“WifC in Flames”

Players Options used Setup S / O 1939 N / D 1939 J / F 1940 M /A 1940 M / J 1940 J / A 1940 S / O 1940 N / D 1940 J / F 1941 M /A 1941 M / J 1941

Players:

Germany: Paul Tobias

An experienced player, but hasn't played recently. Famous for naval acumen while playing the Commonwealth, its been a while since he's played a land power and had to deal with the initiative.

Italy: Paul Hale

Brand new to the world of WiF, we're not sure what his style will be yet. A quick learner, he'll be into the thick of the war quickly.

Japan: Kris Wagner-Porter

Kris has played WiF 1-5 for years but is still getting used to the Final Edition. The opposite of Paul T, he has been used to playing land powers and is getting used to playing a primarily naval nation.

Commonwealth: Andre Schmidt

Somewhat experienced, having been thrown into the fire of a 1 on 1 Global War game over the summer as the allies. He hopes to build on all of the mistakes he made in his previous campaign.

France/Russia/ChiComs: Greg Lamonte

Famous for his high-risk, high reward strategies that will probably make or break the Allied cause. Aka "The bane of US Entry".

USA/ChiNats: Shane Liebling

His first campaign, Shane has the rough task of learning the US Entry for the first time. With his allies, he'll be hitting the dice quite often, while watching the European Entry Pools ebb and flow like the Bay of Fundy.

We're playing WiF Classic, so that limits many of the options to be played with.

We are using:

8: Flying boats

13: Emergency HQ Supply

15: Off-city reinforcement

16: Lend lease

26: Amphibious rule

29: Strategic bombing by CVs

31: Saving build points and resources

32: Carpet bombing

33: Tank busters

34: Motorised movement rates

35: Bomber (& no paradrop) ATRs

36: Large ATRs

37: Restricted invasions

38: Defensive shore bombardment

39: HQ support

42: Allied combat friction

43: 2-dice land combats

46: Partisans

47: Isolated reorganisation limits

50: USSR-Japan compulsory peace

52: Aircraft night missions

53: Twin-engined fighters

54: Fighter-bombers

55: Outclassed fighters

58: Internment

59: Flying bombs

60: Kamikazes

61: Offensive Chits

63: Intelligence

Setup

USSR: Looks very aggressive against Finland. Other than that, the European map looks normal, with only the 2-5 CAV staring across Poland. In Asia, Zhukov and every other Russian is setup near Blagovyeshchensk, across from the northern tip of Manchuria.

China: The Chinese are setup on their mountain line, praying that things go well.

Japan: The Japanese setup against China, with a few units staring down Zhukov to the north.

Italy: The Italians setup normally, with only peaceful intentions in mind. There is a corps down in Ethiopia. There are 2 corps and Balbo in Tripoli, eyeing the French across the border.

Commonwealth: The CW doesn't seem to be doing anything to exciting, though the fact that the entire CW fleet is in the Med is a little disconcerting. He also has his conv's setup all over the place... Nice thin lines :)

France: There are no troops on the Belgian border. There are only 4 units on the Maginot line. Everyone else is on the Italian border. Italy is shitting bricks, as is the US. CW and Fr have to take the US aside and try and tell him that everything is going to be okay.

Germany: The Germans set up Poland first, with a couple of units gazing across the nice empty flatland of Denmark. Von Leeb and his compatriots bravely stare down the French across their Maginot Line.

Sept/Oct 1939

The war starts with ground strikes all round. Germany sends the Luftwaffe to pave the way for the Wermacht. The two corps in Lodz are flipped, as are a TAC, a FTR, the HQ-I, and an INF in Warsaw. The two Polish "speedbumps" fall in 10:1 blitzes, as the German machine rolls towards Lodz. Japan ground strikes

Canton, flipping two INF. Italy gets worried about the French massing on the border and rails a MECH to Turin.

The CW and France then DoW Germany, which creates some consternation among the American public. France sneaks their SUB into the Baltic, and manages to sink the German 5 CP sitting there. The Wermacht attacks and crushes Lodz, as GE rolls a 10 at 5:1+2 odds. It'll be their last decent roll for a while.

Both the CW and France DoW Italy. Half of NYC shuts down as the Italian population there begins its protests. Both CW and France port strike the Italians; the CW goes after the majority of the fleet at La Spezia, while the French Bearn attempts to hit Civitavecchia. All accounted for, they sink the Giulio Cesare, and a TRS, and damage the Duca D'Aosta, Guissano, and Cadorna. They also search for Italian CP's on the Italian coast. The French find and sink 5 CP.

GE rolls for weather... Despite the clear weather that had been persisting, a freak storm rolls in and begins dumping snow at a phenomenal rate all over Europe. The German High command demands action regardless, and launches a 4:1+2 attack on Warsaw. GE rolls a "1". Warsaw holds, while 3/4 of the Wermacht lies

around the city, trying to figure out what went wrong. The Italians continue trying to get troops up to the French border.

The western allies sit back and enjoy the weather. The only actions consist of French troops continuing to slog across the Italian Alps and move towards Milan and Turin. They then end the turn on a "3".

Nov/Dec 1939

The axis gain intiative. Germany refuses to roll weather, and Italy rolls a 9... The freak storm decides it likes dumping loads of snow on Europe, and decides to hang around a while longer. Germany and Italy puts their SUBs to sea, and fail to find the unescorted CW convoys.

France manages to cram 4 corps into Italy and align Yugoslavia. The Yugos then advance into Italy and take an undefended Trieste. Once again, the CW attempts to port strike Italy, but effective AA drives them away and damages the Illustrious.

Both Italy and Germany refuse to roll weather. Japan takes the die, and rolls another 9. As the storm continues, German High Command decides that caution is the better part of valor, and decide to postpone the attack on Warsaw until the storm breaks. Hopefully, it'll be soon. The Italian INF in Ethiopia, which has been slowly walking along that rail line, takes Cairo and marches into an undefended Suez. This assertion of Italian strength nullifies any ground they may have gained earlier with the US. Germany shows its support for their Italian ally by railing down an INF to help push the Yugoslavs out of Italy.

Between the French in the Alps, and the Yugoslavs in Trieste, the allies have managed to cut all rail lines between Germany and Italy. Those resources sent to Italy by Germany are destroyed on the rail ines. The Brits load every troop they have on TRS and proceed towards Egypt. As the blizzard continues, the French

slowly begin to pull trips out of Italy. The turn ends at "4".

Jan/Feb 1940

The axis maintain the initiative. Germany rolls for weather... The storm finally dies down, dropping a little snow. The winds have stopped, and the German High Command feels that the time is right. Warsaw falls in a 5:1 assault, as the Luftwaffe asserts its dominance over the Polish air force, shooting down both the FTR and the LND with no casualties. Germany also DoW Denmark, taking both Copenhagen and Frederikshavn. The German INF in Italy joins forces with the Italian MOT and attacks a 2-3 Yugoslav. Though the Yugoslav is killed, he rolls a "2", the one result which manages to destroy both the Italian and the German in the battle.

The CW lands their troops at Alexandria, and make their way to Suez. In the ensuing battle, the Italians valiantly try to hold Suez against the Brits. They fail, though they take the London MIL along with them. France continues to pull away from Italy, and slowly gets troops north towards the border.

With most French troops flipped or far from the front, Germany DoW's Belgium in an attempt to breach the line. With most of their troops still in Poland after the long winter, Germany tries to press into Belgium, but makes little progress.

Japan continues to attack the Chinese, but makes no progress in the mountains. The Italians provide the one bright spot for the Axis, as they launch their NAV, and find unescorted CP's in the Med. 5 Fr CP's are sunk, and 5 CW CP's are damaged.

France moves a few troops into Belgium to support, and the turn ends on a "1"...

Mar/Avr 1940

The Axis keep the initiative, and Germany tries to use it to the fullest. Despite the horrible winter, the skies clear over Europe for a while. Rundstedt cracks an O-Chit, and prepares to blow through the French line in 2 spots. However, the Luftwaffe, still gloating after the defeat of the Polish Air Force, underestimates the

French, and allows the French bomber to clear through. The high odds blitz is reduced 2 odds levels, and the attack fails. The hex is cleared, but Georges escapes, and the Weremacht is thrown into disorder, as the high command tries to find those pilots responsible. The second attack is launched just to the east of Metz.

Due to confusion as to the hour of the attack, a garrison unit leads the charge by mistake, and is slaughtered in the battle. Though the hex is taken, the high command pauses to ensure that no more senseless casualties are taken.

The allies continue to shuffle their forces trying to keep ahead of the axis. The CW sends out their carrier fleet again to port strike the Italians. This time, an Italian fighter is waiting, and the Ark Royal is damaged in the fight.

The clear weather turns to rain, as the winter drags on into the spring. Japan passes, with their troops still disorganized after another attempt to push back the Chinese. The Germans try to follow the lead of the Italians, and go after the convoys. A sub in the N. Atlantic manages to find and damage a CW CP which was

unescorted.

The air temperature drops, and the light rain turns to snow. Germany shuffles its forces on the front to try and prepare for an assault on Metz. They send in an ATR with orders from high command to reorganize some of the troops on the front. The French learn of the mission, and scramble their best fighters to intercept. In

the ensuing battle, the Luftwaffe manages to clear the ATR through, and shoots down a French interceptor, watching the Potez bug out. The Italians put their fleet to sea trying to restore supply to their troops in N.Africa, after the French naval presence near the Italian coast interrupted it.

As the snow continues to fall, Germany launches an assault on Metz. Despite the training, and the high quality equipment, the troops just don't seem to have the desire. The Metz MIL is killed, but the city is held, and later reinforced by the placement of a 6-1 GAR. (I rolled a 2 on a 4:1 assault).

The turn ends soon afterwards, with a British FTR TRS'd to Malta. Belgium is still strongly held by both Belgians and British, and German units have pushed across the Maginot line, and are getting ready to push into central France. Wavell and his army of 4 corps have landed in Tunisia, and are pressing towards Balbo in Tripoli.

Mai/Jun 1940

The snows break, and the weather clears over Europe. Germany sends in the Luftwaffe to ground strike 4 units, one of them an HQ. The ground strikes are successful, and Ge prepares to renew the fight against France. The Italians attempt to ground strike the French MTN, and are unsuccessful. The Luftwaffe sorties

to support the attack on Metz. The French air force takes off (all two of them) and the combat begins. The Luftwaffe, despite overwhelming odds (+6), manages to allow the bomber to clear through, and reduce the odds from 7:1+2 to 4:1+2.. the attack succeeds, but the roll is one short of an asterisked result. The Italians try to clear that MTN troop keeping them from German resources, and fail to kill it, losing 2 corps in the process.

The French reorg the Potez (the fighter/bomber which has been causing unending problems for the Luftwaffe), and 2 corps. They also put their SUB to sea, go to the Baltic, manage to find the 5 German CP's, and sinks them... The weather amazingly stays clear.

Germany spends its impulse getting HQ's close enough to reorg the units on the front. The Italians fail to find any CP's in the Med with their fleet, while the Japanese finally launch an attack and kill the Chinese MTN troop.

The Commonwealth and the French put their combined fleets to sea to hunt down the pesky remaining Italians. Both find, though there are no surprise points. In the ensuing battle, the Jean Bart, the Yugoslavian Destroyer group, the Cadorna and the Garibaldi are sunk. The Vittorio Veneto and the Zara abort back to La

Spezia. The rest of the allies shuffle their troops in Europe, while the Russians continue to send troops to the Persian border.

The Germans, fully refreshed and ready to roll, proceed to their attack hexes, and await the order from high command. Meanwhile, the Polish resistance is wiped out, as the Partisan is removed by a 6:4 MOT. Some German troops are sent to Yugoslavia, while the NAV is sent to Italy to help out. In Asia, Japan launches

another attack, and gains a hex on Chungking, and later reorgs with Umezu.

The USSR DoW's Persia, and amazingly enough, the Americans are not fazed by this whatsoever. They send in their heavy bombers, and carpet bomb the Tehran defenses out of existence. Then the Russian CAV rides into Tehran without any resistance. The CW units which had been sent to Tunisia finally arrive at Tripoli,

and launch their attack on the city. It falls in a 5:1 assault, with both sides rolling 10's in 2-dice land combat. We give the die to Andre (the CW player), and he rolls a 1 to end the turn. The US begins sending resources to China, and gives a gift of Destroyers to the Commonwealth.

Jul/Aug 1940

The Allies win initiative, and the Axis give it to them. Thankfully, the weather is clear, and will be for the rest of the month. The impulse is spent with the CW escorting CP's, and the Russians railing troops to the western front.

Italy attempts to extract Balbo from N.Africa with their last remaining TRS and some CL's. Moving through enemy held sea zones, the CW finds with a 20% chance, and damages a CL. Then the Italians continue, only to be found by the second group of CP escorts in the eastern Med at a 20% chance. This time, the

CL's are sunk or aborted, as is the TRS. As they must go to a friendly port, the ships abort back to Italy, where the French fleet is waiting... the French fleet finds, and sinks the remaining ships. Both the Germans and Italians launch ground strikes. The Germans flip 2 corps, including Pretelot. The Italians finally manage to ground strike the French MTN troop in the Italian Alps. In the ensuing battles, Italy kills the French MTN, and can now receive those resources from Germany. The Germans launch an attack on the French, only to have the Potez clear through and reduce the odds to a 2:1+2. The attack forces a retreat, and 2 French

corps are destroyed as a result of overstacking. Rundstedt then goes and reorgs the disorganized Weremacht.

The Commonwealth disperses their navy, and attempts to ferry their 7:5 MECH out of N. Africa. The German and Italian NAV's try to intercept them, and are successful. The British Hurricane from Malta attempts to save the day, but is shot down by land based Italian fighters. In the ensuing battle, the Ceres is damaged

but the TRS escapes.

Japan presses on to Chungking, with a bloody 2/1S result, while Germany blitzes through France, shattering 2 corps and breaching the front, making the first real progress on this front since the troops showed up. Japan DoW's Russia, takes Vladivostok and 3 resources. However, as this allows the USSR to advance build

troops, the Russians do not sue for peace. Instead, the Russians continue to send troops west towards the Polish border. The French repair their shattered lines.

The German and Italian NAV's in the western Med search again, finding and damaging the Resolution and Manchester. The CW then aborts the rest of its ships out of the sea zone, landing the Mech back into N.Africa. The Germans press on in France, blitzing a MECH and ARM coprs with a 1R result, flipping. Von Leeb

then bravely steps to the front and reorgs the German troops.

The Russians send out their SUB to search for Japanese CP's, and gets it damaged in the fight. The rest of the Allies spend their time shifting troops.

The Italians find 1 CA and 5 CP's in the Med. The Brits don't know the Italians are there 'till the bombs start falling. The 5 CP's are sunk, while the Arethusa is aborted. Germany launches another 2:1 assault into Belgium, killing one troop and losing two. Japan takes Nanking, and news of the atrocities committed leaks

out, resulting in public uproar in the USA.

France continues to repair their lines, while the Russians continue to send troops west.

The Germans launch another attack at Belgium, taking a hex on Liege from the southwest.

The Commonwealth troops in N. Africa advance towards Balbo, and kill him to empty the continent of any Axis presence.

Partisans continue to spring up in Yugoslavia, while the US gears up its economy and begins to send resources to Britain.

Sept/Oct 1940

The clear weather ends, as we knew it had to, as rain begins to fall. The Germans press on, launching an attack at the French troops lodged in the mountains near Switzerland. The attack succeeds. Further north, they launch a 2:1 blitz on a 10 stack, killing an INF, and losing the 8-6 MECH. In Yugoslavia, the Germans take Zagreb, and flip before being able to surround Belgrade. The Italian and German NAV's continue their raids in the Med, sinking another 5 CP's. The Germans send the newly produced Condor NAV, along with some SUB's and SCS to the Bay of Biscay to hunt for the 15 CP's sitting there. Unfortunately, they fail to find.

The Commonwealth sends their fleet out to meet the Germans, and to protect the convoys. The Brits fail to find the Germans, but the Germans find them. Not liking the odds with British land based fighters in the area, the Germans call a surface action, damaging 2 CV's and the Bonaventure. 5 CP's are aborted, along with the

Hood and a CL. The Danish destroyers are sunk, as is a German SUB.

Germany continues its costly press into France, clearing a hex but losing an 8-4 MOT. The German High Command begins sending GAR's MIL's and weaker FTR's to Poland, worried by the number of Russians approaching the border. The Japanese port strike the Russians, damaging the last Russian SUB. The Germans

continue to search the Bay for ships, finding yet again. In the resulting battle, the Germans lose the Konigsberg, and the mighty Schliesen, and the Nurnberg limps home to Hamburg damaged. When the smoke clears, the Brits have lost the Sidney, and the Battleship Revenge.

The Commonwealth begins to extract its troops from Belgium, leaving the French to guard the entire front.

They leave the Belgians to their own, but not before taking the Belgian fighter with them.

When the turn ends, the US begins Lend Leasing to the Western Allies, and begins building Strat Bombers.

Nov/Dec 1940

The Axis win the initiative, but watch the rain continue to fall in Europe. They launch an attack on Liege, but fail to clear the hex (another bad roll.... Errgh). German HQ's move in to reorg the front. More troops are sent to the eastern front to reassure the troops currently posted in the theatre. Japan finds a MTN in a plains hex and crushes it. The Japanese begin sliding their troops for a more northerly approach.

The Commonwealth send their fleet back to the Bay of Biscay to support their CP's, and protect them should the Germans manage to find this time... In the battle that results, the Condor is shot down.

As the rain continues to fall, the Germans take Liege, and reorg for an assault on Brussels

The French continue to repair their lines, while there is general movement on all fronts by the Allies.

The Germans clear another hex in Europe, and the turn ends.

Jan/Fev 1941

The rain turns to snow, while the Germans attack into Brussels, and approach Paris. The assault on Brussels is successful, while the attack in France retreats two corps, and watches a 17 stack move deep into French territory before flipping. The Germans attempt air reorg by the Gigante, which is successful after the Potez

is finally shot down.

The French encircle the 17 stack, and launch an attack. It kills an 8-3 INF, but the French lose 2 corps, and flip. The Commonwealth sends its ships out to escort the convoys. The Allies all pour large quantities of Intel points to shift some 5-6 entry chits from the Japanese entry pool to the Germany/Italy entry pool. Germany

and Japan counter by shifting 3 tension chits from Germany/Italy to Japan. The USA decides not to attempt a DoW, as there are no tension chits left against Germany/Italy.

The Germans launch an attack at the face down French, the High Command not believing its good luck. The French are right where the Germans want them... If only the weather improved! The attack kills Billote, but the German army flips (it was a 5:1+1, and a 2 is rolled... )

China spends their remaining Intel points to shift a tension chit from Japan to Ge/It. The USA attempts a DoW on Ge/It but fails. Russia attempts to break the pact with Germany, but is short of the required garrison ratio. The remaining four French corps launch another attack, losing another two corps in the unsuccessful attack. The turn then ends, at a 30% chance when Andre, the local '1' turn ending master, rolls his third '1' of the game. Belgium finally falls, while the Allies muse upon the fact that Belgium and France lasted until 1941. The dice seem to conspire against the Axis.

The US allows China to build aircraft, as well as relocate the Fleet to Perl Harbor

Mar/Apr 1941

The Allies gain intiative (I rolled a 2 at the +1 mark, they rolled a 3). The snow turns to storm, as conditions in Europe go muddy. The French launch every unit they have at the 9-5 SS MECH deep in French territory, forcing it to retreat. The overstacking then kills a 7-5 MECH.

The Germans send out the remaining SUB with range yet again to the Bay of Biscay. This time, it is surprised by the entire British fleet, which hunts it down and sinks it. The Germans solidify their front by blitzing a face down GAR, and gets ready to continue on.

The Allies continue to shuffle their troops around, as the storm subsides, and a light snow begins to fall.

The Germans blitz another hex, resulting in a 1R result, and are now within sight of Paris. The Germans launch an assault on Belgrade, but fails, losing the Hamburg MIL. The French front is reorganized, and prepares to clear the areas around Paris. Japan continues to shuffle troops around... There has been no actual combat on this front in the last six months. The Germans are given the chance to end the turn, and roll a '2', ending it (Maybe the second time they've ended a turn in the game). France lives on.

May/Jun 1941

Italy defiantly puts their fleet into the Italian Coast sea box, despite the huge CW fleet stationed in Malta.

Japanese ambassadors finally make some headway, and force the closure of the Burma Road. Germany launches the Luftwaffe to groundstrike three stacks in and around Paris. 3 units are flipped, one per hex, though all the French HQ (Pretelat outside of Paris, and Georges in Paris) remain face up. Germany launches two attacks, one into Belgrade to finally conquer Yugoslavia, and one into France to open up Paris to an assault. The attack into Belgrade makes little headway, killing a 3-3 INF, but leaving a unit still holding the city. The attack into Paris fizzles, as a I roll another one for combat. The Germans lose a 6-3 INF, while the French lose their 6-5 MECH, leaving the 7-5 ARM still holding the hex. The Germans then begin the process of reorging their troops in France to continue the fight.

Roosevelt considers a declaration of war against Ge/It, but it's a little risky. Churchill pushes him to do it, claiming that 'The Dice God's are with us!!" Roosevelt goes ahead. German spies manage to deflect a little tension towards Japan, and the DoW attempt fails, leaving the US with only 1 chit against Ge/It in the tension pool. The CW then moves their CP's out, leaving 20 CP's in the Bay of Biscay, with only the Swordfish to look out for them. The Germans intercept them while they move through the North Sea, bringing the entire RAF to escort. Even with the 70% chance to find, and plenty of Ge fighter escort, the NAV's fail to find, and the CP's find their way to the Bay. The CW is tempted out of Malta, and comes to play with the small Italian fleet of 6 ships (no carriers, 1 LB NAV). The Italians find, and gain 7 surprise points. They call a surface, and sink the Ark Royal, damage the Ajax, and abort the Ajax and Kent. The CW manages to damage the Caio D'uilio, and aborts the Zara. The combat then ends. The French shuffle their remaining troops a bit, pulling their tank out of an untenable position outside Paris.

The weather remains clear, as the Italian fleet continues to hunt out the numerically superior CW fleet in the Med. They find and gain 9 surprise points. The call another surface, and sink the CV Victorious, damage the Arethusa, and abort both the Arethusa and the Edinburgh. In exchange, the Caio D'uilio is sunk. Both sides

decide to continue the battle, but this time, the CW finds with 6 surprise pts, and calls naval air. The Italians abort the last CW CV Furious, while the CW manages to damage the Trento. The Germans continue their fight in France, overrunning a 5 stack, and launching a 4:1 blitz and completely dismantling it... The Wermacht has finally arrived! (I rolled a '9'... It's about time)

The Yugoslavians decide to counterattack the Germans, launching a 1:1 against a face down Antenescou with the Belgrade INF and two PART. The attack fails, killing both PART. A French INF, cutoff from the rest of his army, tries to break out by attacking an 8:5 MECH at 1:1, and dies horribly.

Spring rains come through, and the Germans spend their time shuffling their troops to prepare for an attack on Paris. The Ge NAV's in the North Sea return home, and are reorged.

Germans, flushed with the overall success of the turn, launch their 5:1 assault on Paris, capturing the city with apparent ease (another '9', hopefully this luck will last awhile).

The CW moves the last remaining 5 CP out into the Bay, along with all remaining fleet... The Germans attempt to find anyways, and fail...

The Axis shuffle troops about a bit, before the turn ends (sending the initiative marker to 0).

Germany vichies France, as all of North Africa and Indo China goes Vichy as well. Free France maintains Madagascar, the Asian and Pacific map territories, and French East Africa. The Yugoslavs, as they were aligned with France, fall under the 'Other' category, and become Vichy. The only Vichy unit remaining is

Pretelat, who sits in Vichy, alone... The US reopens the Burma Road. The next game report will be in several weeks, as we are now approaching finals, and will then head into winter break, where we go to our respective families for a few weeks... For the next installment of this game, look here in mid-January.

Through MA-41, by the German player:

Unfortunately, I haven't been recording the really relevant statistics, such as how the US player always draws chits when the Axis do something, but never do when the Allies do... Or the die luck in combat rolls...

As Germany, I usually cause damage in my attack, but not enough to kill troops, just retreat them. And I always seem to be a number or two short of staying face up in my land attacks. I do have statistics on the weather and turn length. Though the turns seemed to be ended early, it was usually only for the winter/spring turns. The Jul/Aug turn lasted at least 3 impulses longer than the average posted by John Bosch on his webpage. The May/Jun turn, on the other hand, lasted only 6 total impulses, while the statistics show that 9 impulses are the average. That one hurt. (Thanks again to Andre, the CW player, who rolled the '1' to end that one). The only thing that really stands out are the weather rolls. Once again, drawing from John Bosch's statistics on his WiF Page, we had 13% less clear weather, 3% more rain, and a whopping 12% more snow. The -2 odds shift from the snow, along with the halving of air factors has caused massive problems with German progress.

Overall, things aren't looking too bright for the Axis. There are many Russian troops on that border, and the Russian production hasn't been reduced in any manner. The CW has reduced the Italian fleet to a mere pittance, concurrently removing them from North Africa. The early strike at Italy proved to be quite successful, not because they hurt the Italian fleet, but because they managed to align Yugoslavia, and cut the rail lines between Italy and Germany against a first time player (No, I'm not bitter, neither is the Italian player... granted, he's learning quickly). This reduced Italian production to 1 BP for several turns. Now that the lines have been reopened, Italian production is getting somewhere, though the presence of the CW Amph is making him nervous. France is still holding on, though they've been reduced to a small pocket surrounding Paris, though the remaining units, through a sort of Darwinian selection, are the best units France has. As Germany, I started gung-ho on the air units, getting them all on the board early, and am now switching to land units. With the PM up to 1, they're getting churned out pretty quick. I don't know what the US entry is like, but my best guess is that they'll be DoW'ing Ge/It in the next turn or so, having adopted an odd Germany first strategy. The DoW on Japan would probably follow 2-3 turns later. I haven't been watching US production too closely, but my co-teacher for this game tells me that the US is about on track. The Japanese pools are about empty, and is looking pretty potent. However, China has not been caused any real harm. They've been receiving resources from abroad, and rebuilding the units that Japan slowly bludgeons away. They have a solid mountain line, though Japan does have two hexes on Chungking. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks... I think I've decided I prefer Commonwealth to Germany...

By Greg Lamonte, the French/USSR player

The way I see the game right now it is better to be lucky than good. Neither side has really done anything particularily great, with the exception of the early attack on Italy by the CW and France. China is looking pretty strong and should be in good shape, but this is due in most part to a lack of focus by the Japanese player. This was especially evident in the Japanese making good gains in the south and getting two hexs on chungking, then shifting north and making some gains there. Japan also attacked the toughest part of the line in the south, where the mountains are two deep and no chinese production is really at stake. The french survived as long as they did through luck and a rule misinterpretation, though more luck. Since none of their units would really die, they were able to keep the best units up front and keep depth to minimize any breakthroughs by the germans, though I don't think he had more than one chance to. Also, germany's launching of only one attack per impulse really helped french survival. The CW has done rather well, taking North Africa and reducing the Italian fleet to 2 ships, though the Italians are starting to show some life. Agreed the french and yugos sitting on the rail link to italy from germany for 3 turns didn't help the Italian.

The CW really has to watch his convoy guarding more though, or it could get messy. Japan is looking good militarily, though their lack of CPs could be a golden allied opportunity (Japan has build no CPs since the beginning of the war). Germany would be doing fine if he would get a little gutsy and flex his military muscle more, like using his many corp to attack a couple times per impulse and fighting land battles in bad weather, knowing attrition and production favored him in the early battles. Using his O-chits would also have helped. The russians have done very little, mostly because they wanted to break the pact and get down to the big fight while germany was in france. The pact was never broken however, so all russia has done is build up and kill persia at this point.

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