January 1st, 1940:
There is a certain calm across Europe. Denmark and Poland lay quiet. The smoldering ruins of Warsaw the only real evidence of German incursion, while Denmark may as well have never been touched. Up North, the winter war continues on in the cold, harsh winter of Northern Russia. Meanwhile, Carol II in Bucharest sits. He sifts through his options, as his neighbors to the North and South eye his country hungrily, thinking of their losses from the Great War...
With Germany running amok, what is there to stop the rest from reclaiming their losses?
We open on our country in the Balkans. Our borders lightly garrisoned as always. Nothing but an interceptor squadron, and an Infantry division in our production lines:
It's looking to be a worrying year for the Romanian people. And well, I'm truly shocked. It's February first. And the the front lines in Finland have not changed one bit. I expected the Russians to gain an advantage over the Finns by now. It's quite worrying to say the least.
The Russians didn't make any gains until march. Meanwhile, it's March 7th. And Germany thankfully kicked things off in the West early. Werserumburg hasn't started in Norway yet either. Which isn't good. I was counting on it to stretch German supply lines a little, and force them to garrison Norway.
Well, the Germans declared war on Norway on March 8th, but it wouldn't be for another 16 days before they make a successful landing on the southern tip of the country. Meanwhile, the Russians finally make some significant gains in Finland.
It takes them until the end of the month to create a stable front line. They have already reached Oslo however, and I imagine it wall fall by the end of the week.
Well, by the end of the week, Oslo surprisingly hasn't fallen, but another, possibly more important city has: Luxembourg. On April 3rd, the Reich began it's assault on the Western Front. Luxembourg fell in the first day. No word on Belgium and the Netherlands yet. Though the Germans have gained some ground in Southern Norway.
April 15th, 1940: Oslo has fallen, and the Germans have declared on the Dutch and immediately gained ground in the Netherlands. Belgium however is still neutral. I imagine that won't last for too long.
One day after the fall of Oslo, Norway capitulated, expanding the Third Reich into Scandinavia. Meanwhile the Dutch have lost the entire Northern part of the Netherlands already:
On the 21st of April, Hitler declared war on and invaded Belgium. Meanwhile the Netherlands continued to lose ground against the Germans, as the United Kingdom seemingly continues to sit idle. Also, it seems the Russians have finally managed to breach Mannerheim's line. Nice work Stalin.
On April 26th, (IN THE SPRING) the winter war came to an end, and the Finns finally surrendered, ceding Karelia to the USSR.
On May 17th, the Dutch lost the remainder of their European territory to the Germans, who are pushing steadily into Belgium, and have reached the Eastern half of Belgium's border with France. Meanwhile, Romania has finally finished another infantry division, fully garrisoning her borders for the time being.
In late May, Stalin lay claim to Besserabia. We decided to appease him, as we would much rather have the Russians as friend than foe. Unfortunately, this puts a hamper on our industry, one which we will have to desperately recover from.
Just a few days afterword, the Magyar swine laid claim to Transylvania! There is little we can do for now, but we will take it back! We will repay them, and we will slit each of their throats in the streets! Down with Admiral Horthy!!!
Meanwhile on the western front, the Germans have defeated Belgium, and in the East Russia annexes the Baltic states peacefully.
After much discussion with the cabinet, it would seem we have no choice. The axis has left their mark on our country without a single shot being fired. It is time we brought in some outside help. Today the nation of Romania formally signs a mutual assistance agreement with the United Soviet Socialist Republic, and joins the Comintern. We can only hope they provide the extra help we need.
In mid-June, I looked around to see what Soviet troop positions looked like, and I must say, I have my worries about where they are choosing to position their troops. But after the Winter/Spring war disaster, I'm not sure I can blame them.
In France the lines have been completely shattered by the Germans. Even the Maginot line has been compromised. The French are in full retreat. It won't be long before the Eiffel Tower does indeed fly the swastika.
In Romania, things aren't looking much better. With Transylvania part of the Magyar territory, our border garrison looks like this.
And in France, Paris has been surrounded. It won't be long before the Luftwaffe is bombing it mercilessly and the city falls under red, white, and black.
In North Africa, things aren't looking too swell for the French, or the British either. The Italians have pushed deep into Tunisia and Egypt. The British however have made a successful naval landing on Sardinia!
July 18th, 1940: Paris fell today. Britain has vowed to continue the fight across the channel. Vichy France has been created as a German protectorate under Phillipe Petain. It is a dark day for Germany's enemies. But Romania will hold out no matter what.
On July 24th, the Italians declared war on Greece and Invaded from Albania, only to be pushed back 4 days later into Italian territory! Nice job Greece!! Way to show the juggernaut how a minor does it!
By August 14th the Greeks had succeeded in pushing the Italians out of Albania. Italy is once again beaten back by a far inferior power.
With the interceptors completed, I put the production IC into upgrades, in a desperate attempt to keep our forces up to par with the axis. Hopefully those will be finished soon, and I can construct divisions to defend those 4 provinces we have nothing on.
On September 2nd, 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja. It turns out this would actually shorten our front line, giving us a stronger defensive position. So I accepted, believing that this will actually improve our position in the near future.
It's not a pretty Romania, but it will do for the time being. Bulgaria joined the axis powers on September 29th. That means we are surrounded by enemies on 2 sides. Greece surprisingly has continued to hold onto Albania. The Italians have also hit a deadlock in Egypt, and will most likely be pushed back soon enough.
All I can say is, wow. Greece is really outdoing itself here. Albania is still in Greek possession, and the Bulgars made the mistake of declaring war before they mobilized, so the Greeks are invading Bulgaria.
Of course, this could backfire if Bulgaria doesn't get it together fast, as they may annex Bulgaria, taking Southern Dobruja from me forever.
Well, the Greek's good fortune did not last. When the Bulgarians did redeploy their troops, the Greeks were pushed back through the Greek border. Germany also invaded Yugoslavia, so it's only a matter of time before ME-109's are flying over Athens, and SS units storm the front lines.
Well, if anything the two front war is straining the Bulgarians a bit. They've stopped making any gains in Greece in an attempt to defend their front line with Yugoslavia. However, Yugoslavia is under a Three pronged assault from Italy, Germany, and the Magyars as we speak.
Well, it's the end of 1940. And our situation seems to get worse and worse as time goes on. Our borders are lightly garrisoned. Lucky for us, Hungary seems to be straining it's own manpower pool to garrison theirs. And by annexing Transylvania, they have created a massive possible pocket, where a quarter of their troops are located.
In Europe, darkness has descended, as Hitler's Reich proclaims dominance. Yugoslavia is under powerful assault, and the Bulgarians have quickly recovered to push the Greeks further back down South. In Egypt, the Italians once again take the offensive, pushing the British back at an alarming rate. They may take Baghdad by the end of 1941.
At any rate, Romania still stands. At the end of the day, the Red, Yellow, and Blue flag still flies over Bucharest, and when faced with such odds, that is all that matters. Long live the King!
Until next time. As usual, thanks to the readers, and comments are always appreciated.
