking for
a re-roll. At the start of the turn the US declares war on Germany
and Italy, with the measure passing Congress with ease. The
Americans also take the opportunity to land in the Marshall islands,
seeking advance airbases. In their own impulse the Japanese reveal
their hand, declaring war on the Soviet Union. Japanese forces land
in Persia and a major force invades directly into Vladivostok,
taking the city without loss. The Soviets were caught essentially
unprepared, having focused all of their attention on the Germans.
A peace accord is likely in the works, which will probably deny the
Soviets a factory and three resources while giving the same to the
Japanese war effort. The results of the Persian expedition are as
yet unclear. Meanwhile, back in the Levant, the Italians advance
into and conquer Syria from the Free French. Diplomatic pressure has
been mounting on Iraq to join the Axis cause. Allied strategic
bombing picks up in earnest, taking 4 BPs and 2 resources from the
Germans. The Allies also hit the Baltic, sinking 5 convoys in total
before the end of the turn. One German sub is sunk in the North
Atlantic to minor Allied convoy losses. The Japanese sneak in to
Dutch Harbor in the Pacific. The British are still under-building,
in part from an oil squeeze as they struggle to put their convoy
lines into proper shape. At the end of the turn Italy activates Iraq
as a minor ally and the USSR and Japanese come to an accord. The
turn runs unusually long (12 impulses!). Soviet partisan cause
havoc, taking Kiev and Odessa at the turn end, threatening the
German supply lines.
July/Aug 1942: The Allies win initiative and use it to set up for
some interesting quick moves. The British invade Tunisia, taking
Sousse before marching north to kill the 1-4 Libyan territorial
there, liberating Tunisia. Perhaps this is a new airbase for the
Allies in the Med? Italy meanwhile DOWs Yemen, invades, and uses the
maneuver to walk into Aden unopposed. Germany finally manages to
take Pskov (without loss) and clears the north for new operations.
In the south, however, a counterattack on Kiev (held by a partisan,
a corps, and a DIV) fails with heavy losses. In the subsequent
impulse the Germans rally and hit it again, this time taking the
city without loss. Nonetheless, the Germans lose two clear weather
impulses dealing with rearward issues. Mid turn Allied bombing takes
3 BPs and 1 res from Germany. In the Pacific the Japanese reinforce
Dutch Harbor and the US comes to hit the force, but no combat
occurs. The Japanese retaliate by finding an sinking a loaded AMPH
(with the 1st MAR) along with the CAs Houston and San Francisco in
the Marshalls.
Near the end of the turn the Germans assault and take Minsk
on a +11 attack, succeeding without loss. The Russians seek to
inflict some punishment by attacking a lightly held Kursk, but the
attack goes awry and two Soviet corps bite the dust. Near the end of
the turn the US finds and sinks the CA Ashigara in the Bering Sea,
but otherwise the Pacific is calm. The turn goes long, finally
ending on the Allied impulse and shifting initiative back to
neutral.
Sept/Oct 1942: The axis win initiative after asking for a reroll and
the weather starts bright and clear. The Japanese send a major fleet
into the Solomons and the US answers the challenge. In the first
battle of the Solomons the Americans make hay, sinking the Shokaku
and the BB Haruna to the loss of only the Lexington damaged. The US
manages to pass every defensive roll against the Japanese. But the
Japanese regroup and in their next impulse strike back. In the
second battle of the Solomons the Americans suffer serious
surprise and their luck finally breaks. They take the worst of the
air battle and then the Japanese bombers do their worst, sinking the
CVs Enterprise and Saratoga, and the CA New Orleans. The CA Chester
and CV Ranger are damaged to no non-air losses for the Japanese. In
addition the Japanese sink 4 CW convoys, breaking the Austrialian-Canada
line. Not to be outdone, the Germans resume their offensive in
Russia, assaulting and taking Kharkov and munching two more stacks
of Soviets in the Donetz basin, nearing Rostov. In the north the
Germans advance to Smolensk and finally form a line in front of
Leningrad. Surprising the British in Denmark, the Germans also take
a +8 blitz that succeeds in Denmark, destroying a CW ARM and MECH
without loss. For their part, joint US and CW forces from Tunisia
advance on Tripoli and now have three hexes on the city. The
Italians attempt a few sorties in the Western Med, but despite
several tried no combat occurs and the Allied buildup in N. Africa
is now significant. Meanwhile, despite four turns of nonstop ground
striking the last hold-outs in Egypt (two Indian corps) remain out
of supply but face up in one the longest streaks of failed ground
strikes this commentator has ever seen. Germany has the Austrian oil
destroyed (and repairs it immediately) and China loses 1 BP in
Chang-sha to Japanese bombers. Japan assaults Manila and fails,
killing the TER.
Nov/Dec 1942: The weather turns sour and the turn is short. With
weather rolls of '12' and '10' not much moves anywhere, excepting
the Philippines, where the Japanese assault Manila again and take
it, conquering the Philippines. The Russian front is fairly stable.
The Allies make one attempt at taking Tripoli, but the attack fails
(1/1) and the Italians manage to reinforce the city at the turn's
end by an AMP that was at sea and ready to relocate there. The
Soviets are starting to have a reasonable force in central Russia,
but the Germans still have operational initiative. The Allies are
slow to build except in Africa, and little happens in Denmark. The
turn ends with a whimper as 1943 looms.
Jan/Feb 1943: The weather starts off reasonably
nice and the Germans use the opportunity to munch a few Soviet units
in the north, clearing the path to Smolensk. Next impulse they
assault the city, but a mass of Soviet bombers fly in to lower the
odds. The price was high (Soviets lost 4 TAC in the air combat) but
the city held, costing the Germans an ENG and INF. Italy at long
last successfully groundstrikes the last CW holdouts in Egypt and
clears the desert. As they do so, however, a joint CW-American force
assaults and takes Tripoli in Libya with the help of some serious
shore bombardment. The under belly of Europe looks inviting. Italy
responds by declaring war on Saudia Arabia, seizing the oil and
taking Riyadh in an assault without loss. The Pacific is fairly
quiet. The Japanese invade Johnson Island near the Hawaiian islands
and pick off more CW convoys, but there is no other action for the
turn. The CW is down in builds as an Italian TER cuts the rail line
from S. Africa to the Congo. The Japanese strategically comb Chang-Sha,
taking a build point. The summer approaches.... Mar/April
1943: The axis win initiative and the Allies do not ask for a
reroll, keeping the +2 initiative. The turns starts reasonably clear
and the Germans use the weather to assault and take Smolensk
(without loss). The rumbling mass of gray then spends the rest of
the turn pushing up near the new line, which runs just outside of
Moscow south through Tula. Additional Axis units push East. Denmark
continues to be a non-issue. The Allies are starting to become more
active in the Med. A port strike damages the Andrea Doria in Malta
and the Allies reorganize in ports in Libya and Tunisia. In the
Pacific the Japanese sink a CW TRS and damage the CA Kent, but the
Americans return the favor in a major naval battle. Despite losing a
few FTRs the US sinks the CV Kaga and loses no shipping. The
victory, however, does not slow the Japanese, who are expanding in
the Indian Ocean and pushing towards Australia. The weather turns
sour and the turn ends early, with each side getting two impulses.
May/June 1943: The Axis win the first initiative roll and the Allies
demand a reroll, but lose a second time. The weather starts clear
and the Germans again go on the offensive in Russia. An attack on
Tula fails after Soviet TAC clear (Germans lose a PARA) but a blitz
between Dnep. and Stalino succeeds, cutting the Soviet forces there
in two and threatening the Crimea. The Soviets respond by launching
an unexpected combined air/land invasion on Varna in Bulgaria,
threatening the Rumanian oil fields from the south. The attack
succeeds. Meanwhile, the Allies spend the first impulse massing a
huge fleet in the Western Med, but that turns out to be a diversion
as the following impulse American paratroopers attack near Venice!
The attack goes awry however (a '5' on a +9 assault) and fails. In
the naval battle leading up to the attack, the CW loses the BBs
Rodney and Howe to Italian NAVs. Italy starts pulling troops back to
the home country in preparation for an attack. A major strategic
bombing raid takes one oil point from the Germans. Meanwhile, the
Pacific starts to heat up as well. Japan declares war on Free France
and invades Madagascar. They also take Batavia, conquering the NEI,
and land marines near Darwin. With the help of partisans in Burma,
the Japanese secure the oil in Burma, further strengthening their
cause. There is no visible CW reaction to the Japanese advances as
they are happy to defend India. The Japanese also strategically bomb
Si-an, removing one build point. The turn surprisingly ends at the
earliest opportunity (the first '1' on the die to end the turn),
leaving the Germans in a tough spot, since Rumania is threatened by
the Soviets invading from Bulgaria. There is some worry about a lost
opportunity with the breakthrough in southern Russia as well. The
Japanese seem ebullient while American morale took a hit with the
daring but failed air assault in northern Italy.
July/August 1943: The Allies win initiative and the Soviets use the
opportunity to take Bucharest, threatening to remove the Rumanians
from the war. The adventure goes wrong, however, when a relief force
arrives under Rommel and systematically kills all of the Soviet
units and retakes what was lost. Rumania is saved and elects to
remain in the war. The Germans decide to add the Rumanian forces to
the build pool. The action on the Eastern front is heavy all turn
long. The Soviets counterattack just north of Kursk, killing a
German MECH and MECH div and threatening a breakout, but the punch
is too weak and the German repair the line. Meanwhile the Germans
hit back in the south, assaulting and taking Stalino and setting up
for a major assault on Dnepropetrovsk. The Germans have nearly
cleared the Dnieper basin, freeing forces to push east towards the
oil fields.
In the Med the Allies start the turn setting up a large force in the
Western Med. Next impulse they declare war on Vichy (making it
hostile) and invade near Marseilles. The Italian airforce (with some
German support) swarm out into the Med. In two consecutive impulses
the Axis find and surprise the Allied fleet, sinking the BB
Arkansas, CA Louisville, two TRS and one AMPH. On the boats
Alexander (CW HQ and a CW MOT) die horrible deaths at sea. The
landing still succeeds, but the grip is tenuous and without the HQ
support the Allies have a hard time pushing inland. The Germans and
Italians respond by moving troops up to contain the invasion. In
subsequent naval battles as the Allies try to keep supply, the Axis
NAV continue to do damage, sinking the CV Furious and damaging the
Bearn and BB Oklahoma. Much of the CW CVP is destroyed in the
process. The Allies do manage to sink the Duc D'Aosta in the Arabian
sea in some side action.
The Allies launch major strategic bombing raids, destroying a factory in
Berlin (and taking 3 BPs) and destroying a factory in Leipzig as
well. The Austrian oil is again hit, reducing German oil supplies.
The Baltic remains without convoys and the Germans lose the Swedish
iron ore.
The Pacific is no less active. The Americans invade and retake Dutch
Harbor, although there is not much resistance from the Japanese, who
are occupied elsewhere. Japan declares war on Free France and invade
Madagascar. At the same time, Japanese troops surprise the CW,
invading Durban. At the end of the turn, both Madagascar and South
Africa are conquered. Japanese naval forces with troops position in
South Africa, threatening the Atlantic. To add insult to injury,
late in the turn Japanese MARs invade Adelaide in southern
Australia, sinking the Queens in the process (the shipped were
disorganized in the port).
It has been a tough summer so far for the Allies, with a major invasion
failing in Italy (last turn) and a second major invasion succeeding
but barely holding on in southern France. Despite some Soviet
successes, the German continue to be on the offensive and chew up
Soviet corps and territory, although progress is slow. The Japanese
seem mostly unopposed and are expanding rapidly.
Sept/Oct 1943: The Axis win the first initiative roll, but
desperate Allies demand a reroll and win the reroll. The weather
starts out shockingly clear. The western allies start by posting
major naval forces off the coast of northern France in both the Bay
of Biscay and the North Sea. Next impulse they launch two invasions,
one at St. Naz. and the other next to Brest. The first invasion
fails after major Axis air support tips the scales, but the northern
invasion succeeds. On the Allied third impulse, reserve forces
invade directly into Brest and succeed! The Allies have a major port
and two contiguous hexes in Brittany. German armor and reaction
forces are en route, however. The Italians also rebase land and air
forces to France, but keep most of their NAV in the Med.
In the USSR the Soviet counterattack continues and the pesky Soviets
retake Kursk and threaten to pocket several German corps there. The
Germans respond and counter by pocketing Kursk instead. In addition
the Germans use the Rumanian forces to assault and take Odessa,
taking the city for a second time. A major assault on Dnepropetrovsk
also succeeds, completing the capture of the vital basin. When all
seems to be going the German's way, on the 3rd Allied impulse the
Soviets make a bold attack in north, bashing Rundstedt and putting
most of the German army in the north out of supply. The Germans
rally by railing HQs to the area and spend the rest of the turn
withdrawing southward from Moscow to escape being pocketed. Bad late
turn weather helps the Germans escape the noose, but the Soviets
have pushed the German away from Moscow. A late turn attack sees the
Soviets retake Rostov, killing a German ARM and INF in the city.
Italy sinks the lonely BB Revenge which was trying to establish supply in
the now increasingly quiet Med. Minor strategic bombing nets one BP
from the Germans in Breslau.
In the Pacific the Americans set up for some kind of major invasion in
the Solomons on the first impulse. But on impulse 2 the Japanese
decide to come play in force, bringing most of their navy. They
achieve minor surprise, but win the early air combats. The result is
carnage. The US loses 2 TRS with both of their best MARs on board,
the CV Yorktown and the CA Chicago. The BBs New Mexico and Nevada
are damaged and the US loses a total of 5 CVPs. The total Japanese
loss was one NAV (lost to AA fire). Meanwhile the Japanese send out
fleets mid-turn into the Southern Atlantic with troops, apparently
looking for bases to leapfrog up the African coast. Japan also
launches two attacks in China, taking a resource hex in the south
and bashing a desert hex in the north. The Japanese exult at the
success of the turn
Nov/Dec 1943: The weather starts bad ('10') and gets worse ('12'),
making for a short turn. The Japanese rebase their subs to Dakar at
the end of last turn and use the base to strike all the way in to
the Caribbean, where they exact a toll from the Americans and
British. Plenty of spare convoys are available, however, and there
is no major loss to Allied production. The Japanese lose one sub in
the combats but the Japanese pick off the CA Birmingham in the
Pacific.
The Soviet front is mostly quiet as the Germans continue to try and
re-establish a line, slowly falling back towards a rough line that
runs from Gomel to short of Rostov in the south. The Soviets keep
Kursk as the German eventually rationalize their line to its west.
Reinforcements from Germany mostly head north to reinforce the now
weak German line east of Vitebsk.
The Western Allies reinforce the precarious beachhead in Brittany and
also reinforce Denmark. More strategic bombers arrive from the US
and the Allies are having trouble finding enough bases near the
front. The turn ends early with a whimper.
Jan/Feb 1944: The weather improves slightly to be merely bad, but
the turn runs longer than expected with 6 total impulses (3 each
side). In the Pacific the Japanese set up for something in the
Marshalls, but the US Navy achieves a major surprise in a naval
combat, sinking the CV Akagi and the CVL Ryujo along with many
Japanese carrier planes. The attack is aborted, but not much else
happens in the Pacific as the Japanese have control of most areas.
The US and Japan continue to dance about supplying forces in the
Pacific. Near the end of the turn the Japanese port strike Darwin,
damaging two quality US subs there.
The CW and US strategically bomb despite the weather, and take three
total BPs and resouces (1 BP 2 res) from the Germans. The Axis war
machine is nonetheless doing quite well, with the Germans building
in the high 30s and Italy at 14 on average. The Germans try to
destroy a pocket of Soviet tanks in the south, but intrepid Soviet
bombers clear (at -7 on the air combat table) and cause the attack
to fail with a single German casualty.
The Allies in France continue to hold on and take another hex, but cannot
push forward effectively. More troops head to Denmark and the Allies
set up for offensive operations with troop movements in Britain.
Mar/Apr 1944: The Axis win initiative and elect to go first to
forestall Allied plans. German reinforcements in France have now
built a solid line, but the Allies surprise the Germans by launching
a new invasion in the Netherlands. The attempt succeeds and nets the
Allies two coastal hexes, threatening the German flank. The Germans
respond with a careful retreat in western France and pile up units
around the Dutch beachhead. The Allies gain a few more hexes in
western France as a result, but have not achieved a breakthrough.
Despite the build-up in Denmark no action occurs there, probably
because all of the ground strikes keep failing.
The Soviets and Germans do not do much in the rain, but the German
eliminate the pesky Berdiansk pocket (2 Soviet ARM) with the loss of
a MECH. The German line is now fairly well established, running from
just south of Gomel along the Dnieper past Kiev to Dnepropetovsk and
Stalino in the south. More Germans arrive around Vitebsk to
strengthen the area. The front once again settles into solid lines.
The Chinese are sneaky and manage to snake a MOT corps into Hainan,
removing the resource point from the Japanese. China has remained
fairly quiet as a front, however. The Chinese are nearly built out,
so one expects some assaults at some point from the Chinese. The
Japanese and Americans continue to dance a bit with fleets, but the
Japanese insistently push forward, taking more islands around
Hawaii. This turn they take two islands to the south at the junction
of three sea zones as well as two of the westernmost Hawaiian
Islands. Land based air moves forward. The Japanese also retake all
but one of the islands in the Marshalls. An expeditionary force in
southern Australia finally meets resistance, causing the Japanese to
pull back to Adelaide.
The British finally push forward into Burma and surround the partisans
there, seeking to retake the Burma oil. The turn ends with the CW
flipping units around four sides of the hex, setting up a likely
attack next turn.
May/June 1944: A turn of turns! Heavy action returns to the game
in both theatres. The Axis win the first initiative roll, but the
Allies demand a reroll. The Axis win the second roll as well. The
weather starts clear and beautiful world-wide, perfect for offensive
operations.
The Germans reinforce their western defenses in France, covering a short
retreat as they appear to be looking to set up a strong defense line
on the Seine running south to Lyon and then in to the southern
French alps. More Italian planes and troops have entered France to
take up defensive positions. In Russia the Germans try to bomb key
forward hexes in the Russian lines with limited success. No attacks
are made as the Germans are happy to hold the line.
The Japanese take a naval and spread out across the ocean, putting Pearl
out of supply and making units available for a new round of
potential attacks. Could an invasion of Honolulu be coming?
On the Allied impulse the US takes its first chit and take a
super-combined. By sneaking out a Hellcat in the Coral Sea they
manage to put the fleet in Hawaii back in supply. In a surprise
move, the America fleet splits, half heading to the West Coast, but
the fast ships all head off the coast of Japan. Same turn, the US
invades Tokyo! US cvps fend off defense Japanese TAC but the
attack is a limited success. One MAR corps and one MAR ENG land, but
face down. A bunch of convoys relocate and one Japanese AMP is
overrun and sunk (it was face down in the port). The US also manages
to catch and sink the CA Myoko in a sea zone off of Hawaii.
In Europe the Americans use the super combined to launch strategic
bombing raids across western Europe. They are surprisingly
successful despite losing two STRATs. The Germans lose 1 oil, 3 res,
and 7 Bps all told, although no factories are destroyed. US ground
strikes then hit and flip several units in France and the one unit
defending Friedrichshaven in northern Denmark. The US attacks
Nantes, allowing for a potential breakout in western France. The CW
set up with a naval, and troops are on AMPHs in the North Sea.
Next impulse the Axis are not going to sit idly by. The weather worsens
slightly (Rain in the Arctic). The reserve Japanese navy in Truk
sails north to try and catch the Americans - and they don't.
The Japanese also return Yamamoto to Japan and set up to bring back
more troops to the homeland. Since the US troops are face down early
in the turn, there is no rush.
Germany tries to fall back in France to the safety of the Seine line, but
the flipped units complicate the maneuver, especially since a HQ was
also flipped the previous impulse - on the wrong side of the river.
But there are plenty of troops for the maneuver and the retreat is
orderly. German FTRs claim some victories and the front is solid. A
joint German/Vichy assault kills the isolated units in southern
France (from the invasion now nearly a year old). In Russia the
Germans reposition the line to make it stronger but are not tempted
to attack in the rain.
On impulse 4, the Soviets continue to push forward. Lead elements reach
Vitebsk as the northern front stretches westward. German TAC clear
to make an assault on Vitebsk fail (1/-) and flip the Soviets, who
have enough HQs to reflip most of the attackers. The CW eliminate
the partisans in Burma, reclaiming the oil. They also invade and
take Friedrichshaven, securing their rear in Denmark and potentially
opening up the Baltic soon if the Allies can take Copenhagen (which
is defended by a single 5-4 Inf adjacent to, but not in the city).
Americans blitz and take a resource hex in France and kill several
face-down German units, but achieve no breakthroughs. The German
line holds, but the Allies are now advancing several hexes and
opening up into France. Bordeaux is liberated in the south along
with Toulouse, where there is no opposition. The beachhead in
Holland remains at two hexes.
The Japanese try again in impulse 5 to catch the Americans and this time
they succeed. They get enough surprise to pick a surface, and sink
the CAs Portland, Wichita, and Boston and manage to damage the CV
Bunker Hill and CV Hornet. The Japanese lose the CA Furutaka and
have the BB Kirishima damaged. The US fleet is forced to abort the
zone, leaving the US troops in Tokyo isolated. The Japanese also
take islands in the Tarawa chain, removing yet more Allied land
based air bases. The Germans reposition in France again, trying to
fall back in order to the Seine-Lyon line. Little changes on the
Russian front.
In impulse 6 the US takes a combined to advance in France and also try
and save the Tokyo beachhead. They drop off an additional INF div in
Tokyo and re-establish supply with two cruisers. The Japanese try to
find them, but fail. The US chews up another hex in France, trying
to wrap around the retreating Germans, who continue to frustrate
Allied attempts at encircling the Germans. The Denmark units
reposition southwards (a CW operation) and CW units in Burma after
the successful attack also start to reposition south and east.
Japan reinforces the homeland and moves ships to cut the American marines
out of supply in Tokyo. The US fleet has been fully committed so
there is little the US can do. At the turn's end, the Americans
remained face down and out of supply. The Germans shift gears and
mount a surprise blitz attack on the Allied beachhead in Belgium,
killing a US HQ and closing the noose around the remaining American
paratroopers. The next impulse the Germans complete the operations,
destroying the beachhead entirely and freeing up badly needed troops
to defend the new line just west of the Seine. That line does
stabilize with the help of new Italian land units and aircraft. the
Axis do not have air parity, but they are close with the new Italian
planes. At the end of the turn the Italians rebase a lot of NAV from
the Med to the coast of the North Sea. The Germans squeeze in a
combined and land an additional corps in Copenhagen, but the Allies
steadily advance, securing hexes on the island.
At the end of the turn the Japanese are set up to attack Tokyo (but have
not done so), the Italians are looking meaner than ever, and the
Germans are holding the line in Russia and central France. Strategic
bombing and oil use severely restricted the German economy, who
built lower (21 BPs) than they have in years. The weight of Allied
arms is beginning to show, but will it be soon enough with only just
over a year left in the game?
July/August 1944:
The turn will be a long one suitable for the summer. The Axis win
initiative, but have to demand a reroll to get it. The Germans spend
the turn reshuffling the southern front in Russia and rushing troops
to the northern front in the face of a growing Soviet threat there.
The Russians mid-turn drop a chit and assault the strongly held
Vitebsk, taking it without loss. The German line is compromised and
so starts a slow withdrawal for the Axis in the north only. By the
end of the turn the Soviets manage to get next to Minsk (without
taking it) and the line runs north through Pskov and along Lake
Peipsi. In the West, the Germans mass some armor and launch a daring
attack on the Allied beachhead in Belgium. The Axis are unlucky in
the air battle, losing a FTR and having all the Allied support
bombers clear despite flying at an advantage, but Germans are the
master of the tank and blitz off the defenders (rolled an '18' on
the +4 blitz) in the first hex. Next impulse, the German finish the
job, killing a MAR and PARA and eliminating the threat in the rear.
Meanwhile the Italians decide to enter the fray and rebase a large number
of NAV to the North Sea coast. Next impulse they fly out en mass,
trying to wrest control of the North Sea. After 4 attempts and 4
misses, the Italians finally find the Allies and inflict serious
damage. The BB Nevada, KGV, and Prince of Wales all sink, along with
the cruisers Vincennes. The BB Colorado and the CA Quincy are
damaged to no Axis losses. Nonetheless, the Allies hang on and keep
a naval presence, keeping the troops in Denmark in supply. The
Italians do something similar in the Med, sending NAV out after a CW
fleet in the Western Med. After a few impulses of no combat, the
Italians find the fleet, sinking the CV Courageous and damaging the
CV Indomitable and CA Hawkins. The Italians lose only the CA Zara.
The battles give the Italians control of the entire Med.
In the Pacific the Japanese send the entire fleet to park off of the
coast of Japan, protecting their counterattack to reclaim the
capital. The attack succeeds without loss and all Americans are
expelled from the homeland. The move allows the US to pick off some
Japanese ships elsewhere (the CA Ashigara and Oyodo are sunk) and
reposition. The US also manages to invade Kwajalein and take it near
the end of the turn.
The strategic bombing campaign continues against Germany, who suffers an
oil hex destroyed (in Germany) and four other BP losses. The
Italians lose the CA Trieste in the Arabian sea to the small
remaining CW flotilla operating in India. The Allied line in France
now stretches from coast to coast as the US pushes into Marseilles
in the south. The Axis hold a line one hex west of the Seine down to
Nice in the Alps.
Sept/Oct 1944: The turn starts clear, but the weather turns bad
quickly (and stays that way). The Soviets start out by
assaulting Minsk with PARA. They take the city with minor losses.
The Allies follow by assaulting and taking Copenhagen after cutting
the island out of supply. The Soviets do the heavy lifting, sinking
the BB Gneisenau and damaging the BB Scharnhorst to the loss of one
damaged sub. The way through the Baltic will be open next turn at
long last!
The Americans do not make much headway in France, making two attacks but
failing in both. They do, however, strategically bomb even in the
poor weather, taking 4 BPs again with minor air losses on both
sides.
The Italians return to their dominating ways, taking control of the Med
again after an Allied fleet sails into both the Eastern and Western
Med. Italian NAV with some support from the Germans sinks the CA
Effingham and Frobisher while damaging the BB Texas, Queen
Elizabeth, and the CAs Manchester and Suffolk. All of the Allies are
again driven out of the Med.
In the Pacific the Americans sail out a giant fleet and successfully
invade Wake, killing the Japanese defenders without loss. The
Japanese respond by sneaking into the Aleutians and seizing Dutch
Harbor again after the Americans emptied the land units to invade
forward. US sub activity tried to sink Japanese shipping, to no
avail as the poor weather hinders sighting. The turn ends on an Axis
gamble, with Italy and Japan passing while Germany re-orders its
line in the Soviet Union. The gamble pays off as the -1 modifier
turns out to be the difference, ending the turn. Nov/Dec 1944: The
weather stays bad, hampering Allied efforts. The Japanese reinforce
SE Asia and retake Rangoon on a +17 assault, killing two CW units
without loss. There is now a hefty line of Indian troops facing a
hefty line of Japanese reinforcements. The Allies slowly creep up
against the Japanese incursion in Australia, and the Japanese fall
back, unwilling to commit more to the endeavor. The US take back the
island next to Midway, but the poor weather means not much else is
done.
Likewise, Europe is quiet. The Germans slowly start withdrawing from the
Soviet Union, unable to completely cover the front now that the
Pripets have frozen. The Soviets tentatively push forward,
threatening to cut off the Germans, but again and again the Germans
rebuild the lines. At turn's end the Germans still hold the Dnieper
line and Kiev, but their troops have fallen back generally. The
Soviets penetrate into Latvia and Estonia, which the Germans abandon
part way through the turn. No strategic bombing sees the German
economy take off again. The turn ends with a whimper, frustratingly
so for the Allies, who need to go on the offensive in Western
Europe. Jan/Feb 1945: The weather will not clear, resulting in a
short turn. The Chinese assault just east of Hanoi and their
boldness is rewarded with a successful +5 assault (natural 20
rolled!). The front does not otherwise change. China has been
inactive for 3 years now.
The US and Japanese do tangle again the Marshalls. The naval battle is a
minor American victory, as the CV Zuikaku is sunk with the CA Chokai
damaged. The US loses the CV Bennington while the CW loses the CA
Sheffield. Not much otherwise changes, except for the US picking off
another Pacific island. The threatened Japanese encirclement of
Hawaii is eased a bit. The Japanese surprise the CW with a long
distance sub raid in the Caribbean. The CW have plenty of spares,
but the move diverts naval assets into the Western hemisphere.
In Europe the Soviets grind forward slowly, making some small attacks.
Latvia and Estonia are liberated. The Soviets push into Lithuania.
The Germans leave a strong garrison in Kiev but pull back to a line
anchored by Odessa. The Soviets concentrate in the north, attacking
and killing a few stacks but with constant casualties.
The US and CW launch a snowy strategic bombing run, taking 5 BPs from
Germany but nothing else. Again there is no movement on the land in
Western Europe except in southern France, where the US pushes up
against an Italian held line in the French Alps.
The turn ends after only 4 impulses. Mar/April 1945: The CW relocated
troops to deal with the Japanese menace in the Southern Atlantic,
taking Dakar (capturing a Japanese sub there) and capturing St.
Helena. The Japanese sub threat is eliminated. In Australia the CW
finally assault the swamp in southern Australia, taking the hex and
reducing the Japanese presence there to a single TER of South
African pro-Japanese volunteers. They will remain there through the
end of the game.
The big news is a major naval battle again in the Marshalls. Most
of the Japanese and US fleets are there. (The FTR combat was 20 vs
18 with huge numbers of NAV and CVPs.) The US first gets minor
surprise, but the Japanese have the slight FTR advantage and make
use of it, ultimately clearing 32 NAV points against the US fleet.
In the first round the US loses the CV Intrepid sunk and the CV
Yorktown II, BB Idaho and BB Arizona damaged. The Japanese suffer no
losses. Hoping to escape notice and a port strike, the US decides to
remain in the sea zone. The Japanese, however, find some luck and
surprise the US fleet. The Japanese take some aircraft loses, but no
ship damage. The US loses the CVs Bunker Hill and Ranger, and the CA
Salt Lake City. Most of the US land based air cover is gone. Unable
to risk the combat, the US abandon the sea zone for Pearl. The turn
improbably continues (60% chance) and the Japanese strike the port,
sinking an AMPH and TRS, sinking the BB California, and damaging the
BB Pennslyvania and CV Hornet. The CW also lose a TRS (loaded with
an Australian INF) in a separate combat near Perth. The US Combat
capability is severely damaged.
In Europe the Soviets are on the move, closing the gap in the south (and
taking Kiev). They push up against Odessa and reclaim all of the
USSR except that city. In the north they assault and take Kaunas and
push into East Prussia by assaulting Memel. The Soviet line is large
and menacing, but the Germans have held them at bay. In the West the
Allies again cannot manage to advance, making no land attacks and no
strategic bombing. The Germans and Italians contest the North Sea,
but to no effect. The US and CW rearrange their lines in France and
prepare for the clear weather. May/June 1945: The weather clears
and the Western Allies lurch forward. After successful ground
strikes in central France, the US takes key hexes west of the Seine,
pushing the German line back. A logistical error in the south
precludes an attack there as the air transports were not set up
properly for a PARA attack. Nonetheless, the Allies are on the
offensive. A massive strategic bombing raid is made on Berlin -
including a plane loaded with the first atomic bomb - but the German
FTRs fend off the raid, even shooting down the strat with the
A-bomb. The Soviets push forward again.
The game ends (time allowed expired) after the first impulse of the
May/June 1945 turn.
Game Results (modified bid, then objectives minus
bid = total score) 1st: Japan (bid -1) 15 - -1 = 16
Alex "the General" Abbott 2nd: Italy (bid -4) 10 - -4 = 14
Auberon "fratastic" Crocker 3rd Germany (bid 10) 15 - 10 = 5
James "Lames" Crandall
and Tyler Hines 4th USSR (bid 16) 6 - 16 = -10
David "France who?" Hart 5th USA/China (bid 21) 11 - 21 = -10
Logan "happy" McDonald 6th CW (bid 22) 10 -22 = -12
Ryan "I know what I'm doing" Gale
and Maryska Connolly-Brown Congratulations to all - this was a fun
and often tense game with plenty of interesting play!
|
WAR NEWS!
WAR! 1 Sept 1939. Dateline London (Reuters): The lights are
going out again in Europe. After years of conflict with the
Sino-Japanese war, Europe has heard the clarion call of death and
destruction. Germany invaded Poland in the wee hours of 1 September
1939, allegedly in response to provocation by Polish incursions on
to German soil. France and Britain quickly responded, declaring war
on Germany in support of their Polish allies. No plans to send
troops to Poland have been announced, however. Not wishing to be
left out of the dance, Italy declared war on France and Britain on 8
September, pledging to support their German allies. This reporter
does not know where this conflict will lead the world, except of
course to a world in flames.
New British Intelligence Service Works to Iron Out Kinks in
System. 9 September 1939. Dateline Valetta, Malta (AP Newswire):
MI13, the new British intelligence service created under the
auspices of the new Prime Minister Ryan "Blows a" Galehill, admitted
serious defects in their information gathering services. Apparently
MI13 alerted the Royal Navy to an imminent Italian attack on the
port of Alexandria in Egypt. Instead, the Italians invaded Malta,
which had been stripped of defenses at the last minute to reinforce
Egypt. "We all get one wrong now and again," said P.O. Boyo, head of
MI13. "But at least we finished the design on our new smart MI13
uniforms. We did look exceptionally sharp in the War Cabinet
meeting." MI13 has separately announced plans to release their own
line of dinner and evening formal ware for the discerning members of
high society.
World Continues to Not Care about Chinese War. 18 September
1939. Dateline Chungking (World News Daily): Despite two and half
years of continuous war in China and millions dead, wounded, or
displaced, the rest of the world continues to turn a blind eye to
Japanese aggression in the Pacific. Last week the Japanese once
again advanced in central China, seizing a major industrial center
outside of the city of Were-Dat. World attention instead is keenly
fixed on Europe, where German and Italian forces are mobilizing for
a larger continental conflagration. Japanese Prime Minister Abjo was
not available for comment, but his office released an official
statement noting "What war? There is a local dispute that friendly
neighbors can resolve themselves."
Japanese Soldiers Go Missing;
Emperor’s Cabinet Denies Rumors of Failed Attacks.
Shanghai, 15 February 1940, Pale Horse Herald. Two
divisions of Japanese infantry, encompassing both a garrison unit
and an infantry division, have mysteriously vanished from their
postings outside of Canton and Hangchow, respectively. Locals in the
surrounding areas reported sounds of heavy fighting and sightings of
the Imperial Marine Corps, but these rumors are unconfirmed.
Japanese brass has consistently denied claims that any failed
assaults have taken place. Instead, claims European turncoat
commander Alex “Bonsai—The Tree, Not the Charge” Abbott, “The men of
two units of the Imperial Japanese Army have not, as has been
suggested, been killed in ill-fated assaults. Indeed, there is no
way that this turn of events could have happened, despite what the
Emperor’s enemies allege. The men of these divisions are simply
vacationing at a farm upstate. You’ll see them soon enough. They
still love you and they’ll be just as excited to see you as you are
to see them!” Abbott then stepped away from the podium and could be
heard whispering to an aide about his childhood pets before the
microphone was silenced.
Japanese Implement Effective Strategy to End Chinese Infighting.
Dateline: Wuhan, 21 July 1940 (Reuters). Yesterday, the Imperial
Japanese Army brokered a monumental peace agreement between Chiang
Kai-Shek, leader of the Nationalist Chinese forces, and Mao Zedong,
leader of the Communist forces in the area. Isoroku Yamamoto, a
Japanese naval commander, was curiously at the head of negotiations.
This agreement likely means peace among the Chinese people for the
first time since the beginning of the Chinese Civil War, which has
been in progress for nearly 13 years. Reports of a large battle
happening simultaneously as the peace agreement was signed are
unconfirmed, but civilian leaders and military personnel have ceded
that Japanese forces have moved into a buffer zone west of Wuhan,
designed to keep the Communist and Nationalist forces apart. Any
violation of this so-called “De-Militarized Zone” by either Mao’s or
Chiang’s forces will likely meet with a stern reprimand from the
Japanese, who have graciously taken charge as the chief arbiters in
Asia and the Pacific
Germans Unleash New Secret Weapon in Battle for Paris.
Dateline: Paris, 6 August 1940 (UPI). French troops defending the
beleaguered city of Paris woke on the morning of 18 July to the
horrific sound of a new German weapon. Apparently the Germans have
attached loud speakers to their dive bombers which produce a loud
whining noise when they dive to attack. Many French positions have
now been 'whine-bombed' and German whining has never been at a
higher level during the conflict. "We just could not take it
anymore," said Gen. Le Poup, commander of the French forces in
Paris. "The Germans kept advancing, kept winning, and then with the
whining, we had had enough." The French commander surrendered the
city to the Germans on the morning of 5 August 1940 to spare the
city more whining.
Germans Start Reef Building Program in Atlantic. Dateline:
Kiel, Kriegsmarine HQ, 20 Sept 1940 (Der Welt). The German naval
command announced a new program Monday to "improve the ecosphere of
the entire world through Fascist innovation." The plan calls for
building reefs in various bodies of water to encourage wildlife and
promote natural fisheries. "We have started the first one in the
Faroes Gap near the coast of Northern Ireland as a show of
solidarity with the people of Britain and Ireland," said Admiral
"too hip to be a" Raeder. Apparently the Germans are sinking older
warships to start the reef building exercise. When it was pointed
out that the ships in question were in fact sunk by the British and
that the locations of the wrecks were not actually conducive to reef
formation, Raeder replied, "Meh, it is a verk in progress."
Chinese
Welcome Japanese Peacekeepers into Kunming. Dateline: Hanoi, 25 November 1940, AP. The last two weeks have been remarkably eventful in
Southeast Asia and southern China. Japanese forces first took administrative
control of Indo-China, which had previously been under control of Vichy France,
before also making a foray into south-central China. With no Chinese units
between multiple units of the Japanese Imperial Army and the city of Kunming,
Japanese forces liberated the city from the oppressive grasp of Chiang Kai-Shek’s
overbearing regime on November 23rd. Chinese citizens welcomed the
Japanese troops. Colonel Neil “decades ahead of his time” Young of the IJA said
that citizens of Kunming were ecstatic to have the “kinder, gentle machine gun
hand” of the Japanese in control of the city. Many metric tons’ worth of
production supplies were found stockpiled in warehouses in the cities, and
together with the clothing-producing supplies and factories in Hanoi and
Kunming, respectively, the Japanese will have a significant uptick in their
production for the near-future.
Asked about the reports of significant raping and pillaging occurring in the
captured city, Young offered a cryptic response. “It’s better to burn out,”
Young intoned, “than to fade away.” This reporter wonders whether the hundreds
of young Chinese women who were killed in an orgy of volatile nature would
agree. Nonetheless, the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere continues to
grow, as Japan attempts to bring peace to the region for the first time in many
decades.
Italians March and Take Alexandria. Butchered English Scatter
Towards Cairo.
Dateline: Port Said, 31
July 1941 (Linguini News).
The Italian army in Egypt invaded and conquered the great city of
Alexandria with the aid of air superiority and brilliant morale
early this evening. The loss of the city continues a trend of
Italian victories in British East Africa. The worry now is that the
Italians will push farther and attempt to capture Port Said, Cairo,
and the Suez Canal, all massively important for the British war
cause. Said one British naval captain, “The risk of losing Egypt is
definitely worrisome. Not only will we lose access to the Suez but
we will also lose Port Said - our most valuable port.” Another
captain added “Yes, we all hold Port Said very dear. About 95% of
the Royal Navy started there and around 99% are stationed there
every month.” The people of London have already demanded a response
to the fall of Alexandria from the government. British prime
minister Winsome (and lose most) Churchgale responded, “The loss of
Alexandria is just a strategical retreat. The people of Britain can
rest assured that we are doing all we can to fix the situation.”
Churchgale then quickly left the press conference muttering
something about checking the British convoys. Churchgale has already
taken several strategical retreats throughout the course of the war
(Malta, France, Alexandria, etc.) and the people of Britain hope
that there is actually some purpose behind these “retreats”.
British Forces in Mediterranean Shift Naval
Bases. Dateline: Cairo, 14 August 1941, BBC. For months, British
forces in the Mediterranean theatre have been operating out of Port
Said in Egypt, but Whitehall recently announced via an official memo
that the new home port of the Med Fleet is Port Said. Instead of
remaining in Gibraltar (not to mention Alexandria and Malta, which
have been captured by the Italian forces currently engaging British
troops), the Royal Navy has shifted its main base of operations to
Port Said. While the Eastern Med base offers better access to the
Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, few British vessels
have gone eastward. In addition, this rebasing of the fleet takes
cruisers and air cover away from British shipping from the Bay of
Biscay to West Africa, which has been hit hard by Italian and German
submarine raids. When asked about the move, commander of the Port
Said Fleet Andrew Countryham offered few answers. “We’ve always used
Port Said,” Countryham said. “That ship started in Port Said, this
ship started in Port Said, all those ships in Denmark started in
Port Said, and even that very slow transport, a relic of the First
World War, that’s in Adelaide—it started in Port Said, too.” This
reporter wonders what the Royal Navy will do once Port Said falls, a
seemingly inevitable outcome given the speed with which Italian
troops and German air assets are advancing.
Japanese Vow to Pursue Peaceful Measures in
East Asia. Dateline: Taihokuo, 16 August 1941, Reuters. Japanese
officials said today that they are committed to finding peaceful
solutions to the current troubles in East Asia. “We recognize that
the peoples of Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, Australia, India,
Siberia, Mongolia, the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, New Caledonia, New
Britain, Rubaul, Burma, Alaska, California, Vancouver, South Africa,
Madagascar, Egypt, and Hong Kong are all suffering under the yoke of
oppression. We vow to set these peoples free, but we are committed
to doing so in humane and peaceful ways,” said Hideki Abbottojo,
Prime Minister of Japan, through an interpreter on Tuesday.
Abbottojo continued, “We are currently pursuing a number of
strategies to release these people from their second-rate status as
colonial subjects. We are already discussing lease agreements with
the USSR to alleviate the burden on their Siberian citizens.
Additionally, we have explored lease agreements with the Dutch in
Palembang, the Americans in Hawaii, and the British in Calcutta.
However, these Westerners seem less willing to cooperate. We will
soon begin negotiating tracts of land in China—Shanghai, Kunming,
and the like—to barter for places like Singapore and Rabaul. If all
else fails, we are prepared to intervene directly in these imperial
relics and set the people free. We will storm ashore with our
bayonets fixed, massacring the Europeans who stand in our way and
sparing no lives, all in the interest of keeping peace and freeing
colonial subjects.”
War
with Germany and Italy!
Dateline Washington D.C.
[date]
It’s
finally come! After years of trampling on the free nations of
Europe, we’ve finally coming to put those fascist thugs back where
they belong. While there was some opposition in congress initially,
it was ended by a stirring speech from our president, and the bill
to declare war was passed almost unanimously. As we go to print,
American troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Eisenhower are
already landing in Britain, preparing for landings somewhere in the
European theater. Our powerful strategic bomber fleet is also in
Transit to British and Danish air bases in preparation for a new,
devastating bombing campaign. I hope you’re ready Hitler and
Mussolini!
U.S. Forces Face
Little Resistance in Marshalls Campaign. Dateline: Honolulu. 2
May 1942, AP Newswire.
Admiral Nimitz was reported as saying last week that “Our boys are
facing weak to no resistance from Japanese forces in the southern
Marshall Islands, we’re just walking off the boats.” Reports from
the field also indicate that no shots were even fired during the
landings by the 1st Marine Division and Naval
Construction Battalion on Majuro and Rongelap last month. One
Marine was quoted as saying that “There were just a few
administrative guys in some shacks beside the airstrip. I don’t
even think they had guns. At least the Japs at Midway put up a
fight.” Needless to say this is good news to our troops in the
pacific, as we prepare to start shipping more units to Britain to
stop the cruel fascist overlords dominating Western Europe. New,
enlarged air bases are expected to be in operation on those atolls
within a month. In the meantime, newly repaired ships damaged in
the comically anemic initial Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are
arriving in that same harbor every week. For a nation so eager to
go to war with us, they don’t seem to be very willing to actually
fight us.
Japanese Declare War
on Soviets. Dateline: Tokyo. 8 May 1942, Stars and Stripes.
With
no provocation or warning, as usual, Japanese forces in Korea and
Manchuria have surrounded and captured the Russian port of
Vladivostok, as well as several key mines on the Manchurian border,
all just days after sending a formal declaration of war to Moscow.
When asked for comment, President Roosevelt simply shook his head
and told the press he had been warning the Soviet government of
Japan’s buildup on their border and there penchant towards
treachery, but they hadn’t listened. He was pleased, however, by
the account of Japanese forces landing in Persia. He said the
Soviets have easily defended their oil fields there and that all the
Japanese will gain is a useless sliver of mountains and desert that
their already overstretched forces will have to protect.
Russian Forces
Repel Weak Japanese Attack. Vladivostok, 8 May 1942, Pravda.
Russian forces today easily repulsed a Japanese assault, taking no
casualties and inflicting severe damage on Japanese morale. The
Vladivostok militia, stationed in the port city since the outbreak
of war with Nazi Germany last year, has been on high alert for the
past three months as Japanese troops swarm into Manchukuo and Korea.
Tensions have been mounting on the border and many believed that war
was inevitable and rapidly approaching.The proverbial powder keg was
set off Friday when a cat crossed the so-called De-Militarized Zone
from Japanese lines to Soviet trenches southwest of the city.
Fearing a bomb attack, Russian soldiers and officers immediately
responded bravely, taking less than 8 minutes and fewer than 2,000
rounds of ammunition to kill the interloper. After resisting the
all-out assault, the Russian commander in charge of the city,
Marshal Boris “I would have been defending the city if I hadn’t
already been killed on the Western Front” Shaposhnikov ordered over
10,000 liters of vodka shipped to the city and declared three days
of revelry for Russian soldiers and civilians. This overwhelming
battle will no doubt turn the tide of Japanese expansion in East
Asia and will be remembered as a major strategic and tactical
victory for Mother Russia for years to come.
Japanese Forces
Surprise, Rout Soviet Troops in Combined-Arms Assault.
Vladivostok, 10 May 1942, Pyongyang Times. In the wake of the
cat-killing atrocity committed (poorly) by Soviet soldiers last
Friday, the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy combined to wrest the
city of Vladivostok from thousands of cold, dead, Russian hands.
After the Red Army killed Japanese soldiers’ mascot, affectionately
known as sashimi, the Emperor and his cabinet vowed revenge on the
murderous brutes responsible. During a three-day leave for the
defenders of Vladivostok, the Japanese Army—with heavy support from
the Japanese Navy—declared war on the Soviet Union and quickly
routed the drunken defenders of the city, who ultimately caused more
friendly fire casualties than any damage they inflicted on the
attacking troops. Recognizing that the vodka-induced low-alert
status of the Russian soldiers was due to end the following day,
Japanese commanders declared war and immediately invaded their
northern neighbor on the morning of Sunday, May 10th.
Simultaneously, invasions occurred elsewhere in Soviet territory,
including two near the city of Khabarovsk and another in
Soviet-occupied Persia. The designs of the Japanese high command are
not yet clear, but the leaders have certainly achieved revenge and
exacted humiliation on their foes in the USSR. It is not yet known
whether the Empire of Japan will use the major port of Vladivostok
to launch future invasions of the Soviet Union or if the Greater
East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere has ceased its northward expansion
for the time being. Regardless, the Imperial Japanese Army has now
shown that it has more than enough manpower to embarrass any foe
that would dare stand in its way.
British Celebrate 'Tunisia Day' Commemorating First Victory of
War. London, 26 July 1942, Reuters. In what some politicians
have called "the most joyous day since Trafalgar" Britons across the
Commonwealth turned out to celebrate the successful liberation of
Tunisia from the Italians. Hardened British veterans who fled from
the fight in France two years ago returned to action at long last,
seizing the undefended port of Sousse before marching northward and
taking Tunis in a 20 minute battle that mostly involved territorial
units surrendering in formation. "I won't say this means that
British troops now have the critical combat experience they need,"
says Col. Reginald "don't spit into the" Gale, "but it is the most
combat experience any currently living British unit has had, with
the exception of the Indian corps currently starving to death in
central Egypt." Discussions are currently underway as to what other
non-defended target the British can take next.
American Landing
Crafts Sunk with All Hands on Deck, Marines Presumed Dead.
Honolulu, 28 July 1942, New York Times. In what some military
experts are calling the “worst maritime disaster in U.S. history,”
nearly 20,000 American troops met their ends last week. While the
majority of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet was off chasing rabbits
(and a few Japanese ships) off the coast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska,
close to 100 transport ships, equipped with amphibious landing
capabilities, sailed toward the Marshall Islands from Pearl Harbor.
Their original destination is unclear, but Japanese naval elements
found the lightly-protected transports and engaged the defenseless
ships. A small contingent of American aircraft cover did little to
keep the attackers at bay. After less than two hours of fierce but
one-sided combat, 84 of the 92 American ships had been sunk, with
over 98% of American servicemen involved drowning or being killed in
the firefight. “It was the worst carnage I ever saw,” quipped
Lieutenant Junior Grade John Kennedy, one of the 249 survivors,
after an unsuccessful attempt to save the rest of his crewmen.
President Logan “I swear I didn’t do this to harden the American
people’s resolve against the Japanese” McDonaldsevelt asked the
country for a day of remembrance for the bloodiest day in American
history since the Battle of Antietam. An official inquiry into what
the 1st Marines were doing in the Central Pacific and why
there was no better protection afforded them will commence shortly.
Wehrmacht Chooses New Uniforms. Berlin, 30 July 1942, AP
Newswire. After some minor difficulties in combat situations on the
Eastern Front, German officials have elected to replace the old 'red
spot' grey uniforms with new uniformly grey ones. The old uniforms
were distinctive for the bright red center circle on the front
surrounded by concentric white and red circles, designed to "strike
fear into the enemy with its bold colors and hide the blood, giving
the enemy the impression that our soldiers are invincible"
(translated from a pamphlet from the manufacturer, Das Blutboot
Bros.). Recent assaults on prepared Soviet positions have
produced unusually high casualties, prompting some officials to
launch an inquiry. The new uniform is also novel as it comes with
sleeves.
Expedition to
Find Zheng He’s Treasure Ends in Disaster. Pago Pago, September
8, 1942. Micronesia Courant. A U.S. Navy-led group of adventurers
recently arrived in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean to search for the
rumored treasure of Ming Dynasty admiral Zheng He. Instead of aiding
in the quest to find spices, gold, or even the wreckage of Ming
ships, the voyage ended in disaster when multiple U.S. Navy ships,
including a pair of aircraft carriers, were sunk. Most of these
rumors of Zheng He’s treasure claim that the windfall is somewhere
in the Indian Ocean, but an American company recently announced a
breakthrough and claimed that the treasure is actually sunk near the
Gilbert Islands. The company, I.B. Gull & M.R. Able, enlisted the
help of the U.S. Navy to try to find the lost treasure. Gull-Able
was able to recruit the cream of the navy for the operation, with
half a dozen aircraft carriers and nearly all of the USN’s Pacific
Fleet battleships taking part. The carriers were specially chosen in
order to provide stable, flat platforms that divers could use as
bases for their dives.
Unfortunately, a pair of diving mishaps doomed the expedition.
First, the entire diving crew of the USS Enterprise went
overboard at the same time, which created such an imbalance on board
that the ship was doomed to capsize. All souls were lost in this
sinking. The second disaster was caused by a false alarm raised over
the USS Saratoga. While the diving crew was overboard, a
crewman in the crow’s nest raised an alarm after sighting what he
though was a Japanese dive bomber. The alarm rang out and all ships
in the fleet turned to face the threat, apart from the Saratoga,
which was still in the process of cutting its divers’ ropes and
air hoses so that they would no longer encumber the ship. Meanwhile,
the USS Chester and the USS Hornet both rammed into
the large carrier, sinking both the Chester and the
Saratoga while severely damaging the Hornet. The Japanese
plane was later confirmed to be a rather large seagull.The U.S. Navy
has denied reports that Japanese forces in the area were responsible
for the sinking of these ships, and has claimed that Gull-Able is
responsible for the disaster. No statement has yet been released on
the frequency or legitimacy of these treasure hunts, or whether or
not they will continue in the wake of this disaster.
Philippines Falls
to Japanese War Machine; India, Australia, Hawaii under Threat.
Batavia, December 25, 1942. Canton Courier. Japanese forces
assaulted the city of Manila for the third time in this global
conflict on Wednesday. Despite stormy conditions, the assault
succeeded and the port city has now become a major center of
operations for the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. After two failed
attempts to take the city earlier this year, the Japanese armed
forces were finally able to capture the strategically located city
on December 23rd. After the first attempt failed after
poor preparation and a general lack of resources devoted to the
operation, a second attack seemed guaranteed to succeed in August.
Instead, thanks to an unknown cause and American troops fighting
with far better success than they had any reason to, that assault
also failed. But last week Japanese troops finally stormed the city,
with Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his
staff occupying the nearby town of Olongapo. American General
Douglas MacArthur, who “strategically retreated” to Los Angeles
after watching his entire army die or fall prisoner, was heard
whimpering, “I came through and I shall return when I’ve been built
again.” Of more pressing importance is the newly granted free hand
of the Japanese to press their initiative and institute their
policies elsewhere. With bases currently stretching from the
Seychelles and Ceylon in the Indian Ocean to Rabaul, the Marshall
Islands, and the Aleutian Islands in the Pacific, the Japanese
Imperial Army and Navy have now established themselves as the
dominant power in East Asia. They have gone toe-to-toe with the USSR
on land and come out victorious, and they have also taken land and
naval bases from the Commonwealth of Nations, against token
resistance. They have now defeated the United States on land, adding
to the major naval victory they scored just two months ago. The
Japanese war machine is firing on all cylinders, and nowhere is
safe; once the Japanese put their sights on a location, be it India,
Australia, Hawaii, or even the mainland United States, there is no
stopping them.
Italian War Minister Says "Oops," Reveals He Traded Munitions for
Favors. Rome, 27 December 1942, Il Fortuna. The Italian
Minister of War, Aubbicone Croceroni, admitted today under intense
questioning from internal auditors that he has been redirecting
vital war material from munitions factories in order to pay for
private favors and to cover gambling debts. The materials were all
destined for Italy's single artillery munitions plant. As a result,
for the past eight months no Italian artillery units have received
functional shells. The investigation is on-going. Minister Croceroni
has been allowed to remain at his post and pledges to double down on
his latest endeavors.
Indian Quik-E-Mart Stock Soars. Mumbai/Bombay, 31 December
1942, Bombastic Times. Who needs a Quik-E-Mart? We do! The
stock for the Indian based company that builds and manages
convenience food stores in India, eastern Africa, and around the
Pacific has nearly tripled in the past four months, largely based on
the demand from only three stores located in Cairo and one in the
desert to its west. Apparently Italian troops in Egypt have sat for
so long without activity that the soldiers have now started engaging
in a new activity called "hanging out" where they consume mass
quantities of processed foods imported from India while standing
outside the Mart and singing in absurd parodies of Indian English.
Just 45km to the west, two full Indian corps remain cut off and
encircled by the Italian army. Yet the Quik-E-Mart inside the
Commonwealth lines is also doing record business. Apparently the
Italians are so addicted to the wares that they are informally
allowing the Quik-E-Mart inside the Commonwealth lines to be
resupplied as a gesture of goodwill. The demand there is also so
high that "trucks are seen driving in and out of the Quik-E-Mart
almost nonstop 24 hours per day."
Americans Join British
Allies in Reluctance to Fight.
Honolulu, 20 February 1943, Honolulu Dispatch. Three dozen
American construction engineers abandoned Johnston Atoll last week,
as Japanese forces stormed ashore to token resistance. The capture
of the islands gives the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army a new
forward base from which to launch attacks on American troops and
shipping in the Hawaiian Islands region. This combat follows the
major theme that the Allies have been following in the Indian and
Pacific Oceans of late: American, Russian, and British troops have
been "strategically retreating" ever since the U.S. Navy lost a
major engagement in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. Admiral Chester
Nimitz, commander of the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor, has been
content to shuttle troops around and wait for Yamamoto to slip up.
At press time, however, Yamamoto still has not blundered, and the
U.S. Navy continues to sit on its haunches. Both the U.S. and the
Commonwealth have made their goals clear: Port Said must be retaken,
and British vessels must rebase there at great frequency again.
However, such a strategy comes at great cost: the Allies have
abandoned their territories and countrymen in the Pacific region.
With the coming of spring comes campaigning weather. Will we see a
determined U.S. in the Pacific, or will Roosevelt continue to play
the waiting game with Tojo?
Allies Take Heavy Losses in Med Fighting. Rome. 2 June 1943.
AP Newswire. A general Allied offensive against Italy was foiled by
the brave actions of the Italian armed forces. Fearless housewives
and old men near Venice used shovels and brooms to valiantly clean
up the bodies of dead American paratroopers when they accidentally
fell out of several thousand C-47s over the skies of Italy. "It was
horrible!" said Gina Correta, "All those screams. I thought those
boys were supposed to have parachutes when they jumped out of
planes. I volunteered to clean up because those Yanks all have a lot
of chocolate bars on them." The staunch Italian navy was not to be
outdone. After fearlessly fleeing the British heavy ships for
months, several bold squadrons of aircraft mercilessly bombed two
battleships that had run aground on a cleverly constructed trap
formed when the Italian navy sunk several of its own cruisers. "The
trap was perfecto!" exclaimed Rolly Polly Auberponi, head of the
naval air station on Malta. "Even our bombers could hit the British
ships when stationary. Losing a few cruisers to bloody the Brits was
completely worth it." The Italian Ministry of War refused to comment
when asked how Italy planned to take advantage of their most recent
successes.
British General Plays - and Loses - a Game of "Where's Burma?"
Dateline London. 17 June 1943. Reuters. Commonwealth troops in India
are currently under the able command of Lord Mountbatten, who has
made the bold decision to place his headquarters in Karachi, some
1800km from the front lines in Burma. Pro-Japanese partisans
occupied the Mandalay oil fields about 14 months ago, prompting a
quick and vigorous response from the War Office. They immediately
made arrangements to move the afternoon tea in Calcutta to 3pm
instead of 2pm to allow the officers to have a shower and dry off
after the late morning croquet matches. When pressed by PM Galehill
about an apparent lack of action to reclaim the oil fields in Burma,
Lord Mountbatten responded with surprise at the suggestion that
Burma was once in fact a Commonwealth possession. According to
inside sources it took Lord Mountbatten fourteen tries to
successfully locate Burma on the world map. When asked for a reply
to this report, Mountbatten's headquarters refused to comment on
anything other than the upcoming "Ashes" cricket tournament,
expressing great confidence in the English team this year. Note to
the reader: The tournament (to be held in Australia) might be
canceled this year pending threatening operations by the Empire of
Japan.
Hoodoo Gurus Hit Tops Charts
in Australia Amidst Japanese Occupation.
21 August 1943. Billboard Press Release. LONDON-- The
Hoodoo Gurus have released a new song that has taken the Australian
nation by storm almost as quickly as the invading Japanese troops.
The song, entitled "Tojo Never Made It to Darwin," has Aussies
rocking their boots off to a funky, driving beat. The song seems to
deal with the singer's breakup with a girl named Tracy, but the mood
quickly shifts. The song's chorus simply rolls off one's tongue: "Tojo
never made it to Darwin; instead, he simply landed at Adelaide. Tojo
saw too much resistance up north; he decided to hit down south." The
Gurus have claimed their first hit since 1942's "Australia Will
Never Fall (The ANZACs Will Protect Us All)" with this hit. The
music scene has forever been impacted by the new tune's political
nature, and we will have to see what the coming year holds for
Australians.
Chavvy the Lion Among
Casualties Amidst SADG Mishaps.
Cape Town, 29 August 1943. BBC South Africa. The tide of
Japanese aggression continues to rise, with South Africa becoming
just the most recent victim in a series of daring conquests by the
Imperial Japanese Army. But the greatest loss incurred in South
Africa appears to be not the manpower, nor the coal resources mined
there, but the South African Defense Group's mascot, Chavvy. After
Japanese troops landed northeast of Durban last week, the SADG
attempted to gather forces in Pretoria to protect the capital
against Japanese General Yamashita and his crack troops.
Unfortunately, they railed through Pretoria and all the way
to N'Dola in Northern Rhodesia before realizing their mistake. By
the time they recognized the error and tried to return, the capital
city had been taken and the Japanese were preparing to expand the
war into the Atlantic Ocean. In the carnage brought about in
Pretoria, someone opened up the cage of Chavvy, the SADG's lion
mascot. The lion attempted to escape the burning city, as Japanese
troops tried to recapture the large cat. Chavvy managed to escape
the Nippon invaders, but an American dentist on safari shot the
gentle giant less than five miles from the city. Amid the current
shift in government and the confusion caused by the invading troops,
it is unclear whether or not the American will face charges for the
shooting of Chavvy.
McDonaldsevelt: "It's Deja Vu
All Over Again." Brisbane, 10 September 1943.
Australia Weekly. In what some military experts are calling
"the actual worst maritime disaster in U.S.
history," close to 45,000 American servicemen were killed by the
Japanese menace last week. One year to the day after the American
navy suffered its first major defeat of this so-called "World War,"
and just over a year since about 20,000 American marines met their
ends near the Marshall Islands, the Imperial Japanese Navy has
proven once again that it is the most powerful force on waves. A
significant fleet sailed out near the Gilbert Islands on September
6th to pay respects to the sailors and airmen killed in the Battle
of the Southwest Pacific on September 6, 1943. After departing from
the area around Tarawa, the fleet was ordered to the Caroline
Islands for an invasion near the major Japanese naval base of Truk.
As the entire USN Pacific Fleet gathered to depart Tarawa, three
squadrons of the Imperial Japanese Navy gathered under significant
squadrons of fighters and dive bombers from over a dozen carriers,
as well as surrounding islands. After 6 bloody hours of fighting, a
clear victor had been determined and tens of thousands of American
sailors and marines had been killed. Going to the bottom during the
Second Battle of the Southwest Pacific included the American carrier
Yorktown, the 1st and 3rd Marine Corps, nearly all of the
US Navy's lift capacity, nearly 3,000 American fighters and bombers,
and American morale. The Japanese lost around 400 airplanes, and
succeeded in deterring an American invasion for the foreseeable
future. President McDonaldsevelt was seen mumbling to himself over a
nearly-empty fifth of bourbon just two hours after hearing of the
disaster. "14, 14, 14," the great leader repeated over and over.
What could be the significance of this integer?
"Rule Britannia" Given New Title. Whitehall,
21 September 1943. Daily Express. In a move that would
surprise nobody familiar with the course of the War of the Pacific
and Indian Oceans, the British Crown's exclusive trademark on the
song "Rule Britannia" has expired and the Japanese Emperor Hirohito
has claimed the song for his own nation. The song, now entitled
"Rule Nippon Fleet," tells how the Japanese fleet has now defeated
every major force thrown against it. The opening verse, which
formerly detailed the origins of the British Navy, now explains how
the Japanese came to their present position of power. Each verse
ends with the powerful "Rule, Nippon Fleet! Rule the waves;
Nipponese will never be slaves." When asked to comment on these
changes, PM Galehill had the following to say: "We've never been
bothered by losing anything! We've lost Egypt, Ceylon, Malaya, South
Africa, Rabaul, Aden, parts of Australia, and someplace called
Burma. What difference will the trademark to one song make? We will
continue to strategically retreat to the sound of silence, as we
have done so many times to the sound of 'Rule, Britannia.' After
all, if we played 'Rule Nippon Fleet,' we might be sued by the
Emperor and his cabinet." Wise words from a courageous leader.
War News Stops! No One Seems to
Know Why - Correspondents Simply Stop Writing! |