Netplay Global War AAR

[Centuur]

In southern China, Nationalist forces withdraw from the frontlines...

[Centuur]

Heeresgruppe Nord reports mud, mud and more mud...

[Centuur]

Guderian, in charge of Heeresgruppe Süd, ordered an attack. But of course, the ground strike on the hex gives only half a good result and the following land attack seems again to fall under the "wrath of the Dice Gods", resulting in another result which of course killed a unit on both sides but the hex remained under Soviet control. One thing was good, however: the Euroaxis air force destroys another Soviet bomber. Somehow, I kill planes but I don't kill enough boots on the floor in the USSR (even with good odds attacks). So, again the Wehrmacht is faced with a closed Soviet front.

But anyhow: we now stop the time for a couple of weeks since my opponent is going on a well deserved vacation...

[Centuur]

Well, progress has been slow the last couple of weeks. But we hope to have finished off all those bugs we encountered during naval battles and air-to-air combat.

Of course, the turn ended swiftly. The only thing which the Allies did manage to do is to conquer Italian Somaliland, leaving no Italian units in that area. Only Ethiopia is still under Italian control and the Hamburg MIL still holds Algiers. So we are now starting N/D 1941. The Allies won the initiative. Here's Heeresgruppe Nord in the USSR at start of the first impulse.

[Centuur]

Heeresgruppe Süd has a new commander. Von Manstein is just behind the frontlines...

[Centuur]

Dönitz U-boats, the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe's FTR's oppose the Royal Navy and Bomber Command...

[Centuur]

Here's the Western Med:

[Centuur]

In Northern China, it appears the Japanese have only a screening force remaining...

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Southern China. Look at the ports in the south. Here are the Marines stacked with TRS...

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There's a Japanese army at the border with Malaya...

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And a Japanese task force is based at Truk

[Centuur]

After the next couple of impulses, the situation did change in Northern Russia. The Soviets advanced in the far north, after which Mannerheim opted for a tactical withdrawal. Von Bock however manages the first succes in a long time in the USSR. The Soviet front gets broken south of Smolensk. At last....

[Centuur]

While in the south, von Manstein preaches prudence. The Soviet frontline is strong with a lot of white prints in it...

[Centuur]

In Northern China, Terauchi reports: stalemate. Ground strikes on Mao failed...

[Centuur]

In Southern China, ground strikes on Chiang also failed. But there comes a time when the Japanese succeed. And without oil, China cannot reorganise the HQ's. By the way: the ports are empty. Where did the navy and the marines go to...

[Centuur]

Well: there it is. The Imperial High Command was given the green light to attack CW and Dutch possessions. Singapore and the oil fields on Borneo are taken, as are hexes near the oil fields of Palembang and Batavia. Additional units are based at sea to finish off any resistance...

[Centuur]

Rabaul gets taken too:

[Centuur]

But what about the United States? It was shocked when the Japanese declared war on the Netherlands, France and the Commonwealth. It was even more shocked, when Japanese ambassadors all around the war gave declarations of war at countries which are of no consequence of the outcome of the war, because they can only make a token contribution to the Allied war effort. Now: the President and the Senate are in turmoil. The US entry pool is overflowing with chits. Is tension enough to make a succesfull declaration of war on the Japanese? Or isn't it. Will the modifiers of the die roll for declaring war make a difference, or won't it. The US is far from choosing the option which gave them the possibility of unrestricted naval war against the Axis...

Abwehr calculates that the result of all those declarations of war means that the US is probably at the same level for declaring war as it was before the Japanese aggression started.

So: I took a calculated risk which might or might not explode in the face of the Japanese Imperial High Command...

[Centuur]

After the next couple of impulses, Heeresgruppe Nord reports that a large number of Soviet ski troops did cross a frozen lake...

[Centuur]

Heeresgruppe Süd keeps on pressing against the Soviet front lines. But the weather prevents any good attacks...