Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3)

[DQ2004]

The Soviet/Finnish war is not going well for the Finns. They are now effectively reduced to a small corner of the country.
Because Soviet units are in Finland itself (not just the borderlands), the Germans cannot force a peace. The Fuhrer considers alternative options.

[DQ2004]

The assault on Oslo goes in. This time it is virtually a foregone conclusion. The option of dropping paratroops on the city is discarded, as the odds are already good enough. The paras are re-directed to a different theatre.
The weather then causes a few supply issues, to say the least.

[DQ2004]

The Wehrmacht presents its solution to the disastrous situation in Finland; the Germans will help keep the peace, and prevent Helsinki from falling. Two corps are rushed to the Finnish capital. It looks like they arrived just in time; Soviet paratroopers had been moved into position.

[DQ2004]

In Southern China during what became a very long Nov/Dec 1940 turn, as opposed to the previous turn, the Japanese finally secured the fortress city that was Chihkiang. Unfortunately for the Chinese, two other units were also eliminated when they were left in the mountains near Chihkiang to block a further Japanese advance. One had been disorganised while moving there, the other by a D3A2 ground strike. The two units were then cut off and ruthlessly destroyed. Then Chihkiang was overwhelmed. With their defence in tatters, and their armies a shadow of their former selves, the Nationalists retreated yet again. The Japanese can now seriously consider the possibility of being able to conquer China.

[DQ2004]

The vastness of the Russian steppe. Seizing this for Lebensraum for the people's of the Reich seems impossible.
But for millions living under the yoke of Bolshevism, something must be done...

[DQ2004]

Lets take a closer look at the Northern Front of the USSR. There's still a large army in Finland. Some reinforcements have been relocated to the area recently.

[DQ2004]

And here we have the Soutehrn Front, or Ukraine if you prefer. It looks vulnerable.

[DQ2004]

Forces continue to be rearranged in Northern China.

[DQ2004]

The long turn finally ends.
Losses for Nov/Dec 1940:
The loss of their second and last transport is disastrous for the Italians plans for North Africa. All of their convoys have been destroyed and its going to be a while before they can rebuild them. The only good bit of news is that it has cost the Royal Navy dearly. The Chinese are now staring disaster in the face. Losing four units in a turn is not something they can afford to do.

[DQ2004]

1941:
With new force pool additions, always everyone's favourite, the Japanese have the inestimable pleasure of scrapping the useless Ki-30 ground support planes. They also get rid of a Ki-21 bomber, which is only good for strategic bombing, and not really all that good even at that.

[DQ2004]

Here are the ships which have been sunk (my normal house rule - all named ships are scrapped if sunk) up to the end of 1940:

[Dorb]

Keep up the great work, love reading these. Almost makes me want to reinstall the game. - on second thought nah.[:D]

[DQ2004]

This GIF shows Global control as it has changed from the start of the game.
The observant amongst you will notice that Jan/Feb 1940 is not there. Well nothing really changed that month anyway, so it doesn't matter (of course the real reason is that we forgot to screenshot it).

Play has resumed on this game after a brief hiatus, and there is more of the story to now tell.
More soon.

[DQ2004]

Global Control with grey for the Axis at the start of 1941:

[DQ2004]

Jan/Feb 1941
Reinforcements
Note how the Bombay Militia is there; It has been there for some time - unfortunately for the British Empire, the city has been occupied by Indians who wish to free themselves from the yoke of English Imperialism.
We would love to help, but sadly we are not in a position to do so at this time. Perhaps soon...

[DQ2004]

In Northern China, a stalemate between the Communists and the Japanese has now continued for some time.
Both sides continue to build-up their forces.

[DQ2004]

In Southern China, yet another partisan appears, again near Changsha.
Meanwhile the Japanese army, victorious at Chihkiang, charges towards Chungking before the Nationalists can organise a defence.
Massively outnumbered, they have little chance.

[DQ2004]

In the second Axis impulse of the turn, the Japanese cross the Yangtze river south of Chungking, threatening an undefended Chengtu.
Meanwhile the Chinese have retreated one corps northwards, leaving the remaining units to try to resist a siege. But Chungking will be harder to hold than Chihkiang.
The partisan was of course, eliminated on the previous turn.

[DQ2004]

Those that were paying attention may have noticed that recently the Kriegsmarine took delivery of a brand new battleship, the magnificent KMS Tirpitz.
Along with the new heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, and other ships repaired and completed, the Kriegsmarine now has a powerful squadron of modern warships.
With the weather poor, they headed out of Wilhelmshaven and into the North Sea, evading the British squadron there, then headed into the Faeroes Gap.
The OKM was hopeful that they would be able to wreak havoc upon the convoys, but on this initial foray, none were located.
The squadron then returned to port, only instead of going back to Germany, they went to Brest, on the French Atlantic coast.
From here they are well placed to reach almost anywhere in the vast North Atlantic, posing a threat to all British convoys.
The Battle of the Atlantic is about to get red hot!

[DQ2004]

At the direction of the Fuhrer, the Abwehr had a little look at the possibilities of the United States entering the war.
Whilst they weren't able to glean anything particularly concrete, from what information they could ascertain, the possibility seems somewhat remote at the moment.