Reinforcements are placed. Germany now has 30 Offensive Points.
No change to resource lending.
Initiative
Axis roll a 3. The Allies roll a 2.
First Impulse
The weather roll was a 4 - rain in the Arctic and North Temperate, Fine everywhere else. Marker moves along 2.
Germany takes a paid land, Italy a free combine and Japan... a free land.
Italy moves another sub to Sardinia and Mussolini boasts that Cagliari is the biggest and best submarine base in the world.
There are no air missions.
Fresh from their Polish campaign, v Leeb and v Bock rail to the west.
Yamamoto makes a +17 attack on Changsha.
A dice roll of 15 takes the city without loss. A cadre point for China and the US are alarmed.
Rundstedt makes an over the top attack on Liege (at +31.3), easily taking the city.Germany completes its impulse by rebasing aircraft from Poland to the west.
The Commonwealth takes a paid naval, France panics (paid combine - its immediate future depends on the next impulses' weather), China takes a free land, USSR and USA take free combines.
The Australian transport sails from Singapore to the Tasman Sea and embarks the Sydney militia.
The Commonwealth settles in for a tricky calculation of its convoys. It helps that the Netherlands and Belgian convoys are now swapped for Commonwealth ones and that Vassal has a nifty report telling you where they all are. At this stage I also find I hadn't completed return to base for units on the America mini-map. The Dutch transport returns to Dover where it now embarks the London militia and sails to Cape Verde Basin. Other transports sail from England embarking a 7-3 and a 1-1. Force Z (8 battle ships) sails to protect the transports in the North Sea (3 box) while the Home fleet (3 battle ships, 3 carriers and 4 cruisers sails to give top cover (4 box). The Med fleet (a carrier, 2 battleships and a cruiser sail to the Red Sea (3 box).
While tempted, the Allies refraining from trying out ground strikes in the rain especially with the Luftwaffe covering all the targets.
The French sail the Senegalese militia to La Rochelle, rail the Lyon militia to Paris, shuffle a corps into the Ardennes and the Billote HQ into the front line to fill the gap.
Any move by China will flip units in the mud and so they decide to bide their time.
The Soviets move their airforce medium bombers closer to the border with Iran to threaten Tehran.
Second Impulse
And the weather will be... storms for the western front (roll of a 6 - the impulse marker moves by 2 and there is a plus 1 to the next weather roll). France breaths a sigh of relief, but the Royal Navy looks to its guns.
The Germans consult the Jane's Book of Ships and decide it is too risky to sail their fleet, but U-boats will sneak out.
Germany takes a paid combine, Italy a free combine and Japan a paid naval.
One German U-boat heads to the Faeroes Gap, the other to the Central Atlantic. In the Gap the Germans roll a 2 the Commonwealth an 8. The storm means the -1 for 10 CPs doesn't count, but the +1 for storm does, so the search fails. In the Central Atlantic Germany roll an 8 and the Commonwealth a 1. The Dorsetshire in the 3 box gets 11 surprise points. The Dorsetshire avoids the abort, the Type IXC suffers an X and a D and sinks (rolled a five trying to save the X).
Japan sails its transports to pick up various reinforcements.
Italy moves its mini-subs to Sardinia.
With the bad weather the Commonwealth do a no cost land, France a paid combine, China a free land and the USA and USSR free combines.
The French create the Deuxieme fleet and sail to Cape of St Vincent. It is heading to Dakar.
Commonwealth forces arrive in northern France and Gort does his best to reorganise them.
The Chinese also enjoy the bad weather and do very little.
The Turn can end on a 1. It doesn't.
Impulse Three
The all important weather roll is... a 5, but with a +1 becomes a 6, so no change.
Figuring it has little to lose, Germany does a paid land.
Japan does a paid land and contemplates an attack, but also worries about Chinese partisans. Partisan defence will be performed by ZoCs and units are railed and disembarked to achieve this.
A ground strike is launched against Chiang. The Chinese fighter intercepts the escorted bomber. The Japanese fighter escort aborts (roll of 15 on the -1 column), and the Chinese fighter gets to bounce (after Japanese fighter rolled a 10 on the +1) onto the bomber shooting it down (with a 2 on the +2). However the bomber returns fire as it goes down and shoots down the Chinese fighter (18 on -2). All pilots bail out successfully. Chinese AA fire drives off Japanese ground support aircraft leaving a +12.4 assault after both sides committing their HQs: Yamamoto and Chiang.
Die roll is 11.3 giving a TOTT result. China loses a resource hex, but gain 2 cadre points.
Italy does a peaceful free combine.
Germany conducts a +5.4 blitz on the French in the Ardennes. Rundstedt is committed and the French commit Billotte.
The die roll is 16.7 giving a final result of 21: the French are shattered and sent to the Production Wheel.
A dangerous gap has opened in the French lines.
The Turn can end on a 3. A 10 is rolled, the French and the Chinese have a chance to recover.
The Commonwealth do a free land and move units into Lille. The French do a free land and shuffle units to accommodate the Commonwealth and patch their line. The Chinese do a free land and pull back into the mountains. USA and USSR do free combines doing nothing.
Will the turn end? A 5 is needed, and a 5 is rolled.
End of Turn Stage
Partisan roll is an 8. NEI and India experience uprisings, but they are supressed.
The US Entry Options are Chinese build aircraft (no tension) and Selective Service Act (no tension).
In a surprise move the Dutch transport with the London militia docks in Famagusta. The Sydney militia arrive in Singapore.
Production
China 6 BP 2xMil and 1xFTR2
Commonwealth 11 BP 2xTerr (Kenya & Egypt), 1xCVP0, 1xCVP1, 1xNAV2, 1xPilot, 1xSCS1(rep), 1xCP
USA 12+1 BP Build 1xArm, 1xCVP1, 1xPilot, 1xSub2(fd), 1CV2(fd)
USSR 8 BP 1xArm and 1xGar
France 5 BP 1xMil, 1xInf
Germany 17 BP 2xMil, 1xArm, 1xPilot, 1xMot, 1xSub1(fu), 1xCVP0
Italy 5 BP 1xFTR2, 1xPilot, 1xSub1(fu)
Japan 11 BP 1xMil, 1xInf, 1xPilot, 1xCV2(fu), 2xCVP1
Peace
Belgium is conquered.
