Disclaimer: This started off as a HoI2 AoD game as Italy to explain the slight italian wankage.
The POD is obviously 1.1.1936, but in general expect a much saner and competent Fascist Italy. Italy spend a lot of resources on expanding industry and infrastructure in Italy, expanding it's industrial base, while building up a relatively formidable Regia Marina, modern Battleships and light Carriers.
Turn of events in this TL roughly:
Asia:
'37-'39:
- Second Sino Japanese War, concludes with Japanese victory
- Lack of unified Front and lackluster warlord support lead to Chinese downfall, paired with stern approach on the army than the navy, as in OTL.
'39-early '42:
- Reorganization of China and expansion of war industries
- Annexation of Hainan, Shanghai. Guangzhou area and Jinan area for direct japanese exploitation and industry
- Puppet Rump China sees great investment for industrial exploitation, similar to Manchukuo and Mengkukuo
- Siam and ex-french Indochina exploited for resources, but Allied Oil embargo similar to OTL forces Japan to do something
Early '42-'44:
- Following the US-American dow on the European Axis in December '41, Japan completes a long planned Pearl Harbour-esque attack which leads to the destruction of most of the Pacific Fleet at anchor, which grants the Japanese virtually free reign in the pacific until 1944.
- Japan and it's allies attack the Philippines and Indonesia, occupying them in close order.
- UK, unable to mount any sort of defense of it's far eastern belongings due to the fully blocked Mediterranean in the early months loses about everything within a year, only Ceylon (where the first real defendants arrive) and Australia remain as bulwarks against Japanese aggression.
'44 - early '46:
- The japanese expansion spree comes to a close when the recovered american forces start to turn the tide in favor of the allies.
- The more successful, but overstretched Japanese fight a good fight, and the allies have a much harder time in this pacific war.
- The death toll of the pacific war to date is staggering, alone the defense of Australia took more than 300,000 lives on either side
- In the 4 years of war, more than a one and a half million allied soldiers die in the pacific war alone as the island hopping is proving to be even bloodier than it's OTL counterpart.
- With the US Atomic Bomb project lacking due to a much worse war on either front (the US Army, Navy and Airforce is recruiting about everything it can get it's hands on), the war is not due to end anytime soon.
Europe and Africa
'38-'40:
- Everything goes about as in OTL, but an Italy putting more focus on war industry and navy (more BBs and CVLs) is not the same sick man as in OTL (the army is smaller but more modern, though). The officer corps and overall italian leadership is much better than it's OTL counterpart.
- Poland falls as in OTL, but Fall of France goes quick due to a joint German-Italian attack from both the north and south
- Italian "Vichy-Regime"
- Franco and Salazar are "convinced" at gunpoint to join the axis
- Fall of Gibraltar in mid 1940 (after quite a fight by the Brits) does not prevent an earlier loss of Italian Libya, though (extended Navy + Front in southern Spain = smaller Italian army to defend north africa), but Army can be saved in Africa
- Balkan campaign of Italy and Germany
Early '41:
- With Gibraltar and thus quick access to Northern Africa lost for the Brits, and rather expecting a re-take of Libya by Italy, the latter invades Palestine and overwhelm the british defenses, securing the Suez Canal (or rather destroying it accidentally) before they get stopped by arriving british forces.
- either side lacking the firepower (and specifically harder units and better aircover on the italian side), this front remains a stalemate for much of the remainder of the war.
- a pro-Axis revolt in Iraq and Kuwait lead to italian puppet regimes.
Mid '41-'42:
- Operation Barbarossa commences, but fails to reach even OTLs gains due to excessive spending in the Navy (4 BBs and 1 CV) and a bigger Luftwaffe (mostly interceptors and fighters), bogging down around Kiev and Leningrad.
- In the continuation war, Finland fares much worse with a lack of proper german support and becomes a Soviet SSR.
- A german naval landing around Helsinki raises hopes to liberate Finland again, but fails in the end.
- The red army, avoiding many of the crushing defeats in the early months, mounts the first winter offensive, regaining Kiev and relieving Leningrad.
- Persia succumbs to pressure from the Soviet union and is occupied in the north (the rest being occupied later in 1943, becoming a full SSR later that year). A surprised Italian army in the mid east which had been planning for a turkish campaign as a back door route to Baku faces a highly mechanized foe it cannot defend itself against has to fall back to Palestine around the Golan heights. The puppet regime in Iraq is quickly replaced by a soviet one.
- US-American Dow on European Axis in December 1941
'43-'44:
- Northwestern Africa serves as a staging ground for British and American troops to invade Iberia to open a second front for the Axis and to relieve Gibraltar fails utterly after month long fighting, KIA numbers range in the hundred thousands for either side.
- Eastern front is a slaughter house. It is bad for the Germany who lost about 3 million already, but way worse for the Soviet who lost more than 10 million by this point, all military deaths mind you.
- The front sways back and forth a hundreds kilometers within the entire campaing year, but only now gains the Soviet Union the upper hand as the Wehrmacht appears ever more ghost like (seriously, the attrition in AoD is amazing -.-)
- As the remainders of the Red Horde appear to overrun the Germany, comes the victorious Italian Army from Iberia to fill in the gaps all around, allowing the Germans some breathing space to recover.
'44- early '46
- By early 1946, nearly every major power in the world has exhausted or is about to exhaust it's manpower pool.
- The Ostfront has a WW1-esque feel to it, but the soviets continue to apply pressure, especially in the north where Army Group North has been almost entirely shattered. The Italian army is only able to hold the current front, but lacking any forces for a freeing offensive.
- Either combatant side is already fielding elderly and youths in front service, as able manpower becomes ever more scarce.
- With Axis dead raking in the high single digit to low double digit millions, the Soviet Union is mourning nearly one and a half dozen million dead.
The, specifically in the Pacific, is not going to end soon, as the IJN is still not decisively defeated and the combined Japanese +Allies armies are huge. and with no Atomic Bomb in sight (though sooner than later), the japanese will fight for every square centimeter.
In the european theater, something is going to happen rather sooner than later, armies have already been reduced to half the size pre Barbarossa, most divisions simply disapparearing in combat.
And the map:
This game has been immensely fun so far, maybe i fight it to the end
