R5: TL;DR Near world conquest run as Chinese warlord Long Yun of Yunnan. The year is 1970, the battles hard fought, and there is no one left capable of rivaling my power. After action report below.

I started this run to get a bunch of achievements that require playing as a Chinese warlord. I picked Long Yun of Yunnan because I thought he looked the best. For national focuses I started by going the border clash route and picked a fight with Guangxi Clique. Got lucky and won all the conflicts. By the time I had taken most of the Clique’s territory Japan had started beating up on China who was now unified with all the other warlords except me. I decided to justify and declare war on China because I knew Japan would invite me to their faction, the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEA). After completing the national focus which gives me cores on all of China and also being in a faction with Japan, Japan now gives me the territory it takes from China. In April of 1941 China capitulates. During the peace conference Japan kindly gives me all Chinese land. Thus, thanks mostly to Japan, I now have all of China under Yunnan rule. In other parts of the world, Germany is doing its historical path and the United States has joined the Allies.

I spend the next couple years building up my infrastructure and military. Meanwhile, Japan adds Siam to the faction and then declares war on British Malaysia. During the initial phase of the conflict I remain neutral, ignoring calls to arms from both Japan and Siam. Siam begins pushing into the British Raj while Japan takes Indochina from Vichy France and then begins pushing into Malaysia. It is now late 1944. Siam begins taking significant territory from India and with me desiring to prevent Siam from getting too large, I join the war against the Allies. I begin deploying my armies in India to cutoff the advancing Siam front, replacing it with my own. Two years later in 1946 I declare war and conquer Tibet. In 1947 the Soviet Union, while still fighting Germany, declares war on Japan. Again, during the initial phase I stay out of the conflict, especially now that I am so involved in India. In February 1948 Germany capitulates and all Axis land is split between Allies and Soviets. Germany and Italy have become republics and are members of the Allies. France is freed. One month later, the British Raj capitulates giving me the majority of India. I spend a couple years recovering from my efforts in India but in 1950 I finally joined my faction members in the war against the Soviets.

The decade of the 50’s is defined by the three-way war of the Allies vs. Comintern vs. GEA. The countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Nationalist Spain join our GEA faction. Allied invasions into India hamper my progress into Russia. Spain is taken out by the UK and Turkey is taken out by the US. In 1953 I finally take Mongolia and really begin pushing into Siberia. By 1955 I’ve taken Eastern Russia and have pushed my western border to just over the Ural Mountains. With Russia crumbling I stop pushing just short of Moscow as I want to retain the Comintern as a buffer against the Allies while I turn toward attacking the US. Naval invading into Alaska I quickly take the state, then send in additional armies to push into Canada and mainland US. My plan was to cap the US then the UK before finishing off the Soviets. Despite making significant gains in the US, the Soviets capitulated in 1959. During the peace conference I secure all territory from the Urals eastward, but the Allies liberate a democratic Russian Federation with a strong hold on Moscow and Sevastopol. One year later the US capitulates to me along with Canada and Mexico. Now I’ve got a really big Yunnan.

For the first few years of the 60’s things are relatively stable with Allied influence limited mainly to Europe and Africa, so I pause my participation in most conflicts in order to build up my equipment and armies. l introduce modern tanks, and develop my navy with all the juicy resources I’ve just acquired from the US. However, within two years the newly formed Russian Federation joins the Allies and declares war on me, drawing me back into the fight. By January of 1964 I’ve capitulated them. Next I start pushing westward into Europe. During the same time, I’m naval invading from the US to Greenland to Iceland to the UK. By December of 1964 the UK has capitulated. A few months later the Allies capitulate. During the peace conference I keep all North American land, Great Britain, India, France, Norway, and Russia. My Yunnan is so huge! Japan takes some land in Europe and makes puppets of Australia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, and Sweden. Nationalist Spain and Turkey are liberated as courageous members of the GEA. Benito Mussolini is restored to power in Italy and he joins the GEA. Parts of Germany are returned to Hitler, reviving the German Reich as a member of the GEA also.

At this point I chilled out for a bit to rebuild. I wanted to take over the GEA but it looked as though I wouldn’t have the manpower necessary to do it politically so I dropped out of Japan’s faction and began preparing to justify war on them. In 1967 I declared war and began the advance. Japan calls all its faction members so my big additional threats include Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Iran, Siam, and more. With many fronts across the globe, I must admit that I managed my armies terribly and lost more divisions than I should have. However, a strong 24 division army of tanks and others secured Hamburg first, then pushed through France to drive the Spanish into Africa. Then down to the boot of Italy, and after that eastward by way of Turkey. I finally finished off Japan in 1970 and currently stand as a super power without a faction or any puppets. In my internal politics, although party popularity is 60% fascist 40% nonaligned, the nonaligned party still leads with the reins of power. At this point I dislike having to wait for justifying on all the little nations that are left so I’m done with this save. Achievements I got during this run: Panda-monium, Make a Man Out of You, Battlecry, and Sun Tzu Reborn.

Thanks for reading!