Suggested Players
1. Axis (Germany)
2. Communists (USSR/Communist China)
3. Allies (USA/France/Nationalist China/CW)
(4. CW separate from the other Allies)
(5. Japan/Italy separate from Germany)
(6. France separate from the USA/Nationalist China)
(7. Italy separate from Japan)
(8. Communist China separate from the USSR)
(9. Nationalist China separate from the USA)

3 players are the reasonable minimum, but 5 to 7 are vastly preferred so that CW and Japanese/Italian actions take on greater independence. As many as 9 are theoretically feasible if you have 2 newbies willing to watch while playing part of China. Of course, this is WiF, any number of players should be fun -- including solitaire!

War Situation

The following political circumstances are true. Only the declarations of war specified below may be made on the first set of impulses of the game.

Firstly, this is a genuinely 3-sided game, with the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan) moving together, the Allies (France, Nationalist China, CW and USA), and the Communists (USSR and Communist China) each having their own impulse, and able to declare war on each other. MPs of those three sides may never be at war with another MP on the same side. (Note: this requires a new approach to the initiative and the impulse track, which you should read over.)

Initiative: the Axis have initiative and have chosen to move first; the Allies move second, and the Communists third.

Weather: the first weather roll is a "10", Fine weather worldwide.

Production: use multiples as shown on chart (modifiers apply, preferably the WiFSD production modifiers). Multiples for 1945 also apply for every year thereafter (ie, no improvement for anyone past the 1945 level).

Lastly, here are some new minor country units for this scenario

Major Powers, in order of set up

Communist China

• is at war with Japan
• is at war with Nationalist China and may freely attack Nationalist units
• may not declare war on anyone else
• may cooperate with Soviet units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for Communist Chinese setup
• read here for Communist Chinese pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Communist Chinese player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new Communist Chinese units for this scenario
• has 10 fuel points available

Nationalist China

• is at war with Japan
• is at war with Communists China and may freely attack Communist units
• may not declare war on anyone ever
• read here for Nationalist Chinese setup
• read here for Nationalist Chinese pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Nationalist Chinese player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new Nationalist Chinese units for this scenario
• has 4 fuel points available

The United States

• is neutral, but close to war everywhere; read up on US entry to see exactly what her chit status is
• has aligned the Netherlands and may base units in the Netherlands
• may declare war on the Axis as per usual WIF rules
• may declare war on Communist China only if there are Soviet units in China
• may declare war on the USSR if there are Soviet units in any Commonwealth (or French if the USSR and France are at war) home country, or if the USSR has declared war on Nationalist China, or if two Axis major powers have been completely conquered
• may cooperate with French units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• may cooperate with CW units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for USA setup
• read here for USA pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some USA player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new USA units for this scenario
• has 24 fuel points available

Italy

• may align Portugal and Argentina
• has conquered Greece
• is neutral and may make no initial declarations of war on the first impulse
• has a neutrality pact with France signed in 1941
• may declare war on the CW or USSR or USA without restriction
• may cooperate with German units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for Italian setup
• read here for Italian pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Italian player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new Italian units for this scenario
• has 11 fuel points available

The Soviet Union

• has conquered Finland and Persia
• has a neutrality pact signed in 1941 with Japan
• may declare war on Italy, the United States, Nationalist China, or France without restriction
• may cooperate with Communist Chinese units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for Soviet setup
• read here for Soviet pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Soviet player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new USSR units for this scenario
• has 20 fuel points available

The Commonwealth

• may align Turkey
• must declare war on the USSR in her first impulse and may make no other declarations of war
• has a neutrality pact with Germany, signed in 1941, and no common border with it; while not at war with Germany, may freely move naval units from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea
• may declare war on Italy without restriction
• may cooperate with USA units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for Commonwealth setup
• read here for Commonwealth pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Commonwealth player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new Commonwealth units for this scenario
• has 22 fuel points available

France

• may align Belgium
• must declare war on Germany on first impulse and may make no other declarations of war
• has a neutrality pact signed with Italy in 1941
• may declare war on Japan or the USSR without restriction
• may cooperate with USA units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for French setup
• read here for French pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some French player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new French units for this scenario
• has 18 fuel points available

Germany

• may align Sweden, Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Spain
• must declare war on the USSR on the first impulse and may make no other declarations of war
• may declare war on the USA in any later impulse
• has a neutrality pact with the CW, signed in 1941; currently they do not have a common border. (Note that while not at war with the CW, German naval units may freely move from the North Sea to Bay of Biscay, from Cape St. Vincent to the Western Mediterannean, and from the Eastern Mediterannean to the Red Sea.)
• may cooperate with Italian units when both are at war with a common enemy MP
• read here for German setup
• read here for German pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some German player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new German units for this scenario
• has 34 fuel points available

Japan

• has declared war on the Netherlands and conquered the Netherlands East Indies
• has activated Siam
• is at war with both Nationalist and Communist China and controls much of eastern China (use 1942 start lines)
• must declare war on the Commonwealth and USA on the first impulse and may make no other declarations of war
• has a neutrality pact signed in 1941 with the USSR
• may declare war on France without restriction after the first impulse
• read here for Japanese setup
• read here for Japanese pre-war production from SO 1939 through MA 1942
• here are some Japanese player's notes about the opening situation
• here are some new Japanese units for this scenario
• has 102 fuel points available

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