A history of World War II, by those who fought it (TFH UK AAR)

[sebas379]

Interesting, there are too few UK AARs around these days, so I'll try to remember checking in every now and then

The last time I played the UK (with Semper Fi, I think?) Japan was no real threat to me, so maybe I'll focus on Africa first instead.

Just remember that TFH turned Japan into an offensive beast that will attack heavily. You might want to arrange at least for a small strikeforce to kill Siam, then prepare for a naval campaign alongside the Americans. the Japanese -will-come for you. Japan in TFH cannot be compared to SF or FTM.
Last time I played the Netherlands, the Allies had to deal with at least a dozen marine divisions swarming everything in Southeast Asia.

 

[red_KLG]

Hip Hip !! Hurray ! for an Avidian UK AAR !!!

Looking forward to a compelling story.

One technical question about radars: in order to get the INT bonus, is it better to spread level 1 radars in all south provinces? Having 10 radars in one province will spread the bonus to adjacent provinces?

 

[Gormytorysh]

Just remember that TFH turned Japan into an offensive beast that will attack heavily. You might want to arrange at least for a small strikeforce to kill Siam, then prepare for a naval campaign alongside the Americans. the Japanese -will-come for you. Japan in TFH cannot be compared to SF or FTM.

True, and I agree, if you can take out Siam now (assuming haven't played beyond your last update) and if you keep a strong presence in the far east (Siam and Malaysian peninsula mainly but keep a close eye on Sumatra) you should pretty much be able to hold that line long enough to knock out Italy from Africa, than kick German ... and finally give Japan a beating. Distance should be too far from lets say Vietnam to Myanmar to overcome for the Japanese fleet.

 

[Avindian]

Interesting, there are too few UK AARs around these days, so I'll try to remember checking in every now and then



Just remember that TFH turned Japan into an offensive beast that will attack heavily. You might want to arrange at least for a small strikeforce to kill Siam, then prepare for a naval campaign alongside the Americans. the Japanese -will-come for you. Japan in TFH cannot be compared to SF or FTM.
Last time I played the Netherlands, the Allies had to deal with at least a dozen marine divisions swarming everything in Southeast Asia.

That's interesting. I will definitely keep that in mind.

Hip Hip !! Hurray ! for an Avidian UK AAR !!!

Looking forward to a compelling story.

One technical question about radars: in order to get the INT bonus, is it better to spread level 1 radars in all south provinces? Having 10 radars in one province will spread the bonus to adjacent provinces?

Somebody else is probably better served to answer this, but I THINK that lvl 10 radars are far better than ten lvl 1 radars, since a lot of their range would overlap.

True, and I agree, if you can take out Siam now (assuming haven't played beyond your last update) and if you keep a strong presence in the far east (Siam and Malaysian peninsula mainly but keep a close eye on Sumatra) you should pretty much be able to hold that line long enough to knock out Italy from Africa, than kick German ... and finally give Japan a beating. Distance should be too far from lets say Vietnam to Myanmar to overcome for the Japanese fleet.

I don't think I'd have the neutrality to DOW Siam, but I'll look into it.

 

[TheChalk]

This looks pretty good. I have absolutely no idea how HOI3 works, but it'll be nice to watch the Brits kick ass.

 

[Avindian]

This looks pretty good. I have absolutely no idea how HOI3 works, but it'll be nice to watch the Brits kick ass.

I hope so!

Update incoming!

 

[Avindian]

1937​

As with 1936 (and the portion of 1938 that does not include war), I will be writing these updates OOC. There's a part of me that wants to go pure gameplay, since HOI 3 lends itself so well to such AARs, but I also think it'll be fun to generate a narrative, so we'll definitely have one of those.

My first actions in 1937 are to add more future radar sites. Singapore, Rangoon, Malta, Port Said, and Hong Kong will all receive stations. I have more pressing constructions, so they'll be towards the bottom of the queue, but they should still be finished early in 1938 (at least at level one). I decide, after much soul searching, to grab one of my two corps in India and sail to the Suez Canal. I discover Marines early in 1937 and start four Marine divisions; as I mentioned last time, I'm going with the traditional 4 x MAR setup. I shift into some infantry techs so that I can pick up Paratroopers sometime in late 1938. Here's my Indian corps sailing to Port Said!

I also start construction on some garrison divisions that I hope to use to supplement my SE Asia defenses. After some more soul searching (protip: the soul is the place to look for strategic advice!) I go with a 2 x GAR/1 x LARM/1 x AA. I considered dropping a garrison brigade for some artillery, but warm bodies are more useful to me than additional support when they'll be purely defensive. When I unlock Superior Firepower down the road I can always drop some artillery if the opportunity presents itself. Baldwin leaves the government in February (ugh Chamberlain), so I reconfigure my cabinet.

The major change is putting Chamberlain in as Armaments Minister. I need IC more than resources, so he's a good choice to free up stuff to build more guns and gun related objects. I can't wait until I can boost some of these laws. Speaking of guns, I know my canal forces need some firepower, so I start building some separate artillery brigades to equip my seven divisions. (I later figure out one of the pre-built divisions only has two infantry brigades, so I need one of those too. Whoops! It'll get fixed in early 1938.)

Here's my initial India setup.

I know KyrionMythar, among others, recommended a more forward line of defense. For the present, however, losing the extra corps to Africa means I want to make sure I have enough manpower to form a semblance of a line. Of course, as I write this sentence, I'm reminded of his points regarding lvl 1 infrastructure (namely that units can't move through it). So, I'll have to revisit my initial deployment. Around April, I shift around some of my intel. I've worn down counterespionage throughout the world, so I can shift to tech stealing from the Japanese, starting to spy on the Soviets, and building up covert ops points against Turkey so I can instigate a coup. This pays almost immediate dividends... sort of.

Of all the Japanese techs I could have stolen, this one might be the least useful. I'm pleased, in a way, because I'll be able to upgrade garrison divisions later on (and I never would have researched this myself), but that's still kind of disappointing. Dover gets its fighter wing (of 3 x INT). Also at this point I spread out my seven divisions to cover as much of the canal as I can. I'd like to get another corps over here; I might (MIGHT) be willing to pull one of my infantry corps out of the UK and send it south. In May, the Italians give me some free tech, and this is far more useful.

Mmm... free doctrines. (If you don't own HOI3 or haven't played it, all doctrines are spread telepathically instantly upon their discovery. Sadly, this telepathy only applies to doctrines and nothing else.) The Nationalists win the Spanish Civil War ahead of schedule, as usual, beating the Republicans by June of 1937. I get a surge of volunteers in June as well, which would be nice, except I really don't need manpower at the moment. The Iraqis decide to donate to the "Hitler is a stupid jerk" fund.

The war gets started for real when Japan declares war on China. I'm going to keep tabs on this particular war, to a certain extent: I'm interested to see if they knife through China at light speed or if they get stuck right away. My latest Soviet game (the Tukhachevsky AAR) showed a very nice compromise that I was pleased with. I finish the Medium Tank Brigade tech in October and immediately upgrade my Armored Corps to medium tanks.

If you're wondering why CG is so high, it's because I got an event that bumped up my dissent. It won't last long. I decide to also build another corps of infantry (standard 3 x inf/1 x art). If it's finished before the war starts, it will be ticketed for Africa. I try my coup on Christmas Day, 1937, but sadly it fails.

Meh, I've got loads of spies. Got to use them for something.

On 2 January 1938, here's Japan's progress.

I've got plenty of time before they become a threat, and hopefully I'll have time to get my extra divisions farther east. We shall see if the RNG gods are kind to me.

I'll do however much of 1938 I get to next week. Keep your eyes peeled!

 

[Michaelangelo]

Wars would be won much more easily if you could telepathically teach soldiers new strategies and techniques. Why aren't we funding this?

Helping the Iraqis build weapons, huh? I'm sure that will end well.

 

[Zorro]

Any plans to battle the IJN early in the war?

 

[Gorganslayer]

definitely subbing to this

 

[Avindian]

Wars would be won much more easily if you could telepathically teach soldiers new strategies and techniques. Why aren't we funding this?

Helping the Iraqis build weapons, huh? I'm sure that will end well.

Well, they're doing all the building; I'm just giving them plans. So, it's not quite analogous to the scenario you're implying.

Any plans to battle the IJN early in the war?

That's an excellent question. Priority one has to be Europe, in my opinion. If I can remove any semblance of a threat, as far as invading the British Isles are concerned, I can commit more forces to the BEF. (I'm not going to go ultra gamey and strip them bare, since I'm quite sure I'd get bitten on the virtual ass if I tried.) However, I do have a reasonably powerful fleet or two in India. I'm not entirely sure if I should send them west (to help contain the Med) or east.

definitely subbing to this

Wonderful!

 

[sebas379]

Since you'r playing TFH, expect the Japanese to carve right through China and force a truce by 1938 or something. Though I am surprised they still haven't finished off Shanxi, that is not good Japan. Bad Japan.
That armoured force looks great, hopefully they can stop the German blitzkrieg in its tracks.

 

[Stuyvesant]

Looks like you're building/upgrading a very healthy batch of armor. If you can use it right, I imagine that Hitler is going to find his drive to the Channel a lot harder than it used to be.

It raises the question, though: if you can keep the Hun from overrunning France, won't that limit your ability to work on other fronts? I imagine that defending the English Channel/North Sea would take far fewer troops than holding the line in France.

 

[KyrionMyrthar]

Looking good. Things will definitely get tense in '38! Looking forward to it.

Also, having never done the '38 war start, I'm wondering what happens with Japan? They're likely Axis at that point if not already, and you should be able to contain things nicely, as most of their construction will be ships in that period. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

 

[Zorro]

That's an excellent question. Priority one has to be Europe, in my opinion. If I can remove any semblance of a threat, as far as invading the British Isles are concerned, I can commit more forces to the BEF. (I'm not going to go ultra gamey and strip them bare, since I'm quite sure I'd get bitten on the virtual ass if I tried.) However, I do have a reasonably powerful fleet or two in India. I'm not entirely sure if I should send them west (to help contain the Med) or east.

Hopefully you can maul the Italian navy quickly enough to feel secure in reinforcing the Eastern fleets. Is the German navy an actual threat to carry out an invasion of the Home Isles? Seems a few garrisons could hold the beaches until the Channel Fleet arrives.

 

[Avindian]

Since you'r playing TFH, expect the Japanese to carve right through China and force a truce by 1938 or something. Though I am surprised they still haven't finished off Shanxi, that is not good Japan. Bad Japan.
That armoured force looks great, hopefully they can stop the German blitzkrieg in its tracks.

I will keep a close on them!

Looks like you're building/upgrading a very healthy batch of armor. If you can use it right, I imagine that Hitler is going to find his drive to the Channel a lot harder than it used to be.

It raises the question, though: if you can keep the Hun from overrunning France, won't that limit your ability to work on other fronts? I imagine that defending the English Channel/North Sea would take far fewer troops than holding the line in France.

I'm not necessarily planning on helping out France that directly. If Germany gets bogged down, maybe some sneaky Baltic landings will gum up the works more, but I definitely don't intend to commit too much of my forces to France right away.

Looking good. Things will definitely get tense in '38! Looking forward to it.

Also, having never done the '38 war start, I'm wondering what happens with Japan? They're likely Axis at that point if not already, and you should be able to contain things nicely, as most of their construction will be ships in that period. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Japan's already joined the Axis. (Probably should have mentioned that. )

Hopefully you can maul the Italian navy quickly enough to feel secure in reinforcing the Eastern fleets. Is the German navy an actual threat to carry out an invasion of the Home Isles? Seems a few garrisons could hold the beaches until the Channel Fleet arrives.

I don't know much about the default builds, but I don't like taking chances either.

 

[sebas379]

I would think that a single decent fleet can deal with the Kriegsmarine, perhaps even the RAF. I'd say expect 2 or 3 BC, plus some CA. I don't think the Bismarck and Tirpitz will be around yet, at least they shouldn't be ^^.
The Regia Marina is definetly the bigger threat in Europe, apart from the U-boats of course.

 

[Avindian]

I would think that a single decent fleet can deal with the Kriegsmarine, perhaps even the RAF. I'd say expect 2 or 3 BC, plus some CA. I don't think the Bismarck and Tirpitz will be around yet, at least they shouldn't be ^^.
The Regia Marina is definetly the bigger threat in Europe, apart from the U-boats of course.

Good advice!

So, I've begun the war (and I will update in the near future -- maybe tomorrow, possibly Friday), but I could use some pointers for how to best use fighters in interception missions. So far, France is doing okay without my help, but I don't think that will last forever.

 

[CptEasy]

Nice start! UK AARs written by serious writers are often the best, I think. Looking forwards for next update.

 

[Dewirix]

This looks very promising. I've just come off the back of a UK 1936 playthrough, so it will be interesting to see how you handle things.

As the UK, the naval game is obviously going to be very important, but winning the Battle of the Atlantic is especially critical. At the outbreak of war the German u-boats will absolutely hammer your convoys, so make sure you've got lots of destroyers and up-to-date doctrines to counter them. It wouldn't hurt to have a repeating run of convoys in the build queue too.

As for the air war, I confess I just left it alone for most of the time. The Luftwaffe was about twice as big as the RAF, so my squadrons spent lots of time grounded for repairs. I can't say it made much of a difference to the ground war.