Notice : I know today's entry is another shorter one, and I'm sorry that it was this length after the long wait, but when you find out why it's this long, you'll forgive me.
[HEADING=2]Entry 10 - Diplomacy[/HEADING]
We open today with a massively annoying glitch. You'll notice this is a running theme this entry.
There's been a Polish uprising in the town of... Metz? The French town on the German border. See, somehow, the Poles took an ENTIRE TANK BRIGADE through Germany
and nobody noticed . Moreover, they took Metz. Which is situated along the Maginot Line, giving it the highest possible land fortifications in the game.
See, when forts are that strong, basically you need an army to shift even the tiniest force, and you'll take casualties. Bad ones.
I don't relish having to take the town back.
I get to work replacing the heavy Paratrooper casualties I took in Operation : Sealion.
For reference, I took about 40-50,000 casualties in all, and 30,000 of those were Paratroopers.
Meanwhile, my men will spend this Christmas in the North of Scotland. Since the British have cities in Egypt, India and the East, they haven't got the point of surrender, despite my total military victory on the Home Islands.
This means I must manually move troops into every province of the British Isles. This is tedious.
With the collapse of the United Kingdom, I am now able to exert total diplomatic dominance onto the United States. They are now leaning so heavily towards the Axis, they'll be able to join in under a year.
It's around this point that I notice that, despite the fact that (due to my intelligence services) 42% of the vote goes towards the German-American Party, the entire US government is Democrats.
Odd.
Also - since I just got some DLC that added "War goals", I try one out. I put my goal in the war with the UK as "Conquer". Total Victory.
The Soviets are uncomfortable with having my borders so close to Moscow. They insist that I give up Eastern Poland, or they will assume that we intend war with the USSR.
I'm not entirely happy about it, but I really have no choice. I give them what they want.
This is the new border. On reflection, it's not that bad. Due to the fact that I still own the Baltic and the curve of their border, I'll be able to flank and destroy whatever troops they put into Poland.
If they invest heavily enough in Poland, I might even be in a better position than I was before.
More Mechanised troops. This time, however, I deploy them around Metz, encircling the Polish defenders.
The British pull back, to make a stand at the Orkney Islands.
I'm worried about the assault there. Once again, their bombers have shredded my supply lines, and my fighters can't help because the supply convoys to Glasgow (the only airbase in Scotland) are being sunk by the hundred.
I replace those men I lost in the invasion, but I'm suffering in Scotland. The supply problems are just snowballing.
1)I can't attack the naval bases to remove the raiding ships because the men have no supplies.
2)The men have no supplies because the roads are being bombed.
3)The roads are being bombed because my fighter planes have no supplies.
4)The fighters have no supplies because the convoys are being raided.
5)Go to 1.
You see that? That's the computer cheating. Outrageously.
I kept on seeing that my convoys were being attacked by US ships, but I assumed the US was simply giving ships to the UK secretly.
But that ship flies the flag of the United States of America, and it sinks my supply convoys. We are not at war. There has been no declaration of war. I cannot attack their ships - if I try, nothing happens.
If I were to try to attack someone's convoys, I'm fairly certain the game would demand that I declare war. This feels like the game is breaking its own rules, to be honest.
While I now know why so many of my ships are getting sunk (because the USA are liars), it doesn't help me much. This is a map of the infrastructure in Scotland.
The black areas represent areas where the roads are so bad, I physically cannot move across them.
It's the Frisian Islands all over again, only worse, because the USA is sinking my entire navy, and
I can't do anything about it.
On the subject of the game cheating, my assault on Metz goes exactly as I predicted. I get nowhere, and die at an alarming rate.
In a bout of optimism, I drop Paratroopers onto Metz. I wish I knew what the hell happened, because suddenly, the Poles surrendered.
Bear in mind, I was watching the battle the whole time. At no point did I breakthrough. They were beating me right up until the second they inexplicably surrendered.
I guess I'm not complaining, just puzzled. Still, the success of my Paratroopers gives me an idea...
AHAHAHAHA! YES! MY PARATROOPERS, ONCE AGAIN, SAVE THE DAY.
In terms of strategic victories, just about every major breakthrough in the past 6 years of war has come from Germany's Magic Airwarriors.
Despite not having any supplies, or transport boats, my Paratroopers land on the mainland, pursuing the British army.
It's like the Miracle of Metz all over again.
Important tech here. I begin work on the first level of a technology that will allow me to build Nuclear Reactors. After I've done four levels of this technology (a long way off), I'll be able to research the big one - The Nuclear Bomb.
The UK defences are now wrecked, not just by my invasion, but by British guerillas attempting to stop the forts from being used by the German army.
They must be very coordinated partisans, considering all the forts where fine a few seconds ago, but whatever.
On the 28th of September, 1941, I finally occupy all of the United Kingdom.
I was looking forward to not having any more convoy raids, until I realised that the Allied bases in Spain are close enough to continue the naval war from there.
I'm looking forward to finally crushing Spain, and when I do, I'm not just going to "Occupy" them. I'm setting my occupation policy in Spain to "Total Exploitation". I will seize everything they have and enslave the populace.
I hate Spain. They deserve absolutely everything I'm going to bring down on them.
I declare war on Ireland. Look, nothing personal, but I cannot rely on the Irish military to repel an Allied landing, even if they were in the Axis.
The campaign is quick. My men are hardened by the seven campaigns they have fought, and soon take Dublin.
Soon after I seize the province of Cork, Ireland surrenders.
I see. If you can't tell what that says, the United States have declared war on Nazi Germany.
They claim it is due to a German attack on them, which they call "a day which will live in infamy".
They also call my attack "sudden" and "deliberate".
You know what? We having a saying here in Britain. It goes something like, "Fuck America with a rusty pike, you filthy, cheating bastards."
You attack me for months on end (without letting me fight back), you ignore the fact that half your populace supports me, and you would have joined the Axis inside of two months, and you have the audacity to blame me for an act of war (one that I swear, I did not commit)?
In game, I do indeed call this a day that will live in infamy. Despite the blatant injustice, I'm not cheating. It's tempting to just load an older save or something, but I'd feel like I was lying to you.
But out of game? I have one word for you - RAGEQUIT.
END OF ENTRY 10
