{"id":1915,"date":"2026-09-08T15:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T20:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/?page_id=1915"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:26:26","slug":"wif-thrown-under-bus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wif-thrown-under-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"WiF – Thrown Under the Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Fall 2026 Campaign<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Germany: Hight
Japan\/Italy: Harlow Thompson, Rhett Paine<\/p>

USA\/France: Emmet Adams
USSR\/China: Thurn Martin
Commonwealth and General General: Grant Collins\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bids<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Commonwealth:\u00a0
USA\/France:
USSR\/China:<\/p>

Japan\/Italy:
Germany:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Sept\/Oct 1939: The conflagration begins. The Germans flank both east and west around Polish defenses and take risky assaults on Warsaw and Lodz. Both cities fall, but the Germans take four (!) casualties between the assaults, to the consternation of the Fuehrer. Japan shuttles troops to China and Italy quietly moves an INF corps to Libya from Somaliland. The Japanese do assault Si-an and destroy Mao’s HQ, but at heavy cost (2\/2). The city is taken but Japanese troops rampage, upsetting world opinion.
\u00a0 The CW and French declare war on Germany and British bombers strat bomb defenseless German cities, but the bombs mostly miss and take out civilian apartment complexes, although one BP is lost from Hannover. The Germans file a complaint on the international stage. The entire French army is bunched up in the Maginot line. The French take two risky attacks in the surprise impulse, a +9 against Saarbrucken and a +9 against the southernmost hex on the front. Both attacks are fortunate (-\/1S and -\/2S) with one roll of ’19.’ The Italian frontier is… completely bare as is the border of Belgium.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse 3: Italy weirdly declares war on France without warning the Germans, who are clearly incensed. Hightler calls for an Axis power conference but Thompsolini refuses to attend, citing “pressing concerns.” The Italians lurch into southern France as French forces are nowhere to be seen. The Germans isolate the remaining Polish forces and shift units west to deal with the French incursion. Denmark is attacked and added to the German cause. A +10 assault in China succeeds, killing one Chinese corps.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The British are also apparently unclear about French intentions and decide to open another front. They declare war on Belgium. The French are surprised, but understand when the British tell them that since the French do not inform them of anything, there is no reason for them to know British plans either. The Brits invade Belgian Congo, successfully landing there. The French forces are mostly disorganized (HQs spent to reorganize and lend HQ support) and there is nothing on the northern flank. China falls back in the north as the communist forces are now weak without Mao.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: German forces stream into undefended northern France (Lille is defended by two units that were railed there) and more are coming from the Polish front. No attacks are made, but there are German units already two hexes into France. The Italians strangely stop advancing in southern France after taking the resource point south of Lyon. Japan pushes forward, chasing the retreating Chinese army.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The British are at a loss to help the French and decide to send reinforcements to Gibraltar instead of France. Allied lack of cooperation is\u00a0 good news to the Wehrmacht, which has taken heavy casualties between costly assaults in Poland and fortunate actions by the French. France brings the Moroccan unit to France from the territory. The Soviets take eastern Poland the Baltics.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The Germans rail and rush whatever they can into France, and cut off the Maginot forces from Paris. The Italians just… hang out… not contributing to the French campaign. The Japanese slow down in poor weather in China.
\u00a0 Impulse #8: Little happens except the French pull back from the German hexes they took to try and counter the right hook being executed by the Wehrmacht. With much of their army cut off or disorganized, there is not much they can do to relieve Paris, which now has German units adjacent… in October of 1939. The British look on with concern.
\u00a0 Impulse #9: The weather is clear in the temperate zone and the Germans mass every available corps and assault Paris. The result is +9 attack with better than a 50% chance of ending the war! But the Germans troops are tired and the attack goes badly (1\/1) leaving Paris still in French hands. The Germans do have 3 hexes on the capital, however. The Italians still refuse to participate in actual combat operations, to the annoyance of the Germans who repeatedly ask why the Italians declared war if they refuse to actually\u00a0wage war.\u00a0<\/em>Japan is quiet, happy with initial successes in the north.
\u00a0 Impulse #10: The Allies pass except for France, who takes a naval and sends its fleets out to far flung bases instead of defending the homeland. There is clearly a gambit at play here, but it is unclear what it is. The turn then ends.\u00a0
\u00a0 No PARTs appear, but Italy does manage to conquer Tunisia and Algeria. Germany conquers Denmark and Poland.<\/p>

Nov\/Dec 1939: The Axis win initiative and go first. The weather starts out snowy but the Germans decide to press their advantage. They declare war on the Netherlands, conquering it easily, although most of the navy escapes capture or destruction. The units around Paris, now reinforced, assault again and successfully take the city. Discussions with Petain and the new Vichy government start almost immediately–the French army has had enough of its so-called leadership. Japan attacks communists in the north (+14 assault results in 1\/2S) and nationalists in the south (+10 assault, 1\/2S result again, but captures a key hex). The Nationalists are in trouble, holding a thin line while the communists are in full retreat.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The Soviets demand Bessarabia, and the Germans concede the territory to their new allies. Hungary and Bulgaria demands concessions as well, which the Germans support. The British look to shift forces to Egypt, mostly reinforcements from India.
\u00a0 Impulse #3: A quiet turn. The Germans consolidate around Paris and shift forces west. The Italians are quiet but are still at war with France. They have forces pushing towards Morocco but not much is happening. The Japanese send reinforcements to southern China.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The French look for counter-attack possibilities, but find none in the poor weather, especially with the German airforce relocating to France from Poland. The British pile units into Gibraltar, which is now fully defended. The US is taking a seriously odd position, refusing to build units and storing build points. (Later we discover they save for the 2 oil synth plant and a new factory.)\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The weather clears a bit. Germany aligns Hungary (no entry shift). Japan assaults a key hex in the south, taking a resource and putting the southern Chinese line in peril. No one really understands what Italy is doing, although they are built up on the Egyptian border. The CW take one BP loss from German bombers.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: A quiet turn, the French are unable to amass enough force for a counterattack and so the army falls into despair. The Brits defend convoys. Russian moves units forward to the Finnish border and into E. Poland.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The Germans take a combined action and raid British convoys, securing no victories, but unsettling the Brits. Italy again remains quiet. Japan adjust forces, looking for an advantage in China. The turn then ends.
\u00a0 A PART appears in China. Vichy is declared by Germany. Since most of the French navy is scattered in far-flung territories, the penalty to free French rolls turns out to be painful as only<\/em> New Caledonia stays free! The Navy that ran to try and stay free turn entirely Vichy except for one cruiser. The Germans are stunned that France capitulated so quickly… and so are the British!<\/p>

Jan\/Feb 1940: The Axis win initiative and go first. Germany starts with a land action and there is a flurry of activity as the Wehrmacht reorganizes itself. Brest is secured (now hosting the Kriegsmarine) and Bulgaria joins the Axis (no entry penalty). The Italians are now only at war with Free France, but it allows cooperation with the Germans, and a defense plan is put into place in the Med. The Japanese renew their offensive in China, taking Kweiyang on a +10 assault, this time keeping their soldiers in check.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The Soviets demand the Finnish borderlands. It takes some persuasion, but the Germans convince the Finns to relent and then next impulse welcome the Finns into the Axis alliance two impulses later (although there is an entry hit). The Brits decide to take the war to the Axis and declare war on Italy. They try to hit both Italian TRS which were at sea, but fail to find either of them.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The Germans, occupying Paris, activate the Rumanians as German allies. Immediately German units start appearing in Bulgaria on the border with Greece. Not much finesse there. The Brit make hollow promises to the Greeks, and pledge assistance if they are attacked. Japan presses in China, but no attacks are made.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Brits do some basic CONV defense and reinforce Malta, presumably en route to Egypt. The Soviets build up on the new border with Germany and China holds on, with only 2 communist units in the north.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The Kriegsmarine surprises the Commonwealth with a daring raid. 5 Allied CONV are sunk before the navy slips off into the winter fog and back to base. Rumors start in the British navy of German ‘ghost ships’ that appear suddenly, strike, and disappear again. One BP is taken from London in bombing. Faced with an actual opponent, the Italians lurch forward into Egypt with their army. Japan’s army is mostly disorganized as it moved forward in the Chinese mountains.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #6: Another quiet turn. The Brits repair their convoy line.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #7: Germans and Italian hunt CW convoys, but to no effect. Italy does conquer A-E Sudan and British Somalialand. The Germans use Italian TRS to drop two HQs off… one in Vichy Morocco and the other in Vichy Syria. The turn then ends.
\u00a0 No PARTs appear. The US selects two options, occupying Iceland and Greenland, and starting an embargo on the Japanese.<\/p>

\u00a0Mar\/April 1940: The Axis win initiative and go first. An additional German corps is shuttled to Syria (guest HQ rule), threatening the Suez from the northeast. The Italians push up against the British line at Alexandria and the Brits are in an unexpected pickle. No one could have reasonably predicted that the French would collapse so quickly. A German NAV that was rebased into Morocco last turn flies out to patrol the coast off of Gibraltar. The\u00a0 Japanese align Indo-china and reinforce it.
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The British try to send reinforcements to Egypt and disaster strikes. The German NAV in the Cape Verde coast finds the Queens loaded with a prime British INF\u00a0three times<\/em> to eventually inflict enough damage to sink the ship and destroy the corps. No reinforcements for Egypt! Another British CA is also lost. The Soviets continue minor adjustments and Zhukov starts to rail west from Siberia.
\u00a0 Impulse #3: German forces from Syria head west and seize the Suez canal (+1 entry chit), killing a CW DIV along the way. The Italians are now fully pushed up against the Alexandria line, but the Germans cut off supply from the rear. Italy invade Cyprus with a DIV, having driven off a British fleet with NAV. The Japanese are quiet in China.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: British forces in Egypt are paralyzed, out of supply. They hold on and hope for reinforcement, but available naval forces that can establish supply are too few and far away. Convoy lines are reinforced. The Chinese in the south huddle with a defense centered near Kunming and Nanking.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The Japanese align Madagascar (+2 entry chits) and attack in the south of China at +10 to great success (killing one unit to no loss). The Germans move air forces to Morocco (FTR) and another DIV into Egypt. Italy shifts NAV towards western Algeria.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: After a quiet set of moves, the turn ends. No PARTs appear. Germany conquer Transjordan, Palestine, and Egypt.\u00a0<\/p>

May\/June 1940: The Allies win initiative, but everyone is at a bit of a loss since France has already capitulated. What are the Germans and Italians going to do? The Brits start with a naval and defend convoy lines, adjusting forces to consider another relief run to Egypt. A large naval picket is stationed off of Egypt. The Soviets continue a slow build up on the border with their ally Germany. The US has build long-term infrastructure, but only one CV (face down).
\u00a0 Impulse #2: With clear weather in the Med, the Germans invade Greece (+1 entry chit). The Greeks defend Athens and the narrow point north of it. In the surprise, the German PARA lands with an invading DIV on the island north of Athens, supported by Italian naval forces. Italy raids convoys as well, but fails to sink any merchant ships. They do, however, drive off the British fleet supplying Egypt, forcing it to flee the Med after two rounds strip the British of their carrier planes. Japan attack Chengtu and the +15 assault is a success. The north is in shambles and Japan threatens to conquer the communists entirely.
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The Brits despair of holding Egypt, which is now again out of supply. They elect not to send a few CAs as the army in Egypt is otherwise at least face-up, defending Alexandria and points south. The Chinese hold their new line, including 2 lonely communist corps in Lanchow.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Italians disorganize a unit in Alexandria, which, with naval support, gives them a +12 assault which successfully clears the hex without loss. Germans behind prevent retreat and all three units there are lost. The Japanese attack Lanchow at +8, but perform poorly (2\/1) and fail to take the city. The communists breathe a sigh of relief for the moment. German forces push down Greece towards Athens.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The Allies are mostly passive, playing defense. The promised support to Greece does not come with the British naval support stripped away. The Brits are unwilling to risk sending a mostly defenseless TRS with troops to Athens. No one really blames him.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Germans risk a clearing attack, and the +10 assault eliminates the Greek MTN. The path to Athens is cleared. Italians, having broken the CW line in Egypt, mop up the last Allied units there. Italian TER push south in Africa. Japan’s army is mostly disorganized in China, so no action occurs there.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The Allies are quiet, licking their wounds from a tough campaign in Egypt. China is happy to still hold Lan Chow. The US seems oddly confident that all is going well for the Allies.
\u00a0 Impulse #8: The Germans assault and take Athens on a high-odds attack. More NAV appear in Morocco. But the German fleet is the hero of the day as the ‘ghost fleet’ hits the Mid Atlantic, sinking 7 CONV and 2 cruisers while only taking one damaged SUB. Further, 2 BPs are taken in bombing on London.
\u00a0 Impulse #9: Britain bombs Germany, taking 1 BP from an undefended Paris. The turn then ends. 2 Chinese PARTs appear, killing a face-down Japanese NAV that was undefended. Italy conquers Kenya, Germany conquers Greece.\u00a0<\/p>

July\/August 1940: The Axis win initiative this time and go first. The weather is of course clear (except in the N. Monsoon) and the Axis make the most of it. Germany starts by activating Yugoslavia, who is persuaded of the Axis cause after receiving concessions from Axis occupied Greece. More NAV are shifted to Morocco, including added Italian NAV operating from Algeria. Italian forces also race across Egypt into Jordan. Germans units start railing to Rumania but also to southwestern France. The Japanese eliminate the 2 PARTs on a +16 attack in China.
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The UK defends convoys and deploys new strategic bombers to good effect, taking 1 BP and 1 RES from the Germans. The Chinese hold their line, but negotiations start between the US, Japan, and China.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: Italy aligns Iraq and Italian forces move into the western Iraqi desert. Germany takes a naval and moves the entire Vichy navy (spread out in various places) back to Vichy or to Morocco. The Kriegsmarine sails out in the Bay of Biscay under FTR cover and, over several impulses, damages two CVs, sinks the Hood and another cruiser, and drives off the British convoy lines. No convoy losses are inflicted, but the Royal Navy had its pride damaged.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Brits are still fighting in the Bay of Biscay at this point, but little comes of the action. The Soviets have a change of heart and start moving\u00a0back<\/em> away from the border with Germany. China holds its line.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: More naval action in the Bay of Biscay, Italy pushes corps into Iraq. Japan is quiet in China.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Brits take a naval and abandon the Bay of Biscay, tearing down the broken convoy lines to reset the following turn.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The Italians activate Iran, who joins the war with vague threats against the spread of international communism. Comrade Martin is unfazed by the rhetoric. The Germans reposition their forces from Greece, splitting them between the eastern front and points in France. Japan is again quiet in China.
\u00a0 Impulse #8: Another quiet turn. No action.
\u00a0 Impulse #9: Germans continue to relocate to France and the eastern border. Italy pushes forward into central Iraq, apparently en route to Iran. Kuwait is taken by Iraqi CAV and an Italian DIV invades eastern Aden. Again China is quiet.
\u00a0 Impulse #10: The Allies attempt to pass, but the attempt fails.
\u00a0 Impulse #11: The Axis use the extra impulse to conquer Tanganyika (Italy) and move more forces out of Greece across Europe. Japan is again quiet, but moves forces back to suppress PARTs. The turn then ends with no new PARTs appearing. The US gifts destroyers to the CW and sees Edward R. Murrow report on the war. No tension is created however! Strategic bombing is taking a toll on both sides, with the Germans losing 2 BPs this turn and the CW 4 BPs.\u00a0<\/p>

Sept\/Oct 1940: With the initiative marker at +1 Allies, the Allies win initiative and they elect to go first. The weather starts perfectly clear. The CW restores a convoy line, this time away from the Bay of Biscay, north across the Atlantic. The US has been slowly building up forces in the Hawaiian islands and the Soviets continue to reposition further away from the border with Germany.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #2: Using the good weather, the Germans devise a cunning plan. Gibraltar is already cut out of supply, so a crack INF corps with two DIVs and Italian naval support invade the Rock. Italian air power flips the one unit that was face-up and the resulting +9 assault succeeds! The Axis take Gibraltar (+9 assault on the 2:1 attack against face down units) and the key to the Med (+1 entry chit). Even the Axis were a bit stunned by the success. In the same impulse the German collapse Vichy (+2 entry chits), removing the navy and increasing the resources available to the Axis a bit. Morocco and Syria had German units in them and become conquered territories. Japan announces an agreement with China, the US, Italy, and Germany that signals the end of the Sino-Japanese war.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The CW takes an air and bombs Germany. 4 BPs are taken in successful raids.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Germans return the favor, bombing London and taking 3 BPs from the CW. Japan aligns Siam and Germany aligns Spain, who incorporates Gibraltar into their country, although giving the Germany military rights to a base there. Japan is quiet, moving forces away from the interior front.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The war simmers down with the Brits strongly protecting their new northern convoy lines. The Soviets shift forces to defend their front with Iran that now seems hostile. China is quiescent.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: A quiet turn where German and Italian units reposition and Japanese unit spread out across China as a garrison. The turn then ends.\u00a0
\u00a0 During peace phase, China surrenders and a pact is announced between Japan, the USSR, and the USA. The Commonwealth seems nonplussed at being left out of the matter. The US now is getting a huge entry boost, but still is having trouble producing any tension (only having generated tension\u00a0once<\/em> thus far). No PARTs appear this turn.<\/p>

Nov\/Dec 1940: The turn continues with Allied initiative, which will be the norm for quite a long time. The weather starts reasonably mild (rain in temperate, but clear in the Med). The CW defends convoys and the USSR pulls back to positions along river lines.
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The Germans and Italians declare war on Portugal, and a Spanish army takes Lisboa and successfully invades the Azores as well. German NAV rebase to the Atlantic Island. The Italians push further south in Africa, taking Uganda. Japan quietly and slowly moves (now neutral) forces to the coast of China.
\u00a0 Impulse #3: All Allied powers take a combined, quiet impulse.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Italians take a naval and move naval forces, including significant forces eastwards to Aden. A joint battle fleet attempts to raid in the Mid Atlantic, but is unsuccessful. A few German units move east.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #5:\u00a0 Another quiet turn as the CW does not want to provoke possible combat that could threaten convoys. Strategic bombing raids are unsuccessful over Germany and France.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Germans take a land and start seriously shifting forces, some to France, some to Poland, and repositions Spanish forces. Italy takes a combined to hunt British convoys, but to no result. Japan continues is slow repositioning.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The Allies elect to pass and end the turn. Although China is rolled, no PARTs appear. The US selects two options, but only generates one tension chit, but they do embargo the Japanese.\u00a0<\/p>

Jan\/Feb 1941: The new years comes with new hopes for a united world government under ‘enlightened fascism,’ although many are skeptical. The Allies win initiative and go first and the weather is surprisingly clear. The CW takes a naval and protects convoy lines. The Soviets have nearly completed their defensive lines, clearly expecting conflict. The CW fulfills an odd treaty agreement, declaring war on Turkey and pushing them into the Axis alliance. The Soviets send a protest, but the communists have little moral ground on which to stand given their pact with Germany.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The Japanese declare war on Free France, which causes outrage in the US (2 chits) but allows the Japanese more operational flexibility. Nonetheless, they take a combined action and invade Noumea. Germans take a naval (!) and fly NAV into the Mid Atlantic. Naval forces shift as well. The NAV does some minor damage to British naval forces (one lost CA, one damaged) but no convoys are lost.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The weather worsens slightly. The Brits commit CVs to defend their convoys, but no combat occurs. The Soviets appear ready for any emergency on their Polish frontier (defending well away from it), but now have a new front. Comrade Martlin does not panic, dispatching some troops to guard the new, longer border to the south. British bombing fails to yield results.
\u00a0 Impulse #4: A German land sees a HQ and MECH sent to Turkey and more forces generally position into Rumania and Poland. German bombers devastate London (-3 BPs). Italy continues to try and hunt convoys, but to no effect. Hightler suggests that El Duce might consider using a new die for naval searches, but Thompsolini insists that his navy will get it right eventually. Japan takes a naval and moves significant forces all around the Pacific.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: Another quiet Allied impulse as the weather turns seriously sour with blizzards and storms.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Axis hope to wait out the storms (quiet impulse), but instead the turn ends. No PARTs result. The US chooses to reinforce Guam and escort convoys in the East Coast. One tension chit results.<\/p>

Mar\/April 1941: Continuing the pattern, the Allies win initiative. The storms clear and there is clear weather world-wide. The CW spread out to defend convoys on a naval. The Soviets move their reinforcements into positions along the Turkish border and send additional reinforcements to Baku. The US quietly moves a few units to the Pacific theatre.
\u00a0 Impulse #2: Italy aligns Afghanistan and the US public could hardly care less. The Italians take a naval, sending added new heavy ships towards the Atlantic. Convoy raiding occurs and the Brits lose 2 CONV and the Portuguese CA. The CW do down the best German NAV over the Mid-Atlantic in air combat–a serious blow to the projection of Axis influence into the Atlantic.\u00a0 Hightler fumes and is heard muttering about sending better air reinforcements into the Atlantic.\u00a0 Japan takes a naval and spreads out ominously across the Pacific, with many ships loaded with corps and DIVs from S. Africa to Christmas Island.
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The weather gets\u00a0really\u00a0<\/em>bad, with storms across the globe. The CW in the rain take one Spanish resource in strategic bombing, but otherwise the turn is quiet. The Soviets hope the weather remains bad for the rest of the year (not caring about crops or feeding their population–great guys).
\u00a0 Impulse #4: In the poor weather not much happens. The Japanese take a land and move some forces in China toward the coast. The Germans and Italians reposition forces.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: Shockingly, the Soviets get their wish–at least for now–and the weather remains abysmal. The turn is thus quiet, with no combat or operations.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: Minor repositioning by the Germans and Italians and attempted convoy raids that all fail. Japanese forces on naval assets around the Pacific await word of action… and get nothing. The turn ends. China is rolled for PARTs, but none appear. The US passes a bill to repair Allied ships and sanctions the CW reinforcing the Pacific, with one tension chit generated.<\/p>

May\/June 1941: Unsurprisingly, the Allies win initiative again for the 6th consecutive turn. The Soviets are pleased to find the bad weather continues (rolled ‘2’ — rain in the Arctic and N. Temperate). The CW defend convoys, keeping a sizeable reaction fleet with 3 quality CVs in reserve in Liverpool. The US gets a DIV to Guam.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The Germans take a land and reorganize forces up and down the line from the Baltic to Turkey. Italy takes a naval and tries to raid the Faroes Gap, but finds no fortune. Japan takes a naval and repeats last turn’s naval ‘spread across the Pacific.’\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The weather clears slightly, with rain in the N. Monsoon, but clear everywhere else. The British take a combined and hunt the Italians with their carrier group, but find nothing. A massive strategic bombing campaign is successful, taking 1 BP and killing 1 oil in Munich, and taking another BP from Paris.\u00a0 Hightler considers sacking Goering as Air Marshall. The Soviets wait pensively, now with forces defending from Afghanistan to Poland.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #4: A hurried conference occurs including all the Axis powers, including the new High Marshall Paineolini of the Italian armed forces. After the conference, Japan announces a declaration of war on both Portugal and the Commonwealth, surprising both nations. Public opinion in the US swings sharply to Allied sympathy, although no one really understands why given recent US foreign policy. Germany and Italy then step forward, announcing a state of war with the Soviet Union! The US populace barely notices, still inflamed by Japanese perfidy. And they were not done, also declaring war on Ireland and announcing that the ‘true’ Irish state would join the greater Axis alliance. Germany then drops an offensive chit to take a super-combined.
\u00a0 In the Pacific: On a land action, the Japanese land 2 MARs in southern Mozambique, send troops into Burma and Malay, and invade a raft of islands, including Rabaul, Suva, Balikpapan, Tarakan, and Christmas Island. Most impressive was a risky +8 invasion of southern Australia with the lone SNLF MAR DIV… which succeeds brilliantly.\u00a0 A small port strike in Australia sinks one CW cruiser.
\u00a0 In Ireland: German forces invade Cork and next to Dublin, both succeeding without loss. A large joint Spanish\/German naval armada dominates the Bay of Biscay, still loaded with addition troops (mostly Spanish).
\u00a0 In the USSR: A crack MAR DIV crosses the Gulf of Bothnia and seizes Talinn, liberating Estonia. In the north, slow INF surround and reduce Kaunas without loss, and two armored strikes surprise the Soviet defense line along the Dvina. Unfortunately for the Wehrmacht, there are communication mishaps. One of the attacks sort of succeeds (rolled ‘2’ on a +15 blitz). The other succeeds, isolating Zhukov and another corps. In the south, the Germans reduce Soviet speedbumps in Bessarabia and assault Odesa. That attack is also a painful event. Although the Germans take the city, the elite ENG unit dies in the action (rolled ‘3’). In the center, fast mechanized units assault Krivoy Rog, taking the city without loss. In the area, a joint PARA and DIV invasion takes Sevastopol without loss, destroying one Soviet SUB (rest of the Soviet navy got away, relocating to Rostov). On the Turkish front, German and Turk units infiltrate forward, partially surrounding Yerevan, which is defended by a powerful GAR unit. Finally, the Italians surge northwards from Iran and successfully assault the mountain hex west of Baku, flipping but cutting off Baku. Using the super-combined, masses of German aircraft rebase forward.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The weather remains clear. The Soviet seeks to carve a resupply line to Zhukov, momentarily succeeding. Reserves are called out (adding more units to the Soviet army than had been lost…) and Russian cities around the country are stacked with corps. The Germans were prepared for (and were\u00a0hoping for<\/em>) a counter-attack, but none came. The CW debate trying to send reinforcements to Ireland, but the large Italian and German navies make the move risky. Caution rules. The Brits first try to find and expel the Italian navy from the Faroes Gap, but the navies are unable to locate one another. The CW take another RES in Spain via strategic bombing. The turn continues.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Japanese SNLF marches unopposed into Melbourne, and rumors start that an Australian ‘fifth column’ might be assisting the Japanese. Elsewhere the Japanese advance and take Rangoon and push down the Malay peninsula. The Italians push added forces up around Baku and land another DIV in western India. The Germans counter-pocket the Zhukov relief force and then eliminate two stacks of Soviet forces, including Zhukov. The surrender ceremony is filmed and broadcast across Europe. German forces assault Kiev, taking the city, but Vatutin escapes just before the attack. Crimea is secured and slower INF push east towards the Dnieper, which the Germans have yet to cross. The joint German-Turkish force assault Yerevan, taking the city at cost (2\/1).\u00a0 Spanish forces land in Ireland and, with German cooperation, take Dublin without loss. A DIV streaks to the north coast and a NAV and FTR rebase there, now directly on the Faroes Gap.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: The weather remains clear.\u00a0 The Soviets are in trouble, but the gaming gods smile on them as, after a quiet impulse, the turn ends on a rolled ‘1.’ No partisans appear and the US gears up production. Ireland in conquered.\u00a0<\/p>

July\/August 1941: The Axis, for the first time in a year, gain initiative. The weather is clear (except the N. Monsoon zone). The turn starts promisingly for the Germans in the Soviet Union, but the performance of the Wehrmacht takes a horrible turn mid-turn. In impulse #1 the Germans assault Belfast on a +9 attack and take the city without loss. Additional NAV and FTRs flock to Ireland, threatening the Faroes Gap convoy line. In the USSR, the Germans make four high odds attacks, all of which succeed without loss, clearing Minsk, Riga, Tiflis, and an isolated unit. Japan and Italy take naval actions, with the Japanese setting up to take more CW islands in the Pacific. The Italians help the German hunt convoys, but find no luck.
\u00a0 Impulse #2: The CW leave a strong reaction fleet in Liverpool but otherwise send out forces to defend convoy lines. With the exception of one round, the CW are fortunate the entire turn. They lose 6 CONV and a CA in one round, but otherwise take no losses despite constant pressure and searches from the Axis across 3 sea zones.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #3: The Italians assault Baku at +8 and take the city (1\/2S), securing oil for the Axis. The Wehrmacht starts to show some signs of wavering as they make 3 high odds assaults, but one of them fails (rolled ‘3’), allowing Vatutin to escape. Japan takes Malay and a large number of additional CW islands in the SE Pacific.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #4: The Soviets rail units to Europe and defend hedgehog style. The CW organize defenses in India. They were fortunate last turn ended so early, as a S. African INF appears just in time to stop the Japanese from taking Pretoria. The US reinforces Guam and the Philippines.
\u00a0 Impulse #5: The Germans are worried about their army, but press on. Dneprop. falls with losses (1\/2S) on a +11 assault and Vitebsk and Grozny all fall to high odds attacks (+15). Italy pushes north from the Baku area and lands a MAR in Ireland to pester the British. More naval attacks are attempted, but British luck holds. Japan takes another naval to load up DIVs to seize more Pacific territory.
\u00a0 Impulse #6: The Soviets continue to stubbornly hold on in cities across the USSR, but with the fall of Grozny, the Caucasus are completely gone and there is no clear line beyond pockets in cities. Nonetheless, Allied morale is steady. The CW holds on and repositions forces to counter the Italian MAR.
\u00a0 Impulse #7: a dark, dark impulse for the Germans, who launch 4 assaults, all between +10 and +17, and roll, ‘3’ ‘4’ and ‘6’ to take six casualties, promote 2 Soviet units, and make no ground. Only one attack near automatic succeeds on a pocketed MECH. Basically 75% of the Wehrmacht is flipped and what was promising to be a knockout blow… fizzles. The Soviets celebrate. The US seems disappointed. Japan finally militarizes the Marshall Islands and takes a few extra islands in the Pacific.
\u00a0 Impulse #8: The UK takes a naval, but does not move much, hoping to preserve convoy lines and not provoke combat. The Soviets relax a bit.
\u00a0 Impulse #9: Germany, without much to do in the USSR with an incapacitated army, takes a combined and hunts British convoys. Three rolls, no hits. The Germans do use a PARA drop to help with an assault on Stalino, which at +9 barely succeeds without loss. Japan shifts naval units back to Japan. Italy pushes its MAR in to the Hebrides.\u00a0
\u00a0 Impulse #10: A quiet Allied turn. The Soviet rail to defend more cities, but only have poor counter-attacking possibilities, so remain defensive. The US sabre-rattles without much credibility.
\u00a0 Impulse #11: The Germans again do a combined to hunt CW convoys along with the Italians, but again find no fortune despite good odds (all 40% or higher). A lead unit supplied by the Turks from the south slips into Stalingrad unopposed. The Japanese have little to do.
\u00a0 Impulse #12: The Allies have had enough and don’t want to allow the Germans to push further. They all pass and it makes a difference, ending the turn. Partisans are rolled in the USSR, but surprisingly the Germans are ready and none appear. The US reinforces the Philippines officially and agrees to escort convoys in the N. Atlantic.<\/p>

Sept\/Oct 1941: Back to usual rolls at the start and the Allies win initiative. The weather, however, starts clear world-wide.\u00a0<\/p>

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French Treachery Alienates British Allies! <\/strong>Dateline Paris, 1 November 1939. After length negotiations in late August and early September concerning cooperation between France and the United Kingdom, France decided to forego working with their northern neighbor and instead made a pact with Italy. “We will defeat Germany by ourselves, we don’t need no English to help us,” said the Minister of War, Eamon ‘oo-la-la’ Adamette. PM Collinshill was clearly taken aback by the announcement and pledged not to send “any red-blooded English boys” to defend “one speck of French soil,” although in later comments he said he might send the Irish.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

German State Announces Pax Germani to Surprising Acclaim<\/strong>. Dateline Berlin 23 December 1939.\u00a0Berliner Zeitung<\/em>. With the French forces collapsing despite initial successes after a series of war-crimes committed in western Germany, Europe is rallying around the cause of a new order “built on peace and true leadership.” Herr Hightler, the German leader, proclaimed the visionary plan in a rally held just outside of Dortmund. Apparently thousands of French collaborators, aghast at the French leadership over the past several months–which included\u00a0surrendering<\/em> large portions of France to the Italians–voluntarily joined the cause. Many are said to have enlisted in the Wehrmacht to resist French oppression. As one attendee said, “Better Hightler than Adamette!” This reporter hopes that the latest European effort at unity lasts at least a 1000 years.\u00a0<\/p>

Italians Stumble into France Claiming \u201cOopsy Daisies\u201d <\/strong>Dateline: Milan, 3 September 1939. Il Popolo d’Italia.<\/em> Much to the surprise of our German allies, Thompsolini has declared war on France and walked across the completely undefended French border. After taking a few key holdings, the Italians decide that they are satisfied and stop their advance. When asked, many troops cited that it would be unfair to advance when the French are ignoring them. \u201cPerhaps they will reward our restraint if anything goes wrong for the French against the Germans,\u201d said a tankman. It sure is a good thing that the French and Italians are such good friends.<\/p>

Franco and Hightler Sign Alliance; Thompsolini Was There Too.\u00a0 <\/strong>Dateline: MADRID, 10 October 1940. La Stampa.<\/em> With the successful Axis conquering of Gibraltar, Germany was in a position to convince Francisco Franco and Spain to join the Axis cause. Germany agreed to concede Gibraltar to Spain in return for Spanish support against the Allies. Franco and Hightler signed the pact, then Thompsolini burst in, demanding some compensation in return for the Italian naval and air support. After much debate, they let him sign with his favorite green crayon.<\/p>

Harlowhito Receives Nobel Peace Prize for Ending Chinese Civil War. <\/strong>Dateline: Tokyo, 31 October 1940. \u540c\u76df\u901a\u4fe1\u793e.<\/em> After over a decade of division, chaos, and death on both sides, the Chinese Civil War has come to a close thanks to the actions of the Empire of Japan. The Japanese initially put an end to the majority of the Communist forces, beginning with Mao. With success against the Commies, Harlowhito generously decided that Japan should own the rest of China in order to prevent any future conflict. In an interview, the Great Emperor told us that \u201cit turns out the people unite pretty fast when introduced to foreign forces<\/span> friends.\u201d One can only hope that the Western Axis are as devoted to ending communism as the Japanese.<\/p>

Japan Accidentally Sends Friends Declarations of War. <\/strong>Dateline: \u6771\u4eac \u3001 15 February 1941. \u540c\u76df\u901a\u4fe1\u793e<\/em>.<\/em> On the eve of February 14th, leaders of the Commonwealth and Portugal were shocked to discover that Japan had sent them declarations of war yet seemingly had not attacked anything. A few minutes later, another message arrived from Harlowhito explaining that there had been a typo in the messages, which were meant to say \u201cdeclarations of love\u201d for its Pacific friends. \u201cAfter all,\u201d the Emperor explained, \u201cJapan would never declare war on anyone in the Pacific.\u201d In other news, Japan has declared war on Free France and invaded New Caledonia.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fall 2026 Campaign Germany: HightJapan\/Italy: Harlow Thompson, Rhett Paine USA\/France: Emmet AdamsUSSR\/China: Thurn MartinCommonwealth and General General: Grant Collins\u00a0 Bids Commonwealth:\u00a0USA\/France:USSR\/China: Japan\/Italy:Germany: War Report Sept\/Oct 1939: The conflagration begins. The Germans flank both east and west around Polish defenses and take risky assaults on Warsaw and Lodz. Both cities fall, but the Germans take four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1915","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1915"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1965,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1915\/revisions\/1965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/mhight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}