Apologies for the delay, life has been somewhat hectic. Though on the brightside I've got a few days off coming so should be able to crack on with the next update.
Now to the most pleasing mountain of replies. First off it appears my attempt at having something go wrong for Britain didn't really work. All I can say is Chamberlain and Eden are most miffed at being sidelined in Europe, so
they at least think it didn't go well. Even if nobody else does.
Carlstadt Boy - I can assure you it won't be the G-3; that design would have been a match for anything up to an Iowa which is a little overkill for hunting a German cruiser. A dedicated 'cruiser killer' type design is the way forward and not just for Britain....
trekaddict - As long as France has a demilitarised Rhineland they have Germany by the throat, certain sacrifices can be made as long as they retain that position. If nothing else every extra ship Germany builds means dozens (hundreds?) less tanks and aircraft on the Rhine border, a not unimportant consideration when you are as industrially backward as France.
Carlstadt Boy/trekaddict - A cunning solution to the Rhineland problem. Fortunately the European powder keg hasn't yet blown so I've got time to mod it in.
DonnieBaseball - A decent enough analysis, but for the 'Continentalits' in the cabinet being frozen out of the big decisions is unbearable. Worse the UK is now completely out of friends and favours and still has the negotiations over Spain to get through, having a few cards to play in that hand would be helpful.
On the BC, I'd say Vanguard is somewhat overkill for taking down Scharnhorst, the new vessel doesn't need to be that good. Ideally you'd 'grow' a CA rather than 'shrink' a BB (engineering wise growing is far easier than shrinking). Problem is that even a County on massive steroids isn't quite good enough. A tough problem for the DNC.
MadVlad - Indeed, tk is an utter heathen about Vanguard's design. No appreciation of brutalist architecture at all.
Game effects, basically I received a load of trade offers from various South American minors and accepted quite a few so tried to work them in. Also at some point I have planned a trade update, as I see it Empire Free Trade will have kick up a few oddities. For instance beef - the Anglo-Argentian trade agreement was mainly about keeping Argentinan beef exports going in return for various concessions to Britain. How does that work in Empire Free Trade? With Australia and South Africa keen on their own beef exports how does the mix of tarrifs and so on work.
However while there would be interesting Imperial dynamics and arguments, I'm not sure it will make a good update. In any case it would be something Britain would need to work on, even if I just reduce it to a quick paragraph.
truth is life - I concur, Vanguard was a good ship and surely that's the main point. If a ship is pretty that is a bonus, but it is not the object of the exercise.
trekaddict - You remain a heathen and that's an end of it.
Duritz - On a practical level the larger powers can just say 'Shut up' and stop the debate. However it will stir up a lot of memories that were finally starting to scab over and generally raise the tension across Europe. Which is probably not what France wanted but is handy from a writing view point.
On the Pacific Mandates I wonder - How important where they? If they were a big enough deal to actually make the agenda it could work out for the best; a large Australian(British)-Japanese row would probably help the Empire wake up to the Japanese threat, particularly if the Japanese delegation said something really stupid, which they occasionally did.
Arilou - Germany isn't materially weaker, sure her reputation is in the gutter but economically she still outperforms France and the New Entente combined. And being hemmed in is good, until the caged beast lashes out in desperation and breaks free.
The real problem for Britain is a generation of diplomats used to European entanglements and used to being a leading light. Only the really old hands can remember 'Splendid Isolation' and quite a few probably remember it as being not all that Splendid towards the end.
Bafflegab - Poland is part of the New Entente with France and the Czechs. Game effect is all three are allied together, ensuring Germany gets a two fronted war if she moves east.
Barring big changes there will certainly be no Munich Agreement this timeline.
Carlstadt Boy - That sums it up and also why the Rhineland matters. With so much heavy industry concentrated there, and so much of that crucial to wartime industry, denying the area to from Germany at the start of a conflict gives France a chance to fight on something like equal terms. Or so they think.
TheExecuter - I'd say a continent spanning war is more likely, the number of disputes and alliance threatens to drag nations to war over issues they've never heard of.
For instance - Hungary, backed by Italy and Austria, goes after Transylvania (now a live problem after Versailles is dragged up again) and tries to bully Romania into giving up. Romania refuses, Hungary starts border antics that turn into shooting exchanges which become outright war. Romania calls in the Little Entente (Yugoslavia and the Czechs) who are also worried about Hungarian ambitions and they declare war on Hungary. Italy jumps in to try and seize the Dalmatian coast from Yugoslavia and drags along Austria from the Triple Pact. The Czechs, worried about the expanding war, call in the New Entente of France and Poland who join the war. Meanwhile Bulgaria sees a chance to kick Romania while she's surrounded and also declares to get back her lost territory. With Europe aflame and France distracted Germany decides to exploit the confusion and reclaim any Germanic looking territory nearby, which prompts further declarations of war as they are resisted.
Not saying that's going to happen, but it's not an unlikely permutation given the countless territorial problems festering in Europe.
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Right getting late and I have an early start, I promise to reply to the rest of your much appreciated comments tomorrow.
