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Greetings, Commanders.
I must admit that, after so many years playing this game, I am still surprised by the number of nuances one must control to survive against a top opponent. I am more comfortable playing with the Axis, but the possibilities available to the Allied player are also extremely interesting. This AAR imperfectly summarizes the game I am playing with petedalby. At the moment, we are in the spring of 1943, and the game has been more than interesting. I will try to provide as much information as possible so that other players can see how I manage the economy and Allied strategy during this unforgettable game. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.
Best regards, and enjoy.
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September 1939
With a textbook attack in China, the game begins. Like a grandmaster executing a well-studied opening, the Chinese 41st Army (in the marshes near Chengchow) and the XIV Infantry Corps (east of Changsha) are destroyed in a perfect choreography. The three enemy armies besieging Chengchow, on the opposite side of the Hwang River, pull back from the Chinese fortifications (scheduled for upgrade soon).
To reinforce the center of the front, the 5th Chinese Army is transferred from the northern front to Sian. Chinese engineers begin fortifying the road hex connecting Kweichow and Changsha. That hex is one of the most important defensive anchors in all of China. October 1939
The enemy launches a violent attack against the northeastern fort protecting Changsha. The infantry corps holds its position, ending the assaults with a strength of 4. It is immediately relieved by the 4th Army, which arrives from Changsha.
At the front center, after the 5th Army arrives from Sian, General Zhu feels strong enough to launch a limited offensive. A Japanese corps advancing south of Chengchow is attacked. No significant movements are detected in either the northern or southern sectors of the front.
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November 1939
The Japanese halt their advance toward Chengchow from the south and withdraw. The recently decorated General Xue (1 star) launches an attack against a Japanese Army positioned in front of the Changsha fortifications and inflicts 7 points of damage on the enemy.
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December 1939
The Japanese renew their attacks against the fortification northeast of Changsha. The men of the 4th Army withstand the assaults, although they suffer heavy casualties. General Xue orders the withdrawal of the 4th Army (reduced to 4 strength points) and replaces it with a fresh infantry corps.

Love an old-school AAR thread, (maps and commentary).
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Subscribed.

January 1940
The Japanese concentrate their forces around Tsinan. They have amassed five armies and one special forces unit north of the Hwang River in preparation for an assault on the forts defending Chengchow. Three armies advance through mud and rain toward the fortifications, preparing for an attack next turn.
The sun shines during our turn, and General Zhu (1 star) immediately orders a sector attack that succeeds in pushing back one of the Japanese armies.
Further south, near Changsha, the enemy forms a second attack group composed of six armies and one infantry corps. The newly raised 1st Chinese Army is deployed as reinforcement alongside the veteran 4th Army. At the beginning of the new year, we will briefly review the overall situation: The Japanese have failed to achieve significant advances anywhere along the front. In the northern sector, Japanese forces deploy five infantry corps around Peking to protect the railway line. Two powerful attack groups have been assembled in the center of the front to assault Chengchow and Changsha, while in the south, near the coast and Nanning, the enemy remains largely inactive with only minimal forces.
Our engineers continue working tirelessly to fortify the Kweichow area. It should also be noted that General Fen has relocated from the northern Paotow sector to the outskirts of Sian, reinforcing the central reserve; this decision will have important consequences later.

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5. Economic & MPP Analysis
Losses
• Japan: 1052 MPPs
• China: 899 MPPs
This ratio is excellent for China, and we are forcing Japan to pay a premium price for every hex gained.
Income
• Japan collected: 1501 MPPs
• China collected: 824 MPPs
This was expected. However, the key factor is how those resources were spent.

Investment Strategy
Investments: China
• 221 MPPs in units
• 870 MPPs in technology
This is a bold approach, but hopefully the correct long-term strategy.
• Infantry Weapons → essential for surviving into mid-1940
• 2× AA → Japan’s air force is the true enemy
• 2× Command & Control → Chinese HQs become game changers
• Infantry Warfare → improves survivability and readiness
I intended to build a China that would become far stronger in 1941–42 than Japan expected.
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What This Means Going Into 1940
Japan is stalled
Japan is bleeding MPPs
China is advancing technologically
Defensive lines remain intact
Commanders are gaining experience
Reserves are moving into position
This is the formula for a China capable of surviving until the United States enters the war, which remains the ultimate strategic objective.
My limited spending on units means the army remains lean, but Chinese HQs and technological improvements will soon make every Chinese unit fight like two...

Great to see a TaifunTM AAR! And curious to see how much Pete has improved By the looks of it, we must chat about the war in China haha but I'm sure he'll make it very difficult in the long run.

China looks in good shape! Wonder what's happening in the West

February 1940

The sun shines across the entire front as the Empire of the Rising Sun launches its offensive with determination. Japanese forces succeed in destroying the infantry corps defending the fort northeast of Changsha, though they fail to occupy the hex afterward. I have decided not to commit additional troops to the defense of the fort, fearing the position is too exposed and vulnerable. The Japanese could easily turn it into a meat grinder in a war of attrition that China cannot hope to win. We must preserve our strength.

The 1st Army advances to the front at Hengyang and inflicts losses on the Japanese forces pushing north toward the city along the coastal road.

Japanese forces also capture one of the fortifications across the Hwang River that protects Chengchow. March 1940


The enemy launches a heavy assault on the fortress linking Changsha and Nanchang, but the Chinese resist. Nevertheless, I chose to abandon the fort, entrusting the defense of Changsha to the 322nd Corps, entrenched at level 3 with 90% readiness. At this stage, my biggest strategic danger is probably not losing cities individually but losing too many corps in delayed withdrawals. China can lose ground; it cannot afford catastrophic encirclements. Japanese forces capture the second fortification across the Hwang River protecting Chengchow. In hindsight, I believe it was a mistake not to withdraw the army after the fall of the first fortification.
Near Paotow, four enemy infantry corps advance along the northern front, most likely as part of a diversionary offensive. Japan loses 1,729 MPPs while China loses 1,633 MPPs. For China, near-parity in MPP losses is strategically excellent. At the same time, Japan invests 600 MPPs in technological research.

Interesting & instructive defence of China, esp. the focus on research.

Magpius, Umeu and wevilc, thank you very much for following this AAR. If you are wondering what is happening in France and North Africa, you will have to wait. I have conceived this AAR as a book where the action will be developed in chapters:

Chapter 1 China to the Entry of the United States
Chapter 2 The Fall of France
Chapter 3 Egypt and Beyond
Chapter 4 Barbarossa and the Eastern Front
Chapter 5 The Yankees are finally here
Chapter 6 Hell on Earth

End of March / April
The last two Axis turns have been a catastrophe for the Chinese armed forces. In the southern sector of the front, Japanese forces captured Changsha and Hengyang with alarming ease, destroying the Chinese corps defending both cities. I have no choice but to withdraw my troops toward the fortifications of Kweichow. The 4th Army now occupies the fort north of the road linking Kweichow and Changsha.
As a rearguard, we left the 1st Army in Kweilin to protect the approaches to Nanning. It is a strong formation, entrenched at level 3 with 72% readiness, and we believe it can delay the Japanese advance for several turns. In the center of the front, General Zhu (1-star) launches a limited diversionary counterattack with two armies against an isolated Japanese infantry corps south of the Hwang River.
More bad news comes from the northern front. Paotow has been cut off from the rest of the Chinese forces, and I have no way to reinforce the area. Even worse, the region lacks proper leadership, as General Feng remains in Sian. It appears the enemy is launching a major offensive from Peking that could outflank both our front and Communist China from the north. I should have read Wevilc's AAR beforehand! On the technological front, we are close to reaching Anti-Aircraft Level 1 and Command and Control Level 1, although Infantry Weapons Level 1 is still many months away. May
During the month of May, the situation on the front only continues to deteriorate. The army at Paotow is besieged and assaulted by numerous Japanese forces, suffering heavy losses. In the center of the front, one of General Zhu’s armies (1-star) is struck repeatedly by Japanese bombers and reduced to only 3 strength points. Meanwhile, in the south, Japanese troops make contact with the 1st Army defending Kweilin.

Thank you for preparing an excellent AAR Taifun. Great work covering important events and keeping it exciting. You should be a novelist. I like your idea for breaking the AAR into chapters. Maybe a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter?

I've always considered the Chinese army to be fragile. It's hard to resist punishing the Japanese with well timed counterattacks. But the cost!! Too many counterattacks and you suddenly run out of units. Interesting choice with the research. In the long run it will pay off, if the Chinese can survive for the long run.

Taifun wrote: Tue May 12, 2026 10:07 pm
More bad news comes from the northern front. Paotow has been cut off from the rest of the Chinese forces, and I have no way to reinforce the area. Even worse, the region lacks proper leadership, as General Feng remains in Sian. It appears the enemy is launching a major offensive from Peking that could outflank both our front and Communist China from the north. I should have read Wevilc's AAR beforehand!

It looks as though maybe Petedalby did lol. My failure to see what Old_Shane was up to cost me the communists in double-quick time. Follow me for more tips on how not to play.

The defence around Kweichow is an interesting ploy.

June / July

After the fall of Paotow, enemy forces continued their advance westward without resistance toward the remote city of Ningsha, defended only by a weak and demoralized infantry corps. As a precaution, I was forced to redeploy two infantry corps from our reserve in Sian to Lanchow and distant Zhangye. The center of the front remains static, but in the south the situation grows increasingly difficult. The exact number of turns our 1st Army, entrenched in Kweilin, managed to hold out was one. It was a complete fiasco and forced me to evacuate Nanning. The only good news is the arrival of two anti-aircraft units, which I deploy in Kweichow and Chengchow. August

While the center of the front remains quiet, Japanese troops approach the fortifications of Kweichow and the remote city of Ningsha in the north. September

It is at this point that I realize I made a serious mistake by not placing the 4th Army in the fortified road position. The fortification was defended only by the 3rd Infantry Corps, and because it did not exert a Zone of Control, a Japanese army was able to climb the mountains. Attacked on two fronts, the Chinese infantry corps, entrenched south of the fortifications, was quickly destroyed.

For the first time, the formidable Japanese Army with strength 13 appears on the battlefield, soon nicknamed by the troops “the Steamroller.”

October

The moment of truth has arrived: will the Japanese continue their advance toward Kweichow, increasing U.S. war readiness, or will they remain in position to avoid provoking the Americans further?

On a positive note, the first Chinese artillery unit is deployed in Chungking. I start upgrading my units with AA It is now clear that the Japanese offensive in the north is a serious one, as Ningsha is on the verge of falling into enemy hands. At least two Japanese armies and two corps have been identified in the area. This forces me to react, and I deploy an army and two additional veteran infantry corps to Lanchow as a reserve under the command of General Feng. November

The Japanese continue alternating between building new units and investing in technological development. They do not appear to have constructed additional bombers or aircraft carriers, suggesting they are prioritizing the army over the navy. I therefore suspect they are producing artillery, mechanized formations, or tanks. December

As expected, Ningsha falls. General Feng receives an infantry corps as reinforcement in Lanchow.

With the arrival of the new year, it is time to assess China’s position. It is very good news for China that Petedalby has not continued the advance toward our capital, Chungking. This gives us valuable time to strengthen our defenses, continue building fortifications, and deploy new units. Personally, I believe this is a mistake on Japan’s part, as time works against them in the war. The limited increase in U.S. war readiness should not outweigh Japan’s long-term strategic goals. If Petedalby chose to focus on China rather than the navy and the Pacific, then that strategy should be pursued consistently.

Even so, we are convinced that Japan will not be able to capture Chungking from the south in 1941.

The situation in the north is far more dangerous. We fear Japan may continue its advance toward Lanchow or, even worse, declare war on Communist China and crush it in a surprise offensive, as happened in Welvic’s game. I do not see many ways to prevent such an outcome.