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Beginning of turn screenshot:

With the remainder of former Army Group Center at risk of being destroyed and our inability to protect our flank north of Kharkov the Axis have been ordered to retreat to the Dnepr river in Ukraine, which will include the abandonment of Kharkov and Rostov. This was a difficult decision to commit to but the hard packed snow will allow for a quick withdrawal in some areas, whereas the retreat may be much more costly if is delayed until the ground turns to mud.

Further north the Finnish have successfully remained dug in to protect their gained territory, but the Red Army is putting intense pressure on defensive positions east of Smolensk.

The Axis is currently losing the battle on the Eastern Front but High Command is not ready to lose the war!

War plans are drawn up to secure the oil production the Axis will need to tip the scales of war and force the Allies into an eventual peace agreement. Perhaps they are delusional, who knows[8D]

Spring of 1944 on the Eastern Front, the Axis have dug in along the Dnepr river, and continue to hold the line just east of Smolensk. It is near impossible to cover the entire front adequately at this time, but we are aided by good defensive terrain.

The Axis have begun their planned offensive into Turkey, a critical first step to securing oil fields of the Middle East and in the Caucasus, both British and American fighters are met in the air aiding the Turkish. I had also forgot about the increased partisan activities, and multiple Greek partisans have spawned.

The Western Allies are expected to attempt a cross channel invasion soon, and our coastal defenses are significantly weak. Most of the Atlantic wall guns have been destroyed via bombing (lacked the willingness/funds to repair) and Italy has been tasked with garrisoning eastern France. As earlier mentioned I failed to factor in the increased partisan activity and Free French forces have captured Vichy, but will quickly be extinguished, though this is an untimely distraction. A significant amount of German Armour is arriving in France to aid in it's defense. Both Italy and Germany achieved Anti-Air II this turn, very timely.

D-Day

The Western Allies have landed in occupied France, with minimal initial resistance. German Tanks are awaiting orders to counter attack from Paris. With the Axis already reeling in on the Eastern Front, a second major front will be a major drain on our military capabilities.

The Red Army has once again pressed through our defensive positions east of Smolensk, in the South we continue to hold along the Dnepr river.

In France Germany immidiately begins their counter offensive attacking the British east of Paris with strength. The Allied beachheads will have to be contained quickly as we lack the manpower to garrison a full front.

Northern Finland has been a rather quite front, but the Soviets are finally pressuring our garrisons, having this past turn captured one of the NM objectives after forcing the Finnish Anti-Tank unit to retreat from Kemijärvi.

The Turkish forward defenses have been destroyed, including the Turkish Tank Corps and Istanbul is completely besieged. The road to Ankara is clear. It is unlikely that Turkey, even strengthened with Allied support will be long for the war.

Having received new Tanks as reinforcement, Rommel has renewed the drive on Cairo and an eventual capture of the Middle Eastern Oil fields.

My opponent (the AI) offered to extend the game and I have accepted. Can the Axis hold on for 3 more years or even push back and achieve a decisive victory? Let's see.

Axis income is a total of about 900 MPP at this time, the Allied industrial monster is about 3300 MPP combined. Allied bombings and lost territory is constantly shrinking our income, as well we will risk losing our shipments from both Spain and Portugal should the Allies severe the overland route in Southern France.

However we will narrow this by achieving our grand plan to control the various oil fields in the Caucasus and the Middle East. The war depends on it.

July 1944 on the Eastern Front

The Axis continue to hold back the Soviets on all fronts, but it is taking some time to build up our strength for a resurgent counter attack.

The Germany Army is aggressively defending Paris, but the weakness of the Italian Army is making the eastern coast of France easy ground for the American Army, I do not expect to be able to adequately defend Bordeaux.

Unit chart;

The Axis are outnumbered, but we are far from out. The Axis navies look stronger in this chart than reality, as with exception of a few German and Italian surface ships the remainder of the navies are in a state of disrepair and the Axis have not enough MPP to bring them back up to strength.

World Map, late July 1944

Rommel has successfully captured Cairo! This is a huge morale boost for the Axis at this point, and could soon lead to a full invasion of the Middle East.

On the same turn that the Axis celebrate the capture of Cairo, the Allies narrowly avoid another disaster as we destroyed the defender in the Turkish capital but lack the movement points to occupy. Turkish defeat will be a big boost to Axis income and finally expose the Allied oilfields.

A friendly reminder that the map is not the edge of the world. The commonwealth could potentially invade Egypt if we just leave a garrison or two behind.