Global War Solitaire

[yvesp]

Alternative 2 (normal game flow): neutrality pact respected.

Hitler convoked his generals for an important meeting. He explained that given the current conditions, and however much he wanted to, there would be no declaration of war against Russia before the war with the Commonwealth and American was over. The troops would be now placed on the defensive, and some would turn to the South in order to help the Italians. The first objective would to conquer Cairo and Egypt. This would make the Mediterranean a dead end where the allies would not want to enter. It was also necessary to prepare for the “defense” of Vichy France, which would certainly be targeted soon. There was much to do, and most of the weight would be born by the Luftwaffe.

There remained a troublesome problem: the Netherlands. Japan seemed determined to attack them, and it was not possible to let the allies hold the continental part of it. So war would be declared very soon. And indeed, Amsterdam and Batavia fell within days of each other. The first was conquered by reserve German units, while the second was invaded by top notch Japanese marines supported by a fleet led by the Zuikaku and Shokaku. At the same time, Italy lauched an assault on Belgrade. All of these combat met with amazing success, and the axis lost few troops.

Germany began shifting some air units to Italy, a move that would soon be followed again: the purpose was to gain air superiority in the Mediterranean. Doing so was tricky: it was necessary to keep a force strong enough to deter any attack from Russia for the years to come. And of course, it was also necessary to prepare for a change of stance by Russia: understanding that an assault would not occur, the bear was likely to move. But where ? It was known that it had ideas to enlarge its empire from every side, Finland, Romania, Baltic states, Persia, Manchuria where it had a vengeance in waiting... Just name a neighbor: Russia had something to claim!

The Commonwealth was expecting the attack on the Netherlands by Japan, but it was not ready for it. It lacked means of action on that theater, were naval deployment was a minimal deterrent. The trouble was: what would the Japanese target next ? Fleets began moving. It was good that the USA where at war against Italy: they could care about the Mediterranean area while it reinforced Singapore, which was certainly a choice target should the Japanese want war: The country was rich, and the naval base a thorn. Possibly, the uneasy peace that laid between them would continue ? This felt unlikely unless Singapore was made to look like a fortress, too costly to attack. But was there enough time for that ? And what would the Japanese target first ? Singapore, or Manilla, which was a bigger thorn, with a country they were at war with. Questions, questions...

The deployment of German air units on the border of the Mediterranean hadn't escaped the western allies. This bode ill for fleet movements between Europe and Asia. Top air units such as FW190A2 or Ju87R had been seen. Condor unit were expected. And a BV222 unit sitting on the Baltic would certainly be very helpful. These were all very bad news: It would not be possible to prevent an Axis assault on Egypt unless it was soon reinforced! This also meant keeping Malta, which until now was not seen as a point of any interest. There was much to do, and possibly not much time to do it! To hell with that Russo-German neutrality pact!

In July, while the Japanese marines were heading to an unknown destination near the Bismark Sea, an assault was launched on Tianshui, the last door to Lanshow. Despite good superiority, artillery and air support, the attack was a failure despite the inflicted losses: it failed to capture the city. At the same time, the Italian were slowly advancing in the direction of Zagreb, and highlighting the new German strategy, a Condor squadron wrecked havoc on the merchant ships in the East Mediterranean. With no fighter support, the fight was quite unequal. Tired about the game played by the Italians who now sheltered a heavy amount of German air squadrons while not being officially belligerent, the Commonwealth declared war on Italy: that would make things official! This declaration was not followed by any spectacular action, and once again, the surprise came from the USA as they declared war on Vichy France, a move immediately followed by an invasion of Morocco and Syria. The troops in Casablanca rejoiced at the view of the Americans and refused to fight. And since there were no troops in Syria, that was an easy picking too! It was almost certain that both countries would be conquered in a matter of weeks, the time needed to change the administration. This bold move was not expected so soon! It gave a platform for debarking American units, and a strong place from were to contest the supremacy over the Mediterranean. Of course, Rabbat was not yet captured, but there was little confidence that the French troops that would be railed from Algiers would do any better! Of course there had been a good reason to invade Casablanca,which was defended, rather than Rabat: the remnants of the French fleet sat there,among which the Richelieu, a brand new battleship that couldn't be allowed to let go. French sailors did not allow it to be captured and it was scuttled.

The Commonwealth once more reorganized its sea lane to reduce the possibilities of attacks. Now that the USA were at war, it was possible to transit through them. All merchants now loaded and unloaded from Charleston or Savannah, near the Caribbean, and mostly out of reach of most German submarines. The convoys then when down the South American coast, along Guyana and Brazil, then went up again along Africa. Two sea zones remained vulnerable: The Bay of Biscay, of course, and Cape St Vincent. Cape Verde Basin was at risk, but somewhat less. Other areas might be reached by long range submarines, but there were few of them, and standard patrolling was thought sufficient. Actually, sometimes there not even a patrol. Obviously, the volume transiting in the Bay of Biscay made a tempting target. Nevertheless, the German had already many times tried and failed to seriously disrupt the convoys. This month was not an exception, as three submarines were surprised by two light cruisers in the Bay of Biscay and forced to retreat to La Rochelle. Furthermore, the British regularly laid down new convoys to replace eventual casualties. But these now stacked up, as production was greater than the inflicted losses. In the Western Mediterranean, the Milwaukee which had been sent testing the axis defenses was sunk by passing Gabbianos. Considering this was a weak aircraft, and that many other squadron were known to be in the area, this bode ill. And for the first time, the German fighter force managed to shoot down a wave of bombers.

In Zagreb, the Italians made a show to the German about the correct use of paratroopers. Unlike them, who lost a paratrooper corps at the start of the war, the Italians managed to capture Zagreb with a perfectly timed assault. This closed the campaign for Yugoslavia, as peace talks were now going on ; Yugoslavia was going to become an Italian territory. This would give access to two precious resources. Bulgaria was the next on the list.

In China, the Japanese advance was slow, and nothing much was happening. The failure to capture Tianshui in the last assault would mark a halt in the progression in the North, and triggered the return of the advanced first infantry corps from the suburbs of Changtu. The problem was that the northern front was now stretched to the extreme, depending one one railway line for survival. That line was being threatened by slow but sure reinforcements of communist units in Yenan. They could still be shielded, but that would not last. So, some serious cleanup was now required. The most annoying unit was a single isolated mountain infantry in the North West of Peking. It could not be left alone, but it could not be attacked as it was too strong in defense. Air power had yet been unable to dislodge it, and meanwhile it was all alone pinning down three infantry corps that could be put to good use in other parts of the front. The second hard point was the city of Taiyuan, which was well defended and which could not be attacked with the currently available forces. And of course, the city of Yenan was becoming a trouble spot. In the South, things were going much better, but the Japanese had used the easy parts: all of the plains were now cleaned up. Dislodging the Chinese from the mountains would be a difficult task, probably not worthwhile: What had to be done was now fight for excellent defense positions that could be held at little cost. The best spots for that were the cities of Chihkiang and Ankang. However, the Chinese held firm against an attack east of Chikiang, stopping cold the Japanese's hopes. In the following weeks, while the front line would hardly change after a second military failure in the South, the Japanese fears began to materialize as a nationalist division began to infiltrate behind the lines, threatening Nanyang, and more importantly Tungkwan. If that city was taken, it would be hell to reestablish the communication lines, and a third of the Japanese army would be trapped. The city of Chengchow was also almost within reach of that division: holding that city might also cut the supplies of a large part of the southern army: a territorial unit from Korea was rushed in Tungkwan, while the army continued an orderly retreat.

In the Pacific, very little. The monsoon was preventing any serious action, and both armies were waiting for its end. The Commonwealth was slowly transforming Singapore into a fortress, now that Mountbatten was organizing the defenses. A total of 5 infantry corps and 3 fighter squadrons were stationed there. It was enough to deter any attack but a frontal, well prepared one. The Japanese were not yet in position for such an assault ; and in any case, Manilla was much less defended and so would be the prime target ; so now thought the British admiralty. The fleet stationed there counted two carriers, 5 battleships and numerous cruisers. And there were reserves in India, Victoria and Perth. However, the USA used a small window of oppurtunity where the weather was not that bad to ferry the V Marine corps to Kwajalein.

Now that August was coming, and that air units were leaving the East front for Italy, it came clear to Stalin that Hitler would respect the neutrality pact. This gave him some small freedom which he began to use. Oh! Nothing that would weaken the West front! He just moved some units a bit south, then claimed that Bessarabia was part of the historical Russian territory. It was just a small demand. Hitler pondered over it, then convinced Romania to let go of Bessarabia. Hitler was not wanting to go to war now that the summer was almost finished ; and anyway, the decision not to go to war with Russia had been done. And reconnaissance flight showed that the army facing Rumania would likely make pieces of the tiny Romanian army. There was no way to let Romania fall into Russian hands if that could be avoided! Of course, he hadn't expected the diplomatic mic-mac that would ensue, when all countries with borders with Romania came to claim their own share of the cake. It was difficult to manage all sensibilities and stay on top. Hitler was especially adamant that all be done for the Romania oil to continue to flow in the right direction! Their was a round of discussion with Mussolini who had his word in all of this, being heavily implicated in the Balkan politics. It came out that Hitler would allow the claims. He had insurances that Romania would not defect, and at the same time, Bulgaria and Hungary would join the axis. Bulgaria was particularly important since it would have provided the Soviets a door into Southern Europe ; but now that it was in the war with the germany, there was no way to open that door without declaring war on Germany too.

Over France, the British had been bitten by the loss of bombers, and they decided to adapt their strategy. Waves upon waves of bombers, led by the latest Lancaster bombers, were sent over Nantes, which hosted the Von Leeb headquarter, a sensitive spot that irrigated supplies for all the western parts of France. It was obliterated. This would force the Germans spread their air defense thin! And meanwhile, no sub would set sail. This would make the Bat of Biscay much safer for a short time!

The German and Italian moves in the Mediterranean seemed to produce results, as the three American transports felt it necessary to pass through Suez to return to the USA! A small victory, but this made these transports mostly useless for two months! Indeed, the American were not willing to risk them in the West Mediterranean, were the Gabbianos were still patrolling, and where air superiority would still take some time to achieve! A matter of several months! But in the West, the lone first marine infantry corps was advancing fast ; much faster than anticipated by the axis! It had reached the Algerian border, then an aerial bridge had brought more supplies to let it progress further! And in Algeria, the authorities were adamant that no help would be accepted without a full commandment chain. This meant moving in urgency an HQ from the Russian border to Italy, and another in France to replace the lost one! And there was so little time for all of this! Suddenly, Hitler was in the uncomfortable position of moving to catch the events, rather that make them as he always had done! The flow of troops from the East front was now absolutely clear for any to observe, with about ten army corps moving west and south, among them the field marshals Von Bock and Manstein. On his part, Kesselring was already in Genoa, expecting to board an Italian transport at any time.

In the first week of September, Russia declared war on Persia while the USA declared war on Iraq after their conquest of Syria. It looked like the two big powers were sharing the world's oil! Italy began its move toward Greece.

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Chinese Northern front.

Note how the early disruption of the major Japanese army group (west) has put the Japanese army under sever duress. With no reserve to speak off, the Japanese have been unable to counter a single Chinese division move from the South, then the descent of a communist corps in the North. The result is that most of the northern army risks collapsing if the railways were cut, something that could happen in one impulse. Next turn first move will be extremely important in that regard. Obviously, a large retreat mouvement is in order.

This also highlights how, even with a smaller army, the Chinese can render the Japanese army useless: it need not fight, but has to move smartly. Objective: cut supplies from an army that would go too fast. Playing the Chinese front is more like playing chess...

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Chinese Southern front : everything looks good here. However, if the weather is not clear,supplies must come from the north, at the railway node of Chengchow. This shows how one single Chinese division might wreck havoc and put half the Japanese army off balance!

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Sharing the oil in Persia and Iraq.

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East mediterranean. The Commonwealth is beginning to feel the heat. Its difficult to protect everything. Singapore is well protected, England too: Egypt is not. There is a blatant lack of air support here.

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Fast conquest by a single Marine unit!

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Player's notes:

These two months show a turn in the pace of the war: the allies are seizing the strategic intiative.

Germany and Japan will be forced to take the initiative on the next impulse, if they can. This is crucial for Japan if they don't want to be put severely off balance in the North ; there was a wrong analysis done, where small and slow reinforcements in Chinese cities was not seen as dangerous as it really is : militarily, they are not and don't threaten any Japanese unit, but their real danger lies otherwise. One corps and one div were enough to create a real threat.

Germany will want initiative if they do not want to risk losing Algeria next: they have to ferry a German HQ, then fly in a German infantry corps. This is not a confortable situation anyway, since supplying Northern Africa will be a serious business for the axis. The conquest of Morocco by the allies, by contrast, ensures a steady flow of supplies through Casablanca. Furthermore, American air power will soon reach northern Africa by flying along the south american coast, transiting through Dakar: In no time, the Med will be hell for the Axis.

On the submarine war, the German have kept being unlucky, rolling 10 where the allies would roll 1... In the reverse situation, large parts of the merchant fleet in the Bay of Biscay would have been destroyed. But the actual result was that the submarines had to flee...

In the air war, Germany faces many demands: continue to man the east front (one air unit=one garrison), prevent the british strat bombing campaign ; we have seen the cost of it: the british have now more than eight squadrons able to attack the production centers and they inflict a steady 5 or 6 build point damage per turn. Defend the mediterranean. Attack in the Bay of Biscay. This last alternative was not even attempted: it would require too many planes for a serious atttempt, for likely a low military result : with their short ranges, the German fighters are unlikely to be engaged into any fight, and they would be sorely missed elsewhere.

In the Pacific, Japan suffers from forced land moves imposed by the Chinese (the last impulse mandated two rail moves that could not be delayed), and anyway the weather is not helping! The American proceed very slowly anyway, and fleets barely moved. But the overall strategic situation is bleak! Singapore isn't likely to be captured. Manilla remains a dormant thorn : the US don't use it yet because it cannot ensure it being securely supplied.

The American can't decide where to put pressure: the Japanese are weak, and this should be exploited. On the other hand, a defensive Germany will be a very tough nut to crack, especially if the Russians can't help. So they've opted for a European campaign for the time, with a minimal involvment in the Pacific: anyway, it seems the Japanese don't need them to put their foot in their mouth! China is not yet conquered! And things may fast go bad if the Russians decide to turn East.

The Commonwealth plays it safe: protect the Empire, build up. They're not very helpful in the war, but this strategy has let them take minimal casualties. On the other hand they now pin down lots of German resources who now have to be wary. The weak point is Egypt, but it can be reinforced from India if necessary (6 army corps/teritorials.) The strategy of leaving the med, though costly initialy ("useless" convoys have to be built instead of "useful" military units) is paying off: The complete med closure had no effect whatsoever on their economy. This has been true for a long time now, and is on of the reasons the Italian delayed their own entry in the war.

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The Japanese were quite wary to discover that the latest Russian reinforcements had gone in Siberia, around Mandchuria. These included the marechal Rokossovsky: it seemed that the Russians had decided to make good use of the coming winter and the current weakness of the Japanese army! And indeed, with a large part of their army now in a closing trap, and the South-North railway closed by partisans, there was very little that they could do!

Meanwhile, the Western Mediteranean began to see some serious action. Carried by Italian transports, Manstein disembarked west of Algier and with the help of a Ju88A4 air squadron engaged the lone marine unit and destroyed it. Strong air support was brought to control the see area and dissuade allied involvement. The American were not happy and let it be known, and the fleet based in Gibratar sirtied ; it was joined by the two brand new carriers out of the eastern shipyard, the Bunker Hill and the Essex, and which sailed at full speed to cross the Atlantic. The combined fleet found the axis forces. An impressive air ballet engaged, that lasted several days. Neither side was willing to leave the area: the American fleet was protecting reinforcements directed to Oran, and controlling the sea area was crucial for the next phases, most notably the scheduled arrival of general Alexander. Losing the sea area would delay the advance in North Africa by several weeks, possibly forcing fights in the mountains. Furthermore, the British had temporarily closed the supplies coming from the East Mediterranean: keeping the Western sea area could make supplies short for Manstein. Despite a large air superiority, the axis forces were routed ; two air squadrons were destroyed, and the rest was forced back. The USA lost the brand new air units brought by the two new carriers, but the job was done and the fleet was untouched. Would Italy sortie its fleet from La Spezia for a gunnery engagement ? Unfortunately, the Italian transports had managed to escape.
Very soon, the Italian and German returned with new, but lesser forces, trying to re-establish supply. The merchants sent with air cover were found and destroyed by the heavy guns of the Indiana. This was not to be the end of the weeks long fight for the control of that sea area ; the axis made a new attempt to close the Mediterranean when Alexander transport passed Gibraltar. An heroic defense by the last SBD5 squadron prevented any damage and repulsed the wave of Ju87R. But so few remained thereafter that all three carriers had to head back to Norfolk to load new aircraft. Hopefully, most of the pilots had survived.

It had been raining, and the Japanese had been again stuck in the mud. It did not help the Chinese either, and they could barely complete the expected encirclement. It was far from perfect, and was easily broken by the Japanese, without fight. This let them time to begin an orderly retreat as soon as the sun began to shine again. But when this occurred, an expected but feared event happened: Russia declared war! They had few troops, but the Japanese had even less! They were hardly in a position to save it all. It was likely that Manchuria would be lost, especially after the Chinese seized a section of the railway, cutting all supply to Yamashita's nine corps army. The capture of Changsha, in the center of China, passed almost unseen as all eyes were focusing on the Northern army retreat. Sian was reoccupied by a bold Chinese cavalry, and Paoting by a communist corps advancing from Taiyuan. It was long since the Japanese lines could prevent infiltrations. The problem for the Japanese now was to manage to bring supplies to the bulk of the army. It seemed still possible to save the major part of the army, but three corps seemed now doomed, and they were some of the best!

At the same time, the British launched a large bombing campaign with eight bomber squadrons, both on production centers (Paris, Lille, Brussels) and on the new Von Bock Headquarter sent to secure western France. They were probably trying to re-edit the previous wipe out ; they were now all escorted with fighters, and the Germans had little choice but to engage them. The result of the bombings were negligible, but the air combat resulted in losses on both sides. A second wave of four bombers squadrons was launched shortly thereafter; it inflicted severe losses. The large home air defense was insufficient.

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At last, some serious action! This is the largest sea combat since the start of the game.

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The first round of air combat isn't really in favor of the USA.

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Luck has been favoring the USA!

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Irak falls.
This is a typical use for emergency HQ supply.
The HQ is OOS (distance 6 from Damascus, the closest supply source for the Americans); establishing a normal supply line would require a second HQ is the desert: the USA don't have it, and convoying one would cost months!
The three land units are nevertheless made combat ready by emergency HQ supply. This let then move to Bagdad without getting disorganized, and then carry on combat to capture the city which is weakly defended.

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Japan troops are retreating from the West.
They are caught in a large pocket which is difficult to break.
The combat in the plains against the Chinese division should prevent further unchecked Chines advance for some time. The marines were recalled from their duties in the Pacific, where they were waitng to invade the Phillipinos.

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A lesson to learn! Even at 6 to 1, there is no sure result. The Japanese could hardly have rolled worse! Losing a marine and militia corps against a single division in the plains in good weather is not fair!

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The result of that streak of bad luck is that the Chinese are able to close the pocket.
The Chinese army is dangerous because the front cannot be held tight as the europeans fronts. Infiltrations behind the lines can very fast become very dangerous, as we see now! The Chinese did not even have to put on a fight!

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North Africa at the start of the Nov/Dec 42 turn.
The German units are out of supply, but they close the door. Even if they get lost, they will have served well as bumpspeed, by losing at least one turn to the axis. And they're not yet dead!

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In North China, the Japanese still have a chance to salvage their army. As soon as enough troops are out of the pockets, the Chinese won't be able to hold long and may be taken off-balance. The tide may turn fast.

The real catch here is in Mandchuria: Russia is in free wheels there, and on the sea: the Japanese are forced to take land impulses to keep their army. This makes things very easy for the Americans. And things are going to get bad for the Japanese,now that the American fleet is closing near the home waters. There is a very good likehood that the Japanese won't be able to keep their vital supply open. In that case, the whole army in continental China will be out of supply! Only the first serious naval engagement between the Americans and Japan will tell the story. I'm unsure about who will have the upper hand. But if the Americans do, the war will be almost over on that side of the Pacific.

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There has been a success in South China. But who cares ?

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The Italians should be worried, when all these forces will be united, they won't hold long on Lybia! Unless they can, too, deprive the Allied forces from supply once they leave the security of Egypt.

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Italy again, who thinks it has nothing better to do with its troops that attack Greece. May true, maybe not... Unlike Yugoslavia, the allies do have the means to save Greece. What will Mussolini do ?