Hi everyone!
How has the past year worked out for Europe's leading powers?
BRITAIN: The Royal Navy failed to make it into the South-Western Approaches. With London being at the mercy of the French one has to say that the Prime Minister's a dead man walking.
FRANCE: Munich and London are in the bag. But what of Italy sending a fleet into the Gulf of Lion? And can Liverpool be held? France's fate remains tied to what the Fascists decide to do with the Grande Nation, methinks.
GERMANY: Looks like we're in for a final Battle of Berlin. The Chancellor is probably holed up in his bunker there. If Poland chooses to attack, the city will fall.
ITALY: Croatia, an Italian natural, has come under Rome's sway. Very late in the game for that to happen. Izmir is under the Duce's thumb now. With Uncle Joe's blessing. There may have been an Spanish-Soviet agreement over Edinburgh, as the USSR chose not to defend that SC. Indeed it evacuated that army.
POLAND: Poland ignored the threat to her Baltic domains. Now they are ostensibly lost. Though gains in the west may compensate for that.
SOVIET UNION: What's the deal with A Iran holding? Can the General Secretary find no use for it? Italy happens to be the other superpower vying for victory. Which makes Soviet help for Italy a noteworthy development.
TURKEY: Izmir's gone, but Beirut could hold out for quite some time. I could see either superpower taking Turkey under her wings in order to deny the rival the ownership of Beirut.
Thanks for the fine press contributions. I hope everyone is enjoying them as much as I do.
Summer 1941 follows on 11 December. Further below I've mapped out a possible adjucation schedule over the holidays. Should any of you prefer to delay matters over the holidays, let me know.
Cheers,
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
ANONYMOUS PRESS:
News of the Weird from the Berliner Bild:
A woman ran into her doctor's office, followed by her son, walking on his hands and feet. "Doctor! Doctor!" pleaded the mother. "Can you help me? My son believes he is a dog!" The doctor looked at her son, who was vainly trying to scratch behind his left ear with his foot.
"So, how long he he been like this?" the doctor asked.
"Since he was a puppy", replied the mother.
FRENCH PRESS:
Paris: French military officials have expressed surprise at the recent events going on in Great Britain. They were surprised at the demographics of the country. In touching irony, one high ranking French officer speaking on condition of anonymity stated that "Those ongoing rumors seem to be true after all, that England HAS been taken over by foreigners!"
Lucerne: The French government extends its sincere apologies to the beleaguered German government, its friend and erstwhile ally. French officials noted that the necessities for self-preservation and the need to protect German lands from hostile forces has led France to take drastic measures:
"We believe that the Germans would want to see the French---more than any other country---manage Germany's lands and its people. And the German government has made that known to us, in so many words. At least we think so, as nobody in my office understands German very well...uh, Ich bin ein Municher!"
SOVIET PRESS:
From the desk of Stalin:
Trotsky is dead, and all true communists should rejoice at this. But the fact remains that his anti-Socialist influence extends from beyond the grave. At this very moment, capitalist and fascist agents using Trotsky as their banner are fomenting anti-soviet sentiment from the heartland of Poland to the far deserts of Africa. But the Army of the People will prevail. This time, Trotsky will not be in charge as our mighty army approaches the Polish capital and will not be there to turn this battle of Warsaw into a crushing defeat for the proletariat. This time, the Poles will be the ones to withdraw in disorder. And when they do, the soldiers in their army will start to see that the class struggle is what is important and flock to our cause. Onward, onward. If every one of us remembers the principles of the revolution and keeps to them, final victory will soon be at hand.
Historical note:
In 1920, Poland and the Soviet Union went to war. The Soviets smashed the Polish forces and were advancing on the capital. To all, it looked as though Polish independence was at an end. However, the Poles rallied magnificently. The Battle of Warsaw was, in Lenin's words, an enormous defeat for Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine, shattering the hopes of Lenin and Trotsky for achieving European socialism in their lifetimes. It should be noted that most historians believe that the defeat was largely caused by the failure of the Red Army leadership at the front to follow Trotsky's orders. And, indeed, Trotsky had been against the war from the start, believing that the Soviet Army was exhausted after the civil war. Will the Poles rally again and destroy my dream for European socialism?
From the desk of Stalin:
My orders will be executed perfectly. Otherwise, Vasily Blokhin will perform some perfect executions.
From the Pravda social pages:
Katyn is now the hotspot to meet dashing Polish officers for brief encounters. Hurry, as they will not be dashing for very long.
From David:
Yes, very bad taste. But the history of the Soviet Union is one huge horror story, which I hope that I have managed to convey in my press in this game.
GAME-END PROPOSALS:
REJECTED: A four-way draw involving France, Italy, Poland and the Soviet Union
ORDERS:
Britain:
F Ireland - South-Western Approaches (*Bounce*)
France:
A Austria Supports A Switzerland - Munich
A Belgium - Netherlands (*Fails*)
F Brest - English Channel
F Liverpool Supports F Northern Ireland - Edinburgh
A Marseille - Switzerland
F Netherlands - Hamburg (*Fails*)
A Paris - Lorraine
A Switzerland - Munich
Germany:
A Berlin Supports A Hamburg
A Munich - Central Germany (*Dislodged*)
Italy:
F Greece Hold
F Naples - Ionian Sea
F Suez Hold
F Tuscany - Gulf of Lion
A Venetia - Croatia
F Aegean Sea - Izmir
F Levantine Sea Supports F Aegean Sea - Izmir
Poland:
A Central Germany Supports F Netherlands - Hamburg (*Cut*)
A Czechia Hold
A Serbia Supports A Transylvania - Rumania (*Cut*)
A Silesia - Pomerania
A Transylvania - Rumania (*Bounce*)
F Baltic Sea Supports F Southern North Sea - Denmark
F Southern North Sea - Denmark
Soviet_Union:
A Ankara - Alexandretta (*Fails*)
A Bulgaria - Serbia (*Fails*)
F Denmark Supports A Hamburg (*Dislodged*)
A Eastern Anatolia - Rumania (*Bounce*)
A Edinburgh - Leningrad
A Hamburg Supports A Berlin (*Cut*)
A Iran Hold
A Iraq - Syria
A Istanbul Supports F Aegean Sea - Izmir
A Leningrad - Latvia
A Moscow - Western Ukraine
F Norway - Sweden
A Stalingrad - Eastern Ukraine
F Black Sea Convoys A Eastern Anatolia - Rumania
F Norwegian Sea Convoys A Edinburgh - Leningrad
Turkey:
F Alexandretta Supports A Syria - Beirut (*Cut*)
A Syria - Beirut
Nationalist_Spain:
A Madrid - Catalonia (*Bounce*)
F Northern Ireland - Edinburgh
A Valencia - Catalonia (*Bounce*)
F Irish Sea - South-Western Approaches (*Bounce*)
F North-Western Approaches - Atlantic Ocean
Hungary:
A Hungary Supports A Venetia - Croatia
Yugoslavia:
A Croatia Hold (*Disbanded*)
RETREATS:
Soviet F Denmark can retreat to Northern North Sea or Skaggerak.
German A Munich can retreat to Rhineland or Franconia.
SC OWNERSHIP (Winter 1940):
Britain (1): London.
France (9): Austria, Belgium, Brest, Liverpool, Marseille, Milan, Netherlands, Paris, Switzerland.
Germany (2): Berlin, Munich.
Italy (7): Algiers, Egypt, Greece, Naples, Rome, Suez, Tripoli.
Poland (7): Cracow, Czechia, Gdynia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Warsaw.
Soviet_Union (15): Ankara, Bulgaria, Denmark, Edinburgh, Finland, Hamburg, Iran, Iraq, Istanbul, Leningrad, Moscow, Norway, Rumania, Stalingrad, Sweden.
Turkey (2): Beirut, Izmir.
Nationalist_Spain (5): Burgos, Madrid, Morocco, Portugal, Valencia.
Hungary: Hungary.
Yugoslavia: Croatia.
SCHEDULE (3 PM GMT):
Summer 1941 Retreats: 11 December
Fall 1941 Moves: 16 December
Winter 1941 Retreats/Adjustments: 18 December
Spring 1942 Moves: 23 December
Summer 1942 Retreats: 27 December
Fall 1942 Moves: 30 December
Winter 1942 Retreats/Adjustments: 1 January |
