Total War Part 1

 Every major power is at war with each other - except Vichy staying on the side lines. The UK uses all its intelligence points to influence the initiative roll and they are needed to just win initiative. On the first impulse the weather is Fine everywhere.  I discovered I had made another mistake- Rumania has a factory that can have been used to produce build points along with the one build point a turn promised by Hitler so long as Germany also provided it with a resource. So i let Rumania have a motorised infantry corps and placed that in place of the militia unit outside of Sevastopol which moved back inside to Rumania. I also decided to favour narrative logic over the rules and so if Germany wants to collapse Vichy instead of a telegram Hitler would need to send troops to impose his will as the Allies have landed in Occuppied France. Hitler needs to send an HQ or amoured corps plus one other unit (can be Italian).

China chooses a Land impulse and tries to surround the Japanese armourd corps in Langchow. They manage 2:1 odds but an average dice roll results in the Chinese attackers being disorganised but no casualties on either side. The US chooses a Naval Impulse. It recruits Brazil to the Allied cause and sends its light cruisers to patrol off the Brazilian coast. The two elderly Brazilian battleships move to Washington to begin an Atlantic crossing next Turn. From Pearl Harbour the sub Thresher goes to the China sea and manages to find the unprotected Japanese convoys and tankers - it sinks 3 convoys, damages 3 tankers and sends 3 convoys back to Japanese ports but is itself sent back to Pearl Harbour. Hirohito curses the early end of the previous Turn before Japan could set up escorts. Three other subs set up patrols in the sea zones around Hawaii in case the Japanese fleets return. The Wasp carrier, 3 old battleships and 3 cruisers across the Atlantic to the South coast of England accompanying the French transport delivering a Boston medium bomber. The P38 in N Ireland rebased to France. French light cruisers move to protect convoys in Africa and South/ Central America. US and French subs move to Gibraltar. The US sends out light and heavy cruisers to protect its convoys. The Pacific Fleet of battleships, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers  (see below) moves to the Christmas Island sea area which means it's unlikely the Japanese Kido Butai (main fleet of aircraft carriers with accompanying battleships) will be able to reach it and engage it. The US realises it can send planes to Scotland in 3 impulses - first rebase to Greenland, then Iceland then Scotland. The air transport plane, remaining P38 and medium bomber starrt their journey.

The Commonwealth uses its Offensive Points to have a combined Land/ Naval. The usual convoy protection moves are made by vessels. Indian infantry move from Libya to to Trincomalee to land on the large naval base there. The Australian infantry move with Dutch vessels escort Calcutta and avoid Japanese subs en route. Commonwealth forces continue to cross the Channel with armour taking La Rochelle allowing Canadian infantry to land there. The Italian militia in Brest are disorganised by Wellingtons and as out of suuply are easily destroyed by Commonwealth forces on land and infantry landing by sea. Commonwealth aircraft carrier planes succesfully bomb and damage the Italian sub in East Africa - with the lack of repair facilities it is now out of action for the rest of the game meaning a threat to the rear of the Royal Navy in Asia is now eliminated. South African territorials take Mandalay creating a barrier in Burma protecting India with the Indian troops in the mountains to the South. 

A Soviet infantry army is rail moved to Siberia. The Soviets attack Guderian again to complete encirclement of the 1st PanzerArmee breakthrough in North Poland. The Soviets move forces to surround the Germans and Red air bombmbers bombard the troops at the head of the breakthrough and disorganise them. Two luftwaffe medium bombers support Guderian and the SS infantry corps and both involved HQs commmit reserves and will become disorganised after the attack. Zhukov destroys the HQ and sends Guderian onto the Production Circle. The Soviets attack the out of supply unnits at the head of their breakthrough and an infantry corps is destroyed with the cost of a Soviet cavalry division and half the attackers being disorganised. In further bad news for Hitler in Southern Poland Timoshenko leads a combined cavalry and infantry attack annihilates an infantry corp despite Luftwaffe medium bomber support. In this last battle the cavalry corps got promoted to a Guards Banner cavalry corps. Both lost German infnatry corps did not give cadre build points adding to German pain. Hitler reckons he can still swing Poland his way and make inroads into Ukraine as well as stymie the Allies in France. He asks Mussolini for more support in France pointing out that the Commonwealth forces in the Med are weakening so invasion of Italy is unlikely but Mussolini wants to wait until the crossing from Sicily into the Italian mainland is fortified.

Hitler chooses a no-cost combined in order to send his u-boats and naval aircraft out to disrupt the Allied troop transports in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Bay of Biscay whilst the milchow u-boat goes to the Carribbean to disrupt oil supplies there. next Turn Guderian organises a counter attack. After a mass air battle with no losses the Germans manage to force Zhukov and the other Soviets retreat at the cost of a Panzer corps with a blitz attack and all German forces disorganised. At least some German forces in the cauldron in North Poland are now supplied. Italy chooses a no-cost combined impulse. It moves its troops in Italy behind a river line in Poland to protect against itself the Red Army. Stukas move towards Italy. The Graziani HQ rail moves to Paris. Japan chooses a no-cost combined impulse. Manila is attacked with battleship support and taken with no casualties. 

The US chooses a naval impulse and recurits Mexico to the cause. Mexico has its two strongest land units ready to sail to Europe from an Atlantic port. Eisenhower and 3 motorised infantry corps sail from Iceland and N Ireland to French ports. The Germans only manage to intercept them once with two naval aircraft but strong AA fire abort the German naval aircraft attacks. Eisenhower reorganises the Transports and flips over himself. The Americans have landed in France! The US realises it can send planes to Scotland in 3 impulses - first rebase to Greenland, then Iceland then Scotland.Commonwealrth chooses a Land action (26 oil) and moves its forces to surround and blitz the double Italian stack in central France. Monty organises a crushing attack and Mussolini learns two of his infantry corps including elite Alpini mountain troops are destroyed. Bombers do a long range daylight raid on Munich and cause 2 (which with rounding and productivity modifiers will be rounded up to 3) building point losses. Stalin moves the Vatutin HQ, militia army and anti tank division closer to Koniev HQ and AA division to help close the gap (but not completely) south of the Dnepr. in North Poland Soviet forces close a ring around the two isolated panzer corps (one out of supply) and destroy them both for the loss of a cavalry corps and half the remaining units disorganised. South of Warsaw Red Army forces close up to the Vistula ready to force a crossing next impulse. China moves one or two units around tired of disorganising themselves in attacks that go nowhere. A difficult Impulse for the Axis with Italy and Germany both losing two corps each. 

Hitler chooses to retreat in North Poland and pulls units backs from the cauldron. In South Ukraine Manstein storms Mariupol destroying a strong Soviet garrison army and weak militia army with the help of Luftwaffe and Bulgarian air units and the loss of the Vlassov cavalry corps. Both sides lost a fighter unit along with the pilots. Hitler hopes this allows him to roll up the Soviet defensive line at the Dnepr and destroy enough Red Army units to force Stalin to transfer units from Poland to stop that Front collapsing. Mussolini chooses a no-cost combined impulse and moves his Stukas to France and mechanised corps to Paris. Hitler alomg with the Italians creates a defensive barrier on the Seine. He contepmplates sending bomber and Stuka units in France to disorgansise leading Commonwealth troops such as armoured corps and the Monty HQ with Italian fighter cover hoping to slow them down but the Italians are outmatched by the Allied fighters so instead rebases a fighter and a bomber towards France. Japan ignores the crisis in Europe and weighs up going for India but the weather is stormy in the North Monsoon zone. Japan chooses a naval impulse. Hirohito divides his battleships and cruisers into two fleets - an advance fleet (with Yamamoto battleship and light carriers) and Kido Butei (with the heavy carriers). Planes are sent to patrol the seas. Light cruiser escorts for various sea boxes are sent out to protect various convoys. A garrison corps is sent out to protecr Manila and the strong infantry corps there are moved to Rangoon. Vichy moves forces to guard it's Northern frontier and its factory cities of Vichy and Lyon.

The Commonwealth chooses a no-cost combined impulse. Their land units surround the two SS militia corps and destroy them in a blitz attack as well as the face down Italian medium bomber in the hex and the pilot. U-boats try and intercept two British infantry corps  amd AA division being transported to Brest. They succeed but not enough to evade the air cover and so the infantry and flak land. The Queens fast transports drop off the Indian infantry corps from Sinai into Bombay face down and move back into the Indian Ocean hoping to return to base to Australia or South Africa. The militia unit in Bomaby rail moves to Dacca. The US also chooses a no-cost combined impulse. The US chooses a no-cost combined and moves Tranpsorts back across the Atlantic to US ports ready to transport land units to France next Turn. US motorised infantry move to cover the border with Vichy France. The Chinese nationalists move a warlord to occuppy the road between KweiYang and Kumming.  The Soviets choose a Land impulse and force a bridgehead over the Vistula south of Warsaw with armored trooops and then attack the Italian HQ and with the help of Soviet forces to the East of Vistula manage to force them to retreat with half the Soviets disorganised. The Soviets are now threatening Warsaw with an expanded bridgehead and can also overrun and destroy disorganised Luftwaffe units to the West of them next impulse. It's a mess in Poland for Hitler who may have his powerful SS Mechanised corps in East Prussia to Warsaw/ South Poland as a fire brigade to save the situation there.

 Hitler is in a pickle. He moves the unflipped bomber unit out of danger. He moves the SS mech corps to Warsaw and am infantry unit to protect one air unit but leaves the weak bomber unit unprotected. He moves forces by rail and foot into Southern Poland. He rail moves militia units to Antwerp and Amsterdam to allow their infantry units to move towards France. Rumanians attack the partisans in Odessa destroying them for the cost of a militia units. Two panzer corps attack Stalino and destroy the weak militia unit there but become disorganised so the Southern Ukraine offensive is grinding to a halt. Mussolini chooses a no-cost combined impulse. He sends his subs into the Est Med but in a disastrous search roll gets found instead by Royal Navy light cruisers and cruiser and gets damaged. He moves an Italian corps in Poland to stack with a German unit to protect a flipped over German air unit. The Japanese choose a no-cost combined impulse and move their Advance fleet into the Bay of Bengal and take their two marine corps and do an amphibious landing on Cocanada on the East coast of India and succeed without loss. with the help of battleship support. Their intent is to grab the port then move to take a nearby resources hex then advance on Calcutta from the South and catch the Commonwealth 14th Army in a pincer movement. 

Weather is fine except stormy in the North Monsoon. The US chooses a no-cost combined. MacArthur who had previously moved to the East coast last turn flips over and reorganises three Transports. Brazilian vessels start crossing the Atlantic and convoys make contact with Australia. The Commonwealth with a Land impulse and moves troops up to the Seine. Both the US and Commonwealth move armoured units to get into a position where they can hook round the back of the Axis units on the Seine. The Soviet Union moves units from the northern Dnper line to allow a strong infantry army to join the Koniev HQ whilst the Vatutin HQ moves East to stop panzers having a free run towards Kharkov. A Siberian army is rail moved into Rostov. Devastating for Hitler is a two pronged attack on either side of Warsaw. Stalin rolls well and sends 2 German and 1 Italian corps into going onto the Production Circle and arrivng back next Turn. Two medium bomber units are destroyed including an excellent 4 factor ground support Ju88. The SS Mech corps could be trapped in Warsaw. Hard decisions await for Hitler. 

Japan chooses a no-cost combined impulse. Yamashita HQ and a strong infantry corps are transported to India. The marines in India move north to be in a position to claim the resources in the Indian mountains. Hitler takes a Land impulses. Hitler rail moves a militia unit to help protect the rear of the Polish front and moves an infantry corps to keep a northern corridor to Warsaw. Mussolini passes as he wants to keep his powder dry. 

This is a big turn so will continue it in the next post.