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January 16th, 1940

This turn we advance through France completely unopposed. The only visible defender is a lonely French garrison in Paris.

January 16th, 1940

The first battle of the Mediterraneum was fought between the Italian Navy on one side and a combination of Royal and French Navies on the other. Unfortunately, the number of ships involved was so large that they did not fit on the new navy command screens in full. The resulting confusion was compounded by the fact that many opponent vessels were already pre-damaged. As a result the Italian admiralty had to admit in a subsequent press conference - quite embarrassed actually - that they cannot give an exact casualty total for the opponent. But they did not detect any sunk vessels on either side and thought that the Italians have probably suffered less overall damage.

January 16th, 1940

The Finish war economy expanded to 40% - hurray. Will we still be alive to see it reach 100%?

January 24th, 1940

Another week of racing unopposed and at top speed through the lovely French country side. Should we get suspicious that it is all too easy at the moment? In Yugoslavia, it is almost the same so far. However, top speed has a totally different meaning in the rough Balkan winter weather.

January 24th, 1940

The naval battle in the Med continues and this time we were given the chance to sink two vulnerable troops transports amongst other ships in the British fleet. But we missed each of them and they skippered on unharmed. Maybe a sign of Italian gallantry.

January 24th, 1940

We have to let the Russians advance on Petsamo (There was a battle of Petsamo in WW2 but it was not a Finish city but a Finish region, ever since belonging to Russia)

In the south it looks as we recover ever so slightly and have enough PPs to repair to a slightly healthier state than the units were at the previous move. But maybe this is just the calm before a storm.

February 1st, 1940

Now, as the French armed forces have fled their own country rumors have it that the remaining French population considers a peace treaty with Germany. We will respond benevolently if this is offered.

February 1st, 1940

Heads roll at Italian naval headquaters. After a reasonably successful naval battle against strong Allied units in the Central Med, the Italian Task Force completely neglected to protect the supply convoys to N. Africa with the result of a total loss of shipping. It turned out that after the battle the local task force commander decided to throw a birthday party for Lt.Cmdr. Vinorosso which distracted the ships crews quite a bit well into the early morning hours.

Italian Supreme headquaters have now to consider if the African theater has to be abandoned completely. This seems likely.

"Partial success" is certainly an interesting choice of descriptive phrase here.

Chuck

February 1st, 1940

The brave Fins are still holding out.

February 9th, 1940

Not a total surprise but the obstinate French government did not agree to our formal and peace loving armistice (Vichy) proposal and took the option to fight on to the bitter end. As a result they receive a high level of social unrest which will unfortunately not matter much since they are hiding out somewhere in Africa or the Middle East.

February 9th, 1940

This time even the excellent Italian propaganda minister Bugiardo couldn't sell the complete loss of STPs as a "partial success". The Navy is in uproar and refuses to be blamed.

But a thorough investigation determined that the well known Italian actress Marcella Albani was asked to visit the task force for the sake of improving sailor morale. By performing on board of the flagship she completely succeeded in her task but entirely at the wrong time.

February 9th, 1940

A sad day in the history of Finland as Vyborg falls into the hands of the Russian hordes.

February 16, 1940

While the French government sunbathes in the former colonies, the majority of the French population has to endure the inconvenience of a foreign occupation with all its associated discomforts. Even though the French had a second chance at surrender, the French have yet again underlined their decision to fight on.

The German operation in France is now a mop up operation. There is scattered French defenses at some of the remaining key cities. The Yugoslav campaign is slow but steady. Axis planners are busy preparing for the next major campaign.

February 16, 1940

The Italians are still struggling to recover from their huge planning mistake caused by underestimating severely the capacity of the Allied Navies to hurt their supplies in Africa. Troop shipments back to Europe are underway and Axis planners brainstorm where else they could be deployed to their advantage.

February 16th, 1940

The Finish population is quite pleased with the performance of their troops. The defenders are pushed back steadily but can offer some resistance and delay the Soviet campaign. They do occupy a good number of Russian units right now.

February 24th, 1940

Mop up operations continue with reduced forces in France as the bulk of the Wehrmacht prepares and gets equipped for the next major campaign. The German press welcomes the citizens of Bordeaux and Zagreb into the Reich.

February 24th, 1940

The Italian navy has fully redeemed itself! Freshly equipped with the aforementioned morale boosting effects of actress Marcella Albani, the RM was able to inflict major losses on the Allied navies in the Med. (a very lucky 10:1 hit ratio in two prolonged major naval battles). The actress is now in danger to get a marble statue erected besides other Roman gods in the Forum - just slightly smaller than the one planned for the Duce.

But the harsh retreat continues in the desert nonetheless ....

February 24th, 1940

The Finish continue their life and death struggle against the mighty Russian empire.

(Diplomatic notes exchanged informed us that the initial Soviet leader has been replaced by a royal by now without giving any more details). We sincerely hope it was not the prolonged Finish campaign causing this untimely end to Bolshevism.

March 1st, 1940

Most German troops go through major training camps while some units still continue mop-up operations in southern France. We inch forward in Yugoslavia and encounter Yugoslavian airplanes used as street barricades - a unique deployment strategy for the air force.