@CylonAndrew: Fool of a touque? I am not sure that yelling at me is really called for in this situation. And it was not for story effect either, I simply underestimated the strength of their defenses. Add to that, the fact that allied units seem to have a habit of suddenly breaking off their attack, dwindling my chances at a breakthrough.
@ColossusCrusher: No. This AAR has been going on for a long time, and I want this game to end. I want to defeat Germany then finish off the Russians, and I want it done sooner rather than later. Besides, it is already winter 1960 at the point I am ingame, leaving only about 3 more years left to play before the time limit is reached.
@Onni_Manni: To be honest, I cant tell what you mean by that emoticon?
@Karaiskandar: Indeed, and as you will see later, i found a much better invasion path in Europe.
@Parokki: Zombie Mannerheim makes Finland invincible!!!
@SovietAmerika: Lots, but do not worry. The USA still has a huge amount of manpower to draw from, so I can replace these losses relatively easily If i just get the time to do it.
@everyone else: Thanks for the comments!
As fighting rages in Europe, battles are still taking place in Central Asia. Here, at Frunze, huge Russian forces continue to tie down very large numbers of allied troops. In an attempt to change the situation, allied forces attack the enemy's positions. In the ensuing battle, allied units take very heavy casualties, forcing them to call of the attack.
To try and put up more pressure in Siberia, massive Asian allied reinforcements arrive in the area from places like western and central China. These forces begin to move towards the front lines, in preparation for new offensives in the region.
Meanwhile, the Russians continue to pound away at allied units in central Asia. The growing pressure is beginning to have a very negative on allied units, such as here, at turgai, which is retaken by the Russian army.
Back in Scandinavia, British forces reorganize and launch another assault at Tornio. This time, the British are able to force their way through Finnish defenses and take over the region, the first step to a possible march on Murmansk.
Back in Central Asia, Russian army pressure on Zhambyl becomes far too much to bear. With wave after wave of enemy tanks and infantry pounding away at their defenses, allied units break and retreat westwards.
To try and gain some ground in Europe after the failed offensives on the western and Italian fronts, American forces with the support of Australian and South African troops invade Bulgaria. Unlike the ferocious German in-depth defenses in Italy and France, the Bulgarian infantry and mountaineer units are far easier to target and defeat, with allied units succeeding in breaking through enemy defenses at Varna.
To put more pressure on the Germans, a small British force invades and takes control of the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Once the city falls, these British units halt their offensive and dig in, hoping to force the Germans to strip units from the western and Italian fronts and send them to the north. This also opens up the Baltic sea to possible Allied naval activity.
Allied units on the western front reorganize themselves and throw themselves at the German defenses along the channel coast once again. Unfortunately, just like the earlier attempt to break through and drive north along the coast, this offensive fails, with German firepower taking a great toll on allied units.
Desperate for a breakthrough, joint allied command decides to shift all available combat units from Italy to northern France. Hopefully, this concentration of pure military force will be enough to finally break through the formidable German defenses.
Back in the Balkans, General MacArthur continues his offensive deeper into Bulgarian territory. At Plovdiv, MacArthur's forces are able to shatter some of Bulgaria's best units in the center of the front, throwing the enemy back towards the city of Sofia. More and more, Joint Allied Command is beginning to think that MacArthur's successes in the Balkans could be a sign of how to bring more pressure to bear against the Germans and their allies.