France: Operational Hail Mary (AAR) (HOI3: TFH) (No Mods)

[Mortal Phoenix]

Congrats on winning twice. This second one was quite impressive, facing the same logistical challenge as Germany OTL but with an even more distant logistical base and a larger concentration of hapless allies. Nicely finished.


Depends what you're looking for. Vanilla HoI3 is rather "played out" at this point in that for nearly any major power, the difficulty is not much unless you play on elevated difficulty levels which for many players is more frustrating than exciting. Of course there's still plenty of play along the way, but as Japan for example as long as you can handle a little bit of supply trouble defeating China is not difficult. You might find good play from a UK AAR starting in 1939, as while the naval side of the game is not too difficult invading the Continent while managing the Med and Far East theaters is something of a feat.

You could consider a minor power AAR, perhaps not to the same operatic extent as Talking Turkey but similar in general aims. You could also look into mods for a different and perhaps more challenging experience - BlackICE might be a stiff challenge if you can wade through the reams of additional events and mechanics.

Thank you. True. I guess I'm looking to see what people would find interesting. The French invading Japan, defeating Germany+Italy+Hungary, and finishing off the Soviet Union is certainly unique.

 

[Alex Kernel]

It was a very enjoyable French AAR. Your decision to try winning without the nukes made it even better. I will gladly look for your next ones!

 

[Mortal Phoenix]

It was a very enjoyable French AAR. Your decision to try winning without the nukes made it even better. I will gladly look for your next ones!

Thank you.

 

[roverS3]

Brilliant show. I'm really quite impressed at what you pulled off here. My only disappointment was that Moskva was nuked twice, it just seems repetitive and overkill. Of course, from a historical point of view you could explain it as the French wanting to be sure they hit Moskva with at least 1 bomb if one of them was a dud for some reason. I would have hoped you would nuke two different major cities. Moskva and Stalingrad, or Moskva and Sevastopol, Moskva & Minsk, Moskva & Kyiv. Moskva & Leningrad would throw a cloud of radiation over parts of Finland and Estonia. If we follow the historical example of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, maybe it may have been wise to avoid Moskva alltogether to ensure that there is still a centralised leadership able to surrender to you and avoid generalised anarchy.

Of course, the whole succession of mad gambits is incredible. Beating Japan before the Sudeten crisis, and then rolling straight on into war with the Axis, and on into war with the Soviets. It's incredible what a greater French empire can do when expertly lead. It's basically Napoleon's wet dream.

As for another AAR, I'd quite like to see you try your hand at some small central or South American nation. Sure, with your skill you shouldn't have too much trouble taking out minor neighbours, but as most latin and central American nations have their independence guaranteed by the US, you might find yourself faced with a significant US invasion force, or even a border war, if you make it to Mexico.

 

[Mortal Phoenix]

Brilliant show. I'm really quite impressed at what you pulled off here. My only disappointment was that Moskva was nuked twice, it just seems repetitive and overkill. Of course, from a historical point of view you could explain it as the French wanting to be sure they hit Moskva with at least 1 bomb if one of them was a dud for some reason. I would have hoped you would nuke two different major cities. Moskva and Stalingrad, or Moskva and Sevastopol, Moskva & Minsk, Moskva & Kyiv. Moskva & Leningrad would throw a cloud of radiation over parts of Finland and Estonia. If we follow the historical example of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, maybe it may have been wise to avoid Moskva alltogether to ensure that there is still a centralised leadership able to surrender to you and avoid generalised anarchy.

Of course, the whole succession of mad gambits is incredible. Beating Japan before the Sudeten crisis, and then rolling straight on into war with the Axis, and on into war with the Soviets. It's incredible what a greater French empire can do when expertly lead. It's basically Napoleon's wet dream.

As for another AAR, I'd quite like to see you try your hand at some small central or South American nation. Sure, with your skill you shouldn't have too much trouble taking out minor neighbours, but as most latin and central American nations have their independence guaranteed by the US, you might find yourself faced with a significant US invasion force, or even a border war, if you make it to Mexico.

The reason I nuked Moscow twice, is because of how the mechanics of the game work. I needed two to bring their national unity down to 0 so they can surrender, and nuking their capital has the biggest impact. Of course, as you see, within the same thread, I did an alternative in which I played without nukes.

 

[roverS3]

The reason I nuked Moscow twice, is because of how the mechanics of the game work. I needed two to bring their national unity down to 0 so they can surrender, and nuking their capital has the biggest impact.

Makes sense, I wasn't really thinking about it in gameplay terms, but more so in alt-history terms. And yes, I also read the part where you win without nuking Moscow, which was definitely more nail-biting, at least for a little bit.