Epilogue
Author's note: I'm only covering historical events up to around 1970 or so, simply because I don't think I could easily project the events of this timeline that far forward. I'm going to try to hit the major countries in greater detail. I'll be happy to answer questions if/when you have them. First, I'll look at our main characters and how they lived their lives after the war. Then, we'll do an overview of world history from about 1946 to about 1970. Finally, I'll include some more screenshots and analyze how I fought the war and what I would do differently if I were to play through this AAR again (which I won't).
Part I: Biographies
Dame Alice Harris nee Digby, PhD (1918-1995) -- After the close of World War II, Alice Harris became a symbol of inspiration to women everywhere. In a public starved for memoirs, she was one of the first combatants (and given her harrowing nights in Singapore and Hong Kong, she qualified as a combatant, however briefly) to publish them, which made her an international sensation. She enrolled in Oxford University shortly after World War II, becoming one of the first women to attain her doctorate in history. For many Britons, Lady Alice was the public face of World War II, and she had multiple talk shows and presentations over the course of her life. She actively shunned politics, considering it a "dirty business", and refused to run for any sort of electoral office. In 1956, she was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II to write the official history of Britain's participation in World War II, a project which took her ten years and fifteen volumes to complete. Her novelization of her World War II experiences earned her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984, after which she was knighted by the Queen. She died surrounded by family and friends of breast cancer in 1995.
Eliot James, PhD (1885-1950) -- The Director of the Edinburgh Project was a controversial figure throughout the rest of his short life after World War II. He had accomplished one of the greatest scientific achievements of mankind, yet he profoundly regretted it, and he knew he could never replicate his experiences again. James was under the equivalent of house arrest from about 1940 until his death and rarely left his bedroom. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics multiple times, but never came close to winning while he was still alive; eventually, he won the award posthumously in 1952. His brief political career as an MP from Oxford ended abruptly when the project began. The exact circumstances surrounding his death in 1950 remain a mystery to this day, with suicide being the most popular explanation. His son, David, has never spoken on the subject.
Sir David James (1906-1984) -- His incomparable work in espionage helped Sir David raise through the ranks quite rapidly. He never returned to the Foreign Office after World War II, although Winston Churchill did his best to recruit Sir David to his cabinet after the war. As the head of MI6 from 1956 until his death, he devoted his agency's efforts to nuclear non-proliferation, the most significant security risk to the British Empire. In those terms, his tenure must be judged as successful, as the British Empire is still the world's sole nuclear power. While Sir David fathered more than his share of illegitimate children, he never married and never acknowledged his bastards. As a result, after his death in 1984 (officially of a heart attack, although an autopsy was never performed; sexually transmitted diseases are the popular cause of death), extremely contentious hearings were held to determine the disposition of his not-inconsiderable fortune. As of 2016, his wealth remains in probate.
Colonel Lawrence Quentin (1899-1974) -- As outspoken in peace as he was in war, Quentin retired from the Royal Marines at the conclusion of World War II. Repeatedly refusing promotions to be a general officer, Quentin moved to the United States in early 1947 to escape the notoriety his actions had earned. As an instructor at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Quentin trained a generation of new officers in the art of amphibious warfare. After the Leningrad Incident of 1955, Quentin renounced his British citizenship and became an American citizen in 1956. After ten years at the Naval War College, he resigned his post and ran for Congress, winning a seat in 1960 as a Republican from Rhode Island. After his 1961 appearance on Alice Harris' BBC program, several leading members of Parliament attempted to get him to return home, but to no avail. His 1961 television appearance was the last time he returned to the British Empire before his death. His political career in the United States, however, was extremely successful, as a result of his quick wit and plain manner of speaking. His most notable success was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1968, where the United States formally renounced any plans to build atomic weapons of any kind and refused to permit any such weapons within its sphere of influence. After two terms in the House of Representatives, Quentin became a Senator in 1970 and served on multiple committees. He was a candidate to become Secretary of Defense in the election of 1972, but his health was already failing, and Quentin died of cirrhosis in 1974.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Harris (1915-2000) -- No individual had a more meteoric rise in World War II than Sir William, and few people (apart from his wife) were as universally beloved. Three of his four sons, Michael, Wallace, and Andrew, would also enter the Royal Navy. The fourth son -- David -- became a world-renowned botanist. While his wife disdained politics, Sir William enthusiastically entered the political fray. He served as First Sea Lord in the Churchill administration, including the adaptation of the first nuclear-powered naval vessels. He occupied the same role in the Graham administration, but left the Royal Navy in 1960 to pursue a political career. Running as a Conservative MP from Belfast, Sir William gradually rose through the ranks of his party. In 1964, he was appointed Governor-General of India, where he argued for the successful conversion of India to Dominion status. Sir William also served as Ambassador to Japan from 1966 to 1968, then Ambassador to the United States for much of the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1982, Sir William returned home to the United Kingdom and was named Secretary of State for the Dominions. He became Conservative party leader in 1984 and served as Prime Minister for four years. The Labour Party's victory in 1990 ended a long stretch of Conservative dominance, and Sir William retired from public life shortly thereafter. Outliving his wife by five years, he spent his twilight years traveling the globe; he was the first Prime Minister, former or active, to visit the areas of Rome affected by the first atomic blast. He died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer; in 2010, Sir William was posthumously honored with the construction of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Admiral Harris, the flagship of the Royal Navy for years to come.
Field Marshal Sir Wallace Graham, Baron of Grahamsville (1895-1975) -- Sir Wallace, as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, oversaw the modernization of the British Army under Winston Churchill until his retirement in 1950. Originally intending to live out his life in solitude, Sir Wallace was ennobled by George VI in 1951 and entitled to serve in the House of Lords. "Grahamsville" was an abandoned castle in northwest Scotland that the Crown purchased and granted to Sir Wallace and his heirs, including his oldest son Thomas and oldest daughter Victoria. As a man of integrity and honor, people inherited trusted Sir Wallace, and he served as Secretary of State for War until his final break with Churchill in 1955. After the Leningrad Incident and the fall from grace of many Conservative politicians, Sir Wallace Graham was asked to serve as Prime Minister. Sir Wallace led a coalition government, including Labour and Liberal party members as well as Conservatives and spent much of his time repairing the international damage the British Empire had received. Ultimately, he had three terms as Prime Minister (1955 to 1958, 1964 to 1966, and 1970 until his death in 1973), but rarely served for long. Sir Wallace preferred to work on concrete issues rather than broad policy programs, and each of his tenures were marked by significant achievements. In his first term as Prime Minister, he ended the longstanding Churchill Doctrine and finally began demobilizing the British army. In his second term, much of the British Empire was converted to Dominion status, beginning with India in 1964. In his last term, he attempted to outlaw the construction of nuclear weapons, but while he successfully cut the British arsenal in half, some of his successors restored British nuclear capabilities. He did repair relations with the United States, which had frayed since the end of World War II. When Sir Wallace died of heart failure in 1975, his funeral was the most well attended in history, including some 200,000 guests of all nationalities. Every Head of State attended and joined in sending off one of the most successful and controversial politicians the world had ever known.
Part II: A brief world history, 1946 to 1975
After the surrender of Fascist Italy to the British Empire in 1946, one of the first tasks of the United Nations was to settle the outstanding territorial claims in Europe and elsewhere. The UN Security Council -- the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, and Japan -- authorized the creation of the Provisional Peacekeeping Force, based in Berlin, for the purposes of securing peace and order until these disputes could be resolved. Erwin Rommel of Germany was Commander of this force, nominated by all five nations as the best person for the job. A strong, united Germany was an essential part of Allied security against the Soviet Union, who had only reluctantly signed a ceasefire in early 1947. The military movement that had unseated the Nazis eventually grew widespread support, especially when the leaders of Operation Valkyrie handed over the government to the new German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer.
Adenauer was given the honor of chairing the first official meeting of the UN Security Council. Also attending was the President of the United States, Harry S Truman; the President of the newly reconstituted France, Charles de Gaulle; Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Sir Anthony Eden, Governor-General of Japan. Each of them looked carefully over the map of Europe that existed at the end of World War II.
Europe, 1946
The Middle East and South Asia, 1946
France included all the portions of pre-war France held by Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom in 1946. Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands were restored to full independence, including the entirety of Dutch colonial possessions. Italy would forfeit all of her World War II gains and be divided into two zones of occupation: the southern half, everything from Rome south, was administered by the United Kingdom. The northern half was administered by Germany. Yugoslavia, Greece, and the other Balkan nations were all restored to their pre-WWII status. Turkey was reconstituted and, as one of the first nations to join the Allies, was rewarded by gaining some territory in the Levant that once been British.
Two major areas remained a point of contention. First, the Security Council elected to permit Saudi Arabia, alone of the Axis powers, to keep the gains they had acquired, but only at the cost of a peacekeeping force designed to ensure a smooth integration of the new parts of the country. The United Kingdom and Japan resisted this decision, fearing the impact of such a state on Persia and ultimately India, but the United States, France, and Germany all preferred a strong non-Communist Saudi Arabia to multiple Arab states that might individually or jointly become part of the Soviet Union.
The other areas in dispute were those held by Germany. Germany readily surrendered Benelux, but was less willing to do so in places like Austria and the Sudetenland, which Adenauer argued were ethnically German and crucial to the prevention of Soviet attacks from Slovakia. France demanded the independence of all countries independent prior to World War II, which the United States supported, but Britain (and Japan) joined Germany in trying to find a new arrangement. For Churchill and the British Empire, security against Soviet invasions was the most pressing concern, not creating weak countries that might be vulnerable to Communist subversion. The Czech Republic, ultimately, got independence and kept the Sudetenland, but only by agreeing to a small German military presence in key border regions. Austria was kept under German control until "such time as a proper referendum might be held on independence." Denmark, minus Zealand and the other Baltic Islands, were controlled by Germany as well, but the Kiel Canal was internationalized and the Baltic Islands became part of the United Kingdom.
The most curious situation was that of Japan. Japan was, in all but name, a Dominion of the United Kingdom, permitted self-government but with a Governor-General overseeing British interests. Japan's seat on the Security Council effectively gave the British Empire two votes, an irritating situation for other three countries, but not one that was insurmountable. As Germany was the bulwark against the Soviet Union in the west, so was Japan to be the bulwark in the east, which meant that Japan was permitted to keep much of the territory they had seized in World War II. Manchukuo and Mengkukuo were considered part of Japan proper, as were territories in eastern China. The remaining parts of China were ultimately taken by the Nationalists, although the Chinese Civil War continued into the 1950s before the final holdout, a small Communist enclave led by Mao Tse Dong, finally surrendered in 1956. The British Empire's policy was very clear on China: if Japan ever wanted full independence, they would have to surrender their possessions on the mainland to China, excluding only Korea.
East Asia and Japan, 1946
As the Europeans rapidly divided much of the Old World, the United States argued for control of the New World. After all, without American troops, the British Empire would have surely collapsed. The sticking point was Canada, which the Americans argued should be defended by the US Army, given that the British had their own Empire in the Old World to administer. The British said that Canada was vital to British national security. Adenauer suggested allowing individual Canadian provinces to elect to join the United States or not based on their own preferences, with the remaining regions staying as part of the British Commonwealth. British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and Quebec all joined the United States, along with the various Caribbean Islands held by the European powers. The other provinces stayed loyal to the British Empire.
The world, 1946
The fragile peace forged by the United Nations had one purpose in mind: to contain the Soviet Union. The USSR was not invited to join the United Nations at all until 1957. Soviet occupation of all of Poland and Slovakia was a
fait accompli, but Churchill would not accept further European incursions. Stalin, for his part, was willing to accept short term limitations in favor of an extended period of peace that would allow him to build up the Soviet Union, in particular a secret nuclear weapons program. KGB agents in the British Empire had been tasked with acquiring plans and information, but all had failed, forcing the Soviets to do their own science from the ground up. It also gave him time to focus on creating an enduring legacy in his own country, as he steadily pushed out potential opponents from power, one by one. This isolationism paid dividends, particularly since the Red Army's performance in World War II had been subpar. By the time Stalin died in 1953, he was able to ensure that his policies and programs would continue in the guise of his loyal comrade V. M. Molotov. Molotov made it clear that there would be no loosening of Communist Party doctrine as he became General Secretary; attempts for even a minor thaw in Soviet relations failed very quickly.
Winston Churchill reacted to Soviet isolationism by proclaiming the Churchill Doctrine, which had two parts. First, the development of nuclear technology by other powers was absolutely forbidden and would be met "with extreme force." Second, no countries could expand beyond their current borders. He had the world's only nuclear arsenal to back up these threats. Even when President Truman flew to London to personally appeal to Churchill to share this technology, the Prime Minister refused, leading to an icy period in Anglo-American relations. Robert Taft's election as President in 1948 triggered an American retreat into isolationism as it integrated its new territories. The disappearance of American forces from Europe made the British even more reliant on nuclear weapons. Churchill's decision to unilaterally extend the terms of British soldiers, sailors, and airmen in 1949 met with criticism from all parties, but even Sir Wallace Graham supported the Prime Minister, as he knew that permitting demobilization by the British Empire might essentially leave Europe open to Soviet attack.
Molotov rejected the implications of the Churchill Doctrine in two ways. First, he encouraged a revolution in southern Italy in 1954, the first new Communist state since the end of World War II. The People's Republic of Italy needed little encouragement from Molotov or any Soviet leader; Italy bitterly resented the British use of atomic weapons and eagerly accepted Soviet aid. The PRI was expelled from the United Nations unanimously, which only encouraged a revolution in northern Italy against German control. The two Italian states fused into one PRI. The PRI immediately mobilized its own military, insisting that "once the British Imperialists stand down, we will stand down as well." An Anglo-French-German coalition quickly invaded Italy to put down the PRI, but Molotov had foreseen this possibility and ordered attacks on Germany and the Czech Republic. Robert Taft, the President of the United States (after re-election in 1952), true to his word, refused to intervene. Churchill, desperate for a way to prevent a third World War in his lifetime, capitalized on a rare intelligence success; MI6's uncovering of the secret Soviet nuclear weapons program. Learning that Leningrad was the center for this research, Churchill ordered the complete and utter nuclear annihilation of the city, with more weapons to be launched at the Soviet Union if Molotov did not immediately withdraw his troops from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy. While the Soviets complied, the backlash was immense.
This moment in 1955, somewhat euphemistically termed the "Leningrad Incident", transformed global politics forever. Even the three atomic weapons used in Italy combined did not begin to approach the power of the nuclear barrage targeted at the second largest city in the Soviet Union. The Leningrad Incident ended Churchill's political career, and the careers of those who supported his decision, immediately. Queen Elizabeth II, who had considered knighting Churchill for his years of service to the Crown, ended that practice as well. The Soviet Union, who had been in the wrong for the conflict, saw its international reputation almost instantly restored. The first thing the new Sir Wallace Graham government did was issue a formal apology to the Soviet Union for the attack between two governments who were technically not even at war. The second was to add the Soviet Union to the Security Council, replacing Japan, and admitting the Soviets to the United Nations. Graham renounced the Churchill Doctrine and demobilized the British military, returning the United Kingdom to a full peacetime footing for the first time in almost 20 years.
The destruction of Leningrad crippled the Soviet Union's economy, but the country did not disintegrate. Instead, it drew together, with a humbled Molotov leading the way. The Soviets reached out for humanitarian aid to help the country recover, and a surprising nation answered the goal. New President Dwight David Eisenhower, who succeeded Taft in 1956, ended American isolationism to pour money and infrastructure into the Soviet Union. Eisenhower's decision to aid the Soviets created an odd relationship, since he still opposed the PRI in Italy. Eventually, the Soviets withdrew their support from the People's Republic of Italy in 1960, just after Eisenhower won his second term as President. Molotov served as General Secretary until his retirement in 1980 but never aggressively expanded Soviet power again. Instead, Molotov focused his attention on building up the Soviet economy and agitated for others to pursue the cause of revolution. Molotov could not necessarily risk open rebellion or open support again, but the British could not stop him from saying what he wished either.
Between 1958 and 1964, anti-Communist hardliners gained power in the United Kingdom. Those short-lived Soviet republics, to them, proved that Churchill had been right all along. The Marquess of Salisbury, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, served as Prime Minister during this period, and began a significant buildup in the British military. The Prime Minister authorized the construction of nuclear-powered warships and expanded the British nuclear arsenal, including the extremely controversial decision to station nuclear weapons in Canada, which nearly provoked armed conflict between the US and the British Empire. He did not reinstate the Churchill Doctrine, but continued to build an anti-Communist coalition in the Commonwealth. To help shore up British numbers, he permitted the first large-scale Indian formations with purely Indian officers, tasking them with the defense of India from communism. Some of these divisions eventually served elsewhere. However, the fundamental disconnect between Indian military freedoms and the lack of self-government became an issue. Rather than permit any type of self-government, the Marquess of Salisbury resigned, thinking that he could preserve the Empire intact. Instead, it opened the way for Sir Wallace Graham to return to the government.
The second Graham administration was focused on granting those freedoms in a controlled setting. Sir Andrew Harris, as Governor-General of India, established the first Indian Parliament. By the end of the 1980s, every former British colony had Dominion status. Sir Wallace also withdrew the nuclear missiles from Canada, patched up relations with the United States, and ended the United Kingdom's domination over Japan, who became fully independent in 1966. This last achievement, unfortunately, backfired in the short term, as China immediately declared war on Japan to regain their lost Chinese territories. Unwilling to commit British troops to preserve Japanese control in China, Graham resigned in 1966. Clement Attlee became the first Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II began immediately afterward, but served for less than a year before dying in office. His successor, Harold Wilson, also from the Labour Party, focused on domestic politics for most of his short administration. As the Sino-Japanese War raged on, however, Wilson proved just as unwilling as Graham to commit British forces or even act as a mediator, which paved the way for Graham to return to power in 1970.
Graham's final term as Prime Minister was mixed. While the United Kingdom stayed out of the Sino-Japanese War, other countries did not. The Soviet Union made a deal with Nationalist China to acquire Manchuria if the USSR helped China defeat the Japanese; to prevent an expansion of Communist power, American President Richard M. Nixon (elected in 1968) authorized serious naval expenditures and American soldiers to support the Japanese in Korea and elsewhere. American and Soviet troops engaged in large scale fighting for the first time since World War II. However, fighting never extended outside of China and Korea. It was a limited war, not a total war, almost reminiscent of the nineteenth century. The horrors of World War II and the Chinese Civil War were simply too fresh in everybody's minds. Only military targets were attacked.
The Sino-Japanese War waged from 1966 to 1971; for mediating the end of the conflict, Wallace Graham received the Nobel Peace Prize. Japan lost its mainland Chinese possessions, but not to China. Instead, an independent Manchuria was created, with its independence guaranteed by the United States, which included the former areas of Manchukuo and Mengkukuo. The other areas were returned to China. Japan continued to hold Korea and Taiwan, receiving some Pacific island chains from the United States and United Kingdom as compensation for their losses in China. Manchuria remained independent until 1975, when it voted to join China in a referendum. Graham reduced nuclear expenditures by 50%, eliminated all arsenals outside the British Isles (except Hong Kong, which retained an arsenal to enforce Japanese acceptance of the Manchurian referendum), and called for legislation to outlaw nuclear weapons (which failed to pass). Graham got along very well with Nixon and called for a second referendum for Canadian provinces to choose to join the United States if they wished, with the UK's blessing. Only Nova Scotia chose to remain part of the Commonwealth; the US Constitution was amended to permit Canadians to run for President, provided they were born in Canadian provinces after their acceptance into the United States.
By 1975, the world was a different place than it had been in 1946. The British Empire still existed on paper but was largely self-governing. The Soviet Union's attempts to expand in Europe and Asia had largely been thwarted, but it had survived the horrific destruction of their second largest city, thanks in part to the USA. The United States, now 65 strong (including the nine Canadian provinces and the Caribbean nations), was still afraid of communist expansion, but willing to work with the Soviets on nearly anything. Japan was bitter about their "betrayal" by the British Empire and the Americans, but had been allied to the British for so long that there was little enthusiasm for military action. Instead, somewhat surprisingly, communism spread in Japan as a way to resist peacefully. The Communist Party of Japan elected its first Prime Minister in 1977, who vowed to pursue every legal means to regain their lost territory, albeit unsuccessfully. Germany thrived as Europe's leading economy, even surpassing the British (excluding the Commonwealth territories). France had its own flirtations with communism, but never in a serious way; unlike the British, the French never permitted self-government in their colonies outside of Algeria. Wide scale rebellions cost France their empire by 1975; some of those countries opted for communist governments as well. Italy saw a succession of revolutions, some communist, some not, but no government lasted for long. It was a peaceful world, one where children could grow up and play together, but nationalist rivalries remained fierce. International cooperation was a rarity, except in crises. The United Nations was not a way to unite the world; it was a way to keep the world in one piece. To be fair, it did its job, but the potential was always there for a third World War. Perhaps that war, if it is ever fought, will truly be the "war to end all wars."
Part III: Gameplay analysis
In this last section, I'm going to review some of the general decisions I made, including production and technology, while also looking at the armies at the end of the game.
Overall, I think my best war was against Japan. The nature of that campaign allowed for me to make small, short term moves instead of major moves (until the Home Islands, anyway). This is the area where the UK truly excels in HOI3: they won't win you the war, but they'll win you a campaign or three. I also like how the Middle East and Africa turned out, as a whole. I was much smarter about terrain in this game than I tend to be in most PDS games. I'm finally learning, you guys!
As far as mistakes go, I didn't properly foresee the results of the coup in Turkey. A neutral Turkey might not have been DOWed by the Soviets. I never properly explored operations in the Balkans, which might have diverted troops effectively, although some of you recommended it. Although they worked out well from a storyline perspective, I think the time and energy spent on nuclear weapons were largely wasted. It was my first experience with nukes in HOI3, and I did not find them to be all that helpful. The IC I wasted could have gone to building more divisions.
Speaking of building, I did not use IC optimally at all. Without Lend-Lease, I would have been in even more trouble, but I really should have been taking advantage of my huge manpower advantage near the end of the game. I had 1482 MP at the end of the game; I could have built a lot of divisions with that. I spent a lot more time on the Royal Navy than I probably ought to have, as I rarely built bombers. Much of my expenditures on the Royal Navy ended up being for naught as German naval bombers destroyed my fleet when I wasn't paying attention. As soon as I beat Japan, I should have poured resources into the army. The weird metal bug I experienced forced me to build way more convoys than I should have and forced me to stretch my naval resources thinner than I wanted to. I should have relied on Japanese supply routes, not European routes, since there's no transportation cost in this game.
Here's my IC at the end of the game. I have no idea why I'm still building the reactor at this point.
In terms of pure VP, the UK starts out with 118, and I bumped that by 50% or so, as you can see below. The Soviets got most of the Polish VPs, maybe Slovakia (if it has any), while Germany and Italy split up France. Germany also got Benelux, the Czechs, and Austria, which helped them look better than Italy. The Allies combined have more VPs than any other faction, which I call a win! Combined, the Allies have 352 (excluding minors); the Axis has 321 and the Comintern 185. (This leaves out the Netherlands for me and Hungary for the bad guys, which more or less washes out).
Let's talk about technology (the next screenshot is really tiny, so you'll probably want to give it a click to see the bigger version)! I have no problems at all with the Infantry tab; I had no use for cavalry or militia, by the time I could have researched Jungle Warfare I'd already beaten Japan, and engineers have never seemed all that useful to me in HOI3. Mountain Warfare might have been an issue had I reached the Alps, but I never did. I arguably "lost" the war on the Armor tab. I never researched HARM, hardly upgraded AT at all, and probably spent too much time upgrading LARM. I do think ignoring rocket artillery was the right call, however.
I'm pretty happy with the Escorts tab, since I never built subs. I'm not sure why I stopped researching CL AAA or DD Armor, to be honest. Assault ships never struck me as that useful and I stayed up to date on radar techs. I focused all my energy on carriers for Capital ships; while I think that was the right call, as the war neared its end, I lacked shore bombardment weapons in a major way. A little research on BBs or BCs might have been handy, but not too much.
For airpower, I stayed up-to-date with bombing tech mostly for the purposes of NAV bombers. I had a great technical base to build TAC or CAS, I just never did. I don't see the point in building strategic bombers as the UK when TAC can reach most of the important stuff, although that one STRAT wing in the Middle East sure was handy. Looking at the fighter tab, I wonder if multi-roles might have been an effective tactic for me, since I could just pump those out in mass quantities. Then again, I largely won the air war over France and Italy once I had some time and attention to devote to it.
Industry was an easy call; I ignored Agriculture since I didn't need MP for most of the game. I forgot about Jet Engines, in hindsight, but I'm not sure it would have made a difference. I never purposely researched Heavy AAA, although I heard that it can be worth it for some countries (like Germany or maybe Italy). Secret techs aren't too exciting here, although I never finished rockets. As you can see, though, I would have in about a month, so there's that. I've never unlocked Helicopters in HOI3. I'm not sure if they're even worth it. I left out the theory tab since sane people don't waste time with the theory techs in HOI3.
I've never been great with the Land Doctrines tab. Given how many Marines I had, Integrated Support seems like a no-brainer, but I ignored it. Delay Doctrine is an equally silly mistake: I used lots of artillery and SPART, so I don't know why I forgot it. Same goes for Assault Concentration. I handled the bottom section correctly though; those are Militia techs, which I never used. I kept Naval Doctrines up to speed except the sub techs; I hardly had any CA or BC, so Cruiser Warfare didn't make much sense (although I kind of wish I'd built some). I focused on fighter doctrines and bomber doctrines that would apply to NAV or CAG. Since I consistently underestimated how effective bombing would be, you probably aren't shocked that I did a bad job with my overall bombing doctrines.
Let's get into the nitty gritty of my military composition. I never truly standardized my Infantry divisions; I didn't have time. All were 3 x INF at a minimum; most divisions had 1 x ART, and the newest ones also had AT, once I got five brigades per division. Armored divisions were all 2 x ARM, 1 x MOT, and 1 x SPART. The Armored Cars you see below come from the American expeditionary forces. My Marine divisions were 4 x MAR; the US Marine divisions had engineers in them. US divisions were really weird as a whole; one division had 1 x MOT, 1 x MECH, 1 x TD, 1 x SPART (rockets), and 1 x AC. Messes up my numbers, but there you are.
I initially didn't like my basic armored division, but I finally (after the game, I know, I know) read up on piercing works; I thought it was an average, but it's just the highest level. As a result, I should have researched HARM. No real excuse not to do it. Even one HARM brigade in each division would have helped a lot, I think. Infantry divisions could have been supplemented by a HARM brigade too. I needed more tanks overall.
My navy was in really bad shape by the end of the game, and I have no one to blame but myself. I let my navies fight off NAVs on their own without fighter cover, and I paid the price. I made an effort to build more escorts, all the while ignoring how weak my carriers were. Then again, I'd all but wiped enemy navies from the face of the earth, and the US did a good job of patrolling the seas. Still makes me feel dumb, though.
I stopped building carrier fleets, per se, late in the game. I did add carriers here and there, but tended to tack them on to existing fleets. Normally, I think 2 x CV/5 x CL/5 x DD works well, but you could also go full destroyers if you don't need shore bombardment with your fleet. If I were playing more games of HOI3, I'd experiment with CA/BC more, but I'm not, so I won't.
I really needed more bombers. I had more fighters than the US, but I didn't use them well. I partially blame Japan, who insisted on using my bases without actually helping. I never built flying bombs, etc., but I could have.
These last three are your strategic warfare screens. I didn't realize it would include Japan properly, so these screens don't include Japan, but that actually makes me look worse, not better, so I'll take it.
I want to close this AAR by thanking you all for reading. My last game of HOI3 was a lot of fun (although I'm looking forward to HOI4). It could have gone better, but it also could have gone much worse. I'm not starting up a new AAR just yet, but I might depending on RL stuff. Feel free to share any comments or questions you might have!
