June and July 1938
Political Events
China remains at level 3 for these months. The MNF forces are briefly flirt with Japanese agent provocateurs and threaten to forbid local militias and units operating in the same areas as CA forces but a personal appeal by CKC and a supply of agricultural and pharmaceutical supplies proves to appealing to the warlords and they remain committed to the War of Resistance. (Uncoop rolled, bribes succeed).
Japanese Player Turn
During these months, the Shansi and Honan fronts are stripped down of powerful units and go onto the defensive. The freed up units are sent down to Kiangsu where the rice growing season makes the advance slow, luckily most enemy units now are unsupported trash with the CA husbanding its last handful of CA 4-6 and 3-5 XX’s back from the front to prevent a rapid breakthrough. At Kiangfu a breakthrough is made and the mot 9/5 Mtn X unhinges the defence of Pengpu which falls in July. The Rail ferry across the river from Nanking is taken. On the opposite bank, the advance continues towards Nanking, and in the last attack of July, a one hex attack with lots of air and naval gun support just fails to take the capital. Around Hangchow, the Japanese army swarms around MSF units supported by an arty unit from Foochow. In the last attack of July, IJA units launch a one hex attack on Nanking, but fail to break into the city and are repulsed (AS).
Chinese Player Turn
Throughout his period, ground is grudgingly given up in Kiangsu. RPs are transfered to Anhwei and Hupei and the KMT Govt is transferred down the river to Hankow. Only 9 supported divisions remain in Central China, scattered about the warfronts with a few lonely looking arty regts placed in key hexes. The only consolation to the sorry state of the CA is the number of cadred and remnant IJA units. Defence works are constructed behind the Hangpu river and the river near Wuhu (The No Name river line!) Basically Wuhu, Tangfua and Hofei are given up by the Chinese, any defence of these is doomed to cost units needed for the defence line. A KMT Guerilla base is set up in the Tienmu Shan. Elsewhere in China a few half hearted guerilla attacks occur in the north on rail lines, but generally the chinese are on the defensive – any movement out of their current positions would result in certain destruction.
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