Sept/Oct 1939: The conflagration begins. The Poles defend their core territory, but the Germans manage a quality assault on Lodz anyway, taking the city to the loss of the ENG (1/2S). Two other attacks clearing Polish units are successful. The Italians move units to the French frontier. The Japanese send more army units to China, with the two MAR heading to Canton and Hainan.
  The CW and France declare war on Germany. The USSR claims eastern Poland. The BEF lands in northern France (Gort + 2 corps) but other naval assets including land units head to the Med. France pulls in the corps from Syria. The Chinese move the Workers units forward, but otherwise hold the line. Chengchow, despite being exposed, is reinforced with two Nationalist units. 
  Impulse #3 and the weather sours. The Germans nonetheless reduce another hex of Polish defenders, but wait to assault Warsaw. The Italians are quiet. The Japanese move Terauchi from Manchuria to northern China. 
  Impulse #4 sees the USSR declare war on Iran. The US is outraged (naturally). The CAV defender of Tehran is flipped, but the going is slow for the Soviets. The CW bomb Germany and take one BP despite the muddy weather. The CW reposition fleets, now building a rather large one in Alexandria, Egypt. The French form a defensive line with their reserves and reinforcements.
  Impulse #5: The weather remains foul. The Germans clear a last hex before Warsaw and surround it. More quiet from Mussolini and the Japanese still continue to push army units forward to the front in China, but no attacks happen in the poor weather.
  Impulse #6: Everyone on the Allied side passes except the USSR, which mounts a +14 assault on Tehran, taking the city (and conquering Iran) without loss. The end of turn is then rolled–with precisely what is needed to end the turn.
  A Chinese PART appears in northern China and the US elects to start the lend-lease and production of Chinese aircraft. 

Nov/Dec 1939: The Axis win initiative but the weather remains muddy in Europe. The Germans, since it is early in the turn, elect to wait on assaulting Warsaw after their groundstrikes all fail. The Italians move a MECH to eastern Libya, perhaps to counter the large CW force growing there. Japan take a combined, sending a DIV and a MAR westward off the coast of Africa. The US is incensed by this naked act of aggression despite protests from Italy that they invited the Japanese to use their E. African ports.
  Impulse #2: The Soviets start railing corps… back to Vladivostock?! Over the turn, multiple corps join the forces originally there on the border with Manchuria. The CW sets up with a naval, protecting convoy lines and shipping more units to the Med. The French collect the Senegalese corps and return it to France. China nervously watches the Japanese forces in the north get steadily thicker. The Japanese built an ARM first turn, so the fear is that the summer might be bloody.
  Impulse #3: The weather gets worse in Europe. Germany starts moving other corps westward, but again decides to wait on assaulting Warsaw as again the groundstrikes fail. The Italians have loaded up units on the French border but pulled the Red Sea DD fleet back to Italy.
  Impulse #4: A quiet Allied turn. The Soviets shifts units to Siberia; the CW and France wait patiently in the snow. China prays for a harsh winter.
  Impulse #5: The weather gets marginally better, but the Germans are done waiting. They assault Warsaw in the snow, and the Wehrmacht is up to the task, taking the city without loss on a +8 assault. They also declare war on Denmark, taking the country quickly. They surprise the Danes and manage to capture or sink almost every CONV and ship (only 2 CONV escape!). The Japanese rebase into African ports. The Italians sit quietly.
  The turn then ends. No PARTs appear. The US sends resources to China and occupies Greenland and Iceland. One tension chit is added to the European pool. 

Jan/Feb 1940: The Axis win initiative again and the weather starts partly clear (mud in the temperate and arctic, clear all else). The Germans move their army west while garrisoning Poland and Denmark. The Italians scamper back to Italy with the TRS, fearful of the Allies picking it off. The Japanese declare war on Saudia Arabia and land on the oil hex in the surprise impulse with a DIV. Saudi Arabia aligns with the CW since there are significant forces in Egypt accessible by rail. Surprisingly, popular opinion in the US hardly notices the naked aggression of the Japanese.
  Impulse #2: The Soviets occupy the Baltic States (without provoking American ire). The CW take a naval and set up convoy defense and shuttle some units, again to the Med. The French pull in the Moroccan corps to mainland France. China extends its paper-thin line in the north to counter the large Japanese in the area, but poor weather is hampering Japanese efforts to advance.
  Impulse #3: Germany aligns Hungary, who join the Axis cause. The expansion of the war causes some alarm in the US, however. The Germans push west, with significant forces in the west, but part of the army strewn out across Germany and Poland. The Italians are quiet and the Japanese land the MAR on the oil hex in Saudi Arabia, securing the hex. Yamamoto boards a ship, clearly headed to Saudi Arabia to provide supply inland.
  Impulse #4: The CW rails a fast INF corps to western S. Arabia to support the new ally. The French form a solid line on the border of Belgium, with 2 CW corps anchoring the coastal hex. The Soviets continue to shift units to Siberia and China offers prayers to their ancestors, even though the anticipated offensive from the Japanese has yet to materialize. The Japanese have built basically nothing other than land forces up to this point. 
  Impulse #5: Japan uses political pressure to shut down the Burma Road, much to the dismay of the beleaguered Chinese. Nonetheless, in the bad weather, no attacks are made. The Japanese now have two HQs on the front in northern China and an impressive line of units. The Italians are quiet despite having a sizable force in both Libya and on the French border. Germany now has a solid line of units running from the North Sea down to Switzerland, but surely the Germans would not violate Dutch neutrality, right?
  We won’t find this turn, as it ends on the Axis impulse, shifting the initiative marker back to neutral. No PARTs appear (despite a chance of one in Palestine) and the US selects no options.

Mar/April 1940: The Allies win initiative despite a re-roll demand from the Axis. The Allies go first! The British reinforcement arrives in Riyadh before the Japanese can push inland. The French and Brits prepare lines in France, but the weather is rainy. The Soviets are quiet, the Chinese hold a thin line in the north.
  Impulse #2 sees the Germans declare war on the Netherlands (aligns with CW). The subsequent +13 assault takes Amsterdam without loss. Most of the navy (except one CA) escapes to continue the fight from England. The Italians continue to build up the French border but show no signs of entering the war otherwise. Japan pushes yet more corps into China, but no attacks occur in the bad weather.
  Impulse #3 is a quiet turn. The CW protects their convoy lines, the French hold a firm line on the border of Belgium. The Soviets move additional corps to Siberia. China prays for a long, muddy spring into summer.
  Impulse #4. Germany completes the occupation of the Netherlands and pushes up to the Belgian border. Italy remains quiescent. Japan waits for clear weather.
  Impulse #5. The weather clears, but the Allies get together and decide to try and deny the Axis an early clear weather impulse. And… it works! With all Allies passing, the turn ends early (and the passing mattered to the roll). No PARTs appear. The US passes Edward R. Murrow and resources to the Allies, with one total tension chit. 

May/June 1940: The Axis win initiative and go first. The weather is clear and the Germans immediately declare war on Belgium. They also drop a land chit and use it to launch three attacks, two in Belgium and one in France through the Ardennes. The Belgians are swept away without loss, but the key blitz attack into France fails. It is a close call, since the French were not ready there and an exploitation would have been a serious problem. Instead, the attack fails (1/-) and the French lose Belgium but keep a solid front line. Meanwhile, the Japanese use the clear weather and their now large army in China to assault forward. They take a +6 assault into the river-protected northern mountain hex, and smash forward, killing to communist units (-/2S on a rolled ’18’ attack). The Chinese line in the north is now seriously weak. Fortunately the Japanese had to flip forward to take the mountain hex, giving them a slight breath to respond. Italy has built up on the French border and still has a large force  on the Egyptian border.
  Impulse #2. The UK takes a land (!) and moves its Egyptian force close to the Libyan border and also pushes into western Belgium to meet the oncoming Germans. The French also push up one hex to take western Belgium. French and British forces are fortunate and manage to flip several front-line German units in Belgium. The Chinese, desperate, cede Si-an to the Nationalists in order to keep a communist line to its north. Mao keeps the front in supply from Lan-Chow. Soviet sabre-rattling produces an effect as the USSR sells out China for resources in a peace treaty with Japan. 
  Impulse #3. Seeing the Brits potentially ready to strike, the Italians reveal the inherent violent and aggressive nature of fascism by declaring war on France and the Commonwealth. Subs try to hit the CW lines, but after a long period of inactivity, were a bit rusty and failed to locate any ships. Germany reorganizes its front line, preparing for a new round of attacks later. Japan shuffles forward in China in the north, but send an ARM and more units to central China, near Chang-Sha. 
  Impulse #4. The USSR claims Bessarabia, and the Germany allows the claim. Germany then allows the territorial changes from Hungary and Bulgaria. France continues to hold the line. The UK takes a naval and sets up heavily in the Med with DIVs on ships ready for invasions. China maintains a thin line. Allied bombing disorganizes a corps in one German stack in Belgium.
  Impulse #5. The weather turns seriously yucky. The German navy sorties and tries to raid convoys, but in the bad weather, no combat occurs. The Italians look to establish supply to Libya, and succeed. The Japanese wait for better weather, but bring back Yamamoto from S. Arabia to southern China.
  Impulse #6. The Allies are worried about the likelihood of clear weather and a now face-up German army again, so all but the CW pass. The CW land a DIV to join MECH (that came from Tunisia earlier) and flank Tripoli from the rear. No attacks occur, but the Axis are pained when the turn then ends. 
  No PARTs appear. The US embargoes Japan and occupies the Azores, drawing one tension in the European pool.

July/August 1940: The Allies initially win initiative, but an Axis reroll secures them the first move. The weather is clear (except for the N. Monsoon zone). The Germans on the first impulse attack central Belgium with what becomes a +8 blitz after air combat. They gain the hex, but take a loss (1/R), and then reorganize their front line. The Italians decide to help and launch a +9 assault on the alps. They perform surprisingly well, taking the hex and killing two French units without loss (rolled ’17’). The Japanese flip their ARM forward and then reorganize it, looking the pressure the Chinese in the center.
  Impulse #2. The Chinese use reinforcements to help the line, and re-occupy Si-an to allow Nationalist units to cover a gap in the line to the south. The French and Brits strike the German line, but manage to disorganize only one unit on the front line (but an important ARM unit). The French struggle to plug the breach in the alps; reinforcements are on their way to the area. The Soviets start building up in southern Poland and on the border of Rumania. 
  Impulse #3. The weather remains clear (it is July!). The Germans find the French resistance stiff, especially with British ground strikes. They launch a +5 blitz attack in Belgium that succeeds (*/1B), leaving all of Belgium in German hands except one hex in the north held by the British. The Japanese push up an ARM to the front in central China and mass more units in the north. 
  Impulse #4 is a quiet one. The Chinese try to cover a long thin line. The French move units to cover the Italian breach in the south. The CW takes a naval and covers CONV while sending yet more units to the Med.
  Impulse #5. The Germans finally run out of war fortune. They take an initially promising attack on the Brits in northern Belgium, but after air support clears, it drops to a +4 that fails painfully (2/-). The Germans reorganize, using most of the rest of their HQs. The Japanese launch a blitz attack in central China and bash the hapless defenders (+7 blitz, -/B*), causing a breach in the lines between Chang-Sha and Chengchow.  The Italians huddle in Libya, struggling to keep supply there.
  Impulse #6. The UK invades Sardinia, taking the RES hex and launches a +11 assault on Tripoli (from forces dropped in Tunisia earlier), which also succeeds. A face-down TRS is overrun, but not only survives the overrun, it also evades the massive CW fleet trying to intercept it in the Med. The Soviets continue a slow build up to counter German and Rumanian sabre-rattling. The Chinese do not quite panic and try to react to the hole in their line. They manage to partially repair the line.
  Impulse #7. The Germans, sensing a tipping point, drop a super land on Guderian and attack. A +6 blitz against those same CW defenders is not well executed, but a retreat is forced that causes a MOT to die (guest HQ limits in France) and the hex is won. A +8 blitz into France succeeds (-/1B*). A German MTN rails to the Alps. The Japanese shuffle forces to exploit the success in the center, but ZOC and supply hamper them.
  Shockingly, the turn ends–really early. The Axis bemoan their ill fortune, but there is still a gap in the Chinese lines. A PART appears in Palestine. The US takes no actions.

Sept/Oct 1940: The Allies win initiative despite an Axis demand for a reroll. China breaths a sigh of relief and manages to plug the gap in the center of the line. The line is not strong, but now most of the attacks must be assaults, are in the mountains, or across rivers. The UK navalizes and the French lay in a double line from Lille to the Swiss border. The Soviets are starting to loom larger on the Rumanian border and in East Poland.
  Impulse #2. With clear weather, the Axis go cracker dog. The Japanese assault Chengchow and take it despite heavy losses (2/2). The losses inspire lawlessness and the troops go nuts, causing US entry to rise. An attack in northern China goes middling (1/1 on a +5 assault) but the hex holds because of a timely bit of HQ support from Mao. In France the Germans find their mojo has slipped a bit. A +7 blitz takes a hex but with cost (1/R) and a +9 attack with the Italians in the Alps takes a hex but flips the army (1/1). 
  Impulse #3. The weather turns bad. The CW uses ART to strike the Italian enclave in and around Tobruk. A +10 assault against Bardia follows, with complete success. The French and Chinese takes land to reorganize and maintain their lines. The US watches imperiously.
  Impulse #4. With the poor weather, the Germans instead result to a gambit. The French have left Paris defended by only a 1-1 GAR! Even in the rain, the Germans mount an operation and drop paratroopers. The resultant attack is a +10… but the luck of the French holds. The result is (1/1) and the PARA does not survive to take the capital. The Japanese wait in the rain in China and the Italian sneak CONV out for supply and pull their aircraft back from Libya.
  Impulse #5. The weather worsens. France takes a combined to hunt Italians with the CW and they find success, sinking the Vittorio Veneto and damaging the Abruzzi to no losses of their own. The French and Chinese continue to hope for bad weather.
  Impulse #6 see the Italians try to run a TRS back from eastern Libya to Italy, but the Brits catch and sink the ship. Germany takes a combined a hunts CONV, but fails to find anything in the bad weather. Japan bides its time, happy with its advances. 
  The turn then ends. No PARTs appear and the US opens the Burma Road (generating tension).

Nov/Dec 1940: The Axis win initiative. The weather starts bad and stays bad, snow in the temperate and fast impulses. The Germans lick their wounds, reorganizing the line but not attacking. The Italians and Germans advance another hex in the Alps, pushed up against Lyons. German CONV raids take some CONV, but they lose the Schleswig-Holstein and San Giogio sunk with a sub damaged. The Brits use their impulse to repair the convoy lines. No action occurs in China except for yet more land units coming to the north and south. The Chinese push out around Canton.
  The turn ends after only 2 impulses each, a quiet end to the year. The Germans are in France, but with a large French army between them and Paris, although they have a breakout of sorts in the south. The British have conquered Libya, but an Italian enclave remains around Tobruk. The Japanese are heavily invested in China and have started to make gains in both the north and center, but have yet to take a FACT or RES. The Soviets have basic garrisons in Siberia and Iran and a building force concentrated south of the Pripets. 
  The US gifts destroyers to the CW.

Jan/Feb 1941: The Axis win initiative and the weather starts reasonably good for January — mud in the temperate. The Axis start a redemption campaign. Germany, in the rain, assaults the French line and on a +8 shatters the defenders (-/1S) and moves forward. A +6 assault in the south takes Lyon, although the Italians suffer two losses (2/1). The French line in the north is compromised and there is a large breakout in the south. The Japanese reinforce their army in China, which is now obscenely large. 
  Impulse #2. The CW takes a naval, the French take a combined to retrieve their Senegalese corps (shattered last turn). The Soviets, thinking the Germans won’t get through France, decide to push forward and pressure the German border. The Chinese hold the line.
  Impulse #3. The weather worsens to snow in Europe. The Germans take a +5 blitz in France, but the attack fails (-/-). The plethora of HQs, however, reorganizes the line afterwards. The Italians push further into France with the support of 4 German corps. They also manage to evade Allied naval forces and evacuate Balbo from Libya. The Japanese shuffle units forward, but do not attack in the poor weather.
  Impulse #4. The CW takes a land and kills an Italian GAR in Libya. All that remains is one stack of Italians in Tobruk and a PART in Palestine. The French reorganize to cover the southern breakthrough and try to better cover the spearhead in northern France. 
  Impulse #5 sees the weather stay snowy, but the Germans press on. Another +5 blitz is launched, but this time the Wehrmacht is to up the task (-/*1B) and the Germans get a hex on Paris. A +4 blitz jointly with the Italians in the south fails (-/-). The progress is slow, but overall Axis casualties have been relatively light. The Japanese continue to wait for attack weather. The turn then ends.
  Two PARTs appear in China and the US sends resources to the USSR. 

Mar/April 1941: The Allies win initiative and the weather starts out painfully clear for early March. The Brits take a land and eliminate the Tobruk pocket without loss, clearing Libya. The PART in Palestine is eliminated and the two Dodecanese ports in the eastern Med are invaded and seized by British DIVs. The French, now a bit desperate, try to huddle around Paris. The Soviets are a bit indecisive in Poland, but eventually decide to continue forming a forward line.
  Impulse #2 sees the Germans take advantage of the weather. A +16 blitz clears a hex and the ARM exploit forward. Another +11 blitz seizes the RES near Metz and an AA unit is overrun. In the south, a joint operation take a key hex on a +8 blitz, but the Italians have to lose a MOT (1/R). Japan now also gets in on the action, killing two PARTs without loss and assaulting a clear hex in central China (-/1). The Japanese suffer no loss, but the army flips in the center.
  Impulse #3. The weather sours and blizzards take over. The Allies do not do much. The CW take a naval and start moving land units in Africa, posting large fleets in the Med. The Chinese have not the forces to alter their line much, and hope to see more bad weather.
  Impulse #4. Despite the bad weather, the Germans surge ahead. Bulgaria is activated as a German minor (without US outrage) and the Wehrmacht takes a +8 assault in the blizzard that weirdly succeeds (*/2s). The Germans now have 3 hexes on Paris and things look shockingly bleak for the French. The Axis have had two surprisingly good turns of offense. Italy and Japan are relatively quiet.
  Impulse #5 see the weather clear again, much to the groans of the Allies. The French put their best local units into Paris and DeGaulle sprints for safety in southwestern France. Gort rails to Bayonne as the Brits abandon their allies, no longer holding the northern flank on the English Channel. The Soviet line looks reasonable in the south but thin in the north. 
  Impulse #6. With the good weather, the Germans mount a +12 attack on Paris, taking the city (1/2S), rolling the minimum needed to secure the capital. A debate ensues amongst the Allies: will Germany seek conquest or Vichy? The Italians sneakily move a MTN into Marseilles and Toulon, forcing the entire French navy to rebase to Oran. This will prove to be consequential.
  Impulse #7. The weather turns muddy. The French are passive, not having any reasonable way to retake Paris. The CW evacuate two corps from France and start shifting units from Africa. Where will they go now? China prays for continued muddy weather to hold a thin line. The turn refuses to end despite high odds of so doing. 
  Impulse #8 The Axis now are clearly preparing to Vichy. Germany activates Rumania as a minor ally (no US effect) and units rail eastward. The Italians contemplate further mischief in France, but not much happens. The Japanese continue to slowly shift forces, having a truly impressive army in China, but do not attack further. Surprisingly, the turn does not end. The Allies, having had enough, all pass and end the turn.
  Two more PARTs appear in China, way in the north as the Japanese have so many troops in main China. The US freezes Japanese assets and lend-leases to China, but no tension is created. As predicted, the Germans Vichy France. Because of there being battleships outside of Vichy (Vichy roll penalty), everything goes Vichy except Equatorial Africa, The Caribbean, and the Marquesas. The FF–with DeGaulle!–set up in Martinique. Critically, the Italians are out of oil–with activation the Rumanians cease sending their oil. Much of the Italian army was flipped in France…

May/June 1941: The Allies win initiative. The Soviets do not want to go first, hoping to save initiative for next turn, but his ‘allies’ outvote him and elect to go first. The weather, however, starts out bad (worst roll, mud in Europe). The CW takes a naval and puts a huge fleet off the coast of Italy, with two AMPHs and multiple DIVs. The Free French celebrate the fact that they now can cooperate with the British, and the Soviets slowly try to form a more cohesive line on the Polish frontier. With Rumania now in the war, the Soviets reveal that they were 2 measely garrison points short of being able to declare war on Germany. But it is now too late, the Germans easily shift enough forces to alter the garrison balance in their own initial impulse. 
  Impulse #2. As predicted, the Germans push up troops and aircraft to stabilize the eastern front. They also rail 3 HQs to Poland. It looks like tensions are escalating on the eastern front. Didn’t the Germans learn from the slow, painful French campaign? Do they really think that the Soviets will be easier to take on? The Italians see the danger in the Med, but with much of their army disorganized, cannot prevent British mischief. Japan occupies Indochina (one US entry chit) and move a corps into Hanoi.
  Impulse #3. Naturally, the weather clears (except for the north monsoon). The Brits gleefully announce a land and invade Taranto. The Italians make a battle of it, shooting down a CV plane, but cannot stop the operation, which takes Taranto without loss. A small Italian fleet there escapes to Genoa. Reinforcements are ready on TRS for the CW. More of the same from the USSR and China.
  Impulse #4. The Germans push their army eastwards, railing units to Rumania (including one HQ–von Leeb). No units head to Italy, however. The Japanese assault a clear hex just south of Si-an, taking the city (-/1S) on a +10 attack. The Chinese line is not broken, but the center is weak and the Japanese now have 3 hexes on Si-an. The Japanese put more units into southern China despite the weather, but do not attack there in the rain.
  Impulse #5. The weather turns yet more clear (clear everywhere). The CW off-loads additional corps into southern Italy, expanding to take Bari and pushing south and west, sealing off the tip of the Italian boot. The Soviets shuffle some troops and the Chinese abandon an exposed hex in the south to avoid giving the Japanese a high odds attack.
  Impulse #6. The Germans continue to aggressively push troops to Poland, but now divert a few corps to Italy and start rebasing some planes there as well. Italy has 2 HQs in the north that are flipped, but send what units they can to seal off the beachhead. Japan shifts units forward to take the territory ceded by China, and push even more corps into the south. No attacks occur, however.
  Impulse #7. The British send aircraft reinforcements to the Med, including both Sardinia and the boot. Units secure the hexes from Bari to near the tip of the boot, but the previous impulse an Italian corps blocked the straits to Messina. DeGaulle demands CW transports to lift him to the action, but thus far the CW say “non.” The Soviets have a reasonably good looking line in the south, but a weak and gappy line in the north, hoping the Germans are not ready for war.
  The turn then ends. No PARTs appear. The US relocates the fleet to Pearl Harbor and also starts lend lease to the USSR, pledging to send FTRs. 

July/August 1941: The Allies win initiative and go first. The Soviets prepare for war. The Germans have the garrison numbers, the Soviets are a bit short. So the Soviets wait. The CW takes a naval and posts a huge fleet off the coast of Italy, loaded with TRS carrying troops. The AMPHs return to the UK. The US starts sending naval units to Hawaii. China gets Stilwell as a reinforcement, placing him in the south to help stabilize things there.
  Impulse #2. The world breathes a sigh of relief as the Germans do not declare war on the USSR. A quick meeting of the Allies convenes and a new plan is hatched. The Germans send reinforcements to Italy and push up along the Nazi-Soviet border. Japan activates Siam as an ally (no entry change) and sends a HQ and a Mech DIV there. Poor weather in the south makes it a sitzkrieg for the moment. The Italians, having received oil from Germany, have a mostly reorganized army and shift to defend the coast while reinforcing the front. There are rumblings of internal dissent already–Italy is ripe for revolution and defection to the Allies.
  Impulse #3. The UK lands the forces on the transports and has a sizeable army in southern Italy now, including a decent airforce. Most of these troops are transferred from Egypt and Libya, with some reinforcements coming from the UK and India. The US continues to bolster the naval forces in Hawaii. The Soviets debate pushing up to the front in the north, but decide to wait. 
  Impulse #4. The Germans and Italians surprise everyone by declaring war on the USSR. Apparently they needed that first impulse to fine tune their forces. They slam into the Russian forces in the center and north. 4 attacks are complete successes but a +12 assault on Kaunas flips (-/1) the Germans (without loss, however). The HQs in the area quickly reorganize the front line. In the south, however, the Axis line is weaker and the Germans form a line without pushing to attack. The Italians finish a strong line in the boot, but there do not appear to be any clear lines of advance that are viable to crush the beachhead. Japan moves up land forces, some in the rain of southern China.
  Impulse #5. The weather clears everywhere (roll of ‘1’ gives clear even in the monsoon zones). The Soviets lead the way, using an armored army group in the south to kill a Rumanian MOT and open a hole in the lines in the south west of Odessa. In the center they reinforce the line up to the Pripets. In the north there is some panic as the Germans mostly destroyed any semblance of a line. Kaunas is reinforced and reserves populate cities in the north hedgehog style. Units group primarily around Minsk otherwise. The CW grounstrike Italian forces all around the peninsula, clearly trying to destroy Italian morale and foment dissent. The results are marginal, except some key units in Sicily are disorganized. The Hawaiian build up continues. China holds on.
  Impulse #6. The Japanese take advantage of the clear weather in the south to launch an assault. A +8 attack there, however, goes badly (1/-), flipping the Japanese forces. The Finns join the war against the USSR. The Germans assault Kaunas again, this time taking it without loss, killing both defenders on a +12 attack. The Axis in Rumania pull back a full hex row and von Bock rails with an INF corps to the Ploesti oil fields. 
  Impulse #7. The weather returns to ‘normal’ (clear except n. monsoon). The Soviets mount a major attack outside of Bucharest and on a +10 blitz bash the defenders, blitzing into the undefended capital (units were moved to complete the forward line). Rumania immediately starts sending diplomats to negotiate with the Soviets. The major source of Axis oil is threatened. The CW take a combined action and move a few units, but mostly do ground strikes that are not terribly successful. China is happy to have survived the latest attack.
  Impulse #8. The Axis immediately divert more troops to the south, but it is hard going to get anything there quickly through the Carpathians. The center holds pat. After all of the groundstrikes fail against the Soviet defenders around Minsk, the Germans decide not to attack and simply push up more units in the area. The Germans hold a loose line from south of Riga (still Soviet) SE to just outside of Minsk. The Italians and Japanese do not have much opportunities and perform minor adjustments.
  The turn then ends. The USSR conquers Rumania, who agrees to immediately lay down all of their arms. The US finally gears up production, producing more tension. 

Sept/Oct 1941: The Axis win the first initiative roll, but the Soviets demand a reroll, looking to pocket not only a decent Germany army, but the oil fields of Rumania as well. Alas, the Germans secure initiative. In the opening impulse, however, the weather is muddy in the temperate and arctic zones, slowing the German response. Units move to open the rail line from the oil fields back to Germany and Manstein with a DIV and MOT head east from Bratislava. When grounstrikes in the north fail again, the Wehrmacht remains quiet on the eastern front. Italy rushes to improve their garrison value. Japan take a combined, sending a GAR to Truk and a fast INF to Siam.
  Impulse#2. The CW set up again with a naval, again dominating the Italian coast. More units on TRS (now including a MAR and a PARA unit) appear. The CW are taking the invasion of Italy seriously. There is some discussion of whether the CW might try and bring Yugoslavia into the war. The Soviets have not the strength to make confident attacks and their line is thin (or less, in the north). But they push deeper into Rumania, seeking to encircle Ploesti and clear the mountains of central Rumania. In the north the reserves, now organized, push forward, reinforcing the Minsk area. China hopes for the best and a dreary turn.
  Impulse #3. The weather remains muddy. The Germans counter the Soviet push in central Rumania, just barely managing to block the Soviet attempt to cut off the Ploesti salient. The line is thin and held in parts by Hungarians. Yet again German ground strikes fail (mind you, in the rain), so no attacks occur. Japan takes another combined action, shifting forces, now starting to think that the American beast might be waking from its slumber.
  Impulse #4. The Soviets push more troops around Ploesti, trying to build up enough to either attack it or sever the line behind it. In the rain, however, no attacks are made. The CW have successful ground strikes in Sicily and then invade Syracuse with a joint MAR-PARA operation, taking the port without loss, securing a foothold on the island. No change in China, no change from the Free French, as DeGaulle fumes in Martinique. 
  Impulse #5. The weather clears world-wide. The Japanese jump at the chance, taking a +12 assault just east of Chang-sha, eliminating the defender without loss. The Germans attack the hex NW of Minsk with heavy armor, but the initially high odds attack is reduced by effective Soviet air support. The resulting +7 blitz fails (1/1) causing minor losses. In the south the Germans put together a solid line from Ploesti heading west on the rail line, just in time as the Soviets last impulse pushed up to that line. For the moment, Ploesti remains in supply and the German frantically pump all the oil they can out of the fields. Italy moves its last face up corps in Sicily north to hold a line from Palmyra to Messina.
  Impulse #6 and the Allies are on the move. The CW attacks Messina at +16, taking the city without loss. The Soviets use the good weather to kill a Bulgarian unit, isolating two other Bulg corps and also take a +14 blitz in central Poland to bust a hole just south of the Pripets. The Germans have the advantage in the north, but the Soviets have initiative in the south, threatening the Ploesti oilfields. The Chinese hold the line.
  Impulse #7. The turn goes increasingly long and weather is clear in the temperate but rainy in the arctic. The Germans attack in the north, assaulting across the river just west of Minsk, taking the hex without loss on a +6 attack. The Italians are playing a desperate game with the CW, trying to keep their government in power (garrison ratio given that the CW have Tripoli and a factory in Italy). The Japanese start moving DIVs to the coast and repositioning as the US is sabre-rattling.
  Impulse #8. The turn continues with the Soviets trying to pocket the Germans in Rumania. The Germans hold one rail line from Ploesti all way west through Hungary, but it is a thin line. The Soviets take a +8 assault in central Rumania to pinch the line. The attack succeeds, but does not quite isolate the Germans. Another attack in the center succeeds on a +16. The CW reinforces Italy and Sicily again. Overtures are made to the Yugoslavian government from the CW and USSR, but they have yet to join the Allies.
  The turn finally ends. No PARTs appear and the US selects no options.

Nov/Dec 1941: The Soviets have a chance to pocket almost all of Rumania, but the Axis win initiative and avert disaster. The Germans and Italians take a combined, use some spare offensive chit points and take out after the CW convoys. The weather is bad, however, and the Kriegsmarine is unable to locate the British convoys. The land moves for Germany are enough to keep the pocket to the oil fields open and supplied. Japan continues to both pressure China and move some units to rendezvous with naval task forces. Italy plays conservatively with limited oil.
  Impulse #2. The UK takes a naval and again dominates the Italian Coast and brings in TRS loaded with corps. The Chinese beg the CW to reinforce India and Burma to keep the Burma Road open, but those pleas are mostly ignored. The Soviets again try to pocket the Germans, taking a +7 blitz in the south which succeeds! The pocket is tenuous, however. The US moves forces to Midway and Wake.
  Impulse #3. The weather turns blizzardy. The Germans advance into the Pripet marshes, killing a Soviet corps on a +14 assault even in a blizzard. In the south they snake reinforcements forward through Hungary (led by Manstein) and again re-open the line to Ploesti. Japan continues repositioning and Italy takes a naval, trying to catch some poorly defended CW task forces. The Gloucester sinks, but so does the Duc d’Aosta in inconclusive naval conflict.
  Impulse #4. The Soviets, despairing of keeping the pocket closed, does a massive series of groundstrikes and flips all the units in Ploesti. The attack follows and the Soviets seize the vital oil fields on a +13 blitz. von Bock dies a heroic but futile death. The Soviets push forces towards Sofia to secure the southern flank. The CW shift corps to improve their garrison ratio in Italy, but have yet not enough to persuade the Italians to leave the war.
  Impulse #5. The weather turns worse (12!). The Germans try to pull their forces out of the threatened pocket in the south and decide to start pulling back to a more defensible line in the north, easing their strained supply lines. The Italians go hunting, trying to sink two unguarded CW TRS (one is the Queens!), but they cannot locate the ships. Japan now has 5 DIVs and multiple corps with ships and AMPH, but the mighty MAR still sits on the oil in Saudi Arabia. 
  The turn then ends. No PARTs appear. The US passes war appropriations. 

Jan/Feb 1942: The Axis win initiative, allowing the Germans an easier retreat to stable positions on the eastern front. The Allies now seem to have the ability to pull Yugoslavia into the war (four corps in Italy, playing with the optional rule that those corps need to be free of ZOCs). The Germans reinforce to guard against the threat. The Japanese use the clear north monsoon weather to attack in China, seizing a key RES hex in the south on a +13 blitz without loss. But on the combined, a CV fleet heads out north of the Hawaiian Islands…
  Impulse #2. The Soviets push reinforcements toward Sofia, getting close. In the north, the Soviets lurch forward slowly in pursuit of the Germans who are retreating in good order. In Rumania, they again try to close the pocket and manage to keep the pressure on, but no attacks occur. China tries to cover the line in the south. The CW, per usual, masses a fleet in the central Med with plenty of TRS loaded with more corps and planes.
  Impulse #3 and the Japanese enter the full war, declaring on the US, CW, and Free France. The surprise port strike is absurdly successful, with the Hornet, Ranger, Wasp, and the CA Chester all sinking, cutting the US CV fleet in half. Rabaul, Guam, the oil hexes on Borneo, and Surabaya are all taken. Japanese forces advance into Malaysia and seize Hong Kong. The Japanese also manage to sink 4 CONV in the Pacific. The Germans continue their quest to extricate their forces in Rumania while building a line to the north. The north looks good, the south is tenuous. Italy is hanging on.
  Impulse #4. The CW have enough corps and Yugoslavia joins the Allies, aligning with the USSR. The Soviets use the opportunity to take a +7 blitz attack in eastern Hungary. The result (1/B) is costly, but enough to once again pocket the German army in Rumania. Manstein is flipped in a key groundstrike inside the pocket. A German MOT east of that is annihilated inside the pocket on an automatic attack. A +12 assault of Sofia liberates Bulgaria without loss. The CW now have ridiculously large army assets on Sicily and in the boot, despite doing almost nothing to counter the growing Japanese threat. France is also lightly defended, but the CW refuse to see anything other than the Italian front. The US tries to find a Japanese task force in the Pacific, but fails. 
  Impulse #5 sees surprisingly good weather continue and the Germans falling back in order to line in Poland and E. Prussia. German units are railed into key cities in Italy. The Japanese advance in Burma and push into Malaysia. The Italians prepare to exit the war as it now appears that they cannot prevent the Allies from surpassing the garrison ratio required.
  Impulse #6 sees the Soviets attacking two face-down isolated units in the Rumanian pocket, both of which are successful (+12 and +14 attacks). The Brits consolidate in Italy. The Chinese are grateful for a distraction for the Japanese. The Austrian oil hex is put out of commission for the turn in strategic bombing. The German oil reserves are still fairly robust.
  Impulse #7. The turn continues with still more good weather. The Japanese sneak a unit into Kuwait and push towards Singapore. The Germans put more railed units into Italian cities and form a complete line from Trieste eastward into Hungary. THe turn refuses to end.
  Impulse #8. The CW attacks the Japanese DIV in Kuwait, but loses all their forces killing it (2/1), leaving the major port in Japanese hands. The Soviets reduce another hex in the Rumanian pocket on a +10 assault (1/2S). The Chinese hold the line, just moving the occasional reinforcement forward. The turn finally ends.
  No PARTs appear and the US has no special options to pick, just waiting for entry to declare war on Germany. Italy does capitulate, moving its capital in exile to Albania. It holds Albania and Eritrea. The Allies conquer an undefended Ethiopia. 

Mar/April 1942: Both sides have excellent opportunities and wish to go first, but the initiative luck favors the Axis, who win initiative despite the Allies forcing a reroll. The weather starts out completely clear again. The Germans at the start of the turn decide to destroy the corps remaining in the Rumanian pocket so they can rebuild (includes a disorganized Manstein). As a result, the eastern front now looks like a long, solid front. The Germans reinforce the southern portion and retreat to the river line by Warsaw in the north. In Italy the German defend the northern beaches and retreat up the boot to Rome. The Japanese take a naval and look to reinforce the NEI invasion. Still no appearance of a Philippines invasion.
  Impulse #2. The US declares war on Germany, the resolution sailing through Congress. Nothing immediately heads to Europe, however, except the slow trickle of support to the USSR (a LL plane) and Free France. The CW sets up with a naval, shifting troops already to TRS to reset for a new front. The Soviets spend the turn pushing up to the new front, but have no attacking opportunities. China… holds the line.
  Impulse #3. Finally the weather sours, really sours. Germany continues a slow retreat northward to defensible lines in Italy and adjusts its now complete line in the east. Italy gives useful moral support and tactical advice. Japan navalizes again, although not much appears to happen.
  Impulse #4. The Soviets raid the Baltic, removing all of the German CONV there. The CW finally start moving their army and follow the Germans northward in Italy while landing one additional reinforcement in Burma (deaf to the pleas of the Chinese to reopen the Burma road). The US shifts forces in the Pacific, snaking units and air force west and south across the Pacific. 
  Impulse #5 sees the weather stay muddy. The Axis impulse is uneventful.
  Impulse #6 sees the Allies also passive. The Brits push north, still not in contact with the German forces in Italy. The Soviets struggle to get their units to the front, moving one hex at a time in the mud. The Chinese hold the line. The turn then ends.
  No PARTs appear, no major events.

May/June 1942: The Axis lose initiative initially and demand a reroll, but the Allies win the day and go first. The weather starts clear (except for the north monsoon) and the bullets start flying. The Soviets lead off with a pincher attack designed to isolate Budapest. A +19 blitz in the south succeeds, with Soviet armor blitzing onto the plains behind the capital. A bold assault is launched on Warsaw that, after fierce air combat is dropped to a mighty +3 assault (the Soviets lost 2 FTRs in the air combat) and the result is a flipped Red Army (-/-). Two Soviet HQs reflip most of the units. The CW take a naval and start moving troops to attack positions. DeGaulle is brought over to the Bay of Biscay and dropped in Bordeaux, where a small British force has been stationed, never having been removed by the Germans since the fall of France. The Royal Marine also goes port to port there as well. The US sends a fast cruiser task force off the coast of Japan and somehow manages to sink 5 Japanese CONV without loss in two rounds of improbable combat.  The Chinese optimistically look forward to American aid.
  Impulse #2. The Japanese take a naval and send out significant forces to defend their convoys, but nothing comes of it. The Germans still have a line to Budapest and so start snaking units out of the area before another pocket emerges. A Soviet general is shot by the NKVD for failing to prevent the maneuver, which saves a good number of German units. 
  Impulse #3. The weather turns completely clear worldwide. The Soviets seek to encircle the units in Hungary, although the pocket is now considerably smaller. The new Soviet Parachute Brigade is put into action! Next time the plan is to include parachutes. The +11 blitz succeeds in taking the hex, but the PARA dies (1/B). Budapest is now isolated. The Soviets finally get their units in order in the north and a full line is present there. The crafty Brits groundstrike German defenders in western France, use the MAR to isolate them by walking north in a minor amphibious mission, and eliminate the defending INF. The CW has a small breakthrough of sorts heading north from Bordeaux. The US doubles-down on the convoy raid off of Japan, but no combat occurs. American aircraft are now approaching the Philippines via Australia and the US is basing ships in Manila. 
  Impulse #4: 

…turn in progress