Chapter 50: The End Of The Beginning.
HMS Victorious, our most modern carrier, has just been deployed. It will remain part of the Reserve Fleet, only to be used in the most dire of emergencies. An experienced Japan player can make it around Africa and strike directly at the British Isles. The Japanese AI, conceivably, could do so as well. This ensures that, whatever else happens, we will always have at least 1 carrier to fall back on.
The Polish resistance has broken out into open revolt. Even though they lack the numbers to do anything meaningful, I will break off 2 partisans of my own and make for the coast of East Prussia, hopefully drawing enough firepower my way that the Polish resistance can wreak havoc on the German supply lines.
I have the requisite techs to start researching Carrier Task Force, which will give my CAGs another 5% boost on the CAG Duty mission.
I have moved the transport fleet to Tripoli and merged it with the Landing Fleet in order to be able to transport almost the whole 4th Army in one go. Only the 3 tanks in the 2nd Armour Corps will be left behind. I will pick them up after the initial landings have succeeded.
By the 29th of October, everything is in place and the landings in Italy have started. I will rely heavily on the fighters of the RAF to keep Axis bombers off my tail, both on land and at sea.
My partisans in Poland are slowly making their way north, while the Polish partisans create chaos and confusion by trying to grab Warsaw and Lodz.
Stage 1 of the Napoli Raid has gone off without a hitch and the troops are preparing to break out of their beachheads. In the North, the 1st Armour Corps will take up defensive positions in the mountains of central Italy from their base in Monte Casino, while the infantry will move to surround Napels and that Salerno. Together, these two ports will provide enough basing capacity to fuel our offensive. However, I notice that Napels is completely unguarded. Never let a battleplan stand in the way of opportunity. I immediately send a couple of divisions to grab the target of the operation.
I was in the middle of watching one of my partisan regiments get pushed back, when this message diverted my attention. Japan declared war on the United States. The Giant has awoken. My trade AI had send a trade offer a week ago, and I have to wait 2 days before I can invite them into the Allies. Note that, at this very point in time, this is still only a limited war between Japan, her puppets, the US and the Phillipines. However, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese High Command sets its eyes on the wealth of Birma and India.
While I wait, one of the prime reasons for the raid has been achieved: the remnants of the Regia Marina have been drawn out into a decisive battle with the Mediteranean Fleet. I use fighters from Benghazi to support the naval battle at sea, since the Italian airforce has dispatched a couple of bombers as well. They run back to the nearest port after losing a single destroyer. Unfortunately for them, that port is Salerno, which is under attack as we speak.
Two days later, on the 5th of November 1941, an invitation is send out to the White House. On the 6th, the US becomes part of the Allies. On the most basic level, this means that, in a worse case scenario, the best the Axis could possibly hope for, is a stalemate. It is, from this point onwards, virtually impossible for us to actually lose the war, because that would entail a succesful invasion of the United States. The AI is not capable of pulling that off, I think. In the words of Churchill: “Gentlemen, I think we just won the war.”
As soon as they accept, I enact the “End Of The Beginning” decision, that has a couple of very nice bonuses for the next year. If we’re lucky, we might use that enhanced combat speed bonus to defeat Italy.
Finland, Romania and Bulgaria join Germany and Italy in their war against us the next day.
My partisans have been destroyed. It was to be expected, but they were just there to show you alternate paths to messing with the Germans.
We are still on the 6th, when the US declares war on Vichy, opening the rest of North Africa for us. You could argue that I should have postponed the invasion of Italy and dealt with Vichy Africa first, and that would be a valid point. However, it is my hope that the US will land here themselves, thereby giving themselves a stake in the proceedings in Europe.
The Italians lose another transport and a destroyer to Cunnigham’s battleships as more of them try to make a break for it.
The airborne division has landed, opening another front for the division in Melfi to cover, and the Italian navy can scratch another 3 transport ships off their OOB.
This time, Mexico gladly accepts membership in the Allies.
We now have 378 IC, of which 81 is Lend-Lease from the US. I have not checked the German IC, but it can’t be much higher than that.
Thanks for the visit, guys, but I have it under control here. Still, having my personal heroes of the entire RL war sit in my newly-conquered port, does give me goosebumps. The 101st US Airborne, the Screaming Eagles, have arrived. The heroes of Bastogne and a dozen other engagements, often under extremely difficult circumstances.
Just allow me this moment of pure fanboy, ok?
The declaration on Vichy does give me a strategic choice, since they control Syria and Lebanon as well. But I am counting on the Iraqi army to keep them under wraps while I send my port guards to Tripoli. In another month, the Home Guard should be set up, which will free 14 infantry divisions.
Germany enacts Case Anton, the takeover of continental Vichy. There’s no direct danger in it, since Germany doesn’t have anywhere near the capacity to endanger our naval control of the Mediteranean. In fact, it makes things a bit easier for us, because it forces them to cover an additional coastline. The more they spread themselves thin, the better I like it.
The fighters from Sardinia will protect the tanks in the north from Axis bombers, while the ones in Benghazi will provide protection from our battleships, who will remain on post to provide coastal bombardments whenever possible. I dare not send a battleship squadron in the Adriatic, between Italy and Yugoslavia, because there is no way for me to protect them from bombers there.
Whenever you’re in a defensive position, always take a moment to check the terrain and think about possible strategies. The hills in Ortona will provide better defense than the flat, open terrain that my divisions are in (X), so I move them forward.
If you look closely, this will force a tactical disadvantage on the Italians in (Y) that is called “turning their flank”. In other words, they will have to cover 2 flanks instead of just one. Even more so, I could potentially move behind them and encircle them if I wanted to.
If I were to stay where I am now, the British units in (Z) could be attacked from 3 different provinces, which would make it extremely hard to hold the line. Since that is the center of my line, it would open up my entire front to breakthrough attacks and would be extremely dangerous.
I could also move forward with my entire line, but I only have 3 provinces to protect, so that makes it easier to concentrate my firepower defensively.
Worse case scenario here: the Italians break through my Northern defensive line. What then?
The solution: move everyone to ports further south (Sicily, Taranto, etc…) so that the Royal Navy can pick them up for redeployment elsewhere. Sicily should be unassailable as long as I keep at least a single ship blocking the strait. Move back slowly one province at a time, forcing the Italians to spend MP on it, but keep moving everyone back methodically without letting them force a retreat on the defenders, since that would mean they have no Org left to defend against the next attack. In the meantime, use the troops further south to destroy as many Italian divisions as they can and secure at least 1 port on the Sicilian part of the strait. With a bit of luck, destroy a couple more Italian ships before being forced to move back to Tripoli.
By now, Park’s fighters are getting a little tired, but I can’t let them rest yet. Too much is riding on this. I have moved the fighers from Benghazi to Napoli, where they will be able to take over from Park after a bit of time to regain their Org.
Like I said: it was only a matter of time. We are now, technically speaking, fighting on 3 fronts, even though the Channel and the Atlantic have been quiet for some time.
When both the US and UK are at war with both Germany and Japan, we can enact the United Nations decision, giving us 10 NU and a massive boost to the popularity of the Conservative Party.
This boost allows me to go for the strictest civil law a democracy can have, when at war: Repression. This lowers CG needs from 3.77 to 2.95, freeing up at least some IC, and makes it harder for the enemy to discover the location and makeup of your units.
After all those political changes, I need a rest. Next time: the Axis mount a counteroffensive. See you then!
