Interesting format, but now you are entitled to finishing the war before 56 (the game ends earlier though, so should not be a problem) and also winning (although, they could be doing that interview from an exile in the US)!
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Shame about those paras in Libya, but overall the North Africa campaign was a great success. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the campaign against Italy goes. On the mainland, the Germans can get to you. Perhaps, if you play your cards right, you can bag a bunch of German divisions here and there. I remember Myth's old AAR about Italy using its sea power to great advantage. I wonder if you can use that same strategy (multiple seaborne landings to create pockets, pulling out if the pressure gets too high) to cull the Nazi war machine.
Excellent work in Africa. Sicily should be a cakewalk at this point, but as I said before, be sure to land at Messina when you're hitting the other locations. Keeping a fleet east of Sicily will also keep reinforcements from coming across from Calabria. If you're lucky, you may bag some Italian naval assets there as well. With all of those lovely ports in Italy, you can stage multiple landings there once you're ready to go.
Albania remains independent, you are correct!
Thanks for the kind words!
The game ends in 1948, so I'm safe, I think.
I remember reading that AAR a long time ago. It was a good one, to be sure!
I'll do my best.
That's the plan, to use all eight divisions at once (or as close to it as possible).
I've been busy this week, so I'm not sure when I'll get around to updating (or even playing), but I hope it will be soon.
So, I played for a couple of hours today, but I don't have enough material for a proper update and I've got a feeling that it's going to be a major slog to get through 1944. Those [expletive] Soviets still won't attack Germany. I'll try to find some more time to play this weekend or early next week.
Actually, when thinking on it, if you have fun playing and posting the updates for the AAR, couldn't you extend the end date in case you do not manage to win at the end of the vanilla game?
Great job Avindain...keep rolling no matter what. I wonder if you're the number one threat around the world? and the others ARE plotting.
It is much more honorable to march on Berlin and Moscow without them attacking one another. Think of the glory! A new British dominated Eurasia, stretching from Paris to Tokyo!
In all honesty, I'm almost certain I can't win, no matter how many years you give me. It's the reality of my manpower and IC versus that of the Axis + Soviets. Yeah, the USA would theoretically help balance that out, but they've so far done little except send me some expeditionary forces.
Great job Avindain...keep rolling no matter what. I wonder if you're the number one threat around the world? and the others ARE plotting.
I decided to check -- in general, Germany, me, and the Soviets are the biggest threats to the unaligned countries. In South America, it's pretty evenly divided between Germany and the Soviets, with Brazil hating my guts. Australia still fears Japan, New Zealand fears Germany. North America is all Germany except the USA (Soviet Union), and Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, who are terrified of France. Guatemala considers me the biggest threat. Asia is pretty evenly divided between me, Japan, and the Soviets, with a dash of Germany for fun. Spain, Portugal, and the Axis countries all consider me the biggest threat in Europe. Most of the rest them fear Germany, except those who directly border on the Soviets.
I'd prefer not to do that, but if by 1945 they're still not doing anything, I might.
You are a very optimistic fellow.
Can somebody help me clarify stacking again? Example: I have some infantry divisions in Italy which are 3 x INF/1 x ART/1 x AT. That gives me a frontage of 3. Does that mean I could attack with three or four divisions with no penalty from a single province? I've been sticking to three, but if it's four... that could change things quite a bit.
You should be able to attack with 4. 3 of your divisions gives you a frontage of 9. That is below 10 which means you can use one more division without penalty iirc.
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I had a mouthful of hot coffee when I read that...I'll have to be more cautious in the future.
loved it.
Well, they are giving me IC and some free divisions, so they're not totally useless. They also randomly send transport planes around the map for reasons I can't fathom. At least they aren't hogging my airbases like Japan.
I'm used to playing Darkest Hour, so forgive me for my ignorance, but does HOI3 have a diplomatic option to assume control another nations military?
Miserable Misurata. Those Paras must have got off an SOS.
You might be right!
They do not; that would almost be too easy, though.
EDIT: I'm not sure when I'll actually update, but I do at least have enough material for an update now.
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Chapter 15: Moving up the boot
The following is excerpted from the after-action report of Major General Wallace Graham entitled "the first phase of operations in Italy," dated 22 May 1944. The information in this report was classified for over 50 years, as will become apparent soon.
With North Africa secured, as well as Corsica and Sardinia, the next stage in our operations had to be the conquest of Sicily. Sicily was to be the springboard to moving up the Italian peninsula. The initial phase, which included seven Marine divisions, was the three-pronged capture of Messina, Reggio di Calabria, and Syracuse.
Strategically, these three ports provided two benefits: ensuring a steady stream of supplies and forcing the Straits of Messina to remain open. None of these ports were defended, which made them very easy to secure. That perhaps lulled us into a false sense of security about how easy the campaign would prove to be. For the moment, with the ports secured, six of the seven Marine divisions continued on to their secondary objectives. A series of hills up to peninsula made it wise to move with only infantry, or armor if there was no opposition. In Sicily itself, five divisions marched west while one remained to guard Messina in case of Italian attempts to retake it and close the straits.
Our armored divisions landed on 10 November; intelligence from Marine recon patrols suggested that wherever Italy expected an attack on their home soil, it was not so far south. The culmination of operations on Sicily itself came with the landing of the new Fourth Infantry Corps and a single Marine division at Trapani, which was completely undefended.
Italy attempted to rush troops to Trapani to prevent the British landing, but were quickly dispersed. Over the next thirteen days, British forces completely surrounded and annihilated the Italian forces on Sicily. By 23 November, everybody possible took the train to Syracuse.
The same day, Field Marshal Sir John Gort arrived in Plymouth after returning from his advisory mission in Tokyo. I received a telephone call the next day that he was sailing to Malta to take over command of the operation; I would remain as Chief of Staff. Around this time, the First Paratrooper Corps was formed in Birmingham; although they lacked enough airlift to carry the entire corps at one time, I knew they could helpful in our Italian campaign. However, I was told that the paras were earmarked for another operation. The Field Marshal arrived in Malta at 5 PM on 28 November 1943. The next day, the Field Marshal ordered an all-out advance up the Peninsula.
As Chief of Staff, my function became coordination. It was my job to ensure that the RAF, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines all did their part. Sometimes that was an easy job; seizing Taranto was one of those jobs. It was completely undefended, as most of the Italian provinces had been to that point. The Field Marshal considered this a sign that the enemy feared us and would never engage. I did not concur, and advised caution as we moved up the Peninsula. I did, however, not think that many soldiers would arrive to stop us. After all, dozens of divisions were pinned down east of Suez. I acted more as a devil's advocate than out of real conviction that Italy would do much to stop us until we were near Rome. A second landing at Bari was equally unopposed, but in early December, our men reported Hungarian bombers and a few Italian garrisons at Tricarico and Salerno.
6 December marked the first appearance of German paratroopers, seconded to the Italian. Our timetable to take Naples was considerably rushed to try to take that key port (as well as Salerno) before the Germans or Italians could dig in. We also saw German fighters in the vicinity of Taranto around the same time.
In some press accounts of our campaign in Italy, Field Marshal Gort's opinion has suffered, somewhat. Many people thought him him old even when the war began, and obviously, that state has not improved. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend his removal as Commander of our efforts in Italy, as most of the situation we are in is my fault, if anyone's. It might be wise to find a new Chief of the Imperial General Staff while he is in the field, but that is not my job. The Foreign Office and Prime Minister Lord Halifax notified us on 12 December 1943 that they had sent an ultimatum to Mussolini, demanding he surrender or else we would sack Rome. For the record, neither the Field Marshal nor I were consulted in this decision.
The next day, Hungarian formations arrived at Campobasso. They did not engage, merely observed our positions, then reported back to their superiors. By 16 December, many more enemy units appeared, many of them German units seconded to Hungary, including some SS brigades. Our first major battle, at Benevento, began that evening. By Christmas Eve, our advance had all but stalled; there was heavy resistance now, mostly from Italian and Hungarian units.
Christmas Day, however, brought very welcome news; approximately 25,000 enemy troops surrendered rather than continue on, our biggest success in Italy since clearing Sicily of enemy opposition. We were to receive a single Paratrooper Division; unfortunately, the plane carrying it was shot down somewhere over France. We suffered a setback at Cerignola on 28 December 1943, and later that same day engaged in two huge battles. We lost some, won some, but by 11 January 1944, any offensive momentum had completely stalled. The conference that evening is one of the most difficult times I have ever had as an officer.
The Germans (and the units we faced at this point were almost entirely German) were dug in. They had panzers and all the support they wanted. German, Italian, and Hungarian bombers rained hell on our men; the RAF, for the first time in the war, was getting stretched. We could also dig in, as we had on the Canal, and wait for an opportunity elsewhere. We could withdraw to Sicily and use our forces elsewhere. Or, we could counterattack. Most officers were divided being digging in or counterattacking. The Navy was ready to extract us if necessary, but nobody seriously wanted to pull out our men. I was for digging in. The Field Marshal wasn't. Over the course of two or three hours, we looked at every possible angle, and agreed on a compromise: we would try one, last, all-out offensive, try to break through the German lines, and if that failed, we would wait for reinforcements. The Field Marshal ordered the raising of four new divisions of armor of our own, but these units would focus on firepower, not speed. Light tanks were all well and good in North Africa, but if we were engaging Germany medium or heavy tanks, we needed at least medium tanks of our own.
The offensive involved over 80,000 British troops, our largest ever single attack in Europe. Only the invasion of the Home Islands compared in scope. The centers of gravity were Caserta and Campobasso. The enemy attacked us at Foggia, but orders went out to stand firm; if we could break the enemy's line, we might be able to surround the enemy there and annihilate them. We sent an armored division to the east to take Manfredo, with the expectation of reinforcing the position. What actually happened was that our attack was repulsed, with heavy casualties (approximately 10,000 during the offensive as a whole, counting the various victories and defeats) and we lost that armored division. The Fourth Infantry Corps headquarters completely shattered.
As our offensives ran out of steam, the Germans got a counterattack of their own, taking Foggia and threatening to envelop our own lines. Three infantry divisions raced to cover the Potenza gap. If Germany exploited their attack, we might have lost the entire expeditionary force. Fortunately, that didn't happen. I think the sheer numbers of German, Italian, and Hungarian troops created supply difficulties, or perhaps they did not know how weak we were. In any case, they did not attack. As soon as we had some time to rest, we counterattacked, drove the enemy out of Cerignola, and proceeded to dig in. That was our weak point; if the enemy wanted to attack Naples or Benevento, they needed to cross the river. They did not need to do so to attack Cerignola
Although we struggled to regain Cerignola, we did. Our own logistical difficulties caused some problems, but we found some submarines and sunk them, which improved the situation considerably. At this point, with the situation stable, if not ideal, I was recalled to London in April. I was named Chief of the Planning Section of the Imperial General Staff. I did not receive a promotion, nor did I deserve one, as we failed in our objectives. However, a few of Gort's sycophants complained to the Prime Minister that I was "undermining morale" by advocating a more defensive approach in Italy. The Field Marshal himself exonerated me, but it still temporarily stalled my career.
Once I arrived in London, I met with Admiral Halsey and General Britton of the American Expeditionary Force. Halsey was the overall commander; I enjoyed chatting with him. He was very much a straight ahead sort of fellow, and we got along very well. He promised to help us out in Italy, and indeed, an American paratrooper division arrived in Naples. However, when I asked why he was in the UK, he refused to answer me. Then again, I had my own secrets I couldn't share, such as a recent construction just completed in Edinburgh.
Dr. Eliot James, head of the project, briefed me not long after I arrived. I was one of the most senior officers in the British Army not out in the field. I welcomed the news, on the one hand, but on the other hand I knew I would never leave the United Kingdom again before the end of the war. We had a brief scare shortly after my arrival, where two German divisions slipped through our patrols and landed at Bristol. It was here that our paras saw their first action; three divisions of paras and an infantry division combined to easily defeat and drive out the German invasion.
I only discovered what Halsey intended earlier this morning. The United States was finally going to enter the war in Europe in style. There are plenty of reinforcements in Manchester; I think if we support this attack, we might force to Axis to divert more divisions to France.
My recommendations are as follows:
1) Remain on the defensive in Italy, either until we get heavier armor to break up German lines or until they divert forces elsewhere. Do the same at the Suez Canal.
2) Send two paratrooper divisions and the American marine divisions lent to us, which have just returned from Hong Kong, along with the Gurkhas to France. Our objective should be to completely cut off reinforcements and, if possible, help the Americans break the stalemate, Once the Americans have landed in force, British forces will be withdrawn, for possible use in Norway or other theaters.
3) Remain in touch with Japan; their victories in Korea have helped keep the Soviet Union off balance. I do not think Japan will be of much use in Europe, but if they keep fighting, the Soviets will be unable to intervene in European affairs without declaring war on Germany. It may be prudent to offer them Lend-Lease to help rebuild their army and navy.
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I am certain you are all aflutter about the possibility of a British nuke. At the moment, I have level 2 Civilian Nuclear Research and the reactor; I need level 4 in that tech to build nukes, which I probably won't attain until 1945 (maybe even early 1946). Speaking of building, here you can see a brief slice of my build queue, featuring an air base for Gibraltar:
An air base for Gibraltar will allow me to land paratroopers there for use in the Mediterranean. It will also keep me from getting transports shot down as they fly over France to get to Malta. The other thing you can see is that I'm building up the navy again. I've got two brand new carriers, five cruisers, and five destroyers in the pipeline. I've also got the armored divisions, my usual complement of escorts/convoys, and of course the reactor (which will need to keep improving). I'm starting to think I might mass-produce fighters soon, as for the first time in Italy, I don't have enough in the RAF to fight the Axis as effectively as I'd like. It doesn't help that stupid Japan keeps using all of my Mediterranean airbases, yet never uses their planes for anything helpful.
Apart from supporting the US in France (and note that the giant stack of divisions you see in Manchester is NOT part of the invasion force yet), the rest of 1944 will probably be fairly quiet. Unless the Soviets declare war on Germany, which doesn't seem likely at this point. I'm tying up huge numbers of Axis divisions, my losses so far have been light, I'm still sinking Soviet, German, and Italian ships like there's no tomorrow, and I've got the operational flexibility you need as the UK. I can, if absolutely necessary, slowly pull forces out of Italy, but I'm hoping the Axis does me a solid and devotes tons of troops to fighting off the US. We shall see!
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