Sept/Oct 1939: The fall opened with a lovely cool breeze caused by the German panzers rolling over the Polish countryside. Polish outlying units were decimated without loss. The Italians reinforced Egypt while the Japanese poured new units into China. The weather quickly soured, however, but this did not stop the Germans, who in subsequent impulses reduced Lodz and Warsaw. The only German casualty was a single Ftr shot down by the brave Poles who interned their planes in Lithuania. The fourth impulse was eventful, however, as the Commonwealth and France declared war on Italy, catching them by surprise. Both Italian TRSs were sunk, one in Bardia, the other in LaSpezia. Italian morale sinks as well. Turns ends with German units heading west.  

Nov/Dec 1939: Weather is mixed, but the Axis get a few clear impulses. Denmark is overrun followed by the Netherlands. No Axis casualties and the Germans are ahead of schedule. Allies reinforce Egypt with a Mech, but there is little movement in African desert. Japanese bomb Chinese cities to little effect. At the end of the turn the Germans boldly invade Belgium, smashing the front lines in bad weather. The Allies quickly intervene and take up positions on the river line as the turn ends.

Jan/Feb 1940: Initiative is crucial – and the Allies win on the reroll. The win allows the Allies to finish occupying the Belgian line and prevent a German breakthrough. Heavy sighs of relief can be heard in Paris and London (not to mention Brussels!). The weather clears (literally fair in N. Temperate) for two impulses and the Germans annihilate a French stack with an anti-tank division (again, no losses). The air-war shifts to the Axis as a French fighter bites the dust. Two British TAC in Egypt bomb the Italians repeatedly but manage to fail every single groundstrike. Japan DOWs Persia and takes an oil hex. Britain surprises the world and sends South African peacekeepers to prevent the conflict from escalating. At the end of the turn Polish partisans seize iron mines in the southwest and Malayan partisans rise up to protest British occupation. Grumbles are heard on all sides.

Mar/April 1940: More dastardly good weather at the start of the turn and the German are poised to advance. Despite brilliant success in the air war (Germans down another French FTR and a British TAC to no losses) the ground troops are not well organized after some timely groundstrikes. No attacks come off as the weather turns sour, but the Germans have their armor and huge airforce in position. Late in the turn the British launch a high odds attack against the Italians south of Bardia, but it ends in disaster. Brits lose a corps and retreat the Italians without loss. Despite turns of convoy attacks in the Med, the British cannot find the Italian convoys. Italian sub raiding has also been ineffective. In the Pacific the Japanese strategic campaign gets better, causing 2 BPs of damage to the Chinese. The Soviets demand the Baltic States and also claim Bessarabia, which the Germans allow.

May/June 1940: The Allies look to have a strong line in Belgium, but the Germans drop an O-chit and exploit a British mistake by blitzing a hex and then overruning a single 2 factor unit in the rear. The Brits try for a daring counterattack which nets the death of a German armor corps, but otherwise fails spectacularly; Belgium is lost with most of the British corps dying horrible deaths. The Brits continue to suffer in the air war, losing a Ftr and two Tac in air combat. Near the end of the turn the Brits in N. Africa eliminate the last of the Italian army in Cyrenaica, clearing the way to Tripoli. Attempts are made to sink the Italian convoy, but four tries all fail. Japan postures in China but all that happens is more strategic bombing. Some shifting about of corps in Persia makes the British peacekeeping forces there nervous, but no action is seen. At the end of the turn the Germans blitz into France, where the line is looking thin.

July/August 1940: Axis win initiative despite a re-roll and capitalize on the good weather. In the first impulse more French corps are munched and the Germans organize for better attacks. The feared offensive comes in the next Axis impulse when the Germans drop their second O-chit. Strasbourg is taken and the Maginot line falls, although the Fallschirmjager corps dies in the operation. In the center the Germans succeed brilliantly, taking another hex near Paris, but the northern assault on Lille fails with heavy German casualties. More British planes die, but this time a Stuka dies as well. The Italians attempt to strike the French Trs in Marseilles, but narrowly miss damaging it. An Italian Nav rebased in France tries to cause problems for the British in the Bay of Biscay, but the stalwart carrier planes of the RAF shoot the pesky Nav down. The N. African command under Wavell advances to Tripoli and successfully assaults the city. The Japanese again reorganize their units, sending reinforcements to Persia and concentrating units around Chang-sha. An attack looks imminent, but it might just be posturing. The Brits successfully strat bomb the Germans, starting the economic war.

Sept/Oct 1940: The weather starts clear and remains clear for the first half of the turn. The Allies finally win initiative and try to disorganize the German front lines, but fail miserably. Another British Tac is lost. In their impulse the Germans line up again and assault Lille, this time without loss. They attack other French possessions, taking Metz and clearing the Maginot line completely, and a hex adjacent to Paris. Panic grips the city, but the French regroup, holding a line from Rouen to southeast of Paris. Eventually the weather turns rainy and halts the German onslaught. The British try to tempt the Italians in to combat, but the Italians will have none of it. The British in Libya reorganize. Additional British troops finally return to France, but oddly they deploy to Bourdeaux in the south, well away from the front. Japan continues to concentrate forces in southern China, but a HQ is removed and rebases at the end of the turn to Siam, which was activated as a minor ally. The Axis have not yet failed a US-entry roll, so the Americans slumber on despite the growing Axis menace. 

Converted to a training game. War Reports end.