Making the Transition to A World
At War ...
This year's convention featured five hotly contested global
campaign games. The participants included two Europeans (Herb
Gratz of Austria and Alvaro Martin of Spain). Bruce Harper, the
game's designer, traveled slightly less far (Vancouver, Canada).
Bill Moodey received first place (Eric and Bill rolled for the
plaque) for defeating the formidable team of Bruce Harper and
Greg Wilson. At the end of the tournament, Bruce announced that
GMT plans to publish a second edition of the game, and discussed
some potential rules changes. In particular, Russia seems too
strong, making it very difficult for the Axis to make historical
gains. At the same time, the Axis seem to lose the Battle of
the Atlantic a bit too soon. The proposed rules changes are available
on the website (www.aworldatwar.com). The exact outcome of four
of the five games remained in doubt, with none getting farther
than 1944. All attendees look forward to extending play at the
new location in Harrisburg, starting Tuesday afternoon and proceeding
until Sunday evening.
Game
1: Bruce Harper (Euro-Axis), and Greg Wilson (Japan) versus
Bill Moodey (Russia and Pacific) and Eric Scheulin (Euro-Allies).
Eric Scheulin provided this game description.
1939: In Fall, Germany conducts a standard blitzkrieg
in Poland: Overrun, 3:1, 3:1; Warsaw: 3AAF lost. German's raid,
British sink both pocket battleships (PB2's) with a battlecruiser
(BC3) and cruiser (CA). Harbor Attack sinks British battleship
(BB3). Russia does not occupy Eastern Poland, and stays out of
Eastern Europe prior to the German declaration of war (DoW) on
Russia.
The Japanese mobilize elite naval air (eNAS) and infantry.
In Winter a sitzkreig occurs. Britain commits a stronger than
usual three 3x4's and 2o5 to French defense; Western Allies (WA)
announce Anglo-French hex restrictions lifted.
1940: In Spring, Germany DoWs Belgium, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Sits in Netherlands, but breaks
through Belgium, takes two hexes in the French line ,and one
hex adjacent to Paris. In spite of high odds (3:1s), takes two
full exchange (EX) results, losing some 4o6's and army air factors
(AAFs). Germany also invades the Norwegian Beach with 1x3 and
a 2o6. Italy stays neutral. Japanese add one shipbuilding. WA
attrition to regain hex adjacent to Paris, walk 2x3 into Luxembourg,
sea transport a 3x4 into Bergen, and move to Oslo. In Summer
1940, Germany takes Paris on 3:1 exploitation, rolling another
EX. Reinforces Norway with 3x3. Takes Netherlands. Italy DOW's
and attritions one hex into Egypt. Germany reinforces air in
Med, sends defense to Tunisian- Libyan border. France surrenders
with 35 ground factors surviving, for a -2 French Surrender Level.
French North Africa and Syria both roll a 2, which converts them
to Free French colonies. Britain reinforces Tunisia with a 2o5,
and 3x4, takes French 1x3's as Free French. Redeploys 5AAF, two
3x4's to Egypt via South Africa (Saf). Russia's first mobilization
- all infantry. Occupies Eastern Poland only. In Fall, Germany
invades Britain with a 3x3 on an empty southwestern English beach.
Paradrops onto Plymouth port adjacent to beach. British allow
invasion under massive Axis air umbrella. Germany postpones Norway
offensive due to Sea Lion. Italy gains a hex into Egypt via Attrition.
Germany sea escorts a 2o6 and 1x3 into Plymouth. British intercept
and a large Naval-Air battle sinks or damages all British slow
BB's in the Atlantic, and only damages a German BC3 and PB2 from
poor die rolls. Only one German DD is sunk, but the sea escort
to Plymouth fails. The Japanese occupy northern French Indochina,
and mobilize a large amount of Infantry and a 3o3 armor. The
British capture Plymouth, build a fort in London, redeploy subs
to Portsmouth, and reinforce Britain with troops, including units
previously sent to SAf. WA forces advance in Tunisia towards
Libyan border. In Winter, Germany raids with large battleship
(BB4) and light carrier (CVL), sinking four transports (TR).
Aborts Sea Lion attempt. Builds troops for Barbarossa. Germany
DOWs and occupies the Baltic States. Stalemate in Tunisa and
Egypt. WA's reinforce Norway with 10 AAF's.
1941: In Spring, the Axis force a positive Allied result
in Vichy. Germany DOW's Vichy, and conquers them. German troops
in Norway isolated by 10 AAF; Axis abandon Norway. Norway remains
Allied for the rest of the game. Axis setup for Barbarossa. British
send 4o5, two 3x4's to Egypt. Redeploy 10 AAF, 3x4 to Tunisia.
In Summer, Germany launches Barbarossa with occupied Baltic States.
Strikes front center and exploits adjacent to the Dneprpetrovsk
and Kharkov IC's. Italians take Malta. Axis counterair WA air
units in Tunisia, move troops to Tunisian Front line. Russia
counter-attacks, taking out two 4o6's and removes an IC from
Dneprpetrovsk. Reinforces rear line with builds. British reinforce
Tunisia with 10 more AAF and attack towards Libya. WA's achieve
combat training level (CTL) of 2. The Japanese occupy Saigon.
In Fall, the WA's gain hex control in Turkey diplomatically.
Germany exploits, cutting a narrow line to take the Stalingrad
and Khakov IC's. Destroy Stalingrad IC. Stalemate in Egypt, but
isolate British units in Tunisia. Reinforce Sicily and Malta
with Axis AAF from Russia. Builds fort in Malta. British attempt
a 1:1 attack in Egypt to break Italian line. Rolls a 1,2. Reinforcements
from SAf cover losses. Redeploys one 3x4 to Ankara. In Winter,
Germany withdraws from Stalingrad back to a Kharkov salient.
Russia attritions, killing several 3x3's which must be taken
as losses due to lack of replacements. The British attrition
in Egypt, gain a hex, isolate Axis units, threaten to break line.
Japan DOWs the US, and conducts a campaign weighted toward
India. Invades Malaya, and exploits to Singapore; attacks in
force in Burma, takes Hong Kong, Brunei, Palembang, and invades
Leyte, attacking Samar by land route. Takes Rabaul. Stays out
of New Guinea.
1942: In Spring, Germany makes a Turkish diplomatic
roll, but only ends up securing a Turkish alliance to Britain!
Germany reinforces Libya with several forces and a large air
force able to attack east or west. Axis isolated
units in Egypt
take out British 4o5 on 1:2 attack. Axis reinforces Egypt line
via railhead in Bengazi.
Japan sends all carriers (CV's) and large naval force to take
a reinforced Colombo. The patrol sinks BB3's in defending task
force (TF), and the invasion force takes Colombo at 2:1. Due
to the large commitment in Colombo, Japan attacks at 2:1 in Manila,
Batavia, and Balikpapan. The Balikpapan attack was two 3x2's
which marched overland from the Brunei invasion and rolls an
"a", and "EX", leaving it unable to take
Balikpapan. WA's gain control of the Dutch East Indies (DEI's)
ports since Japan did not conquer all three capitals in DEI.
The WA base change all available naval units into the Med, run
a patrol to knock out air in Taranto, and invade Italian beach
across from Rome, exploiting into Rome. The Italians are forced
to surrender. At this point, the Axis players decided that the
allies would have an eventual victory due to current board situation,
and concede.
Aftermath: Bruce commented that the surrender of Italy
put he and Greg out of their misery. Certainly bad luck (failure
to capture Balikpapan being the last straw) contributed to the
break in morale. Coincidentally, some of the proposed rules changes
reflect actions taken in this and other games at the convention,
in particular, the Russian practice of not entering Eastern Europe,
resulting in the first Russian mobilization in Summer, rather
than Fall, 1940. Ignoring France and attacking Russia first provides
a counter to this ploy, but seems a bit extreme if it represents
the best solution.
Game 2: Alvaro Marin (Euro-Axis), Brian Conway (Japan)
versus Kevin Milne and Paul Milne (Western Allies) and Rob Carl
(Russia). Brian Conway had expressed a preference for playing
any side other than Japan, while Rob Carl came only to watch.
Nevertheless, Brian agreed to team up with Alvaro playing, you
guessed it, Japan, while Rob Carl left the sidelines to defend
Russia. Alvaro provided this game description.
1939-40: The Axis take Poland and France with remarkably
light losses, but don't set up Vichy France. They used the interval
after French surrender to push the Allies back to the Nile.
1941: The German army invaded Russia in Summer 41,
making good advances. Meanwhile limited but effective submarine
strategic warfare (SW) kept the Allies at bay. At the end of
1941 the Axis continued to advance in the Med, breaking the Nile
line but encountering stiffer Allied resistance. The Japanese
attacked in Winter, losing surprise in PH due to a roll of 6,
and rolled a series of 1s and 2s in the opening attacks.
1942: In Summer 1942, the Axis field an army against
Russia including 46 AAF, two 5o6s, and three paratroopers. This
force overran a defending infantry unit, making a huge pocket.
Meanwhile Japan and the US traded blows in the Port Moresby area.
On the Med front, the Allies stabilized the front near Baghdad
and started rolling forward. A moderate winter saved Russia from
further attacks, but the Axis achieved a huge advance. Thanks
to maximized AAF production, both Japan and Axis maintained air
superiority in both theaters.
1943: In 1943 the Pacific was a stalemate, featuring
constant air battles, while both sides kept their fleets safe.
Meanwhile, Japan fortified the outer defensive ring. In spring,
the Axis saw an opportunity to counterattack the advancing Allied
forces in the Middle East, and using a 1:1, isolated a great
part of the Allied army. In Summer, using two 1:1s, the Axis
advanced next to Basra while conquering Abadan. In fall, they
closed the Eastern Med. This gave the Russians a respite that
they used to recover their losses and prepare for the offensive.
In their fall turn, the newly rebuilt Allied army crossed the
channel, while most of the Axis assets were still in Middle East.
Simultaneously, the Russians attacked the Axis line, inflicting
a lot of damage. In Winter, the Axis redeployed air to the east,
to stop the Russians, while redeploying ground units to the west.
1944: In spring, the Euro-Axis used their 51 AAF to
stop the Allies from making advances in France. Then time ran
out, ending the game at the start of Allied turn. Alvaro and
Brian projected that both Germany and Japan would survive deep
into 1945, with Germany having a shot of surviving into 1946
Aftermath: Alvaro was awarded the certificate for Best
Axis Play, European Theater. Brian Conway was awarded the certificate
for Best Axis Play, Pacific Theater.
Game
3: Jim Sparks (Euro-Axis) and Dave Hanson (Japan) versus
Mike Crowe (Western Allies, Europe), Herb Gratz (Russia) and
Maurice Buttazoni (Western Allies, Pacific).
Herb Gratz, a long time participant in the Advanced Third
Reich tournament, made the transition to A World at War this
year, and showed his mettle with a gritty defense of Russia.
Maurice Buttazoni made his first appearance at the convention.
Maurice showed his gambling nature with a spirited defense of
Port Moresby in spite of losing three carriers at Pearl Harbor!
Maurice has taken responsibility for the A World at War
website, and writes computer games in his spare time. Dave Hanson
provided this game description.
The Axis started the war with an anti-Russian research and
diplomacy plan (military and intelligence). We had to radically
revise it to deal with the Western Allies (to become a naval
and military plan). The revised plan ended up working beautifully:
at 1941 year end it even forced a low-level British surrender.
Jim and I shared planning duties for Europe; with some more experience
with naval rules than Jim, I handled the Japanese play.
1939: Poland collapsed fairly cheaply, although the
Poles caused about nine BRPs of German casualties.
1940: Germany had intended to conquer France leisurely
and keep US-Axis tensions (USAT) low by Italian neutrality, while
delaying the first Russian mobilization until Winter. The Russo-German
tension (RGT) delay nearly worked, thanks to two covert operations
(CovOps); the Allies caught on too late. The only salvation for
Russia's Fall 1940 mobilization was - a Spring collapse of France!
(Note: because of this RGT finagling Bruce Harper has decided
to change the diplomatic rules to prevent diplomatic points (Dps)
and CovOps in RGT, and just guarantee Russian mobilization by
Fall 1940.) Germany forced Italy into the war when we spied a
not-so-obvious weak spot in the Allied double line defending
southern France. The Italo-German attack in the Alps vaporized
a French 1R, then German armor overran a 2x3 in Lyon with AAF
helping...and 4 German 4o6s surrounded Paris and blew away the
two 2x3 defending it. The French AAF initially declined combat,
but was displaced by the exploiting armor. France fell in one
turn without a single German casualty. The Germans took the Low
Countries also--a 1:1 on the Hague came through without loss.
The sole German casualties for Spring were a 1x3 and 1m3 lost
to Norwegian resistance. The Norse surrendered next turn. Meanwhile
the Germans established Vichy with a strong pro-Axis slant (+2),
and the Axis sub war commenced in earnest. Axis reaction: This
stunning success wasn't in the Plan! Now what do we do? Jim and
I elected not to go directly for England. Instead we drove into
Egypt, which Mike had all but abandoned in order to defend the
British Isles. Italian limited offensives took the Axis to Suez
and beyond for the rest of 1940. Meanwhile the
German submarines
consistently drew better-than-average SW rolls in the Atlantic,
severely weakening Britain.
Preparing for possible future activity, Japan produced its
marines and airborne, and an air transport. Japan also invested
in Indian Subversion. Japan's mobilization plans went in the
pot when Japan failed both attempts at an air research breakthrough
in 1940 and 1941. Instead of building a giant pile of ENAS with
Naval Air Training (NAT) expansion, Japan instead decided on
using all its non ENAS mobilization BRPs for military builds.
Japan mobilized all three 3o3 armor and several 3x2 infantry,
and produced more infantry. Again, the Axis *thought* they had
an anti-Russian plan afoot.
1941: Left in peace for two years, Herb had steadily
built up the Russian Army to formidable power. He produced three
3x3s for each of 1940, 1941 and 1942, besides mobilizing almost
all infantry. (Note: From our Russian experience and several
other games with similar results Bruce has made another change,
to the Russian mobilizations: no more all-infantry or all-armor
mobilization strategies, and armor takes six turns to arrive.)
Barbarossa went off as planned in Summer 1941--but didn't get
too far. Some of the German and most of the heavy Italian units
were pushing the British Commonwealth back through Iraq toward
the Gulf oil ports. But that ultimately proved helpful: almost
by accident, due to the conquest of Egypt, the Axis were able
to set up a "Struckman Vise" strategy against Russia.
Vichy activates for Germany, solidifying Axis dominion in the
Med. Britain accidentally surrendered at the end of 1941 at -1.
This could have been avoided through Britain doing its builds
differently. But nobody noticed the effects of lost transports
together with Japanese capture of Singapore until the 1942 YSS
was about to begin. It didn't do much damage to Britain, since
the US was in the war then. But Germany did end up getting all
of Persia, which the British had obligingly opened for access
to Russia, and the British vacated Eurasia. So 1942 began with
the Axis camped on the Russian's southern doorstep.
Japan exploded into action in Fall 1941. Despite a peaceful
Japanese effort to delay DoW until at least Winter 1941 or into
1942, that early French surrender pushed up the Japanese mobilizations
in 1940 and 1941. Tensions shot up in Spring and Summer. Fearing
a serious oil crunch if waiting until Winter, Japan DoW'd early,
with tensions still in the 20s. That USJT 29 proved highly profitable,
when American task force (TF) rolls placed all three CVs in Pearl
Harbor! Japan made a single strike (what, stick around and fight
ALL that NAS?). Two CV3s destroyed, the third sunk in port, and
Japan's aircraft carriers ruled the Pacific. On the DoW turn
Japan took the oil centers, Rangoon, the parts of the DEI that
would otherwise be off limits next turn due to monsoons, and
landed on Luzon. Japan also captured Port Moresby, but suffered
an exchange that it never was able to remedy (and ended up losing
the port). On the second turn Singapore fell (leading to the
British surrender in Europe). Manila fell to heavy air and infantry
attack. With the Indian subversion, Japan had built a partisan
next to Calcutta in Fall; now that partisan joined with an airdrop
attack out of Mandalay to capture Calcutta, while the Japanese
Army with Indian National Army (INA) assistance broke through
the Burma border hexes to capture Dacca. After these triumphs
in India, Japan elected to sit and build 2x2 INA counters to
build a huge defensive line. Eventually the INA outnumbered the
Regular Indian Army. The US tried to defend Rabaul against a
Japanese invasion, intercepting a Japanese patrol. The Japanese
caught the US TF and found the last two US CVs in the Pacific
(newly arrived from the Atlantic)--sinking one and damaging/almost
sinking the other. But several US BB4s and CAs gave the US TF
surface survivability against the weak Japanese TF (Yamato and
a couple of CA2s). Out of ENAS, the Japanese retreated. The US
got its historical Coral Sea outcome--tactical defeat, strategic
victory.
1942: 1942 basically proved a "phony war"
on land. The Germans could make no headway in Russia--just ground
back and forth along the Dniepr and the Caucusus with parity
of air and ground forces. This, because they gained hex control
of Spain in Spring and elected to send 20 of their 30 AAF to
Spain and North Africa to besiege Gibraltar. Ultimately this
choice proved wise. The WA dared run no naval challenge to the
huge Axis air umbrella. Gibraltar fell in Winter (after beating
off a premature Italian invasion attempt in Fall that damaged
every BB in the Italian Navy). With the Med an Axis lake the
Germans could concentrate all their forces along the Atlantic
shore and in Russia. Also during 1942 the Axis submarine technology
improved significantly, to +4. (Bruce has decided to reduce the
effectiveness of sub tech research; and also eliminate offsetting
of sub casualties by pro-Allied modifiers.)
In the Pacific, the Australians reinforced Rabaul, landed
at Lae, and cut off and recaptured Port Moresby. That New Guinea
loss early in 1942 after strong opener weakened the otherwise
strong Japanese Pacific position. Japan stormed back to strike
a battleship task force at Port Moresby that the Allies had based
without air cover. To Japan's disgust, what should have been
a sunken BB5, BB4, two BB3s and a couple CA2 turned into three
damaged BB3s and one damaged CA2 due to atrocious dice rolls
and (critically) three overlooked ENAS whose counter had accidentally
gotten inverted. Kido Butai retreats, admirals commit seppuku,
and the IJN suffers a command shakeup. (Worth noting: The ONLY
Japanese naval losses for the entire war were a CA2 and DD, lost
on a forlorn-hope supply run to Java). Because Japan had systematically
destroyed the US carrier air arm but left the old BB3s intact,
the US was forced to follow a short-range island hopping strategy
into the DEI. You can guess the route: Timor to Kendar to Ambon
to Makassar, to bases within US bomber range of the oil centers.
Maurice had the Allies follow this route for most of 1942 and
into 1943 Meanwhile, Japan's oil reserve brimmed full and Japan
busily fortified all the objective hexes on its Resistance Table.
With nothing else to do, the huge Japanese Army in China (nine
armor units!) demonstrated on the Russian border. Russia cringed
and drew its Siberian garrison save a unit in Vladivostok back
all the way to Irkutsk. Japan also rolled large attritions against
the Chinese. When that got boring, Japan decided to launch Operation
Ichi-Go. (I know that cost 1942 growth that I needed, but I wanted
to see what would happen! Chunking was empty of units, and Japan
had sent its airborne unit and air transport to North China...).
Nationalist China collapsed in two turns, Chungking lost to paratroopers,
driven completely out of southern China and back west of the
Yangtze River by Summer 1943. Chinese surrender level sank to
-3, nearly -4. Japan suffered serious casualties on exchanges
creating this opportunity, but got a nearly-free Wang result
out of it. Anyway, those 3x2s had to start moving back to Japan
sometime. And having an overland supply and SR route from Singapore
and Rangoon all the way to Seoul proved highly beneficial.
1943: German AAF turned Russia in 1943 from stalemate
to slow, grinding Axis progress. The bloody Battle of Kursk went
to the Germans this time (Russia just barely avoiding a worse
exploitation due to a great DAS air roll that stopped an overrun).
German armor exploiting into Baku foretold Russian oil shortages.
Isolated Sevastopol fell
. And a 1:1 shot on isolated Leningrad
succeeded on a roll of "5". (Herb smiled at the lost
fortresses: "Now I can shorten my line!") With winter
approaching the Russians stood at the western gates of Moscow.
In the Pacific, in Fall 1943 (our last turn) Maurice jumped
out a bit: He invaded Palembang, and got a good roll against
a 3x2 defender. God wrote on the wall: Japan Will Run Out Of
Oil Next Year...Japan's Army had grown so huge by 1943 that it
could not all fit in the Home Islands, even double stacked on
every hex. Obviously the Navy lost face before the Army in this
War.
Aftermath: Here the game ended, with general consensus
that the Euro-Axis would survive at least until 1946, if not
the entire game. I estimated that, as of Winter 1943 Japan could
last at least through 1944 and probably well into 1945. Only
the Bomb could, I thought, have ultimately forced a surrender
even if Japan were totally bereft of oil and air. Mike thought
that Japan's losing Palembang in 1943 would make it happen earlier--but
the entire Japanese Navy was available to base at Brunei or elsewhere
on heavily defended Borneo and thus draw oil until it was completely
sunk.
Game 4: Jon Hogen (Euro-Axis) and Ken Cruz (Japan)
versus Jason Moore (Euro-Allies) and Ernie Faust (Pacific Allies)
This was a classic East Coast/West Coast match, with top players
from California and New York going head to head. Probably the
closest match, and one of the best games. Jon Hogen provided
this game description. The European Axis strategy revolved around
maximum expenditure for naval research, both submarine and ship
building (including torpedoes, sub tech [+7], a 5 factor battleship
and two extra 4 factor battleships).
1939: After heavy losses in Poland, Germany attacked
the low countries in Winter '39, setting up a standard Summer
'40 conquest of France (no Vichy...want BRPs).
1940: While threatening to invade Britain directly
in Fall '40, Germany wheeled around for a one turn conquest of
Spain in Winter '40, with the help of a '40 winter preparation
research result. Italy performed a tricky little invasion of
Egypt while the British fleets were out of position.
1941: After a Spring '41 DOW on Russia (for position),
Germany carried on a push against Russia. The subs started really
bothering Britain in '41.
After a Winter '41 DOW, Japan established an outer perimeter
which included a big push in India (with the help of the Indian
National Army) but importantly did not include the taking of
Port Moresby.
1942: Germany attacks Russia through most of '42 .
The Italians (with periodic German help) conquered the Med and
took Gibraltar.
Japan's dreams of territorial expansion were brought to a premature
end in '42 when a raid by the entire Allied carrier force (British
included) on Singapore netted four Japanese carriers sunk (two
CV3s and two CVLs). Ken continued his push into India (all the
way to the India Box)
1943: Germany voluntarily moves over to the defensive
in Russia in '43, to take advantage of a British opening. With
the help of the Italian fleets, the Axis got on shore in Britain
in Spring, and were on the way to putting Britain out of the
war until untimely bad luck on a straight up 2:1 at the gates
of London effectively put an end to the Axis British invasion
in late '43.
Ken managed to "channel" Jason's advance for 6 turns
in a row, thus slowing American progress
1944: In Spring '44 the initial Allied invasion of
France was in the process of being turned back when we had to
stop (in the first round of naval combat the Italians/Germans
lost a combined four factors of CAs and a BB3 while the Allies
lost a BB5, three BB3s, and eight CA factors).
Aftermath: Jon predicted that with a '44 Year Start
German BRP level of 603 (350 base), roughly equal navies in the
west, and slow progress by Russia in the east, the Axis probably
would have survived till at least late '46. Jon predicted a draw
for Japan.
Game 5: Vic Hogen (Euro-Axis) and Joe Brophy (Japan)
versus Ernie Copley (WA Europe), Steve Voros (WA Pacific) and
Eric Thobaben (Russia). Eric Thobaben provided this game description.
1939-41: In this game the Axis were aggressive from
the start in terms of offensive operations (Euro Axis) and mobilization
(Japan). Germany declared war on Spain (Winter 1940), Russia
(Spring 1941), and, together with Japan, the U.S. (Summer 1941).
Due partly to an all-out German sub campaign, but also to lucky
dice rolls, the British transports in the Atlantic were in trouble
for much of the game. At the end of Summer 1941, hasty Allied
play led to a -5 British surrender because the Allies opted not
to put any transports in the Atlantic (because they would have
been decimated by the German subs). This gave Germany the Mediterranean
(including Gibraltar). On the flip side, a Russian ploy to not
occupy any territory lured Germany into occupying the Baltic
States in Spring 1940, which resulted in the early mobilization
of Russian infantry that all but stopped the Germans at the border
when they attacked into Russia in 1941.
1942-43: Japan grabbed its usual territory in 1941
and almost forced India to collapse in 1942 (in part by airdropping
into Madras from Ceylon). However, the U.S. fought Japan toe
to toe from the start, and after many naval battles around New
Guinea throughout 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy was but a
shadow of its former self. Brazen U.S. advances near Brunei were
countered by Japanese air, which stifled Allied progress in 1943.
When the game ended, both players agreed that Japan would have
survived until around Summer 1945. In Europe, the British slowly
recovered from their surrender and, with massive mobilization
of US shipbuilding, managed to turn around the Battle of the
Atlantic by late 1943. Even with the British surrender, the Western
Allies still managed to invade France in Fall 1943. In the east,
Russia never lost an IC (or even Kiev), and by late 1943, Russia
had forced the Axis back into Poland and were pushing into the
Balkans (most of which remained neutral throughout the entire
war due to Russia's non-aggression policies). German super subs
and jets came online in mid-1943, but they were largely too late
to have much effect.
1944: In Fall 1944 the Russians captured Berlin on
a 2:1 exploitation attack, and, using three tactical atomic attacks,
the Western Allies broke through the German line at the Swiss-Franco-German
border and exploited into an empty Berchtesgaden, forcing a Fall
1944 German surrender.
Aftermath: However, due in part to hasty Allied play,
but also to shrewd German redirection, Italy and its Mediterranean
empire would have survived until Spring 1945 or Summer 1945,
resulting in the game being called as a near draw. All players
really enjoyed playing the game.
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