Scourge of the seas - A Netherlands gameplay AAR - 1936 to 1953

[Hardin]

After playing an entire game through with the UK I decided to try a smaller nation. I chose the Dutch.

The main issue for a Dutch player is

a) Your manpower is low
b) You lose the majority of your IC when you get blitzed in '40

In the old HoI I would normally research airforce techs and build a small but powerful airforce by '40. While that was never enought to save the homeland it was often enough to tip the balance significantly in the Allies favour.

However with the (imho good) nerfing of airpower I decided to take a different route and concentrate on naval techs.

My first move in 1936 was to disband my entire existing navy (with the exception of the transports) as it was woefully out of date and a infantry solitary division which was shipped to Paramaribo to put the province in supply. This boosted my available manpower pool to approximately 180.

My initial research focus was on industry and this was reflected by a frenzied period of Infrastructure and IC building in the Dutch East Indies.

There are a lot of resource rich provinces in the colonies and the Dutch government (me) thought it was nonsensical to ship all these resources back to the Netherlands when they could be used closer to source.

I concentrated initially on 3 provinces and as my IC went up expanded this slowly to neighbouring provinces. (I was boosting Infrastructure production - which triples the cost but signifcantly speeds up production) and - when I had enough spare IC I also sped up existing IC production in high infrastructure provinces (rather than starting new IC in low infrastructure provinces).

As my IC rose additional research teams were revealed allowing me to concentrate one team on the development of better ships and another on the development of better naval tactics and associated technologies such as radar (very useful for anyone focusing on naval technologies).

As time progressed I also started moving sliders and minister to both enhance my IC total and to grow manpower. By 1940 my manpower had reached 211 and (after ageing) was growing at a staggering 0.06 MP per day (enough to build a new infantry division every 166 days) :rofl:

Events elsewhere in the game unfolded as expected with a German attack on Poland in 1939 and then an attack on Denmark and Norway in February 1940. Little did the Dutch Government know that the Netherlands would be next *cough*

The war starts

Right on cue the Germans invaded. The Dutch were shockingly prepared with nothing but civil police in place to stop the Panzers (that did not work too well). As province after province fell the Dutch Government fled to the new paradise they had been creating in the East Indies and swore revenge on the dastardly Germans!

By mid-1940 the Dutch government had developed around 35 additional IC in the Dutech East Indies. This meant that while the loss of home territory was a significant blow they still had some capacity to fight back. The main issue was manpower which was now declining by 0.02 MP per day

Fortunately it was at this point that courageous Dutch women stepped forward and volunteered to assist in the war effort by working in industry - added an extra 100 to my Manpower pool.

(As an aside it is worth noting that I had the 'women volunteer' event a total of 5 times in the 1936 to 1953 game + I also had the 'refugees' event which provided + 30 MP occur once - These events contributed a total of 530 MP to the Dutch MP pool and they occured approximately every three years. There is no doubt that the overall Dutch contribution to the Allied war effort would have been significantly limited if not for these events - If this frequency is typical then small nations may not be as underpowered in AoD as some seem to think they are)

Through unswerving focus Dutch naval researchers had developed plans for an advanced classes of Heavy Cruisers, Light Cruisers and Destroyers which could be equipped with relatively advanced naval radar.

Up until this point I had completely ignored anything heavier due to IC cost and build times - although I did start researching the aircraft carrier tree in order to be able to equip/upgrade the 'spotting plane' attachment for my heavy cruisers. It was also interesting to note that Heavy Cruisers seem to be exceptional value in AoD - with a lower IC cost than similar class Light Cruisers....

With the war underway the Dutch goverment cut back on industrial development (not completely) and laid down the first warship production lines. Six month later Rear Admiral Dulm (the Dutch Navy has a very limited number of officers and only one is ranked above Rear Admiral) took charge of squadron including two Heavy Cruisers, two light cruisers and two destroyer flotillas. This shiney new squadron was immediately dispatched to Alexandria to assist the British in defending Egypt from the Italians.

The Mediteranean

The small Dutch fleet was tasked with patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean by the British Admiral Somerville - who did not want to see it go head to head with the main Reggia Marina fleet. With its up to date radar and spotting planes the Dutch fleet was soon in action sinking Italian transports and convoys (shipping supplies to its garrisons on Rhodes and Cyclades Islands). Indeed when the Italians attempted an abortive landing in Palestine it was the Dutch fleet that intercepted the Italian fleet - sinking several transports and escorting destroyers - wrecking the landing in the process.

This timely intervention prevented the Italians opening another front in the Middle East and prompted the intervention of the main Italian fleet which eventually caught the Dutch squadron in the Sea of Crete. Somewhat surprisingly (well it was to me anyway). The modern Dutch cruisers were able inflict significant damage on the lighter elements of the Italian fleet and more importantly were able to use their superior speed to slip away when the Italian battleships eventually found the range. None the less it had been a lucky escape and the Dutch squadron was forced back to Alexandria for repairs.

Victory in the Desert

By now Dutch shipbuilders in the East Indies were getting into the swing of things and a new squadron (once again comprising 2 HC, 2 LC and 2 Destroyer flotillas) had been commissioned. These were also rebased to Alexandria and continued where the Koninklijke Vloot had left off. The Dutch sea raiders were slaughtering Italian convoys and there was little the Italians could do about it with their main fleet remaining in Taranto for repairs due to the earlier clash.

With supplies running short the Italian forces in North Africa were weakening. This allowed the British to break out from El Alamein and they swiftly rampaged across the desert - capturing Tobruk, Benghazi and Tripoli in quick succession. With supplies reduced to a trickle the Italians simply couldn't resist and their last troops on the African continent surrendered at Zuara in October '41.

In addition to commissioning more ships the Dutch had also trained up 9 infantry divisions (my manpower ) which were deployed to protect the new industrial centres in the East Indies. With manpower running low researchers started putting more effort into the development of 'Panzer' technologies as standard infantry regiments were simply too manpower intensive.

While the German/Italian coalition may have been defeated in Africa the same could not be said of their continental European forces which launched a huge invasion of the Soviet Union in mid '41 - making swift progress into Soviet heartlands.

The war in the Pacific

The development of the East Indies as an industrial powerhouse had not gone unnoticed. The Japanese had successfully defeated the various Chinese warlords by early '41. They immediately released Nationalist China as a puppet) but they were still extremely resource poor and the Dutch East Indies seemed like the obvious next target for them.

Fortunately they delayed their war preparations after defeating the Chinese as they feared US intervention and were planning an elaborate strike on the American Pacific fleet to eliminate that threat. This delay was crucial as it allowed the British and their allies the time to defeat the Axis forces in North Africa.

Nevertheless the Japanses attack came as another surprise to the Dutch Goverment. Fortunately this time they could fight back as new ships continued to roll off the production line.

The first Japanese attack came on Banka Island (the location of significant metal deposits) where 3 Japanese ivisions forced a Dutch division to retreat. Fortunately the main Dutch naval base at Oosthaven was relatively close by and squadron succeeded in finding and disrupting the Japanese landings sinking before the troops could be properly establish ashore. Under cover of the Dutch fleet a fresh Dutch division based in Palembang was able to cross the straits and secure Bangka Island. The first Japanese invasion had been defeated.

Sea Wolves

Although small in number the Dutch surface fleet started raiding Japanese shipping in the vicinity of the Indochina Coast, Bight of Bangkok (Thailand had joined the war on Japan's side), and the Straits of Bangka and Singapore. With the main Japanese carrier fleets seemingly committed to home waters the Dutch were able to prey mercilessly on Japanese convoys simultaneously locating and sinking a number of lightly escorted transports (no idea if they were loaded with divisions or not).

Over the course of several months the frequency of intercepted convoys dropped substantially - and this decline in Japanese shipping seemed to be reflected in progress on land with Allied forces slowing the Japanese advance through Burma to a crawl. (In fact this is the first AoD game where I did not see the Japanese blitz through Burma and India - so I have to assume that the combination of my convoy sinking - and the fact that the Brits were able to redeploy troops from N. Africa - actually succeeded in slowing the Japanese down).

At this point I will take a break from writing and put up a few screenies from May 1942...

 

[Hardin]

 

[son of liberty]

It is interesting that you got all of those manpower events. I never got any manpower events, but the +1% ic event fired 7 times between 1936 and October 1945. I also only got 2 blueprint events. I wonder if changes have been made in how/when these events fire?

 

[Hardin]

I only got the +1 % IC event once in this game (17 years)...

I have no idea how they are triggered. If it is completely random then I was very lucky as MP is the main thing that the Dutch need after they lose their homeland (well some energy would help too)

 

[Hardin]

December 1943 Update

Overview

The Eastern Front
The Eastern Front remained relatively static with a few provinces changing hands. The Germans remained perched on the borders of Moscow - but try as they might could not succeed in breaking through. While not much territory was changing hands significant battles were occuring and Soviet and German losses were mounting.

The Far East
On land the war the Allies had succeeded in stopping the Japanese/Chinese advance into Northern India and the previous 18 months has seen little progression by either side. This was also helped by the entry of Brazil into the war on the allied side. Their transport of numerous infantry divisions to India was a key factor in halting the Japanese surge.

At sea however the toll being taken on Japanese merchant shipping was increasing constantly with the over 600 transport ships having being sunk - primarily by Dutch naval forces. This was clearly hampering Japanese efforts to supply some of their remote outposts and the US took advantage - island hoping across the Pacific and capturing Okinawa in the process.

In the Philippinnes, native troops backed by US forces had driven back the Japanese invaders who now only held onto a few pockets in the south of the country.

The Dutch

With dwindling manpower the Dutch cut back on their naval production - focusing on just one Heavy Cruiser, one Light Cruiser and one Destroyer line as this was deemed adequate to replace losses and keep the fleet expanding. Indeed, losses were few and far between with the speedy Dutch flotillas managing to escape serious damage the few times they did bump into major Japanese fleets. The continued radar upgrades of the Dutch sea wolves meant that they continued to be successful convoy hunters.

By this point in the war the Dutch navy had sunk over 1,000 transport ships total. They had also sunk 190 escorts, 3 Heavy Cruisers, 20 Screens, 16 Submarines and 25 troop transports - all for the loss of one Destroyer flotilla.

With small fleets now assigned back to the Mediterranean and to Scapa Flow, it was not just Japanese sailors who feared the modern Dutch Navy.

With relatively little 'military' production due to manpower constraints the Dutch Government in exile instead focused on development projects - continuing to improve the defenses, infrastructure and industrial capacity of their new island homes.

Dutch forces now included, 9 Infantry Divisions, 6 Panzer Divisions, 16 Heavy Cruisers, 31 Light Cruisers, 35 Destroyer Flotillas - no airforces.

Who knows what the future might bring...

 

[son of liberty]

Interesting choices. Will you make any decisive moves yourself, or are you happy with the support role?

 

[Hardin]

All will be revealed in time...

However during this period I was happy playing a supporting role simply because my manpower situation prevented me getting involved in any significant land army actions.

Plus at this point my land army techs were lagging significantly behind due to the huge tech specialisation I had put into my naval forces to ensure that they had teeth... Thus if I had got involved in land combat it was likely that I would have incurred significant MP losses with relatively little gain...

 

[Hardin]

December 1945 Update

Overview

The Eastern Front
In the two years since my last report the frontline around Moscow had hardly moved. In the south Axis forces had launched a major offensive pushing forward significantly - even reaching Baku at one point. However the Soviets had eventually pushed that thrust back and indeed started to push the Germans back consistently across the front. By this point total German losses had reached 5.2 million - only a tad behind the Soviets (5.3 million) whose enhanced fighting ability and experience was starting to take a much heavier toll on German forces.

In the Mediterranean Dutch Naval forces joined other Allied forces in blockading Italian ports. By now the Italians had lost 771 convoy ships, 20 screens, 11 subs and 15 troop transports. In return their main fleet did suceed in sinking the Dutch Light Cruiser HrMs Zeeland and a Destroyer flotilla in one battle where a small Dutch fleet was cornered by the main Italian fleet. The Dutch were fortunate not to lose two Heavy Cruisers in the same fight - both of which limped into port with signifcant damage.

The Far East
The US followed up its capture of Taiwan in '44 with a surprise invasion of Manchuria. Unfortunately for the Japanese this area was garrisoned lightly - allowing the US to make swift progress - swiftly annexing Manchukuo and the Korean peninsula.

As the Nat. Chinese rushed to defend their northern territories the Allies took advantage pushing into North West China from India and also liberating Burma. The Thai's swiftly folded in front of the Allied advance and sued for peace. This left a significant Japanese contingent stranded on the Malay peninsula. Japanese efforts to keep those troops in supply were increasingly playing into the hands of the Dutch naval raiders.

By December 1945 the Japanese had lost a total of 950 convoy ships, 21 troop transports, 7 screens, 8 subs and two Heavy Cruisers - and their economy was starting to creak as a result.

The Dutch

With manpower continuing to dwindle the Dutch cut back even further on their naval production with just one Heavy Cruiser production line remaining active - choosing instead to focus on upgrading attachments to existing ships and the enhancement of infrastructure and industry in the East Indies.

Dutch land forces had grown by just two Panzer divisions in the previous two years but tech improvements meant that Dutch ground forces were no longer so far behind in terms of doctrines and equipment. With the Japanese under so much pressure in China and Indo-China it was unlikely that they would mount another invasion attempt on the East Indies.

Strangely Japanese carrier fleets had continued to remain reluctant to venture out of home waters but nevertheless a few clashes did occur. While no Dutch ships were lost in these significant damage was incurred and Dutch naval planners increased research into Carrier design (although none were ordered at this point).

Dutch forces now included, 9 Infantry Divisions, 8 Panzer Divisions, 22 Heavy Cruisers, 34 Light Cruisers, 36 Destroyer Flotillas and 12 heavy submarine flotillas - No airforce.

 

[Pier]

Hardin, we need you on the Propaganda front in Providence!!!

But anyway, very nice job.

 

[Hardin]

April 1947 Update

Overview

The Eastern Front
The continual grind of the Eastern Front was over. The Soviets achieved a decisive breakthrough in January 1947 and run down German units had no chance of stopping the assault.

German problems were compounded by British and American landings in France. The Italians had also suffered an invasion of their own and, with their German allies completely committed elsewhere, were not able to stop American troops who rampaged through the country within just a couple of months. Both Italian and German shipping was still under constant attack by the Dutch sea wolves - with over 1,000 Italian convoy ship sunk.

In Norway too the British had landed and a flotilla of Dutch raiders concentrated on sinking all German supplies trying to reach their cut off forces in northern Norway and Finland.

The Far East
As mentioned previously a number of Japanese forces remained cut off in the Malay peninsual following the surrender of Thailand. It was against these starving troops that the Dutch launched their first aggressive land action of the war in '46. Three divisions were landed in Kuantan and liberated the peninsula and Singapore.

In China US forces maintained their relentless pressure on Japanese and Chinese forces. Despite logistical problems The American eventually linked up with the British push eastwards from Burma - trapping the remaining Chinese forces in the substantial pocket.

The US did not stop there and also launched an amphibious invasion of southern Indochina. With Japanese forces now cut off on Hainan, Indochina and various pockets along the Chines coast the bulk of the Dutch navy focused on anti shipping missions. The main Japanese carrier fleets finally intervened to stop the pillaging of their commercial shipping and a number of battles were fought of the Indochina coast. The Japanese managed to sink a Dutch Heavy Cruiser many were forced back to port for repairs - eating up valuable manpower in the process. Nevertheless the Japanese had lost over 1,500 convoy ships by this point and their ability to supply their far flung troops was virtually at zero!

The Dutch

Despite not building any additional ground forces and cancelling all naval construction Dutch manpower had by this point decreased to 7 (1 panzer division) The primary reason for this was naval attrition and the fact that the main Japanese fleets had finally decided to deliver some pain to my sea raiders. The Japanese managed to sink one of my Heavy Cruisers and a submarine flotilla and my fleets had to spend significant time in port repairing.

My only hope at this point was that my homeland would be liberated shortly which would put my manpower growth back in the positive. However I wasn't holding out too much hope on this front as in HoI Arma whenever I had played the Dutch and the Netherlands was liberated the 'home' provinces no longer had any manpower!

By this point in the war Dutch forces had in total sunk over 2,500 Axis convoy ships. This compares extremely favourably with the next best which was 250 convoys sunk by Japan.

Dutch land forces remained 9 Infantry Divisions, 8 Panzer Divisions. The Dutch fleet had expanded slightly to 26 Heavy Cruisers, 34 Light Cruisers, 36 Destroyer Flotillas but only 11 heavy submarine flotillas (the Japanese sank one) - Still no airforce.

 

[Hardin]

June '47 Brief Update:

Not wishing to leave the liberation of the Dutch homeland to others I transported 3 Dutch Panzer Division to Dover. After regaining organisation these were shipped across the Channel and joined American forces in liberating western Europe.

Germany is on its last legs!

A glorious day for the valiant Dutch!

The German navy decided to switch to Bulgarian control and fight on!

With remaining Italian forces spilt between enclaves on the Yugoslav coast and southern Greece the remaining Italian Merchant Marine went into overdrive. The Dutch were waiting!

The Dutch Navy delivers a mortal blow to the tattered remnants of the Reggia Marina!

Also note that my manpower had crept back up to 2 - from just one in August. It seems in AoD that you do get your MP production back when you liberate the Netherlands - albeit it was still only growing at 0.03 per day - but at least it was growing again

 

[Hardin]

Hardin, we need you on the Propaganda front in Providence!!!

But anyway, very nice job.

I know - but just not a possibility now or in the near future. EVE is just too involving. AoD I can pick up and play for a few hours - EVE PR requires weeks/months to get a feel for the situation, talk to the right people, read the right forums, make the right decisions etc, etc.

Sorry - AoD is my only timewaster at the moment!

 

[Pier]

No matter.

Question: how exactly did you brigade your raiders?
From the screenshots I only see radar on the cruisers, and one FC and one ASW on the destroyers.

But you mentioned you used spotter plains and what about the camouflage? It makes Heavy cruiser visibility lower than that of a destroyer.

 

[Hardin]

Heavy Cruiser - have fire control, radar and spotter planes. This give good visibility and damage.

Light Cruiser - have fire control and radar

Destroyers - a mix of ASW and fire control.

I didn't know about the 'camouflage' brigade. What tech unlocks it?

 

[Pier]

One of the first one in the Sealane Interdiction doctrine route.
Raider Patrol Doctrine, I believe.

Then there is an advanced one a couple of techs down that path (capital ship raider group??).

 

[Hardin]

Ah that would be why then. Despite playing as a 'raider' I did not specifically research the 'raider' tree as the Dutch had already done about 3 techs on another tree and didn't want to start from scratch. In hindsight maybe I should have...

 

[unmerged(68158)]

Cool story. The Dutch becoming the world's leading naval power is neat. That final mass sinking of the Italian navy must have felt good.

Those 3.6 million dead Japanese worry me though cause I've only knocked 200K of them so far. I got my work cut out for me.

 

[Hardin]

July 1949 Update

Western Europe

As the Italians were about to be annexed France declared war on Vichy France. Vichy France promptly joined the Axis and not only that but Nationalist Spain also entered the war on the Axis side.

(For the record I took control of Free France temporarily in order to start the war with Vichy France as I think it is unrealistic that Vichy France continues to exist after Germany/Italy collapse and the rest of France is handed back to the Free French)

This made the Mediterranean a pretty dangerous place from a naval perspective as both Vichy & Nationalist Spain had significant fleets and additionally remnants to the Italian fleet had transferred to Japanese control when Italy was finally annexed.

(The annexation of Italy was something else I had to 'mod'. When the Soviet Union annexed Germany and the borders were redrawn a stray Italian unit was in Belgrade - a VP province - which was now untouchable within neutral Yugoslav borders. As with France I had to take temporary control of Yugoslavia as I don't think Tito would have left Belgrade occupied by Italians after the liberation of his country)

With significant allied shipping at risk several Dutch fleets were transferred to the Med - fortunately the British had managed to hold on to and reinforce Gibraltar before being overwhelmed by Nationalist Spain.

As the Allies progressed in North Africa, Spain and France the Dutch Navy continued to harass Axis sealanes resulting in numerous clashes.

By July 1949 both Vichy and Nationalist Spain had been annexed and peace finally reigned across Europe. But in Asia Japan fought on!

Far East 1949

Despite the eventual annexation of Nationalist China by the US in late '47 the Japanese continued to fight on. Their carrier fleets remained invulnerable to Dutch fleets and the Japanese home islands were strongly garrisoned.

Nevertheless the Americans and Soviets commenced upon a major bombing campaign, and with no overseas provinces providing vitally needed resources, the Japanese econony was in ruins.

The Dutch

Following the reclamation of its homelands the Dutch government still had its hands tied by manpower issues and despite more women volunteering for industry (+100 MP), no further naval, land or airforces were commissioned.

Instead the greatly enhanced industrial capacity was focused on fortifying the country with a series of level 10 fortifications constructed in preparation for potential future wars.

However with the Japanese still holding out - primarily due to its aircraft carriers - the Dutch Admiralty finally got its way as the government ordered 5 state of the art carriers with which to cover the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

Total losses

Inflicted losses

 

[Hardin]

UPDATE

In mid-1950 the US finally launched its invasion of the Japanese homelands. Despite fierce Japanese resistance the years of aerial bombardment and naval blockade had taken their toll on the Japanese army and US forces advanced swiftly.

By now the Dutch had built their own state of the art aircraft carriers and these now decimated the Japanese fleet as it retreated from port to port.

Suicidally the Thai's chose this moment of the Japanese disaster to re-enter the war on the Japanese side. As soon as Japan was annexed the Japanese fleet rebased to Bangkok and continued the fight to the inevitable end.

The Soviets declare war

No sooner had the last Axis power (Siam) capitulated than the Soviet Union declared war on the Alllies...

This prompted the Turks to join the war on the allied side - however its meagre forces were no match for the Soviets battle hardened divisions. Turkey and then Persia were swiftly annexed and Soviet forces advanced into Iraq and Syria, where massed allied forces finally slowed their advance.

In the Far East the Soviet and allied armies clashed in huge battles in China. British forces in north west China were pushed back steadily - however things were going better in the US sector where the Soviets were pushed out of Vladivostock and other Pacific facing territories.

Fortunately for the Dutch the German FDR state remained neutral, as did several other central European states - thus preventing Soviet forces from directly advancing into the Netherlands. With is naval superiority the Dutch had no fear of invasion and with a relative surplus of manpower at this point began making plans for 'distraction' raids on the Soviets...

 

[unmerged(34917)]

Cool! Unbelievable the Dutch could do all that.