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So what I think they're trying to do is reinforce their allies. That's Finland, and India.
Problem is, one of them is across the Atlantic, through the English Channel, across the north sea and through the Danish straits. Nothing is going to survive that run.
One of them is across the Pacific, and they should be able to make that journey. But they're getting confused and sending everything to Rome, and then travelling by foot to wherever they actually want to fight.
Or, as mentioned in the chapter, they genuinely think Gibralter is something I can't handle at all and worth risking the entire war over. Let me be clear, if the British take out the US, we have no big naval power on our side and the majority of the Commonwealth will be locked behind at least some amount of water. At that point, we could conquer the entirety of Eurasia and still not take a majority of the Commonwealth VP points.
This is the worst possible decision the US could have made.
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Not something/someone you generally want to put faith in. Hopefully all goes well.
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The sudden interest in herpes brought something to mind. We haven't quite entered the space age, but the opportunities are exciting!
The U.S. AI is frustrating, but I suppose something stupid had to happen. And it's nice to see those pretentious names for African puppets are actually somewhat true! I thought they were total jokes, but it appears they are carrying their weight.
The U.S. AI is frustrating, but I suppose something stupid had to happen. And it's nice to see those pretentious names for African puppets are actually somewhat true! I thought they were total jokes, but it appears they are carrying their weight.
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Way back when I first got them, I wondered whether having an independent garrison in each new country would be effective against the British or French in the region.
At the very least, it's forced both to have divs all along their huge African borders, all game. And they were never going to assign enough to have parity with local armies (once the decolonised got themselves going, which after six years, they have).
So yes, no impassable defence of South Africa is possible, and it may well be that Southern and central Africa falls before I get rid of every bit in the north.
World War III - The Frontlines are Drawn
World War III – The Frontlines are Drawn
4th February 1943
4th February 1943
Catastrophe and Kaboom were doing their thing. That was to say, Catastrophe was fronting an effective campaign of war that would soon see the British pushed from Egypt.
And Kaboom had gotten his tank over Suez somehow and was charging wildly off into the desert.
Needless to say, Commonwealth forces were confused and in disarray.
…
5th February 1943
Whilst the war in the desert was beginning to heat up, in Europe the battle was in full swing. The German commander of Roman Allied Forces had led an extremely fast campaign, crushed the Polish border defences and squeezed the country to death from all sides. Once more, it seemed, Warsaw would fall at the hand of the German Reich.
Meanwhile, the Russians were slower to move into Finland. The two countries were still incredibly unfriendly with each other, and had plenty of bad blood over real blood spilt in the recent past. Unfortunately, this was no time for old grievances, for the Finnish were finally totally exhausted of war-making capacity, having been desperately defending their country for much of the past six years without pause.
It would take a mighty Russian army, and probably some Imperial help, to keep the combined Allied assault out. In the cold frosts and blizzards of the north, the Norwegian front began to slowly creep forwards.
…
9th February 1943
Utterly ignored by all was a small battle between a single American division and the Gibraltar garrison. Whilst generating large casualties for the Commonwealth, the Rock held and the Americans withdrew within a few hours of fighting.
It was not until much later that the significance of this small incident was realised.
…
13th February 1943
Whilst Catastrophe and Kaboom, and the men of the Asian wars fought in the east, the more experienced Old Guard that had built much of the Roman Empire was in West Africa. These men were being rewarded for their service with the promise of one thing: the responsibility of finally decapitating the Free French, the Empire’s oldest enemy.
Unlike Egypt, which held deeply emotive importance innately, as a core part of the Roman world, this region was (aside from the French connection), mostly strategic. The fall of West Africa would mean the British would have a much longer and less secure journey around Africa, across the Atlantic and around the world. It was no severing of Suez in terms of serious deathblows to the British, but would surely aid the Americans in the fight on their own soil.
And, unlike in East Africa and the Sudan, where the British were much stronger than the relatively weak and newly decolonised Italian allied states, the West African members of the Roman Alliance were hardy, ready and very willing to kill Frenchmen in large numbers. Indeed, they, much like the central and southern African states within the Italian war effort, surprised and delighted Imperial command with their competence and dedication to the fight.
Unlike Egypt, which held deeply emotive importance innately, as a core part of the Roman world, this region was (aside from the French connection), mostly strategic. The fall of West Africa would mean the British would have a much longer and less secure journey around Africa, across the Atlantic and around the world. It was no severing of Suez in terms of serious deathblows to the British, but would surely aid the Americans in the fight on their own soil.
And, unlike in East Africa and the Sudan, where the British were much stronger than the relatively weak and newly decolonised Italian allied states, the West African members of the Roman Alliance were hardy, ready and very willing to kill Frenchmen in large numbers. Indeed, they, much like the central and southern African states within the Italian war effort, surprised and delighted Imperial command with their competence and dedication to the fight.
Liberia and the other coastal former colonies worked quickly to connect their territory together, expelling the French in a sudden and bloody maneuverer that saw the Free French army panic, abandon their defences against the northern border with Rome and retreat south to defend their capital, which at this time was Bamako. The Romans duly sallied forth after them, with the aim of meeting up with their most excellent colleagues for a spot of colonial revenge.
Still, despite the early successes, the British ports in the west were far from the frontlines, and Commonwealth reinforcements could arrive at any time. The Romans were wary of becoming bogged down in an extremely difficult region to fight through, and were not yet fully convinced their decolonised friends could withstand an all-out attack from a properly equipped European army.
…
14th February 1943
“Well, well, Alan. Last year you got me a whole country for Valentines. What surprise do you have in store now?”
“Ah, we thought more of the same, given it went down so well. Estonia is yours, Mighty Cheesare. Or rather, it’s currently Russia’s, who want’s to be ours…bit complicated that.”
“A modern fairy-tale romance of bad dialogue and terrible mixed messages for all,” the Emperor wiped his tears away. “Bless you, Alan. Happy Valentines.”
“Oh, and the Finns have fully mobilised and gotten all their men to the Norwegian front. I guess a few were still hanging around the Russian border in case they wanted to try again.”
Trying not to get too excited here. The chances of them actually standing up against the rest of Scandinavia are...slim.
“That’s quite a turnabout! How long do you think they can maintain that for?”
“Fuck knows. Probably not very long though. Two completely fresh countries backed up by the Commonwealth versus one extremely battered nation, and ‘help’ from an ally that would much rather they annexed them?”
“Mmm. Still, look on the bright side! Churchill thought he was going to take Helsinki last time as well, and he never did.”
“That’s true, Mighty Cheesare, but I think the Norwegians at least have learnt from their previous experiences. Plus, Sweden is a hack, and a bastard.”
…
18th February 1943
Catastrophe was actually rather happy for once. Kaboom had broken straight through the Suez defences, giving the rest of the army a hole to force their way through, and then immediately overshot the remaining British forces and gotten lost in the Holy Land, leaving the business of actually fighting the war to the experts.
The Commonwealth were now surrounded in northern Arabia, and had been pushed far down the Nile and into Sudan. When he was done with this lot, he would split his forces between rescuing the East Africans, and taking back the bits of Arabia the British had nicked whilst he was out.
Kaboom would probably show up again somewhere useful. And if he never came back, he would not be missed. The day was far too joyous for Catastrophe and his men to think on that blight upon discipline and tactics.
For the first time in thousands of years, the Roman Empire stood complete and whole once more.
“Mission Accomplished, lads.”
…
23rd February 1943
This day was a little bit hit and miss in terms of the war effort.
This day saw the fall, once again, of Poland to the German army.
The day also saw the return of Roman attention to the Middle East proper, to the irritation of the British, whom had made much success with probing attacks all the way into Persia itself.
Catastrophe began to throw back their gains, whilst Kaboom came from out of nowhere, cut the scouting expedition off in Persia, before overshooting again and nearly crashing into the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, the British Army in Africa had finally found their balls and hardened their resolve. From this day on, the Romans would find it much harder to move south along the Nile, and the Commonwealth efforts to crush East Africa doubled in intensity.
Most troubling of all, whilst the American advance along the west coast of Canada from Alaska continued unabated, with similar stories across the western half of the main border, the east was another story.
The American advance had hit something unyielding. And enormous.
Uh oh...
And angry.
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As one does.
Utterly ignored by all was a small battle between a single American division and the Gibraltar garrison. Whilst generating large casualties for the Commonwealth, the Rock held and the Americans withdrew within a few hours of fighting.
It was not until much later that the significance of this small incident was realised.
Very worrying
Sounds about right.
Never a good sign! How many bear cubs did they accidentally menace on their way north?
All of Europe?
For the first time in thousands of years, the Roman Empire stood complete and whole once more.
“Mission Accomplished, lads.”
Well, no, in the northernmost.. erm, I mean southernmost parts there's a little village of Gauls.. I mean Gibraltarese..
(Also, isn't England also under cores?)
I actually finished this bit of the campaign before wondering how we managed to get several hundred tanks and all the support vehicles from one side of suez to the other without any problems in about three days.
This is the first proper month of war and looking back a few weeks down the line, this is so far the only European combat the US has been involved with.
No idea but when the entire elite cream of the US army suddenly bounced off the next province in Canada, my heart sank.
The bull moose has been awakened.
England and I think Wales is, as is Gibralter and the other bits of europe they still own. Turns out 'Mission Acomplised' was a little premature and a little optimistic.
Who would have thought?
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We're going all in on analysis and the war from here on, so just to add a final summary of the begining potions of the war:
The Allies are at this point, a collection of vassals and extremely close allies of the Commonwealth of Nations (the democratic version of Imperial Federarion, not at all analogous to OTL organisations). That is to say, the entire British empire sans the Raj, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Micronesia, Indonesia and Mexico (though the last is not yet in the war).
The Imperium is a vast collection of alliances, puppets, vassals, friends, threatened nations and partners, all linked pretty much only by the threat of Britian and a friendship/allyship/puppet of the Roman Empire. One of the two main branches of this alliance are India, Pakistan and Siam as the Asian Alliance of Defence (brought about by the invasion of Siam), which also includes the US and her puppets as members (so the Philippines, Vietnam and Finland). The second is the Roman Empire entire, which includes us and all our vassal states, autonomous border regions and puppets.
The fronts at the begining of the war are:
The Allies are at this point, a collection of vassals and extremely close allies of the Commonwealth of Nations (the democratic version of Imperial Federarion, not at all analogous to OTL organisations). That is to say, the entire British empire sans the Raj, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia, Poland, Micronesia, Indonesia and Mexico (though the last is not yet in the war).
The Imperium is a vast collection of alliances, puppets, vassals, friends, threatened nations and partners, all linked pretty much only by the threat of Britian and a friendship/allyship/puppet of the Roman Empire. One of the two main branches of this alliance are India, Pakistan and Siam as the Asian Alliance of Defence (brought about by the invasion of Siam), which also includes the US and her puppets as members (so the Philippines, Vietnam and Finland). The second is the Roman Empire entire, which includes us and all our vassal states, autonomous border regions and puppets.
The fronts at the begining of the war are:
- North Amercian Front between the US and Canada.
- The Scandinavian front between Norway, Sweden and Finland.
- The European fronts regarding Denmark, Estonia, Poland and Gibralter.
- The Middle Easrern front focused around Arabia and Suez.
- The North African front, from West Africa all the way to Eygpt.
- The East Africa front, which has Italian East Africa surrounded by the British.
- Central and Southern African front, which sees the British versus our puppets.
- And finally, the Indian front, which has an Allied invasion kicking off from French controlled ports in southern India, and a British invasion of Siam.
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You were never going to let them be, we’re you? Cheddar cheese on the menu?
You said it for me!
<facepalms> Of course they do.
Pleased and proud, I’m sure.
As already pointed out: Britannia Province.
This is just too cruel - and with Hitler still in charge.
Cannot Kelebek make a guest appearance to off him, Inglorious Basterds style? Hmm, on two counts. Have they struck a BEF, one wonders? Sacking of Washington DC, anyone?
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Egypt, Malta and Cyprus were still hanging out with the commonwealth so...
Should have been warned by then doing the same thing every other time they've been involved in a way.
Apparently Hitler is just fine to keep hanging around and is very chill with being italy's slave.s is just too cruel - and with Hitler still in charge.
What ya gonna do?
Given that the British are still bascially unmotorised, they'd have to walk all the way to Washington without being stopped. Hopefully this is not something that is still possible to do in modern times with railways and air travel.
It is interesting how much of a disadvantage invading Canada puts rhe US though. They move from very close and small provinces connected pretty much totally by rail to gigantic provinces (in game) thst take ages to walk through and get out of. So if there are any reversals, the armies stuck in Canada itself won't be able to get out to help...
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Faced with the easiest choice in the world Mussolini proves his inherent evil by backing the wrong side. If I had ever had any hopes for him I would be disappointed.
While this obviously ends in Rome conquering the world (even if the player wasn't cheesing it, this is HOI4 and we all know how those games go), I do hope that Canada manages to take advantage of the entire US army staring at Gibraltar and annexes the US. Sure it would only be temporary, but it would at least be funny.
While this obviously ends in Rome conquering the world (even if the player wasn't cheesing it, this is HOI4 and we all know how those games go), I do hope that Canada manages to take advantage of the entire US army staring at Gibraltar and annexes the US. Sure it would only be temporary, but it would at least be funny.
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What can I say. Egypt and a nice border is worth the world.
Watch this space...
Seems like the British were at fault in this war. If I remember right they attacked Thailand and drew in a bunch of allies against them. Mussolini is a naked opportunist though, and your scorn of him is more than well deserved!
Indeed! The classic British trick of declaring war and then blaming everyone else for what follows. Such naked imperialism will not stand in this modern day of ours.
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In these cheesy times Imperialism must wear a Toga. Or be in a wheelchair while unconvincingly denying being an Imperialist.
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Hubris is classically present in both cases. One of them is going to do rather well in the war. One of them will not.
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World War III - The Tables Turn
World War III – The Tables Turn
5th March
5th March
“What am I looking at, Ouster?”
“The potential destruction of the US, sir,” the new German High Commander said. “The UK has emptied their islands, and the rest of their empire, to go to reinforce Canada. There’s probably two million men about to smash through the American lines and hit the East Coast.”
“Bugger.”
“The British have correctly seen that to win the war, they need to remove the US from the equation. Then, it doesn’t matter whether we defeat and conquer the entirety of Afro-Eurasia. They’ll still be the dominant sea power and can hit us anywhere, and isolate the fronts.”
“What are our options?”
“The potential destruction of the US, sir,” the new German High Commander said. “The UK has emptied their islands, and the rest of their empire, to go to reinforce Canada. There’s probably two million men about to smash through the American lines and hit the East Coast.”
“Bugger.”
“The British have correctly seen that to win the war, they need to remove the US from the equation. Then, it doesn’t matter whether we defeat and conquer the entirety of Afro-Eurasia. They’ll still be the dominant sea power and can hit us anywhere, and isolate the fronts.”
“What are our options?”
“None, so far. The British control access into the Americas from all sides, holding bases in the Pacific, South America, the Caribbean and from Canada. We can’t cross the Atlantic without fighting the Royal Navy, which will result in our defeat and total loss of personal on the ships. Norway all over again, sir.”
“Hmm. Bugger.”
“Yes. Things are going to get even harder for the Americans once Churchill inevitably persuades the Mexicans to have a go at them. With all their and our allies stuck on the wrong sides of the oceans, they’ll be alone in a huge two front war. Possibly more if the UK navally lands somewhere.”
“So our only option then is to play the game as they’ve set it, fight and win in the Old World and hope the New abides.”
“Pretty much, sir. We can help somewhat by removing their access in as many places as possible. Clip their wings, and such. Hong Kong is very vulnerable to attack. As is, to be honest, Singapore, if we could get around that army of theirs.”
“That would still leave Indonesia and Australia.”
“Not much to be done about them. And their facilities aren’t as extensive as the mainland routes. And much further away from everywhere else too, I should add. More fuel, more time, longer trips. Every little bit to make everything a little harder for the British.”
“Right. Give me a review of the fronts as you see them. You seem to have your head screwed on right.”
“Of course…sir. India and Thailand are our weakest theatres. We collectively have very few troops in the area, and the French and British have many. This is the war they’ve been preparing for years. All their plans initially rested upon it.”
“Your prognosis?”
“I think India is likely doomed. The French are running wild everywhere, the British have landed in the west, side-stepping all defensive lines…nothing much to be done. A Roman Legion reached Pakistan in good time, so I think we can make a stand and probably hold there…and in the east, it’s anyone’s guess. With only Chinese nations having much of a presence, and perhaps the Philippines if they can make landfall, Siam is going to be hard-pressed to stay in the game. On the other hand, the British have massively dialled back on their numbers on that front to make way for the western attack. So perhaps we can hold them back, and allow Siam the chance to, shall we say, threaten Singapore.”
“Do you think they can take it?”
“Only if the Commonwealth commander is completely insane or an utter coward. But just shutting down the city somewhat would be good news.”
“What about the war in Europe?”
“Sir? I’m not sure you understand. If the Commonwealth regains India, the entire war for us changes. If Churchill is as devious as you say he is-”
“He is.”
“Right. Then he’ll give the subcontinent to the Free French. They’ll have a huge industrial base again. A huge recruitable population. Resources, land, space. The African front will become a sideshow compared to the beating heart of Allied forces outside of the Commonwealth realms themselves.”
“Are you saying we should abandon the African fight?”
“No. It is required for the naval war that Africa is lost to the British and French. But due to how the continent has been stripped of troops because they’re focusing on much more important fronts for them, our allies and puppets can constrict much of Africa by themselves. Indeed, they are already doing so. India on the other hand cannot be allowed to come back into the Allied fold, not simply to protect Siam but also the entirety of the East.”
“I will bear that in mind, Commander. Now please, the European theatre.”
“As you wish. I’ve completed the occupation of Poland, and have confirmed Estonia is likewise down and out. Denmark may prove a tougher nut to crack. Not only are we a little…nervous, to be fighting them again, but a British army could theoretically arrive at any time.”
“Unlikely given how much support Canada seems to be packing.”
“That is my thinking as well. If we can push through the border defences, we should have no problems, and then can break into Sweden from the south.”
“Speaking of…”
“Yes sir, Finland continues to hold, and have somehow even separated a bit of Norway off from the rest. If they can close that pocket, so good for them. Russia continues to be extremely slow to send any troops to support, though I would hope that would change now Estonia is secured. Otherwise, it looks like Sweden may completed an encirclement of their own and cut off the entire Finnish front from the rest of the country.”
“Anything you can do?”
“The German army is still rebuilding, and I’ve taken the liberty of expanding our navy as a focus. Someone in this alliance of ours needs to be capable of fighting on the waves.”
“Good thinking. But that leaves you a little undermanned in Europe?”
“It does, only in the sense we can only invade one country at a time, sir. The largest security risk we have at the moment is along neither of these fronts however but Gibraltar and Granada.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. In my opinion sir, it was foolish to allow the British to land any troops along the straits to reinforce the Rock, and even worse to not offer any defence against their invasion of Granada.”
“They don’t have the manpower to conduct a proper invasion. My armies, once done in the Middle East, shall swiftly defeat and destroy them. Very little damage to us, in exchange for an army, albeit a small one, lost to the Allies forever.”
“Quite. But consider sir, that this may well influence Churchill to navally invade France or Spain, or even push through our forces in Denmark. I cannot fight several fronts so far apart, yet the British not only can, and will cause significant supply and manufacture shortages if they do, but cause a sharp drop in morale and stability.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Reduce investment in Africa. We have plenty of allies and puppets with armies there already. You do not need more than one legion in West Africa, fighting the remnants of the French Empire that has already long abandoned the place for India. Likewise, Sudan does not require most of our Panzer Corp. They’d be much more use in Arabia, to swiftly end the oil supply being fed to the Allies. Then they can be sent to Pakistan or Europe to help out there.”
“But we need to reach our friends in East Africa!”
“With respect, sir, we do not. The fronts look bad there, but the defence has stabilised, the British are falling back to try to defend South Africa before our central African allies cut off the land route, and we will in any case be within the region in a few weeks, if that. Besides, the British have already been crushed between Mighty Mozambique and Angola. South Africa itself now is threatened. We shortly stand to realise all our strategic goals in the African continent, and must redeploy accordingly to fight elsewhere.”
“The war seems to be going well. Look at the casualty comparison.”
“True, but I remind you again that my country cannot take many more deaths than we’ve already sustained, and that’s true of most of Europe, including Russia. The Allies are fresh, and about to seize control of an entire sub-continent to pressgang into service. They’ve also successfully cut off the US from the rest of us.”
“I will consider all you have said. Thanks very much. Ta-ta for now.”
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The war will be hard fought, but with Africa, and eventually Spain, secure it looks like you have the advantage in the Old World. You can then redeploy to help the Finns and India. Though I'm not sure how you will force the British to sue for peace without a naval invasion of your own.