I use SH3 Commander, which has a 'Forced Retirement' function. That said, I've never made past mid-1940. The problem isn't that I die so much, it's that every time some new mod comes out I start over. OCD, you see. Now there are so many mods my ancient computer won't run the games at all, so I'm not playing at all until I can get a new computer.
Of course there are some people who have reported completing the entire war in on career. I think the method was "reload saved games until you make it".