Map room

[joegrundman]

Beginning Spring 1944

In the closing months of 1943 the Wehrmacht threw up a new and much stronger line close to their start positions before Operation Rotsturm back in 1940. The Russians have recaptured Rostov, Leningrad, Kharkov, Smolensk, Sevastopol and Dnepropetrovsk in a lightning campaign

In Spain, the allies finally liberate Madrid and armoured columns push across into France

The Bombing of the Ruhr has increased in intensity while the U-boat threat has declined significantly over the course of the year, with Germany struggling to manufacture new boats as fast as they are being lost

[joegrundman]

End of Spring 1944

Germans fall back on the Oberon Line connecting Bordeaux and the Alps, centered on a fortified Vichy, only to be surprised by Operation Cheesecutter, an allied assault on Rotterdam spearheaded by British and Canadian commandos

Commonwealth and American troops start landing on New Guinea in force and moving along the Kokoda trail, while the Chindits airdrop onto and seize Kupang, Timor

[joegrundman]

Summer 1944

The most action packed turn of this adventure

The Western Allies broke through the Oberon line in France and now threaten to close the Atlantic ports and capture Paris

The Red Army has smashed through the line in Poland and has encircled Warsaw and threatens to enter Germany

The Pacific saw an increase in intensity as the allies start a concerted effort to gain control over the Bismarck barrier. A daring carrier raid on the port of Lae led to the complete destruction of the Japanese Task Force 5, in an attack of a similar scale to Pearl harbor


Howver as the allies attempted to capture a Solomon island, the force was ambushed by Yamamoto's combined fleet and the US in turn was dealt a great defeat, losing two CVs and one of her newest and biggest battleships, the USS Montana

[joegrundman]

Fall 1944

The Allies finally recapture a Japanese Port - Lae has fallen, and in the process a heavy raid on Rabaul
sunk two japanese carriers in one of the heaviest air encounters so far




In Europe, the Russians shifted their focus to the south in an attempt to knock out Rumania and Hungary,
while the British and Americans fought through tough defenses to get close to Paris

The last U-boat bases in france were finally captured and a british submarine was lucky enough to sink the Bismarck

[joegrundman]

Winter 1944

Red Army captures Bucharest, Budapest and Belgrade in a southern strike aimed at separating Germany from her allies. Rumanian, Hungarian and Yugoslav forces all surrender.

Western Allies capture Vichy and all Vichy French units ordered to stand down

The Allies capture Rabaul in another large amphibious operation

[joegrundman]

US election results in dramatic ceasefire with Japan: all US forces pull out of the Pacific!

Britain races to fill the void by sending the Royal Navy and as much force as possible to South Africa and Australia

Spring offensives savage the European Axis

Americans capture Paris in a tough battle.

The legendary Italian Regia Marina is destroyed in a single battle of Cape St. Vito, Siciliy by the USN and American forces make landing along the coast of west North Africa, Malta and in Sicily

The Soviets capture Warsaw and breakthrough into Germany near Krakov and in the Austria

[joegrundman]

Summer 1945

The end is in sight for Germany. German forces in Germany have split in two by the linking up of Allied and Soviet forces.

allied forces have also broken into italy from the north as well as landing at anzio and taking control of sicily.

furtehr landings in Palestine and egypt complete the transfer of control in the mediteranean

Breslau has fallen, Dresden and Munich are in Russian hands, Willhelmshaven is in American hands, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium are mostly liberated.

Russians have begun building up forces in the far east while the british commonwealth strongly reinforces in the pacific south east

[joegrundman]

Fall 1945 VE day

After an intense few months fighting, every major German city has been captured and Germany and Italy surrender, ending the war in Europe begun with the German invasion of poland almost 6 years ago to the day.

With attitudes hardening between the USSR and the West, a huge section of Europe is now under Soviet influence and most of Germany save the Rhineland area and Hamburg.

Denmark is also split into two factions with the capital, Copenhagen going to the Russians and peninsular denmark to the west.

Africa from Palestine West falls under western control, the rest under Russian, including the vital oil centers of Persia.

[joegrundman]

The Soviet Union and the US declare war

Japan attacked in Manchuria by the Red Army. The experienced and now frighteningly tough Red Army drives over the Japanese forward positions while 80% of their forces are still transiting to the East.

[joegrundman]

Summer 1946

The allied onslaught against Japan gets underway in earnest.

The Red Army captured Harbin and Port Arthur and encircled Peking and Mukden, and is also deep into northern Korea. The Japanese situation on the northern mainland appears close to collapse

The Americans recaptured Midway, and despite an impressive number of lost ships in the double battles of Makassar Strait and Halmahera, have succeeded in establishing a perimter in the former Dutch East Indies with landings on Celebes and Java.

The great naval battles have proven that the IJN has not at all lost it's edge, man-for-man, having sunk no less than 5 carriers, damaged a sixth and damaged two very large battleships, all for the loss of the Battle cruiser Kongo and damage to it's sister ship, Haruna, but strategically Japan withdrew and the allies completed their landings.

[joegrundman]

End of Summer 1946

The japanese perimeter shrinks yet further, but is still fairly strong

The Soviets have driven Japan from northern China and Manchuria and are poised to crush the last strongpoint in Seoul

Sakhalin is also effectively secured by the Red Army.

The Americans have conquered Guadalcanal in the Solomons and Kwajalein and the other Marshall islands, and Wake is back in American hands.

Allied Strategic bombers damaged the oil refineries at Palembang in raids from Java.

No major naval encounters in this last quarter has led to public criticism in congress. Britain is in desperate need of demobilising and converting to a peace-time economy and is making noises about pulling out of the war

[joegrundman]

Fall 1946

A new type of weapon was dropped on areas of Tokyo not previously firebombed, specifically the Yokohama area. The devastation was extreme. Shortly after a second similar weapon was dropped on Osaka.

The biggest naval battle of the war took place near the Caroline islands leading to the destruction of roughly half the Japanese fleet and half of MacArthur's Naval command. Strategically, the event in the Carolines forced the Americans to delay all their invasion plans for South East Asia.

The Kuomintang recaptured Nanking in a massed human wave assault

despite these setbacks, the security of the South East Asian conquests and flow of oil and resources inspires the Japanese to keep fighting