We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Yeah but she probably won't leave for a while yet (read: until we get a new PM at least).
If you're going through the south downs, Portsmouth is good. Charles dickens and Conan Doyle worked there. And there's naval stuff of course. London is also good, if busy. Canterbury is amazing.
The north is much nicer at the moment climate wise, and the people are much smarter and kinder . Manchester's got so many industry and tech musuems (all free of course) that you would be there a while. Imperial war musuem, trains, planes and automobiles, space centres, heavy industry, football, etc. The BBC is also currently in town having been expelled from the south. I actually walked through the blue peter garden quite a bit when I was in Sixth Form.
One thing to note about the UK is that most things are free, except for expensive stuff. So if you want in on an art gallery, monument, country house etc. Usually they are free admitance. But since quite a few of these places are privately owned and families live in them, there are limitations and prices sometimes. Basically it's a wierd blend of everything is free, go everywhere, and, pay for everything, you are being watched constantly.
There is no straightforward answer to this one. The top speed of Eng is 8 kph. Depending on the year and the chosen technologies, this is faster, similar, or a little bit slower than Arm. If you're going to use your Armour in Woods, Forest, or Mountains, Eng gives you a small advantage in both attack and movement penalties. For Jungle, Urban, Marsh, river-crossing, and fort-busting, this advantage is really significant. I would advise against pairing L Arm and Eng, except for units that will see the vast majority of combat and movement in very bad terrain. For Arm, I do it quite often, as it gives more flexibility as to where the unit can be used effectively for no speed penalty, or a marginal one. (that only really exists in good terrain with decent infra). For H Arm, Eng is definitely a must to get the most out of your heavies, the terrain penalties of H Arm are atrocious, so if you want to use H Arm in any other terrain than plains, and/or on the offensive, you need Eng in your unit. As a bonus, Eng also shortens the time needed to dig in, so it also helps if you use H Arm units as mobile defensive bulwarks. I do find it difficult to assign priority to either H Arm or Arm units under 8 kph for the deployment of Eng. It all depends what your particular use for these units is.
In fact this does not contradict my point, maybe I wasn't very clear myself. I prefer to pair LArm with AC and HArm with Eng, and Arm mostly with Eng but there are a few cases in which AC might be used.
Will answer the range of emails in more detail separately, but just thought I’d say many thanks for the various suggestions! Our itinerary is pretty packed and it’s largely in the south. But re Portsmouth: I certainly will if I can, as it’s my mother’s city of birth! As I’ve mentioned to some elsewhere, she was about 12 on D-Day and recalls it very clearly. That and getting their shop/home bombed out. I’ll certainly try to make it there if time permits.
Hah - not any more. Monroe Doctrine-Plus time! The way the game works, at least, they can join the Comintern but not become Communist at all (ie like Turkey's right wing paternal autocrat government). Yeah, I know , but we rationalise it away more I think as more of a UN-style arrangement with the Soviets as the leaders.
True. Much more like their involvement with China in OTL. And if the US make gains in Asia instead of the Soviets, it doesn't matter to me (as Turkey, it's all Comintern). Others can worry about the post-war repercussions.
We know she's talking about Brasi but so far as he knows, she's actually talking about Kelebek. So I don't know whether he's going to be more scared or relieved when a giant dead man shows up instead.
I'm not too worried about the patriotic front anymore, so long as we keep them away from finland and hold romania. Clearly the much bigger threat is japan at this point. Who would have thunk it?
Yeah see this is worrying. Russia can't use their strategy of land for time when Japan's already taken a third of it.
Yes, they've kept coming, harder and longer than I was expecting especially after the US entered the war. Keeps things interesting. I'm now wrestling with keeping the Soviet AI from doing a two-front panic while still trying to suggest objectives to direct their efforts. I haven't tried that on this scale before, so I'll be curious to see how it works (if it does at all).
Afghanistan in my experience is pretty much hell for infantry. You need bare minimum tanks or air support to get anywhere because the defence doesn't even need to build trenches but just vanish into the hills and snipe from there.
What they've probably done in kabul is just dig trenches all the way around it and sat in them while you run across the killing field. You aren't breaking that with just infantry. You need to surround the place, bomb them with artillery and planes and then launch a combined assault.
Plus...well, you might need some experience with air missions out east because japan certainly isn't going down without a lot of airsupport.
Annoying. However, another example of Japan over extending itself. OTL, they would struggle to support the island being so far away from japan. With troops in Siberia and the navy in tatters, those japs on midway have bascially been left to starve to dearh or die when the US retakes it.
I can only hope so. My main concern is the familiar AI problems the US seems to encounter in applying its superior industrial capacity to offensive ops, especially amphibious ones. I'll keep trying to coax them with suggested objectives.
I can definitely say that İnönü is having an experience with the USA AI so much better than what @Eurasia is having. Let's see if we can make him reach Japan one airbase including island group at a time.
I'm treating this as a bit of a drawn-out Stalingrad experience for them. I need them to wear out a bit before the Comintern as a whole is able to tackle them. Especially with that Japanese plague in the East.
I think this is because the newer gun of the T-70 is heavier and makes the thing a little bit more fragile. Organisation matters but less than morale, and maybe there'll come a day we can spare some leadership to increase even the armour organisation.
I'd like to do something for the armour - will see what is practical and cost effective (given their imported doctrine levels are a lot better than my 'native' ones.
I'm not 100% sure about this but it's good to stagger projects that contribute to the same theoretical so that they don't end on the same day. That way, the increased theoretical from the first one makes the second one finish sooner, and even if the difference in completion is only a day, the difference in days that is gained because of the increased theoretical is saved for the next time that technology is researched. So the next light artillery might be researched a few days or weeks sooner
An interesting point. But basically, I just tend to click 'em as I get to them, without too much science about it. It's fairly rare that I get to start two projects that are related at once in this game.
I'd put engineers in assault divisions and ACs to mechanised formations since engineers can (I don't know the specific speeds of brigades that we'll be using here) slow down the Mec/LArm based formations.
Yes (and there's a bit more conversation that follows on this), that's why I used ACs for the cav formations (poor man's armour early on when I had nothing else). I have rivers, forts, cities and rough terrain in mind for the engineers for my assault divs (whether foot or MOT/MECH inf). They've already proven useful for 1 Div defending in Beograd, offsetting the city terrain disadvantage of the IS-1 brigade.
19 May is the day on which the first steps for the independence of modern Turkish Republic from the Ottoman Empire and the invaders was made (the day Mustafa Kemal came from İstanbul to Samsun with a steamer and step ashore). After the war, somebody asked Atatürk in a friendly setting on which day his birthday was to propose a party. At the time the records were not really well kept so Atatürk only knew he was born sometime during the spring of 1881. So he said let my birthday be the 19th of May, and if it is going to be celebrated it should be celebrated for all the young people. It is a public holiday today today called the remembrance of Atatürk, youth and sports day. Along with the 23rd of April (on 1920 on this date the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was first assembled) national sovereignty and children's day, 30th August (the day the last field battle with the Greeks was won decisively basically ending the Independence War) victory day and 29th October republic day on which monarchy was abolished and republic was declared they are the main national holidays.
Yes, a mixture of a lot of big projects getting delivered, freeing up IC, plus me wanting to get high-end stuff that is generally not too heavy on manpower. The big lend-lease payments from the USSR, US and UK really help, plus having bazillions in the resources stockpiles.
OLO is really important for continued momentum in offensives, and at one point we can research one more level of Mech Offensive so that we can go for the CA Warfare for the extra 10% CA bonus for armour.
Those are the ideal. Now thoughts are turning from defence and survival to possible offensive operations over the coming year, these doctrines will get a bit more priority I hope.
Maybe, though the way things have been going it would add one more conquest to the Empire of the Rising Sun. Perhaps (if it ever happens) if/when the Soviets can stabilise their eastern front.
I think they may still be out of range and would exert an extra drain on limited supply lines. They can still be of some use in the Balkans while the Yaks are gone. Infrastructure takes a long time to build. Any improvements wouldn't be ready in time for the Afghan campaign, I think.
Enjoy your trip, sounds excellent (even though cricket bores me to death ) really, and if you have a connecting flight in Amsterdam just PM me. In England, try the train museum in York if you're around and into trains, it was a very nice visit for me.
I support this clever idea in which the organisation of the airmen and land crews are kept intact by the local food of the different regions of our nation.
It is a technique I will have a look at, a good idea from @Wraith11B - whether it will suit the Afghan deployment I will need to see, but certainly looks very useful for shifting wings around in the Balkans.
A lot has happened since I took a short leave of absence from my Turkish correspondence to feed the fire of British suspicions of a Soviet spy cell on their home islands. I just love to see Scotland yard chasing their own tails looking for non-existent spies.
Yes: I will have to quickly check at some point to see if the Soviets do actually have any agents operating in the UK. If they do, it may be more than just a rumour. If not, then having them chasing at shadows would be quite fun too. Some small revenge for all these agents they've started sending our way, in contravention of the 'gentleman's agreement' not to spy on each other.
Pozega and Podgorica, both in favour of the Comintern. The Germans keep wasting men and equipment on the ottoman lines. Just seeing how much they are wasting using those Tigers in the mountains puts a smile on my face. Those Tigers in the plains could get some work done, instead they're pointlessly wasting fuel and spare parts trying to force them through mountain passes in single file. Only to be ambushed by Turkish mountaineers, who must be having a field day. The cost of replacement and reparation has to be significant for the Germans.
That makes sense, the Far East is now the Near East and major industrial centres aren't that far from the Japanese lines. Afghanistan is a game of patience, everything moves so slowly that you need months for your units to even get into position... Turkey has, in my opinion, enough units in the area to annex Afghanistan eventually. I guess that those units will then stay in place to defend form the Japanese...
Very much so. The trick will be not just to force one's own AI to do it generally right, but another power's AI! Still, they generally seem to respond passingly well to allied suggested objectives. I found that in this game in the Balkans, the US in the Med and at Midway. Not in all circumstances, though.
Wise choice. There has been some fear in the Soviet Weapons industry, of being overshadowed by US products. This purchase confirms that both the US and the Soviets have equipment worth buying.
This reorganisation has gone very well. Turkish Infantry Divisions are now even stronger than before. The concentration of force within these units is impressive.
I was very pleased with it. Many of those units had been produced previously and then 'stored' with this reorg in mind. It seems to have gone nicely so far.
Yes, if those Tigers have another go later, they could be in for an even ruder shock than before. Same goes for panzer divisions elsewhere on the line.
In my book, by far the most important exclusive capability available for licencing in the Soviet inventory. As you can see, I really do like them a lot.
This is a serious STAVKA problem. They tend to focus on one issue, and ignore others, then they shift their attention and their troops when they can't ignore it any more. I do have to wonder if our Generals don't feel patronised by so many 'suggestions' from the Turkish embassy on what they should do with their units, even far outside Turkey's sphere of influence. I don't mind, as it's all very reasonable and what they should have been doing in the first place, but I'm not sure everyone in the Red Army sees it that way.
Yes, realistically it just wouldn't happen this way. But an AI STAVKA from the top down? It had been doing fairly OK to now, but alas, the guidance is needed I think with the dreaded two-front war. They just don't like them, do they? If I find the multiple objectives just don't work, I may just have to throw all the cards in the air and see where they land by removing all objectives and seeing how the Soviet AI handles it.
Yes, in this case the US capability was a bit better. Also, by splitting between the two I can get more projects going, while waiting for 'diplomats to complete their missions'.
I'm quite impressed with the new 2nd Motorised Division. The Turkish army is becoming ever more mechanised, and that's definitely a good thing. Soon a new kind of RAW tactics will be on display, integrating combined arms and copious amounts of tanks and mobile units. I'm looking forward to the future operations in which the Turkish mechanised forces will be wreaking havoc.
2 Mot Div does indeed look very nice and shiny. A match I think for anything the Germans have on the front at the moment. Though they still have the edge in leaders and doctrine.
The Soviet front isn't looking so good, nothing disastrous, but definitely not ideal. I'm guessing those massive troop transfers could have something to do with that. Romanian and Turkish fronts are doing great. If the Yeniceri line remains this calm, I don't see why Turkey couldn't launch new offensive operations, whether by opening a new front in Sicily, or by using the recently acquired mechanised assets to break through and encircle some axis formations, as was done in the last big operation. Maybe you can even do both. With all those US Marines to flesh out your amphibious corps, Turkey is in a unique position to act decisively, distracting the Axis from the Soviet front, all the while gaining ground and an advantage over the Axis in Europe.
The People's Commissariat of Railways of the USSR is impressed by Turkey's recent and ongoing expansion of it's railway network, as is the GRU. We all want the midnight express to run as quickly and smoothly as possible, of course.
I'm hoping the strength of the Balkans - the casualties we can inflict, the Axis forces we divert, the resources we've prevented them getting (especially Romanian oil and refineries) and potential offensive threat we can pose will let the Soviets hold in Russia while they now shift some significant forces to confront the rising Japanese tide. It will be another interesting period: the most dangerous when the units are in their long transit and not available on either front.
There is no straightforward answer to this one. The top speed of Eng is 8 kph. Depending on the year and the chosen technologies, this is faster, similar, or a little bit slower than Arm. If you're going to use your Armour in Woods, Forest, or Mountains, Eng gives you a small advantage in both attack and movement penalties. For Jungle, Urban, Marsh, river-crossing, and fort-busting, this advantage is really significant. I would advise against pairing L Arm and Eng, except for units that will see the vast majority of combat and movement in very bad terrain. For Arm, I do it quite often, as it gives more flexibility as to where the unit can be used effectively for no speed penalty, or a marginal one. (that only really exists in good terrain with decent infra). For H Arm, Eng is definitely a must to get the most out of your heavies, the terrain penalties of H Arm are atrocious, so if you want to use H Arm in any other terrain than plains, and/or on the offensive, you need Eng in your unit. As a bonus, Eng also shortens the time needed to dig in, so it also helps if you use H Arm units as mobile defensive bulwarks. I do find it difficult to assign priority to either H Arm or Arm units under 8 kph for the deployment of Eng. It all depends what your particular use for these units is.
Yes, as discussed above, I'm using my engineers primarily as combat engineers and if they can improve the mobility of the slow-medium speed divisions a bit, that's nice. I have a few spare AC brigades floating around and one can be assigned to the one or two quick brigades I'm hoping to eventually assemble.
It's nice to know you're coming to this side of the world... Seems like you'll be but a few 100kms away from Brussels. If you ever wander toward the south of England, I'd recommend Portsmouth. I have fond memories of that place, and like me, you really like ships. There is a great naval museum which is worth the detour on it's own merits. Moreover, while you're there, you'll surely be able to see your fair share of Royal Navy vessels in the flesh by taking a boat-tour of the harbour and the naval base. You could even seen the brand new carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in it's home port, if you're lucky.
@diskoerekto's suggestion also seems like a good plan, I've heard nothing but good things about York's train museum, though I sadly haven't visited it myself. (not yet anyway)
For this, Light Armor is (for its role) either best employed to hit infantry without anti-armor support or in the exploitation roles. In both cases, speed is (or at least should be one of) the primary concern; pairing it with fast units which can hit hard, quickly (mechanized infantry, self-propelled rocket artillery) or that can give a speed boost (Light Armored Reconnaissance, aka Armored Cars) would likely be best.. Armor and Heavy Armored units would require the Engineer support for their mobility. I'm sure that Bullfilter, being an armor officer, is well aware of that.
My conception for my light division(s) is almost purely as exploitation: the medium tank/MOT/MECH divs would tackle all but the lightest opposition that can be brushed away during an exploitation and to hold any breach open until the rest of the army can catch up to secure the flanks etc.
And yes, as commented on once way back in this AAR (it was around how the ACs mixed with horse cavalry in-game), I see the ACs as force recon (div/corps level, operating way out in advance of the FEBA). Hence the effect of speeding up formations they are attached to. My first job was in tanks; my second as a squadron 2IC and then ops officer on regimental HQ of our recon regiment. I long for our Turkish mobile units to get the wind in their hair again! Their time will come, I hope.
My conception for my light division(s) is almost purely as exploitation: the medium tank/MOT/MECH divs would tackle all but the lightest opposition that can be brushed away during an exploitation and to hold any breach open until the rest of the army can catch up to secure the flanks etc.
And yes, as commented on once way back in this AAR (it was around how the ACs mixed with horse cavalry in-game), I see the ACs as force recon (div/corps level, operating way out in advance of the FEBA). Hence the effect of speeding up formations they are attached to. My first job was in tanks; my second as a squadron 2IC and then ops officer on regimental HQ of our recon regiment. I long for our Turkish mobile units to get the wind in their hair again! Their time will come, I hope.
One thing that's on my mind about ACs in this game is that, they are fast so they do not slow down the formation but they also do not make it any more faster than it already is, am I wrong about this?
About your duty back in the day, it would be great to hear/read about them so maybe when you're not writing those great AARs for us, you can write a memoir or a blog if you're not coming over for some beers/coffee?
One thing that's on my mind about ACs in this game is that, they are fast so they do not slow down the formation but they also do not make it any more faster than it already is, am I wrong about this?
About your duty back in the day, it would be great to hear/read about them so maybe when you're not writing those great AARs for us, you can write a memoir or a blog if you're not coming over for some beers/coffee?
AuthAAR's Note: OK, I'm back after my long trip away, another session played, so here we go. Am trying to stick to the action and get through month-long episodes where possible, to keep the war cracking along. And there are some big strategic questions to consider.
---xxx---
1 Jun 42
Just before midnight, orders had been given to hastily construct a rudimentary air strip in occupied Herat, in Afghanistan. It had the best transport infrastructure [40%] of the occupied provinces within range of Kabul for the Yak-4 bombers on 2 TAK, which were ordered there from Beograd at the same time. [NB: I worked out ‘reserve’ missions would have taken too long and there may not have been another available airbase close enough to stage the Yaks into Herat. I will keep the mission in mind later for shorter range reallocations.]
At midnight [following the ‘traditional’ post-save enemy AI recalculation] a welter of attacks was launched on the Turkish lines in the Balkans. One, a probe on Užice, was over as soon as it began, the enemy realising it was not a viable attack.
The latest attack on Beograd was far more serious. Once again the LSAH was best positioned in Valjevo, while the other attackers had to attack across the river. Orbay, commanding the powerful 1 Inf Div, believed he should be able to hold but would be in for a tough fight.
Note: in this ‘abbreviated’ format, just the daytime attacking percentage strength modifiers are shown, that is not including the night-fighting penalty.
MAJGEN Bözer in Pozega was also under attack, so would be unable to offer any assistance until that had been defeated, though he was holding strongly.
And to the south in the mountains of Podgorica, the Italian alpine were attacking again. But it was little more than a diversionary push and Muzir soon saw the enemy beaten off with heavy casualties after an 11-hour fight.
2 TAK finished their transfer flight to Herat late that morning. There had been no time to stockpile any fuel or supplies at the new airfield (which would also take time to be built up to fully functioning level one capacity), and the disorganisation of relocation would also impair 2 TAK’s ability to conduct any raids soon.
An eventful day ended with news of an ambitious attack by the Afghans on Bamian. The Soviet commander of 47 SD reported it was a serious attack, but that he had the situation well in hand.
---xxx---
2 Jun 42
After almost a day of fighting in Beograd, the Axis SS-Verf and Hungarian 2nd Infantry Divisions were showing signs of fatigue, but so too were 2 Inf Div and 156 SD. Given the enemy numbers and their break-off of the attack on Pozega earlier [no victory screen appeared for that one], 13 Inf Div was ordered up to Beograd, while they would be replaced in Pozega by the now recovered 15 Inf Div.
---xxx---
3 Jun 42
At 6am, 1 TAK (which had remained in Beograd) was ordered to attack Valjevo by day (only), where it was hoped they might harass the LSAH to break up its attack on Beograd. Fighter cover was ordered in case enemy interceptors appeared.
The raid began at 8am and showed the makeup of the LSAH (which was still fighting hard) and why the attack on Valjevo had been discontinued: the other infantry division there being badly disorganised. Not many casualties were caused in this first raid but the recon was useful and more losses would hopefully be inflicted subsequently. No enemy fighters appeared.
While the ground attack on Valjevo was in progress, all the cross-river attacks on Beograd were halted, leaving just the LSAH assaulting from Valjevo. All the more reason to keep hammering it from the air.
Air Report. 1 TAK’s morning and afternoon raids on Valjevo caused a total of 71 casualties that day.
OTL Event: Pacific. The Battle of Midway began. The Japanese sought to deliver another crushing blow to the U.S. Navy to ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific, but American codebreakers had determined the time and place of the Japanese attack in advance, enabling the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush.
---xxx---
4 Jun 42
A report came in to HQ 1st Army at 7am. As Inönü opened it, a small smile spread on his face. The foolhardy Afghan attack on Bamian had been beaten off with heavy casualties: it should weaken Kabul’s defences if a counterattack could be arranged quickly enough.
The after-battle report received that night was even better. At 9pm Orbay advised the Axis had given up their attack on Beograd, having lost very nearly 3,400 men in the process (not including air raid casualties)! Comintern casualties had been substantial, but far fewer.
The next news came from Soviet GRU LO SkitalecS3 and was more sobering. The Germans had broken through in the north and were advancing on the key Baltic port of Tallinn on a three-province-wide front. It seemed Soviet forces across the Patriotic Front had been thinned to reinforce the Eastern Front against the continuing Japanese advance. Many of these units were currently trapped in transit. The Turkish High Command speculated privately that there now seemed to be confusion among the leadership of their senior allies as to which direction all these reinforcements should be going.
Air Report. Three raids had been launched that day by 1 TAK on Valjevo, killing a total of 146 Axis soldiers and adding to the heavy losses incurred in ground combat against Beograd.
OTL Event: Pacific. The Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū were crippled in the Battle of Midway and scuttled.[Comment: the US Navy has unfortunately done very little so far in this ATL.]
---xxx---
5 Jun 42
Air Report. One more Turkish air raid on Valjevo was completed at 6am causing another 51 casualties, after which 1 TAK was stood down, having killed a grand total of 268 Axis troops there since 3 June.
13 Inf Div reinforced the defences of Beograd that afternoon: a welcome boost as 2 Inf Div and 156 SD were still somewhat disorganised after the recent battle.
With the powerful new 2 Mot Div being brought up to readiness in Kraljevo, the dashing MAJGEN Toüdemur was transferred from the now ‘backwater’ command of 3 Cav Div to take on this elite new formation.
SkitalecS3’s evening report indicated the Germans were closing in on Tallinn and were launching an attack that could cut off the Soviet forces in the salient. The candid Soviet prognosis was grim: Narva would soon be under threat, with Leningrad itself not that far beyond.
OTL Event: Pacific. Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū was crippled by American dive bombers and scuttled.
---xxx---
6 Jun 42
The main news reported that day was another research advance: Turkey’s artillery was again improved, though it was still not quite up to contemporary standards. Turkey hoped to modernise its detection and air defences next by developing radar technology.
By 2pm, at least three Soviet divisions had been cut off on the Baltic coast in Tallinn and to its east and more were in danger of being ‘bagged’. German medium armour had driven the Soviet defenders out of the Tallinn itself.
OTL Event: Pacific. During the Battle of Midway, Japanese cruiser Mikuma was bombed and sunk by Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft. American destroyer Hammann was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-168.
---xxx---
7 Jun 42
2 TAK in Herat was still without supplies and fuel, but the logisticians reported that the new supply chain now stretched across Iran and almost to the old Afghan border. Once there were sufficient supplies, air raids on Kabul would begin.
At 10pm, the grim news was received that Tallinn had fallen and there was little hope for the pocketed Soviet forces trapped to its east. SkitalecS3 presented a summary map of developments there over the last three days.
The collapse had been swift and worrying, with the Germans also making advances against thinning defences elsewhere on the Patriotic Front. Romania remained strongly enough held for now.
OTL Event: Pacific. The Battle of Midway ended in decisive American victory, marking a turning point in the Pacific War. The American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown sank the day after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 at Midway.
OTL Event: United States. The Chicago Tribune published a front-page article titled "Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea", providing clues from which the Japanese might have figured out that the Americans had broken their codes ahead of the Battle of Midway. Navy Secretary Frank Knox demanded that the Tribune be prosecuted, but once the Navy realized that the Japanese did not change their codes after the article appeared, the case was quietly dropped to avoid bringing the enemy's attention to the story.
---xxx---
8 Jun 42
OTL Event: Pacific. Japanese submarine I-21 shelled the Australian city of Newcastle, New South Wales but did little damage. The nine-day long Attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese submarines ended indecisively.
---xxx---
10 Jun 42
By 2am, the last Soviet units trapped in the Tallinn Pocket had surrendered. In far Herat, supplies and fuel finally started trickling in. 2 TAK’s now badly depleted organisation could begin rebuilding. This was just as well, as the south-western extremity of the Japanese advance was now only two or three provinces away from where Afghan forces had pushed east unopposed into Soviet territory.
---xxx---
13-14 Jun 42
Turkey’s second heavy tank brigade – newer IS-2s this time – was delivered to the veteran 15 Inf Bde. Their ‘spare’ infantry brigade was sent across to join HQ 4th Corps in nearby Arandelovac, which had a frontline defensive role. It arrived there late the following day.
OTL Event: United States (14 Jun 42). The General Electric Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut finished production on the new M1 rocket launcher, commonly known as the bazooka.
---xxx---
15 Jun 42
A weakly supported attack was launched on Turnu Severin just after midnight. Little notice was paid to it by the Soviet MAJGEN V.I. Kazakov who commanded there now Toüdemur had been detached from 3 Cav Div.
At the mid-month point, the worrying reverses in the Soviet sector of the Patriotic Front were laid out in a summary map. Narva had been taken and a bridgehead towards Leningrad seized by the Germans. Axis advances heavily outweighed Soviet ones in both the Northern and Ukraine sectors. Romania was the usual mix of gains and losses. The Turkish sector held strong, despite multiple attacks over the last two weeks.
Another map showed how close the Japanese advance was now to the areas occupied by the Afghans. The link-up had almost been made, though some Soviet advances had also been made further north.
---xxx---
16 Jun 42
By 10pm the attack on Turnu Severin had almost finished [it was down to 0%] but again, there would be no victory report. [Perhaps because a Soviet general was commanding? Or just one of those things?]
---xxx---
18 Jun 42
The Chief of Logistics reported Herat was now receiving steady supplies but little fuel. 2 TAK was still not ready for air operations. On the intelligence front, Italy remained quiet. The Italians had no agents of their own active on the ground or in reserve, while Turkish strength remained at ten teams with three in reserve; the focus stayed on tech espionage.
---xxx---
19 Jun 42
Another new capability was delivered, this time to the Navy. The first Turkish-built (US licensed) landing craft squadron began work-up training in Istanbul.
---xxx---
26 Jun 42
After a quiet week for Turkey (not so for the Soviets, as we shall see soon), by the morning of 26 June enough supplies and fuel had been stockpiled in Herat to allow 2 TAK to recover some organisation and commence ground attacks on Kabul, in preparation for a ground assault. With the Japanese closing in from the east, Inönü thought it urgent that Afghanistan be knocked out of the war before the feared link-up could occur. The initial air recon showed that the two militia divisions in place were still below strength from previous fighting.
Air Report. There was time for only the one raid on Kabul that day, with 68 Afghan troops being killed.
At 9pm the attack on Kabul commenced. While the notional odds [and combat modifiers] remained difficult for the Comintern forces, their units were stronger, more numerous and better organised and now had air support. The attack would be pressed home firmly to see if Kabul could finally be cracked open: before it was too late!
---xxx---
27 Jun 42
Air Report. Two daylight attacks on Kabul killed a total of 88 Afghan troops.
---xxx---
28 Jun 42
Two days later, the fighting in Kabul raged on. MAJGEN Marcinkevich saw the enemy was weakening and ordered a breakthrough attack. This should really hit the Afghans hard. Two hours later, the Ghazni Militia Division under the formidable (for that region) Akbar Khan began a diversionary attack on Bamian, clearly trying to disrupt the attack on Kabul.
Air Report. Two daylight air attacks on Kabul killed 149 Afghan troops.
---xxx---
29 Jun 42
But the half-hearted attack on Bamian was halted just an hour later, after only four Comintern and five Afghan casualties. The main attack on Kabul went on. At the same time, another Japanese-funded partisan uprising in the Dodecanese erupted. The Turkish garrison commander there stated all was well in hand: this was now becoming a routine event.
Air Report. Two daylight attacks on Kabul killed 104 Afghan troops.
By 5pm, Marcinkevich telegrammed that Afghan resistance was weakening in Kabul under the combined air and ground assault [now up to 67% odds in our favour].
Back in the Balkans, COL Diskoerekto once again got his wish: the Axis was attacking Pljevlja again – this time in corps strength! The Soviet commander MAJGEN Semenyuk was soon on the radio:
“Comrade One this is Comrade Two-One-Seven: five divisions of Axis dogs, including the mangy LSAH which has shifted to Visegrad, are attacking us from four directions. We are well-prepared and they all attack across rivers. Our glorious Comintern forces will kill the curs without mercy and send the rest limping back, licking their wounds. For Stalin! Hurrah!”
---xxx---
30 Jun 42
Just two hours later, for no obvious reason, two of the enemy divisions pulled out of the attack on Pljevlja. But the LSAH, plus one German and one Italian infantry division remained in the fight, where the odds were now improved for the defenders but the combat remained heavy.
Then at 3am, an Italian ground attack on Pljevlja with fighter escorts was reported. Five Turkish interceptor wings (including the three older wings of Hawk IIIs, I-16s and LaGG-3s and the two new F4F wings) were immediately ordered to take them on.
The dogfight began at 4am, with only 1, 6 and 7 AFs taking part for Turkey, up against two TAC wings with a multi-role fighter escort of one wing. By 6am, the first aerial battle was over: the Italians had sustained more damage, but their raid had inflicted 163 casualties on the Comintern defenders.
At 7am, 4 AG (La-5s) was also ordered to stand-by for intercept (though 2 & 3 AFs had not engaged in the last round). The next dogfight went from 10am-12pm, with the honours again going to the Turkish fighters. This time, there were no ground casualties: the fighters had beaten them back before they could unload their bombs. The Italian raiders were not seen again for the rest of the day.
While aerial heroics were going on in Pljevlja, the battle for Kabul had been won. 2 TAK was switched to attack the approaching Ghazni Militia, which now also advanced on Kabul from the south, as another attack may need to be prosecuted before it could be occupied (the mountain passes would be time-consuming to navigate).
Air Report. The morning raid on Kabul had killed another 62 Afghan troops, bringing the total from air raids there to 471 since 26 June. An afternoon raid on Ghazni killed 90 more Afghan troops.
---xxx---
Monthly Summaries
An overview of the Patriotic Front at month’s end shows the Germans now in control of the Baltic States and making general advances north and south of the Pripet Marshes. The Turkish and Romanian fronts hold firm.
The Central Asian and Far Eastern fronts also show deterioration since the beginning of the month.
The small but swift Japanese advance towards Afghanistan has almost succeeded in linking up.
The main reason for the rapid deterioration in the west and continued retreat in the east seems clear: a very large amount of Soviet and some Romanian divisions remain in transit between the two fronts. The cause for this confusion of purpose, any role Turkey may have inadvertently played in creating it or could play in being able to alleviate it will be debated in an urgent War Cabinet meeting. This map is just provided for indicative purposes.
Another map shows key Soviet cities in the west [ie VPs lost and held] against the Axis advance.
Part of the problem is likely to be the ‘two-front confusion’ the AI can experience. But this particular issue seemed, from my mind, to stem from the initial order I gave for a simple attack objective on Kabul a few months ago. That appeared to prompt a disproportionate withdrawal of units from the Patriotic Front.
I then cancelled that objective request but then sought to divert the units already coming east to meet the Japanese advance instead. After a while, that brought even more units from the west! My next move (tried out during June) was to try to balance these problems by blanketing both fronts with defensive objectives.
As we get to the end of the month, all this seems to be doing is confusing the Soviet AI even more. There is perhaps also a problem in my monthly save and reload, which might then be additionally resetting movement plans. I don’t want to play any longer than a month for AAR purposes, or it may spoil my ‘play and report as it happens’ approach and the ability of readers to offer views and advice in ‘real time’.
My first thought is now to delete all those objectives for the Soviets completely for now and just let them sort things out themselves, hopefully balancing things better in a month or two. The second alternative would be to leave them basically as is and see if they do work in time. Third would be to focus on one front only – east or west – in the hope that the most important one (I’d say the west at present) can be stabilised quickly.
Views on all this, options and variations welcomed!
The Italians have once again advanced in Egypt, the pendulum now swinging again in favour of the Axis.
The British also reported on events in South East Asia. Ground has been lost again in Burma as Japanese units take up the advance once more. In Malaya, a gaping hole has appeared in the south-west of the Allied line, with Kuala Lumpur seemingly open wide to the Japanese advance. A naval battle in Singapore Strait is also in progress – where a couple of British battleships with screens are being badly mauled by a task force of three Japanese aircraft carriers [two of them named Akagi ] with destroyer escorts.
There were no significant changes detected in the rest of South East Asia or the Pacific: the Japanese have not advanced into Java and the US appear to have done virtually nothing in the Pacific, on land or by sea, during the month.
---xxx---
Naval Report
The current naval battle between Japan and Britain may change things for next month, but in June minor ships were lost as follows:
Axis: Japan – one SS (their first lost) and two transport flotillas; Italy – one DD and one transport flotilla.
Allies: France and Australia – one DD flotilla each.
Comintern: no losses.
The reason for the French sinking became clear when the three Japanese major fleet unit losses during June were analysed. The French ships involved were found to have been operating out of the Free French port of Pondicherry on the eastern coast of India. There are three battleships and a DD flotilla still based there by the end of the month (returning to port, carry a fair degree of battle damage).
Kinugasa (CA) (衣笠 重巡洋艦) was the second vessel in the two-vessel Aoba-class of heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Laid down 24 October 1924; launched 24 October 1926; commissioned 30 September 1927. Displacement 9,100 t (standard); complement 657 (final); main armament 6 × 7.9 in (200 mm)/50 cal guns (3x2). Sunk by the French BB Corbet, May 1942.
Maya (CA) (摩耶) was one of four Takao-class heavy cruisers with the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). These were the largest and most modern cruisers in the Japanese fleet and were intended to form the backbone of a multipurpose long-range strike force. Laid down 4 December 1928; launched 8 November 1930; commissioned 20 June 1932. Sunk by the French 1st Destroyer Flotilla in May 1942.
Sendai (CL) (川内 軽巡洋艦) was a Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Sendai was the lead ship of the three vessels completed in her class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. Laid down 16 February 1922; launched 30 October 1923; commissioned 29 April 1924. Displacement 5,278 t (standard); complement 452; main armament 7 × 140 mm (5.5 in)/50 guns (7x1). Sunk by the British 67th Destroyer Flotilla, May 1942.
---xxx---
Midnight Express
It was a quieter month than usual for Interior Minister Kaya and Intelligence Head Ögel: only two spies (both Axis) were captured in Turkey, while no friendly or enemy spies came to grief in Italy all month, where Ögel’s operatives now went about their business unhindered.
In Sicily, S.I.T.H. went about its business quietly, building up its presence for the mooted Operation Isosceles (the invasion of the island). Fredo Ceylan spent his time in Switzerland peacefully, enjoying his fishing on the wonderful lakes there. Luca Brasi was busy overseeing the gearing up of both his legitimate and clandestine export businesses in aid of his old employers. In reality, he had never left – just gone on a sabbatical.
---xxx---
Coming Up: What will the War Cabinet decide about how it voices its defensive preferences for the Soviets? Can they arrive at a plan that is more likely to lead to the stabilisation of both fronts – or at least the key anti-German fight? Might Turkey also need to contemplate a summer offensive to divert Axis attention if the situation in Russia continues to deteriorate in July?
Will Kabul be taken and Afghanistan knocked out of the war? If so, will it be in time to help delay the advance elements of the Japanese advance? Might even more Turkish units (including perhaps some Soviet EFs) need to be diverted to stop the haemorrhage in Central Asia? Will the US do anything, to or for anyone, other than the EFs already sent and the admittedly welcome lend-lease payments? Something more is needed from them to start distracting the Japanese from their harrying of the Soviets.
Part of the problem is likely to be the ‘two-front confusion’ the AI can experience. But this particular issue seemed, from my mind, to stem from the initial order I gave for a simple attack objective on Kabul a few months ago. That appeared to prompt a disproportionate withdrawal of units from the Patriotic Front.
I then cancelled that objective request but then sought to divert the units already coming east to meet the Japanese advance instead. After a while, that brought even more units from the west! My next move (tried out during June) was to try to balance these problems by blanketing both fronts with defensive objectives.
As we get to the end of the month, all this seems to be doing is confusing the Soviet AI even more. There is perhaps also a problem in my monthly save and reload, which might then be additionally resetting movement plans. I don’t want to play any longer than a month for AAR purposes, or it may spoil my ‘play and report as it happens’ approach and the ability of readers to offer views and advice in ‘real time’.
My first thought is now to delete all those objectives for the Soviets completely for now and just let them sort things out themselves, hopefully balancing things better in a month or two. The second alternative would be to leave them basically as is and see if they do work in time. Third would be to focus on one front only – east or west – in the hope that the most important one (I’d say the west at present) can be stabilised quickly.
Views on all this, options and variations welcomed!
I suspect that the root of the problem is that you're saving and reloading the game in monthly intervals, rather than something to do with the objectives. The AI does not store any information about plans for troop deployment in the save game, so every time the game is loaded the AI reformulates its plans scratch based on the intel it has at that time, which leads to seemingly random reallocation of divisions which of course a human would immediately see as nonsensical, but our beloved AI of course cannot.
You could probably help this situation by playing in longer intervals, if it becomes a real problem for the gameplay and AAR in your opinion. To an extent this behavior is simply endemic to the Soviet Union when they have to fight a war on two fronts, as the travel time from east to west (or vice versa) is several months which means the time between reloads becomes untenably long to really address the issue. However in this case the fronts are closer to each other, so perhaps three-month increments will be sufficient which may be playable.
Yeah, the place is a nightmare for logistics and thats in HOI4. Here, just build what you can, when you can, because with Japan at the door, you're going to be here for a while.
OTL Event: Pacific. The Battle of Midway began. The Japanese sought to deliver another crushing blow to the U.S. Navy to ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific, but American codebreakers had determined the time and place of the Japanese attack in advance, enabling the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush.
Not so ttl. Mind you, the RN is doing a pretty good job against the Japs so far. If they turn their attention solely on crushing singapore though, that might change.
The next news came from Soviet GRU LO SkitalecS3 and was more sobering. The Germans had broken through in the north and were advancing on the key Baltic port of Tallinn on a three-province-wide front. It seemed Soviet forces across the Patriotic Front had been thinned to reinforce the Eastern Front against the continuing Japanese advance. Many of these units were currently trapped in transit. The Turkish High Command speculated privately that there now seemed to be confusion among the leadership of their senior allies as to which direction all these reinforcements should be going.
By 2pm, at least three Soviet divisions had been cut off on the Baltic coast in Tallinn and to its east and more were in danger of being ‘bagged’. German medium armour had driven the Soviet defenders out of the Tallinn itself.
The collapse had been swift and worrying, with the Germans also making advances against thinning defences elsewhere on the Patriotic Front. Romania remained strongly enough held for now.
I think the war still goes well if we have reached 1942 and Germany only just got round to taking the baltic ststes. They surely can't have that much manpower left...
the south-western extremity of the Japanese advance was now only two or three provinces away from where Afghan forces had pushed east unopposed into Soviet territory.
This however...this isn't good. The japs have walked through half a continent so their in-universe forces probably are quite disorganised and tired but still...gameplay wise, this is a big threat for turkey.
An overview of the Patriotic Front at month’s end shows the Germans now in control of the Baltic States and making general advances north and south of the Pripet Marshes. The Turkish and Romanian fronts hold firm.
The main reason for the rapid deterioration in the west and continued retreat in the east seems clear: a very large amount of Soviet and some Romanian divisions remain in transit between the two fronts. The cause for this confusion of purpose, any role Turkey may have inadvertently played in creating it or could play in being able to alleviate it will be debated in an urgent War Cabinet meeting. This map is just provided for indicative purposes.
My first thought is now to delete all those objectives for the Soviets completely for now and just let them sort things out themselves, hopefully balancing things better in a month or two. The second alternative would be to leave them basically as is and see if they do work in time. Third would be to focus on one front only – east or west – in the hope that the most important one (I’d say the west at present) can be stabilised quickly.
The sooner we take sicily the better. Knock italy out of the war, get the british to fight the germans or japs or somebody...and we can focus on taking Afghanistan and securing our borders post war.
AuthAAR's Note: OK, I'm back after my long trip away, another session played, so here we go. Am trying to stick to the action and get through month-long episodes where possible, to keep the war cracking along. And there are some big strategic questions to consider.
With the powerful new 2 Mot Div being brought up to readiness in Kraljevo, the dashing MAJGEN Toüdemur was transferred from the now ‘backwater’ command of 3 Cav Div to take on this elite new formation.
“Comrade One this is Comrade Two-One-Seven: five divisions of Axis dogs, including the mangy LSAH which has shifted to Visegrad, are attacking us from four directions. We are well-prepared and they all attack across rivers. Our glorious Comintern forces will kill the curs without mercy and send the rest limping back, licking their wounds. For Stalin! Hurrah!”
Sometimes there's more to it than the game interface shows you. Here you see the results of me and a handful of bravest among my men to go on an unauthorized clandestine mission which is not approved by the higher ups. The radio sets were turned off, we disappear in the shadows of the afternoon in the mountains. When we come back before dinner, 2 divisions already receive forged orders to stop the attack. Also some sabotaging took place as well
Part of the problem is likely to be the ‘two-front confusion’ the AI can experience. But this particular issue seemed, from my mind, to stem from the initial order I gave for a simple attack objective on Kabul a few months ago. That appeared to prompt a disproportionate withdrawal of units from the Patriotic Front.
I then cancelled that objective request but then sought to divert the units already coming east to meet the Japanese advance instead. After a while, that brought even more units from the west! My next move (tried out during June) was to try to balance these problems by blanketing both fronts with defensive objectives.
As we get to the end of the month, all this seems to be doing is confusing the Soviet AI even more. There is perhaps also a problem in my monthly save and reload, which might then be additionally resetting movement plans. I don’t want to play any longer than a month for AAR purposes, or it may spoil my ‘play and report as it happens’ approach and the ability of readers to offer views and advice in ‘real time’.
My first thought is now to delete all those objectives for the Soviets completely for now and just let them sort things out themselves, hopefully balancing things better in a month or two. The second alternative would be to leave them basically as is and see if they do work in time. Third would be to focus on one front only – east or west – in the hope that the most important one (I’d say the west at present) can be stabilised quickly.
Views on all this, options and variations welcomed!
I'd say, in this specific circumstance, a small expedition into the future might be the best bet and wouldn't count as cheating. Just do the first and second options and do nothing, observe what the AI does. After enough studying. return to the original save and do whatever you'd think would've been realistic. I don't think in real life USSR would've acted this stupid so a little save scumming to see what is the best way to wipe away the confusion of the AI is quite ok. After all it's not save scumming if you're trying your chance until something succeeds, you'd just be studying AI behaviour.
Welcome back my friend, you've been missed. I hope your trip was a great one and you won the cricket games
I suspect that the root of the problem is that you're saving and reloading the game in monthly intervals, rather than something to do with the objectives. The AI does not store any information about plans for troop deployment in the save game, so every time the game is loaded the AI reformulates its plans scratch based on the intel it has at that time, which leads to seemingly random reallocation of divisions which of course a human would immediately see as nonsensical, but our beloved AI of course cannot.
You could probably help this situation by playing in longer intervals, if it becomes a real problem for the gameplay and AAR in your opinion. To an extent this behavior is simply endemic to the Soviet Union when they have to fight a war on two fronts, as the travel time from east to west (or vice versa) is several months which means the time between reloads becomes untenably long to really address the issue. However in this case the fronts are closer to each other, so perhaps three-month increments will be sufficient which may be playable.
There could be something to this, but I’d point out that the Soviets had been fighting a two front war since 1940, often with 3-4 saves per month. And this specific problem only really started after I set that solitary Kabul objective. Up till then the Soviet AI had stayed pretty steady, keeping the West strong (where there were some objectives set) and the east weak (ever since the main Far East Army was isolated and destroyed early on). I think I may have compounded things by trying to divert those Kabul-bound divisions to the east to fight the Japanese.
I'd say, in this specific circumstance, a small expedition into the future might be the best bet and wouldn't count as cheating. Just do the first and second options and do nothing, observe what the AI does. After enough studying. return to the original save and do whatever you'd think would've been realistic. I don't think in real life USSR would've acted this stupid so a little save scumming to see what is the best way to wipe away the confusion of the AI is quite ok. After all it's not save scumming if you're trying your chance until something succeeds, you'd just be studying AI behaviour.
I actually experimented on previous saves (so as not to future-spoil) dating back to when I first set the Kabul objective. I then ran it through to the present to see how the AI would have played things without the new eastern objectives. Tallinn was still lost, but there wasn’t the big exodus east and both fronts were better off than they are now. Hence confirming my view that the plethora of new objectives had caused the confusion. The last month of the actual game showed the AI does take some notice: the Soviets had fully reoccupied the empty Finnish border in the south during June, then started thinning it again when I took the objectives there away to protect Leningrad instead.
Yeah, the place is a nightmare for logistics and thats in HOI4. Here, just build what you can, when you can, because with Japan at the door, you're going to be here for a while.
I think you may be right. Will see how the current Afghan campaign goes, but if they are knocked out the Turkish units there will be heading to the (Soviet) Eastern Front.
Not so ttl. Mind you, the RN is doing a pretty good job against the Japs so far. If they turn their attention solely on crushing singapore though, that might change.
I think the war still goes well if we have reached 1942 and Germany only just got round to taking the baltic ststes. They surely can't have that much manpower left...
Yes, and that’s with an extra year of fighting in the east, too. But the experiment in objective setting may have given the Germans their opening to break out in 1942, while doing little to stop the Japanese advance in the east.
This however...this isn't good. The japs have walked through half a continent so their in-universe forces probably are quite disorganised and tired but still...gameplay wise, this is a big threat for turkey.
In the Balkans yes, but the thin Red line in Russia is a lot thinner than it should be. Still, it may draw the Germans in so they can be destroyed more fully later.
It may come to that. And if necessary a can send more second-line units east if I have to in order to help stabilise the Eastern Front. At least I can control them. Or I let the east go and prepare a big counter-strike offensive in the Balkans with all my new gear. Including an Anzio-style marine landing on the Croatian coast to help cut off some forces down that end and once again distract the Germans from smashing my allies. Choices, choices
The sooner we take sicily the better. Knock italy out of the war, get the british to fight the germans or japs or somebody...and we can focus on taking Afghanistan and securing our borders post war.
Alas, from previous games, I think it will take a lot more than a modest conquest of Sicily to knock them out. In my France game I had the French sweeping across the Alps (as well as pushing into Germany as well) assisted by major UK and US EFs and a large allied army simultaneously taking Sicily and then invading via the boot and it was still a hard grind. But wiping out a bunch of their forces in the Balkans could help: even better, a land attack via Yugoslavia through Venice complemented by an amphibious attack on Sicily as they’re distracted ... hmm, could be nice!
Sometimes there's more to it than the game interface shows you. Here you see the results of me and a handful of bravest among my men to go on an unauthorized clandestine mission which is not approved by the higher ups. The radio sets were turned off, we disappear in the shadows of the afternoon in the mountains. When we come back before dinner, 2 divisions already receive forged orders to stop the attack. Also some sabotaging took place as well
Thank you my friend! We won exactly half of them and I had a great time. Met up with @stnylan at one of the games (happened to be playing in walking distance from his home) and he very kindly gave me an excellent-looking book on Ataturk I’m looking forward to reading.
. Manchester's got so many industry and tech musuems (all free of course) that you would be there a while. Imperial war musuem, trains, planes and automobiles, space centres, heavy industry, football, etc. The BBC is also currently in town having been expelled from the south. I actually walked through the blue peter garden quite a bit when I was in Sixth Form. 
