for Part I: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/334199

We last left off with war having broken out between the Warsaw Pact and NATO after the USSR and US had begun fighting over Iran. The Pact had elected to settle the issue with NATO once and for all by invading in Europe.

Turn 2: in the second week of the war, storms roll across Central Europe reducing the ability of both sides’ air forces to impact the battles then raging. This is a major setback for NATO which depends much more heavily upon air support. This means no missions without all weather capability, and no close ground support.

Norway: the Soviets are satisfied with their small toehold in northern Norway and settle down a stalemate for the duration.

Germany: With only cloud cover overhead, the tank armies of the Warsaw Pact smash into the Ems River defense and break through Belgian positions. The British in the area of Osnabruck are also hit hard, losing one division and a helicopter brigade. Second echelon forces exploit the holes created and overrun the Netherlands. Polish forces move north after the battle for Berlin and take Lubeck. Further attacks destroy a weakened German division and the Danish Jutland division. In the south Regensburg falls and forces advance on Munich and Augsburg. After NATO forces start withdrawing, Stuttgart is also seized.

With defenses collapsing on both flanks of the central front, NATO begins to withdraw the bulk of its forces behind the Rhine with a strong bridgehead formed in the Ruhr. Having been given release for their use, NATO forces employ tactical nuclear weapons, but are still not able to hold back the red tide.

The Balkans: Istanbul falls to Pact forces after an intense nuclear barrage from Soviet units. French expeditionary forces retaliate in kind with their own nuclear attacks. With the fall of Istanbul, Pact forces follow through attempting to push farther on the south bank of the Bosporus. Forces are also released to counterattack Greek forces.

Persian Gulf: The opposing forces continue to stare each other down in stalemate. American air strikes hit Esfahan and harass Soviet ground forces. The Soviets finish cleaning up opposition outside the US redoubt. NATO forces in Iran consist of about only 4 Iranian divisions, plus US expeditionary forces of heavy division, the 82nd Airborne, an attack helicopter brigade, and several Marine brigades. The Soviets have about 10 divisions plus an air assault division. NATO maintains air superiority over both the Persian Gulf and Western Asia air theaters.

End Phase: NATO commanders plead for the release of more nuclear weapons to bolster the defenses of Europe. In particular, the CinC of NorthAG believes that only the use of nuclear battlefield interdiction by Allied air forces can stem the tide. He argues that the use of the short ranged battlefield nukes currently in use, are not enough. The civilian governments refuse further escalation. The Soviets, in a propaganda move, announce that they will use restraint in nuclear weapons.

Turn 3: The weather remains poor in central Europe but air power is able to make its presence felt even if not at full power due to the overcast conditions. Not only did the Pact ground forces get relief from air attacks in the prior week to storms, it also allowed the Pact air forces to catch up by putting back into service many aircraft that were grounded due to maintenance. Although possessing inferior aircraft, numbers once again prove to have a quality all their own by giving the WP air superiority once again.

Pact commanders of the Western Strategic Direction buoyed by their success against NATO’s central front allow the diversion of Category B divisions just arriving from the Soviet Union. A total of 4 tank armies are diverted to reinforce the Balkan and Persian Gulf theaters. On the NATO side, Italian and Spanish troops arrive in Germany to bolster flagging defenses.

Norway: All is quiet

Germany: With the NATO withdrawal, the Pact forces advance to occupy the east bank of the Rhine River. Pact forces of the 28th and 3rd Shock Armies fight their way into Wiesbaden. The reduction of the Ruhr Salient also begins with the 8th Guards Army and 1st Guards Tank Army assaulting Dortmund and overwhelming the German Heimatschutztruppen with masses of artillery and armor. To the north, the pact advances across the Rhine into Belgium and then turns southward meeting Spanish, British, and Belgian troops. British Tornadoes hit Pact tanks with air strikes and close ground support of defending forces. The Germans hold the line along the west bank of the Rhine as the 10th panzer division holds off the 26th and 8th Guards Armies at Monchen Gladbach. Desperate fighting continues for a week as both sides end up using battlefield nukes.

Italian forces occupy the banks of the upper Rhine allowing American heavy divisions to move northward to stop the Soviet spearheads. With it completely occupied, the Netherlands surrenders its remaining forces. After heavy fighting, Antwerp also falls to the WP, and Belgian forces have become Demoralized. At this point about 5 Pact armies have crossed to the west of the Rhine. NATO’s situation in central Europe is desperate.

The Balkans: With the help of Hungarian forces, the Pact pushes the Greeks at Salonika destroying an armored division. Heavy combat continues on the south bank of the Bosporus, but the pact succeeds in clearing the waterway. Now only the Dardanelles remains to be cleared for the Soviet fleet. The Bulgarian offensive grinds slowly towards this goal. Only the assistance of French forces has really been able to hold up this attack. By the end of the week though, Greek morale has become Shaken.

The Persian Gulf: in comparison to the bloodbath in Europe, the fighting is limited in this theater. Soviet forces, reinforced with another tank army begin squeeze the American redoubt by advancing along the coast. The aim is to outflank the Americans and trap them in the mountain passes. Air strikes continue to harass Soviet units, and hit Esfahan as well.

End Phase: Once again NATO ground commanders demand escalation to staunch the bleeding, but the governments; fearful of the consequences, withhold authority. With losses mounting in both Turkey and Germany, French morale is nearly Shaken (30 brigades). Turkey’s morale is also waning in spite of the tough fighting. Spain quietly withhold further support as its morale also fails.

Turn 4: The skies over central Europe are finally clearing, but the advent of the full effect of Allied air power appears to have arrived too late. Soviet forces have crumbled the NATO left flank and are on the verge of driving across the open fields of Flanders. Fighting has quieted along the Rhine front, but the line has been irrevocably turned. After consultations among Allied governments, NATO asks for an armistice in place with the Warsaw Pact.