Hallo zusammen,
after a mere 18 years since the Great War Europe may once again be engulfed by mayhem and warfare. Might the Spanish Civil War have triggered a continent-wide war? If so, how have Europe's leading nations fared in the first days of what might one day be called "World War 2"? A brief rundown:
Britain: The Prime Minister will have to shelve any plans he might have had to occupy Norway in the fall. The Danes stopped the Royal Navy dead in its tracks, this being possibly a belated revenge for 1805. At least the other home fleet made it out of harbour. Might the Admirality be working on a descent on Hamburg? I guess Berlin won't be amused by these developments. In the Mediterranean the Suez squadron has steamed towards Libya. Considering how the Egyptians are naturally inclined towards Britain, the Union Jack might soon fly over Tripoli. At the other end of the Mediterranean, the Gibraltar squadron has aided the French in stamping out rebellion in Morocco.
France: The Grande Nation finds herself assaulted by the irredentist Italians. It looks like they want Nice and Savoy back, wouldn't mind an extra chunk of France and clearly have an appetite for French Algeria. Can Algiers and Marseille be saved? The President may however take solace in London's decidedly anti-Italian opening. Managing to occupy Belgium is also a plus. Nor can it hurt that developments in the North Sea point to London and Berlin being at loggerheads.
Germany: Okay, the Anschluss worked out flawlessly. Interestingly with Czech rather than the Hungarian or indeed Swiss support Germany might normally count on more. But operations in the North really didn't get off to a good start. The valiant Danes beat off an attack by the Wehrmacht. Who would have thought those Scandinavians would perform so well on both land and at sea? Anyway, this defeat threw a monkey-wrench into the Generalstab's deployment plans. The divisions in and around Berlin won't accomplish much this year, I'd say.
Italy: The surprise attack against France worked like a charm. But the British threat to Tripoli must be quite disconcerting. Italy managed to concentrate her forces on the Yugoslav border. Yet cracking the Yugos' defences might not be a trivial task. Of great propaganda value to the Duce must be the news of Madrid having fallen to the Nationalists. Though Republican support in that endeavour must be rather puzzling. Those commies clearly made out of the same mettle as Mussolini's blackshirts!
Poland: Neither Germany nor Russia have caused any trouble so far. But failing to subjugate those pesky Lithuanians is quite a setback. Yet the year might nonetheless prove successful.
Soviet Union: Okay. Hell has officially frozen over. The Republicans have - apparently on Stalin's orders - gladly surrendered Madrid to their nemesis. Do those lefties have a deathwish...? Anyway, up in the Far North things could have hardly gone any better. Finland overrun, Britain, Germany and Poland all suffering setbacks, the Norwegian Sea remaining vacant. All really encouraging. Down south Rumania might be a hard nut to crack. Where might support for Russia's demands for Bessarabia come from...?
Turkey: The Bulgarians were thoroughly unimpressed by the Turks' lacklustre attack. Taking Bulgaria probably won't get any easier in the fall. Yet there's also good news. The Brits chose not to mess with Ankara and the Soviets have shown little interest in the Mid-East.
Hm, a mixed bag for each and every nation (okay, not for the Danes. They rock!). I am eager to see where the chips fall in the fall.
Thanks for the creative press submissions. Keep 'em coming! I see Comrade Stalin's well-versed in all the suitably revolutionary nomenclature!
I've attached a map image showing the abbreviations of all unoccupied spaces. Thought it might help some of you familiarise yourselves with 1936's geography.
Please check the adjucation for any mistakes, now and in future. I've been known to make some (though I'm extra-careful with DP allocations, I assure you).
As nobody objected, fall 1936 is now scheduled for Wednesday, 7 October.
Happy dipping!
Charles
PLAYERS:
BRITAIN: Mark Utterback
FRANCE: George K. Atkins
GERMANY: Brian Diffell
ITALY & NAT. SPAIN: Mike Norton
POLAND: Sean O'Donnell
SOVIET UNION & REP. SPAIN: David Gould
TURKEY: Jerome Payne
ITALIAN PRESS:
Intel received by the Italian Foreign Office indicates high potential for French hostilities. Naval and ground staff meet in Rome to assess danger. Units deployed to the front to solidify defensive posture. The Italian Pope prays that the warnings are false, but indicates that defensive moves have been blessed in clandestine services attended by the Holy Father and other Italian cardinals.
SOVIET PRESS:
From the pen of Comrade Stalin:
The current dialectic between the thesis of capitalism and the antithesis of fascism will lead - inevitably, as Marxist-Leninst historicism tells us - to the synthesis that is the dissolution of the capitalist and state controlled means of production into the hands of the people. Thus, the bourgeoisie of Europe are at this moment willingly, if unknowingly, precipitating what their actions are intended to prevent: an upsurge in class consciousness among the workers, soldiers and peasants of the Imperialist states currently manouvering for yet even more power to repress the revolutionary fervour that burns so brightly. They have forced the soviets to form; they have forced the Communist uprising. Their own hands swing the axe that is in the process of cutting them down. Long live the dictatorship of the proletariat*.
Editor's note:
* in this context, 'the proletariat' is another name for Comrade Stalin
From the Izvestia sports section:
"The greatest match in this history of the world has begun! In the Red corner, weighing in at over 2,000 execution of enemies of the people in the last week alone, is Joseph 'Man of Steel' Stalin! In the other Red corner, weighing in at a naive belief that relying on the support of the Soviet Union would not mean Russian control of his beloved homeland, Manuel 'Viva La Republica' Azana. The stakes: the fate of non-Stalinist delegates to the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International, the revision of Marxist-Leninist thought to become a mere reflection of Stalin's, the leadership of Spain and the doom of the Soviet Union itself."
"How does a Russian soldier march? In circles ...
Left,
Left,
Left, left, left ..."
"Some people claim that environmentalists are watermelons - Green on the outside but Red on the inside. But Vasily Mikhailovich Blokhin knows through personal experience that everyone is red on the inside ..."
"v Pravde net izvestiy, v Izvestiyakh net pravdy"
ORDERS:
Britain:
F Edinburgh - Northern North Sea (*Bounce*)
F Gibraltar Supports A Algiers - Morocco
F London - Southern North Sea
F Suez - Libyan Sea
France:
A Algiers - Morocco
A Beirut - Syria
F Brest - Picardy
A Marseille - Catalonia
A Paris - Belgium
Germany:
A Berlin - Hamburg (*Fails*)
F Hamburg - Denmark (*Fails*)
A Munich - Austria
Italy:
A Milan - Piedmont
F Naples - Southern Tyrrhenian Sea
A Rome - Venetia
F Tripoli - Tunisia
Poland:
A Cracow - Transylvania
F Gdynia - Gulf of Danzig
A Warsaw - Lithuania (*Fails*)
Soviet_Union:
F Leningrad(sc) - Finland(sc)
A Moscow - Leningrad
A Stalingrad - Eastern Ukraine
Turkey:
A Ankara - Kurdistan
A Istanbul - Bulgaria (*Fails*)
F Izmir - Aegean Sea
Nationalist_Spain:
A Burgos - Madrid
Republican_Spain:
A Valencia Supports A Burgos - Madrid
Austria:
A Austria Hold (*Dislodged, Disbanded*)
Belgium:
A Belgium Hold (*Dislodged, Disbanded*)
Bulgaria:
A Bulgaria Hold
Czechoslovakia:
A Czechia Supports A Munich - Austria
Denmark:
F Denmark - Northern North Sea (*Bounce*)
Egypt:
A Egypt Hold
Finland:
A Finland Hold (*Disbanded*)
Greece:
F Greece - Ionian Sea (*Sortie*)
Hungary:
A Hungary Hold
Iran:
A Iran - Eastern Anatolia (*Sortie*)
Iraq:
A Iraq Hold
Latvia:
A Latvia Hold
Lithuania:
A Lithuania Hold
Morocco:
A Morocco Hold (*Dislodged, Disbanded*)
Netherlands:
F Netherlands Supports A Paris - Belgium
Norway:
F Norway Supports F Leningrad(sc) - Finland(sc)
Portugal:
F Portugal Supports A Burgos - Madrid
Rumania:
A Rumania Hold
Sweden:
F Sweden Hold
Switzerland:
A Switzerland Hold
Yugoslavia:
A Croatia Supports A Rome - Venetia
A Serbia Supports A Rumania
SC OWNERSHIP:
Britain (4): Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Suez.
France (5): Algiers, Beirut, Brest, Marseille, Paris.
Germany (3): Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.
Italy (4): Milan, Naples, Rome, Tripoli.
Poland (3): Cracow, Gdynia, Warsaw.
Soviet Union (3): Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad.
Turkey (3): Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir.
Nationalist_Spain (1): Burgos.
Republican_Spain (1): Valencia.
Austria: Austria.
Belgium: Belgium.
Bulgaria: Bulgaria.
Czechoslovakia: Czechia.
Denmark: Denmark.
Egypt: Egypt.
Finland: Finland.
Greece: Greece.
Hungary: Hungary.
Iran: Iran.
Iraq: Iraq.
Latvia: Latvia.
Lithuania: Lithuania.
Morocco: Morocco.
Netherlands: Netherlands.
Norway: Norway.
Portugal: Portugal.
Rumania: Rumania.
Sweden: Sweden.
Switzerland: Switzerland.
Yugoslavia: Croatia, Serbia.
Unowned: Madrid.
SCHEDULE (3 PM GMT):
Fall 1936 Moves: 7 October
Winter 1936 Retreats/Adjustments: 9 October
Spring 1937 Moves: 14 October
Summer 1937 Retreats: 16 October |
