Fatal Alliances

 Japan aligned IndoChina, raised friendly troops in Saigon and rail moved them to Hanoi. Militia from Japan were moved to Shanghai and the militia there were moved to Hanoi. This outflanked the the Chinese Nationalist line anchored by the newly built Stillwell Chinese American HQ in the SouthWest. Chinese woes were multiplied when a lone Chinese Nationalist army was attacked by strong Japanese forces in the rain. Japanese bombers flew in support and despite strong Chinese air defence got through the Chinese fighters. The Chinese were destroyed and the Japanese advanced. Japan aligning IndoChina caused a severe negative diplomatic reaction in the US but both entry markers drawn were only a 1. In the north a supply unit moved to join Japanese forces outflanking the Communist forces to the north. Italy used a naval impulse to move a convoy into the Eastern Med with surface ship escorts and a naval interceptor patrolling there. Subs in East Africa found some convoys but were scared off by the Royal Navy. Subs in the Western Med failed to find any targets.

Hitler phoned various Eastern European capitals and hectored their leaders saying that if Germany fell then the Bolshevik menace would then roll ovewr their countries. Hungary was the first to align with Germany's cause but demanded 1 build point/ Turn of active service in supporting Germany. Their forces mobilised. German stukas again bombed the mechanised corps in the Ukraine again disorganising it. German forces moved along the railway from France to Germany whilst their infantry to move towards the French coast to guard against seaborne invasion. The Germans launched an attack on the Soviet forces outside Konigsberg whilst in the skies both German and Soviet fighters and thier pilots died. 

Chinese Nationalists redeployed forces on forced marches leading to them being flipped over to address the threat from IndoChina and the Chinese Communists moved their forces to meet the outlfanking Japanese forces to the North. The Commonwealth transported an Indian army corps to Suez port, a mechanised corps to Port Said near Alexandria with battleship escorts to run an Italian sub gauntlet and the Alexander HQ to Gibraltar. A Halifax and Stirling raid  on Dortmundlargely untroubled by flak only did 1 build point damage but were reorganised by the Gort HQ to go again later in the Turn. The Soviet Union made some punishing strategic bombing raids on Berlin and Breslau for a toal of 3 lost building points showing the RAF how it's done.  Ground forces were deployed backwards towards the Baltic States, Byeolorussia and towards the Hungarian/ Rumanian borders. Stalins spies had heard rumours that the jackals of fascism in Eastern Europe were throwing in their lot with Hitler. The invasion of Germany had been called off.

With the breathing space with the Soviet withdrawal the Germans recruited Bulgaria to their cause and then called a naval impulse. Every avaliable Kriegsmarine ship - such as Tirpitz and Bismarck - sailed into the Faroes Gap along with half the u-boat fleet to shatter the UK's convoys bringing food and war material then failed to find any targets! The other half of the U-boats searched for convoys in the North Atlantic but they also failed to succeed in finding convoys. In China the Japanese army launched a costly offensive in Southerm China that saw a Japanese garrison corps destroyed and the rest of the Japanese forces disorganised for the loss of a single Chinese infantry army. The Italians seeing the build up of CommonWealth forces in Egypt decided to bug out of Palestine and moved their troops there back to Jerusalem to be evacuated and their army in Egypt retreated back to Libya.

The Commonwealth chose a naval impulse and moved out escort vessels to cover many of the shipping lanes from next Turn. The Home Fleet sailed out and tried to find the Kriegsmarine but both fleets missed each other. 

 

 

The battleships in Alexandria sailed out into the East Med in case the Italians try to evacuate their forces in Palestine to act as a blocking force.  Tankers started moving to Africa to provide oil for the Free French from them Middle East. The reorganised bombers hit the Ruhr again and only caused 1 build point damage. The Chinese moved forces trying to cover the threat from IndoChina. The Soviets took a no-cost combined impulse and sent subs into the Baltic but they falied to find any convoys to sink.

The Germans aligned Rumania and rail moved the Rundstedt HQ, an armoured and mechanised corps to the Soviet/ Rumanian border. Other German forces moved towards the Polish border and some air units rebased towards Rumania. The Italians used a no-cost combined impulse, moved a transport and a light cruiser to move the Italian forces in Palestine to Libya, kissed the dice for luck and were delighted to avoid inteception by the Royal Navy. The Japanese moved the Imperial Guard marine corps to a port ready to be transported next Turn.

The Commonwealth used a no-cost combined to transport an artillery division to Gibraltar and complete rebase of Beaufighters to Alexandria. The Royal Navy again searched for the Kriegsmarine in the North Sea and only just failed to find them because of the rainy weather. The Soviets used a rare for them Naval impulse to move thier convoys into the North Sea to get their hands on the Norwegian resource that the Commonwealth would gift to then. The German naval aircraft tried to search for them but failed. 

The Germans rail moved the von Leeb HQ and two motorised corps towards the Rumanian border. Other troops moved towards the East Front. The Italians retreated towards Libya and had a relatively strong concentration of forces - infantry HQ, mechanised and motorised corps, marine corps and infantry division and Libyan corps and artillery division backed up by two fighter units, stuka and bomber wings. Japan rail moved an infantry corps towards Shanghai ready to be moved by sea.

The Royal Navy again just failed to find the Kriegsmarine in the Faroes gap and 8th Army rearranged forces ready for a push on Libya. The Soviets moved forces around the Ukraine whilst Chinese Nationalists moved forces to the West to counter the IndoChina Flank.

A plucky French resistance unit turned up in an unguarded resource hex in France denying its use to the German war economy. The Eastern European states aligning themselves to Germany caused a US entry chit to be drawn. Diplomatically the US allowed resources to go to China so the Commonwalth will transport an oil factor to China via the Burma Road. The French carrier Bearn was interned by the US and became Free French. The US also authoriseed the use of naval escorts in the East coast area to protect convoys.