Global 1940 2nd Edition Map Analysis

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 5B:
SOVIET UNION BLOCK: Selective Notes

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY THE SOVIET UNION

Disputable map situation:

• Baltic States
  The Baltic States (comprising Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were annexed by the USSR between September 1939 and August 1940, the latter date being two months after the June 1940 starting date of the game.

• Bessarabia
  Bessarabia, which had previously been a part of Romania, was annexed by the USSR in June 1940.  Romania joined the Axis in July 1940 and eventually participated in the Axis war against the Soviet Union which started in June 1941, reappropriating Bessarabia in the process.

• Eastern Poland
  The eastern part of Poland was invaded by the USSR in September 1939 and occupied.

• Vyborg
  The area labeled “Vyborg” on the G40/2 map corresponds more or less to the Karelian Isthmus.  It was originally part of Finland, but it was annexed by the USSR in March 1940 following the Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940.  Finland, fighting as an Axis co-belligerent, reappropriated it in June 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 6A:
FRANCE BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF FRANCE

• France
• Normandy / Bordeaux
• Southern France

TERRITORIES UNDER FRENCH JURISDICTION

• Algeria
• French Central Africa
• French Equatorial Africa
• French Guiana
• French Indo-China
• French Madagascar
• French West Africa
• Morocco
• New Hebrides
• Syria
• Tunisia

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 6B:
FRANCE BLOCK: Selective Notes (part 1)

The Global 1940 OOB rules do not depict the historical establishment of either the Vichy regime or of the Free French forces after France’s surrender in late June 1940.  Instead, the rules depict an alternate-history scenario in which France continues to fight on the Allied side as a single entity, though in a role which is extremely marginal due to the rule restrictions under which it operates.

Historically, the part of France which is identified on the game map simply as “France” was invaded by Germany in May 1940.  The capitulation of France in June 1940 resulted in the German occupation of this area and of the area identified on the game map as “Normandy / Bordeaux.”  The area identified on the game map as “Southern France” became a so-called “unoccupied zone” in June 1940; this zone was administered by the Vichy regime, whose capital was located there.  The Vichy-controlled zone was occupied by Germany and Italy in November 1942, following the Operation Torch landings by the Allies in North Africa.  France’s homeland territories were liberated between June and August 1944 following the Overlord landings in Normandy and the Anvil-Dragoon landings in southern France.

Historically, most of the territories of the French colonial empire initially came under Vichy control, but some of them joined the Free French side immediately; others joined the Free French later or were captured by the Allies and handed over to Free French control.  With the liberation of France in the summer of 1944, all French territories still nominally under Vichy control came under the jurisdiction of the new provisional French government.

It should be noted that at the time of WWII the New Hebrides were a colonial territory jointly administered by France and Britain as an Anglo-French Condominium.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 6C:
FRANCE BLOCK: Selective Notes (part 2)

The historical status changes of France’s G40/2 map territories were as follows:

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF FRANCE

• France
  Occupied by Germany, June 1940; liberated in the summer of 1944.

• Normandy / Bordeaux
  Occupied by Germany, June 1940; liberated in the summer of 1944.

• Southern France
  Became the Vichy-controlled “Unoccupied Zone” in June 1940; occupied by Germany and Italy in November 1942; liberated in the summer of 1944.

TERRITORIES UNDER FRENCH JURISDICTION

• Algeria
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; occupied by the Allies and the Free French in November 1942.

• French Central Africa
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940.

• French Equatorial Africa
  Joined the Free French in June 1940 (except for Gabon); the Gabon region was eventually seized by the Free French in November 1940.

• French Guiana
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; joined the Free French in 1943.

• French Indo-China
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; invaded by Japan in September 1940 but remained under nominal Vichy control.  As a result of the Franco-Thai War of October 1940 to May 1941, Vichy ceded a number of FIC provinces to Siam (Thailand).  In March 1945, Japan took complete control of FIC.

• French Madagascar
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; invaded and occupied by Britain in September 1942; transferred to the Free French in January 1943.

• French West Africa
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940.

• Morocco
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; occupied by the Allies and the Free French in November 1942.

Disputable map situation:

• New Hebrides
  Joined the Free French in June 1940.  The New Hebrides were a colonial territory jointly administered by France and Britain as an Anglo-French Condominium

• Syria
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; occupied by the Allies and the Free French in July 1941.

• Tunisia
  Became Vichy-controlled in June 1940; occupied by the Allies and the Free French in May 1943.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 7A:
CHINA BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF CHINA

• Anhwe
• Chahar
• Hopei
• Hunan
• Jehol
• Kansu
• Kiangsi
• Kiangsu
• Kwangsi
• Kweichow
• Manchuria
• Shantung
• Shensi
• Sikang
• Suiyuyan
• Szechwan
• Tsinghai
• Yunnan

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 7B:
CHINA BLOCK: Selective Notes (part 1)

China, the only nation on the G40/2 map which starts the game with its homeland territory under partial occupation by an enemy power, is depicted using map conventions which give a misleading impression of the Chinese territories that were controlled by Japan in June 1940.

Like many of the world’s land and sea areas, China does not have the same size and shape on the G40/2 map as it does in reality.  The country is only about half as wide on the game map as it ought to be relative to its height, with most of the compression taking place in China’s western half.  Because of these size and shape distortions, the orange borders which show the provinces already occupied by Japan at the June 1940 starting date of the game approximate only vaguely the actual Japanese lines of control which existed at that moment of WWII.  The western salients of the Japanese lines appear much too shallow, the curved gap between them appears much too wide, and the names of the provinces inside and outside these orange borders do not reflect with complete accuracy the areas which Japan actually controlled.  For example Anhwe (also known as Anhwei and Anhui) is shown on the game map as being held by China, whereas most of it was actually occupied by Japan.

A further misrepresentation is the fact that the G40/2 map depicts all the Chinese coastal provinces (except Kwangtung) as being fully under Japanese control.  In reality, Japan comprehensively occupied China’s coastal provinces only as far south as Chekiang (which is not depicted separately on the game map, the closest map equivalent being Kiangsu).  South of Chekiang, Japan only took control of the Chinese coast’s port cities and of their surrounding areas, with the aim of cutting off China from supply by sea without having to occupy the entire coastline.

The G40/2 map labels 18 territories with Chinese roundels.  The Global 1940 OOB rules state that all these territories are considered Chinese for purposes of original ownership, even if they start the game under Japanese occupation (as denoted by the map’s orange borders).  The Chinese island of Hainan, however, violates this convention: it bears a Japanese roundel, despite the fact that it was a Chinese territory and that it was not occupied by Japan until February 1939.  This inconsistency is probably intended to justify the rule restriction which prevents Chinese units from being loaded onto naval transports because, in principle, Chinese forces are allowed to enter any territory marked with a Chinese roundel.

It should be noted that the dot shown in Szechwan at the terminus of the Burma Road corresponds approximately to Chungking, the wartime capital of the Republic of China.

It should be noted that the game map territory of Shensi corresponds roughly to an area which, from the mid-1930s onward, was under the control of the Chinese Communist Party rather than under the control of the Republic of China.  Shaanxi Province was the location of the Chinese Communist Party’s northernmost political council in 1934, and was the destination of the Long March of 1934-1935.  It served as the CCP’s power base and training centre during the Second World War.  The city of Yan’an (Yenan in older sources), located in central Shaanxi, was from 1937 onward the seat of the communist government of what became known as the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border region.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 7C:
CHINA BLOCK: Selective Notes (part 2)

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF CHINA

• Jehol
  Jehol, a de jure province of the Republic of China, was invaded by Japan in January 1933 and annexed to the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

• Kiangsi
  The region depicted on the game map as Kiangsi corresponds roughly to an area of China whose port cities were occupied by Japan in 1938 and 1939.

• Kiangsu
  The region depicted on the game map as Kiangsu corresponds roughly to an area of China which was occupied by Japan in 1937 and 1938.

• Kwangsi
  The region depicted on the game map as Kwangsi corresponds roughly to an area of China whose port cities were occupied by Japan in 1938 and 1939.

• Manchuria
  Manchuria, an area over which China, Russia and Japan had exerted varying degrees of influence since the mid-19th century, was invaded by Japan in September 1931 and transformed into the puppet state of Manchukuo.

• Shantung
  The region depicted on the game map as Shantung corresponds roughly to an area of China which was occupied by Japan in 1937 and 1938.

• Shensi
  Power base of the Chinese Communist Party during WWII.

• Szechwan
  Location of Chungking, the wartime capital of the Republic of China.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 8A:
NETHERLANDS BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

TERRITORIES UNDER DUTCH JURISDICTION

[Dutch East Indies]

• Celebes

• Dutch New Guinea

• Java

• Sumatra

• Suriname

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 8B:
NETHERLANDS BLOCK: Selective Notes

Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies in December 1941 and occupied them completely by March 1942.  The Netherlands are not a player power under the Global 1940 OOB rules, but the Dutch colonial territories of the Dutch East Indies and Suriname carry a distinct roundel.  During the Japanese campaign to conquer the Dutch East Indies and Malaysia, the American, British, Dutch and Australian forces which tried to halt the Japanese advance in this region operated briefly under a joint command structure called ABDACOM.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 9A:
GERMANY BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF GERMANY

• Germany
• Western Germany

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY GERMANY

• Denmark
• Greater Southern Germany
• Holland / Belgium
• Norway
• Poland

WARTIME ALLIES OF GERMANY

• Romania
• Slovakia / Hungary

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 9B:
GERMANY BLOCK: Selective Notes

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY GERMANY

• Denmark
  Denmark was invaded an occupied by Germany in April 1940.

• Greater Southern Germany
  The area labeled “Greater Southern Germany” on the game map corresponds essentially to Austria and Czechoslovakia.  Austria was annexed by Germany in March 1938.  The Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany in September 1938; most of the rest of the country (except for some territorial adjustments such as the creation of the Slovak Republic and the transfer of South Dobrudja to Bulgaria) was annexed by Germany in March 1939.

• Holland / Belgium
  Holland and Belgium, which are treated as a collective entity on the game map but are actually two separate countries, were invaded by Germany in May 1940 and occupied.

• Norway
  Norway was invaded by Germany in April 1940 and occupied.

• Poland
  The western part of Poland, which on the game map is identified simply as “Poland,” was invaded by Germany in September 1939 and occupied.

WARTIME ALLIES OF GERMANY

• Romania
  Romania joined the Axis in July 1940.  It eventually participated in the Axis war against the USSR which started in June 1941, to which it contributed 800,000 troops.

• Slovakia / Hungary
  The Slovak Republic was a German client state created in 1939 when Czechoslovakia was dismantled.  It participated in the German invasion of Poland and later contributed 20,000 men to the Axis war against USSR… Hungary signed the Tripartite Pact on in November 1940, and joined in the invasion of the Soviet Union the next year, contributing 500,000 troops to the Axis war on the Eastern Front.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 10A:
JAPAN BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

HOMELAND TERRITORY OF JAPAN

• Japan

TERRITORIES UNDER JAPANESE JURISDICTION

• Caroline Islands
• Iwo Jima
• Formosa
• Korea
• Marianas
• Marshall Islands
• Okinawa
• Paulau Island

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY JAPAN

• Hainan

WARTIME ALLIES OF JAPAN

• Siam (Thailand)

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 10B:
JAPAN BLOCK: Selective Notes

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY JAPAN

Disputable map situation:

• Hainan
  Hainan was actually a Chinese island when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937.  It was invaded and occupied by Japan in February 1939.

WARTIME ALLIES OF JAPAN

Disputable map situation:

• Siam (Thailand)
  Thailand (called Siam on the G40/2 map) was an independent nation with an army of about 60,000 relatively well-equipped men.  In WWII, it was essentially a co-belligerent of Japan.  Thailand launched the Franco-Thai War in October 1940, from which it eventually gained a few provinces of French Indo-China under a Japanese-mediated settlement.  The Thai government allowed Japan to transit through Thailand when the Japanese moved against Burma in early December 1941; Thailand signed a formal military alliance with Japan later that month.  Thailand technically declared war on the US and the UK in January 1942.  Thailand was allowed by Japan to annex parts of the Shan States in Burma and parts of northern Malaya. The Japanese roundel on the G40/2 map is premature for the June 1940 starting date of the game, but arguably valid for a Japanese co-belligerent from October 1940 onward.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 11A:
ITALY BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

HOMELAND TERRITORIES OF ITALY

• Northern Italy
• Sardinia
• Sicily
• Southern Italy

TERRITORIES UNDER ITALIAN JURISDICTION

[Libya]

• Libya

• Tobruk

• Italian Somaliland

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY ITALY

• Albania
• Ethiopia

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 11B:
ITALY BLOCK: Selective Notes

TERRITORIES UNDER ITALIAN JURISDICTION

• Italian Somaliland
  Britain invaded Italian Somaliland in early 1941, conquered most of it by May, and completed its conquest in November of that year.

TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY ITALY

• Albania
  Albania was invaded and annexed by Italy in April 1939.

• Ethiopia
  Ethiopia (also known as Abyssinia) was invaded by Italy in October 1935 and annexed in May 1936. Britain invaded Italian-ruled Ethiopia in early 1941 and completed its liberation in May of that year.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 12A:
“PRO-ALLIED NEUTRAL” BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

[Greece]

• Greece
• Crete

[Persia (Iran)]

• Eastern Persia

• Northwest Persia

• Persia

• Brazil

• Eire

• Yugoslavia

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 12B:
“PRO-ALLIED NEUTRAL” BLOCK: Selective Notes

[Greece]

• Greece
• Crete
  Greece was invaded by Italy in October 1940 but its armed forces succeeded in pushing the Italians back into Albania.  In support of its Italian allies, Germany invaded and occupied mainland Greece in April 1941, despite the intervention of British Commonwealth troops in support of Greece.  Crete was invaded by Germany in April 1941 and occupied.

[Persia (Iran)]

• Eastern Persia

• Northwest Persia

• Persia
  Iran was technically neutral at the beginning of the Second World War, but its oil facilities were British-owned and its ruler, Reza Shah Pahlavi, repeatedly refused British demands to expel German nationals from the country.  British and Soviet troops invaded Iran in August 1941 and forced Reza Shah Pahlavi to abdicate in favour of son.  Soon thereafter, Iran entered the war on the side of the Allies.  Its port of Bandar Abbas and a specially constructed railway provided a blue-water supply route to the Soviet Union, known as the Persian Corridor.

• Brazil
  Brazil declared war against Germany and Italy in August 1942.

• Eire
  Eire was the only Commonwealth Dominion to remain neutral in WWII; however, it allowed its citizens to work in Britain and to enlist in the British armed forces.

• Yugoslavia
  Yugoslavia was invaded by Germany in April 1941.  Parts of the country were occupied directly by Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary, while other parts were transformed into puppet or client states of Germany (in the case of Serbia) or of Italy (in the case of Montenegro) or of both (in the case of Croatia).

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 13A:
“PRO-AXIS NEUTRAL” BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

• Bulgaria

• Finland

• Iraq

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 13B:
“PRO-AXIS NEUTRAL” BLOCK: Selective Notes

• Bulgaria
  Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact in March 1941.  It participated in the German invasion of the Balkans (its main contribution being transit rights for German units moving into Yugoslavia and Greece), annexing various territories from those two countries.  It did not declare war on the USSR, but its navy was involved in a number of skirmishes with the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

• Finland
  Finland was a co-belligerent with Germany against the USSR in what was known as the Continuation War (in reference to the Winter War of 1939-1940), reappropriating Vyborg in the process.

• Iraq
  Iraq, a former British protectorate which gained complete independence in 1932, was important to Britain as a source of oil and because of its strategic position near India.  The British tried to maintain sympathetic governments in Iraq and had a military presence there in the form of an air base.  As the result of pro-German coup under Rashid Ali in April 1941, and with the subsequent arrival of German forces, Iraq briefly had the status of a co-belligerent with Germany and Italy against the Allies.  Indian troops invaded the country in late April, and by the end of May the Rashid Ali government had capitulated.  The British forced Iraq to declare war on the Axis the following year.

[CWO Marc]

SECTION 14A:
“STRICT NEUTRAL” BLOCK: G40/2 Map Inventory

[Mongolia]

• Buyant-Uhaa
• Central Mongolia
• Dzavhan
• Olgiy
• Tsagaan-Olom
• Ulaanbaatar

[Portugal]
[Homeland Territory of Portugal]

• Portugal
  [Territories Under Portuguese Jurisdiction]
• Angola
• Portuguese Guinea
• Mozambique

[Spain]
[Homeland Territory of Spain]

• Spain
  [Territories Under Spanish Jurisdiction]

• Rio de Oro

• Afghanistan

• Argentina

• Bolivia

• Chile

• Colombia

• Ecuador

• Liberia

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Saudi Arabia

• Sierra Leone

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Turkey

• Uruguay

• Venezuela