With the publication of the Baltic States' forces in A Winter War, players can now include Lithuania in First to Fight.

Historical Background

The Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939 secretly divided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Among its provisions, western Poland and Lithuania were allocated to the German sphere while central and eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland were assigned to the Soviet sphere.

Germany expected Lithuania to participate in the invasion of Poland, to regain the city of Wilno (or Vilnius, its Lithuanian name) and the surrounding region. The area had a mixed Lithuanian-Polish population, with the Poles typically in the majority in the towns and the Lithuanians the majority in the countryside. The Poles regarded Wilno as a historic Polish town, while the Lithuanians regarded Vilnius as the true capital of Lithuania. The two countries clashed over Wilno in the aftermath of World War I, with. the result that Poland occupied and annexed the region.

Although Lithuania had a reason to participate in an invasion of Poland, Lithuania had no good reason to ally with Germany in any way. First, in April 1939, Germany had forced Lithuania to return the Memel area to German control. Second, Lithuania rightly mistrusted Germany's ultimate intentions concerning Lithuania. When the invasion of Poland began, Lithuania stayed neutral. This infuriated the Germans, and they transferred Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence in return for control of central Poland. (The Soviets subsequently transferred the Wilno/ViInius area from their share of Poland to Lithuania, but they also began the process that would forcibly incorporate Lithuania into the Soviet Union.)

First to Fight

Lithuania begins the game neutral. Lithuanian ground and air forces, however, are set up by the Polish player in accordance with the First to Fight Lithuanian order of battle as provided on the next page.

FIRST TO FIGHT LITHUANIAN ORDER OF BATTLE

INITIAL FORCES, SEP I 39

Initial Conditions

Capital. Place in Kaunas (37:3206).
Intrinsic AA: Kaunas (11 Point).
Air Unit Repair. 1 or less.

NEUTRALITY WATCH

Lithuanian Armed Forces

Active Army. Place in any cities, including point cities, in Lithuania. Place at least 1 RE in each reference city and 3 REs in Kaunas. Place no more than 1 unit per point city.
3x 1-6* Inf X 1,2,3
1x 2-8 Cav X 1
1x 1-5 Bdr X 1
1x 1-0-8 Lt Arm 11 1

Available Corps HQ.
2x Inf XXX HQs 1, 2

Lithuanian Air Force
Place at any airbase in Lithuania.
1x Mxd 3F2 0/8

MOBILIZATION FORCES

Turn 3

Garrison. Place in Kaunas (37:3206).
1x 0-1-5 Pol X 1
Place in any cities, including point cities, in Lithuania. Place no more than 1 unit per city.
1x 2-8 Cav X 2
1x 2-6 Art III 1
Mobilize:
3x 1-6* Inf X 1, 2, 3 to: 3x 3-4-6 Inf XX 1, 2,3

Turn 8
Place in any cities, including point cities, in Lithuania. Place no more than 1 unit per city.
1x 2-3-6 Inf XX 4
1x 1-2-6 Inf XX 5
1 pt position AA (4 MPs)

Army Expansion (Optional)

Lithuania did not use its military resources to their full extent. (For example, of the 250,000 men Lithuania could mobilize, only about half were trained reservists.) Assuming that Lithuania did make more use of its military resources, use the following forces.

Turn 8 Mobilization:

Substitute: for 1x 1-2-6 Inf XX 5: 1x 2-3-6 Inf XX 5
Add: 2x 2-3-6 Inf XX 6,7

Lithuanian Reaction:

At the start of game turn 2, the German player rolls one die for Lithuania's reaction to the invasion of Poland. On a roll of:

1- Lithuania invades Poland. The German player controls all Lithuanian forces and owns all hexes in Lithuania. These forces are treated the same as German forces, such as for rail movement, except. that they may only enter hexes in the Lithuanian operations zone. This zone consists of all hexes in Lithuania and all hexes in Poland within 3 hexes of any hex in Lithuania.

2, 3, or 4 - Lithuania stays neutral; Germany does not intervene. Lithuania is neutral for the entire game.

5 or 6 - Lithuanian stays neutral; Germany intervenes. In a fit of anger over Lithuania's neutrality, Hitler orders the Wehrmacht to invade and conquer Lithuania. For game purposes, the Polish player controls all Lithuanian forces and owns all hexes in Lithuania. These forces are treated the same as Polish forces, such as for rail movement, except: a) they may only enter hexes in Lithuania and Germany, b) they do not surrender due to evacuation or capture of the Polish government (FTF Rule 27131), and c) they may evacuate (using FTF Rule 27132) only if the Lithuanian (not Polish) government has been captured or evacuated.

If Lithuania invades Poland or is invaded by Germany, Lithuanian mobilization forces and the garrison of Lithuania appear as reinforcements, as listed on the First to Fight Lithuanian order of battle.

Supply Source:

Kaunas is a full supply source (FTF Rule 12C1) for Lithuanian units (only).

Government-

The Lithuanian government starts the game in Kaunas (37:3206). Use the Lithuanian capital marker to mark its location.

During any controlling player's initial phase, the player who controls Lithuania's forces may evacuate the government, sending it into exile. When evacuated, remove the government's capital marker from the map. Note: It does not cost the player any rail capacity to evacuate the government.

If the enemy player gains ownership of the hex containing the government, roll a die. On a roll of 1 or 2, the government escapes capture and must be evacuated in the next initial phase. On any other roll, the enemy player captures the government. Remove the capital marker. The enemy player may gain victory points for capturing the government.

If the government is captured, all Lithuanian units surrender in the next initial phase. If the government is evacuated, check for surrender in each initial phase. Any Lithuanian unit that is unsupplied immediately surrenders. All units that surrender are removed from play and counted as eliminated.

Victory Points:

If Lithuania invades Poland, the following victory point (VP) awards are used:

The Polish player receives VPs for eliminated Lithuanian forces, the same as for German forces. He also receives +10 VPs for capturing the Lithuanian government or +5 VPs if the Lithuanian government evacuates. He receives +3 VPs for every city in Lithuania that is Polish-owned at the and of the game. Note that the German player receives no VP awards per se due to Lithuania, but does gain the services of the Lithuanian forces in his invasion of Poland.

If Germany invades Lithuania, the following victory point awards are used:

The German player gains +3 VPs if the Lithuanian air unit is eliminated. He also gains +5 VPs if he owns all cities in Lithuania and the Lithuanian government is captured or evacuated. The Polish player treats Lithuanian forces the same as Polish forces when receiving VPs for evacuated forces and for having supplied REs on the map at the end of the game. He also receives +10 VPs if the Lithuanian government is neither captured nor evacuated at the end of the game.

Optional: Use the Army Expansion option on the Lithuanian order of battle.

Europa Aftermath.

The events concerning Lithuania in FTF can be connected to the situation Fire in the East/Scorched Earth. The following guidelines indicate how to modify FITEISE for Lithuania. Warning: What follows are merely guidelines, not comprehensive rules. If you find that something isn't fully worked out, here's your chance to write up a rule and send it to EXchange!

Polish Campaign Problems. First, if the German player doesn't win any level of victory in FTF, eliminate 10 REs of combat/motorized units and 40 REs of non-motorized or artillery units from the German initial forces in FITE/SE. These losses represent the disruption to the German war effort due to a protracted campaign in Poland. (For FITE/SE purposes, Germany is assumed to eventually conquer Poland and then France.)

Lithuania to the Soviets. Second, if Lithuania did not invade Poland and was not invaded by Germany, then the regular initial conditions for FITE/SE prevail. (Lithuania was allocated to the Soviet sphere, per historical circumstances. The Soviet Union occupied and then annexed the country, or, as the Nazi-Soviet Pact (as amended on 28 September 1939) put it, the Soviet Union undertook "special measures on Lithuanian territory to protect its interests.")

Lithuania Allied to Germany. Third, if Lithuania did invade Poland, then Lithuania remained in the German sphere and fell under German domination (similar to Slovakia or Croatia). Lithuania is an Axis-Allied nation (per SE Rule 32) and is at war with the Soviet Union along with Germany. Lithuanian forces may operate only in weather zones

B and C. Lithuania is fully mobilized at the start of the game; place the neutrality watch forces and the turn 3 and turn 8 mobilization forces in Lithuania, per the First to Fight Lithuanian order of battle.

Only up to 9 REs of Lithuanian forces may operate outside of Lithuania. (Count the Lithuanian air unit as 1 RE for this purpose.) Do not place the Lithuanian capital marker on the map. Instead, all Lithuanian forces surrender if the Soviet player owns Kaunas (1B:2818) in any Soviet (not German) initial phase. Kaunas is a supply source for Lithuanian units.

For the purposes of the surprise attack (Rule 31F), when the rule states "Greater Germany" it now means "Greater Germany and Lithuania." Thus, the surprise attack can be launched from Lithuania, and German air units may deploy there.

With Lithuania in the German sphere, more of Poland would have remained in the Soviet sphere. All hexes east of the line of rivers running from 1B:3427/3528 to 3629/3630 to 3731/3732 to 4630/4631 to 4829/4830 are part of the Soviet Union, not Greater Germany. (Territory on or north of the 11B:4300 hexrow is part of the Western MD, and the rest is part of the Kiev MD.)

Adjust the initial deployments as follows:

• German: Army Group North deploys along the Lithuanian-Soviet border from 1B:2024 to 2613. Army Group Center deploys along the Lithuanian/German- Soviet border from 1B:2714 to 3631. Army Group South deploys along the German-Soviet border from 1B:3732 to 3B:0231. (Adjust individual group and army boundaries within the army groups as makes sense.)
• Soviet. The Baltic MD deploys along the Lithuanian- Soviet border from 1B:1924 to 2612. Transfer any two 3- 6 Rifle XX from this MD to the Western MD. (They represent the divisions the Soviets would have formed from Lithuanian troops but instead are assumed to have formed from Poles.) Transfer the 41st Rifle Corps from the strategic reserve forces and deploy it with the Baltic MD forces. The Western MD deploys along the Lithuanian/German-Soviet border from 1B:2713 to 4330. The Kiev MD deploys along the German-Soviet border from 1B:4430 to 3B:1320. (Adjust individual army boundaries within the MDs as makes sense.)

Lithuania activates its garrison and receives seven emergency infantry replacements (4 if Kaunas is Soviet owned) in any German initial phase in which there are any Soviet units in Lithuania.

Germany still receives all Eastern Troop reinforcements, per the FITE/SE order of battle, that appear in Lithuania. (These units represent Lithuanians volunteering to fight the Soviets.) These units are part of the German forces, not the Lithuanian Army, and are bound by all regular rules for the Eastern Troops. For example, they do not count towards the 9 RE limit of Lithuanian forces allowed outside Lithuania.

Germany Invaded Lithuania. Fourth, if Germany invaded Lithuanian in FTF, it is assumed that Germany conquered the country and annexed it as part of Greater Germany. For all FITE/SE game purposes, treat Lithuania as part of Greater Germany. (it is not, however, part of East Prussia.)

No Lithuanian forces appear in the game; ignore the Europa Lithuanian order of battle. In addition, ignore all Eastern Troop units that appear in Lithuania. (Due to the annexation of Lithuania and the presumed severity of the German occupation there, it is assumed that no significant numbers of Lithuanians would volunteer to fight the Soviets.)

If using the optional partisan rule (Rule 40), the Soviet player may recruit anti-Axis Lithuanian partisans in Lithuania. On the II turn of each month starting with Jun II42, the Soviet player recruits one anti-Axis Lithuanian infantry brigade if there are any Soviet non-partisan units in Lithuania. The recruited unit is placed in Lithuania. Use the two nationalist Lithuanian partisan units and one nationalist dummy as the anti-Axis Lithuanian partisan force pool. The German player may not recruit any nationalist partisans (Rule 40H) in Lithuania.

With Lithuania in the German sphere, more of Poland would have remained in the Soviet sphere. As above, all hexes east of the line of rivers running from 1B:3427/3528 to 3629/3630 to 3731/3732 to 4630/4631 to 4829/4830 are part of the Soviet Union, not Greater Germany. (Territory on or north of the 1B:4300 hexrow is part of the Western MD, and the rest is part of the Kiev MD.) Adjust the initial deployments as specified in the preceding section.

Note: The last two situations give the German player a considerable boost in FITE/SE. The Germans start about 10 hexes closer to both Moskva and Leningrad, while the additional Soviet territory in Poland only gives the Germans the chance to form a bigger pocket. The Lithuanian forces available, if any, are no great prize, but can help garrison cities or hold quieter, sections of the front.

Inside Europa

Europa Q&A: BF, WitD, FtF
First to Fight Lithuania
FtF to FoF: Draft German OB