Let's Play : Hearts of Iron 3 - [Entry 20 - Atop Mountain Peaks]

[ChupathingyX]

SNIP

This definitely seems like a tough one.

How powerful are the US at this stage by the way? I'm going to assume their navy is better than yours considering they keep sinking your ships, and only a naval invasion is possible so maybe wittling down their navy would be a good first step. Maybe after a while they'll start to back down?

I don't really know how themechanics of this game works, but taking Spain as quickly as possible and then holding out until you can invade the US through maybe the Caribbean sounds like it could work.

Or maybe you could destroy one of their ACS modules you can just nuke 'em once you get the technology, but that takes a long time doesn't it?

I can't imagine there being an "easy" way out of this.

 

[Octorok]

SNIP

This definitely seems like a tough one.

How powerful are the US at this stage by the way? I'm going to assume their navy is better than yours considering they keep sinking your ships, and only a naval invasion is possible so maybe wittling down their navy would be a good first step. Maybe after a while they'll start to back down?

I don't really know how themechanics of this game works, but taking Spain as quickly as possible and then holding out until you can invade the US through maybe the Caribbean sounds like it could work.

Or maybe you could destroy one of their ACS modules you can just nuke 'em once you get the technology, but that takes a long time doesn't it?

I can't imagine there being an "easy" way out of this.

On the US power - their navy is better than mine, and larger, but not to the extent that the Royal Navy was.

Their military forces are not up to German standard. I have better equipment, better operational strength (as in, I've researched Command technologies that boost the ability of my officers to win battles) and a huge advantage in numbers.

I also have a buffer. Any assault from the US will strike the British Isles or France, whereas my attack on them will be in their Homeland.

My industry is better than theirs by some way, but they'll get stronger pretty rapidly.

As bad as it is, it's not completely disastrous, since it will be a long time before the US can pose a threat to me in Europe.

 

[ChupathingyX]

As bad as it is, it's not completely disastrous, since it will be a long time before the US can pose a threat to me in Europe.

Well, maybe you could invade them, or at least attack them in some way that it weakens them so you can still focus on Spain. Or just go for Spain and then for US, instead of going for the USSR.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Wow, that's really lame. It seems like the game will do everything it can to keep you from waging war against the Soviets.

As bad as it is, it's not completely disastrous, since it will be a long time before the US can pose a threat to me in Europe.

Well, maybe you could invade them, or at least attack them in some way that it weakens them so you can still focus on Spain. Or just go for Spain and then for US, instead of going for the USSR.

The problem is that a lot of his victory goals are all about taking Soviet provinces, and fulfilling those victory goals are a part of what actually makes you win. Although it does look like he's a good bit ahead of everyone in victory points anyway, so maybe it's not that bad.


I really don't know what you should do, as I have no idea what kind of forces the Americans are wielding. Can you get anyplace in the Caribbean (with an airport for paratrooper drops) or Central America to join the axis, as a place to land your troops and help secure supplies? Either way, this will be a tough one, but after the way you handled Operation: Sealion, I believe you can pull it of.

 

[Burninator]

Hi there! I just came across this, and I'm loving it. I 'm a bit of a WWII buff, and I can't believe that I haven't heard of this game before!

You've made some good progress, anyway, you're way ahead of historical schedule. You shouldn't have had enough supplies to get through Poland by 1937, but whatevs, right?

Hmm. The way I see it, you're threatened threefold.

First, by the allied navies. As far as I can tell, you never struck at the british navy, rather bypassing it to invade the green and pleasant land itself. That was a nice move, but it leaves britain in control of the seas. Now that the US have entered the war as well, that problem's only gonna be exacerbated.

Said navies are not going to treat you kindly.

I think the major threat they pose is to cut you off from britain. You've already seen how hard it can be to resupply troops while there are american ships about. Plus, britain's economy relies on a lot of naval trade. I know that germany-controlled britain won't be trading with any of its former colonies, but resources still need to arrive (and manufactured goods need to leave) via ship. As such, I think your first goal needs to be to secure the english channel. That can be could be best done using land-based aircraft and mines, for now, while you use your many new docks to build up a strong surface fleet. If you develop a strong force of naval bombers (dive bombers or torpedo bombers) now, that can both help you control the channel as well as benefit you later when you're setting up your carrier force.

Additionally, as you've already recognized, now that the US has entered the war, you're in a very real danger of finding a US army on european soil. Since most of Britain's army (and air force) is probably in spain at this point, adding some americans to the mix would make for quite a threat, even to you. Especially since their control of the seas would let them resupply with (relative) ease. Even if spain was eliminated, there's still the british-held territories in Africa and the Middle east, which could feasibly be used to stage an invasion. Or, hell, there'd even be the threat of a simple landing in force somewhere along the spanis coastline. Nothing on overlord scale, obviously, but certainly enough to force you to garrison far too many troops in france.

Plus, allied control of the seas is restricting you from using your strong amphibious force optimally. My favored strategy in spain would be a simple massed landing at a weakly-defended probably huelva or cadiz, and then a push along the coast with one column and towards madrid with another.

So after securing the channel, I think you need to prioritize gaining naval control over the waters surrounding europe. I'm not sure how to do that, though. Mines are indiscriminate, aircraft don't have sufficient range to cover (and threaten) everything. Once you've gained territory, you can build airbases to defend it, but you can't rely on naval air cover in territory you don't have a foothold in. Can you work with u-boats, maybe?

Your second threat, would lie in the threat of a massed ground attack by enemies in spain. You can reduce this threat by challenging allied naval control over europe's coastlines, but not eliminate it. And if you conclude that you cannot effectively challenge allied naval control, then spain (and, ultimately, all hostile and neutral territory in or close to europe) has to come under your control, before the americans can start reinforcing their belaguered allies. So how to attack it? No clue, honestly I've already mentioned the idea of an amphibious invasion, but with the british navy still out and about, that's probably infeasible. The mountainous bottleneck of the ardennes is really what horribly restricts your freedom of movement, and elminates your troops' advantages here. Plus, no roads. Hmm.

Looking at spain's topography, there's plains along the coast, right where the major cities are. Would it be possible to deploy a small, but powerful mobile force to rush along that line and capture the spanish coastal cities? Perhaps using paratroopers to secure their flank? The defenders would either have to let you savage their coastline, or be forced to pull forces away from the defence of the ardennes.

Alternately, is it possible to quickly train some sort of special mountain infantry? Cause that is really what you need here. You put tons of preparation into sealion and were rewarded with quick success. I'm sure if you got the specialized forces, you could take spain just as easily. Only question is, can you do it before the allies get there? Some mountain-capable infantry, coupled with strong fighter cover and maybe aerial resupply could probably get you in there.

Alternately, could you get some help from your allies? I think italy always kept 12 divisions of elite mountain infantry rolling around, could you get them to join the fight?

As a tactical aside, would it be feasible (and cost-effective) to use your new Wunderwaffen to attack allied airfields in spain? It'd even the odds a bit.

And finally, on a bright note, now that britain's gone, I'm pretty sure spain is going to have a lot of problem resupplying. Its british forces aren't gonna get any more equipment or munitions, and the spanish economy is probably stretched enough supplying its own armed forces. Hell, maybe with some well-placed sabotage, and a nicely timed offensive, you can get it to collapse

After spain, you could probably take all of british-held africa and the middle east without too much trouble. This would get you much cherished oil, as well as some nice staging areas, usable in combating your third major threat, an attack by the soviet union.

This is probably your lowest threat so far. You appeased them nicely by dropping eastern poland, and I'm sure they've still got plenty of internal strife to be worried about. Mind you, if they do decide to attack while you are elsewhere, you have no time or ground to lose, because they don't have too long to advance before coming across your cities and industrial complexes. Really, you need to balance the risk of them attacking with the cost of the force you decide to keep along their borders. I'd honestly suggest some sort of trade pact to keep them happy. Later, you can start offending them, but not until you've taken care of europe.

I wouldn't consider attacking the united states yet, really. Establish naval control, secure europe, and then strike towards the east. I honestly think it'd be less resource-intensive than trying to invade a nation that's almost as huge and half a world away.

A couple of further notes, I'd really try to get turkey on my side. I think they're neutral, so far, and they're not worth much economically, but they control a major access route to the middle east, and I don't know how much trouble they can give you if you fight them.

Also, see if you can't sabotage the panama canal. That'd really piss the US off, while delaying them horribly whenever they want to redeploy forces between the Japanese and you.

What's up with norway and sweden? Are they on your side? Sweden's got some very nice steel, I think, so that would probably be a valuable future ally.

Anyway, quick TL;DR:
Priorities:
Secure the english channel and the waters around europe.
Fight spain via either an armored spearhead to capture (and raze) their cities, or by deploying specialist mountain infantry that retains some mobility. Improve air cover over the ardennes to protect your supply lines and allow for aerial resupply. Alternately, if naval superiority is achieved, go amphibious on their asses. When spain is down, go for africa and the middle east.
Appease the soviet union as best you can while taking care of europe.

Whew, I wrote a lot. Sorry bout that, got a bit carried away, I guess. Like I said, a bit of a WWII buff. Hope I made some usable suggestions, eager to see the next update.

 

[Tigurus]

Well, thats a shitty move from the USA.
What will you do now that you're in war with them? D=
I still find it nice how you came this far.

I also bought For the Motherland and installed the game again. And I can't seem to lower my neutrality, so I can't attack Poland or anyone How did you do that?

I just cheated to lower neutrality, it's a stupid game mechanic.

Press the "`" key, and type "noneutrality", without the quotes.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the US. On the one hand, I can ignore them, and repel any attempted landings, and focus on Spain/Europe, then Russia, as was my intention.

Or, I can focus entirely on the States early on, before they mobilise, invading and occupying the USA and Canada.

Or, I can do a mixture of both. Ignore them now, and nuke them to shreds later.

Like my gamble on Sealion, I'm genuinely interested in the opinions of my readers once again.

What do I do about America?

Aaah thank you I couldn't get my threat high enough to attack them

Well, I think that you first need to get rid of Spain as when Russia enters the front, you will have 3 fronts to cover. Furthermore, I think just repelling any small invasions from the USA.
Also, (maybe) possible is to gain a small foothold in southern-US and when spain is done with, use that foothold to attack the USA and eventually canada. (Though maybe it's best to start in Canada.
And well, hope Russia doesn't enter. :/
Thats my 2 cents anyhow.

 

[Cipher1]

Nice play through so far, wish I was any good at this game my general game plan is just switch to one year draft and spam reserve infantry until I win unless im playing the ICE mod which really punishes you for not building enough infrastructure (Ive yet to be able to make it half way across russia as japan without needing 4000+ supplies a day)

If you ever get a chance give RandomHOI mod a chance its pretty interesting

 

[Octorok]

As bad as it is, it's not completely disastrous, since it will be a long time before the US can pose a threat to me in Europe.

Well, maybe you could invade them, or at least attack them in some way that it weakens them so you can still focus on Spain. Or just go for Spain and then for US, instead of going for the USSR.

Wow, that's really lame. It seems like the game will do everything it can to keep you from waging war against the Soviets.

As bad as it is, it's not completely disastrous, since it will be a long time before the US can pose a threat to me in Europe.

Well, maybe you could invade them, or at least attack them in some way that it weakens them so you can still focus on Spain. Or just go for Spain and then for US, instead of going for the USSR.

The problem is that a lot of his victory goals are all about taking Soviet provinces, and fulfilling those victory goals are a part of what actually makes you win. Although it does look like he's a good bit ahead of everyone in victory points anyway, so maybe it's not that bad.


I really don't know what you should do, as I have no idea what kind of forces the Americans are wielding. Can you get anyplace in the Caribbean (with an airport for paratrooper drops) or Central America to join the axis, as a place to land your troops and help secure supplies? Either way, this will be a tough one, but after the way you handled Operation: Sealion, I believe you can pull it of.

Having examined this from every angle, I really cannot see any practical way for me to invade the United States.

The Allied naval dominance of the Atlantic will, at best, destroy my overstretched supply convoys. At worst, it will sink my invasion fleet.

All I can do is try to get Japan to enter the war and soak up the energy of the United States long enough for me to take the USSR.

Nice play through so far, wish I was any good at this game my general game plan is just switch to one year draft and spam reserve infantry until I win unless im playing the ICE mod which really punishes you for not building enough infrastructure (Ive yet to be able to make it half way across russia as japan without needing 4000+ supplies a day)

If you ever get a chance give RandomHOI mod a chance its pretty interesting

Yeah, I've seen that mod. Looks hilarious. For those not in the know, it basically randomizes everything in the game, so that you start with (for example) Australia as a huge African nation with Jet Engines and a cabinet full of Communists.

It's really just good for a laugh/a challenge.

Aaah thank you I couldn't get my threat high enough to attack them

Well, I think that you first need to get rid of Spain as when Russia enters the front, you will have 3 fronts to cover. Furthermore, I think just repelling any small invasions from the USA.
Also, (maybe) possible is to gain a small foothold in southern-US and when spain is done with, use that foothold to attack the USA and eventually canada. (Though maybe it's best to start in Canada.
And well, hope Russia doesn't enter. :/
Thats my 2 cents anyhow.

I really do have to deal with Spain. It's basically my own equivalent of the Western Front, since Spain is a secure base for Allied military bases and contains the entire army of the British Empire, Spain, and possibly some Americans.

My real terror is that Russia will declare war on me. I have to focus on Spain at first, and I'd hoped to be in a much better position by 1942 to invade Russia (with territory in the Middle East, for example, and total domination of the Baltic).

The way I see it, I can take Spain and Europe pretty well, and I can handle whatever land power the US has for at least a year or two.

But if during the critical stage of eliminating the Allied stronghold in Western Europe, the USSR decides to put me down.... Well, God Save Germany.

Hi there! I just came across this, and I'm loving it. I 'm a bit of a WWII buff, and I can't believe that I haven't heard of this game before!

It is an excellent game for the strategic-thinking WW2 gamer. Don't blame yourself for not having heard of these games, they are extremely niche.

You've made some good progress, anyway, you're way ahead of historical schedule. You shouldn't have had enough supplies to get through Poland by 1937, but whatevs, right?

Well, *mostly* ahead of schedule. On the one hand, I'm way, way late for Barbarossa, but I filled that timeslot with the conquest of the UK, so it's pretty fair.

And the reason I could take Poland so early was simply that the game doesn't really differentiate between civilian economy and war economy. There's a minor distinction, but really, your entire country is devoted to war.

If Germany had spent all of 1936 not building any commercial goods, but instead built a large tank force, it might have been able to take Poland. That was the real victory - my tanks. My infantry were superior, but I had a 10:1 advantage in armour.

Hmm. The way I see it, you're threatened threefold.

First, by the allied navies. As far as I can tell, you never struck at the british navy, rather bypassing it to invade the green and pleasant land itself. That was a nice move, but it leaves britain in control of the seas. Now that the US have entered the war as well, that problem's only gonna be exacerbated.

Said navies are not going to treat you kindly.

I think the major threat they pose is to cut you off from britain. You've already seen how hard it can be to resupply troops while there are american ships about. Plus, britain's economy relies on a lot of naval trade. I know that germany-controlled britain won't be trading with any of its former colonies, but resources still need to arrive (and manufactured goods need to leave) via ship. As such, I think your first goal needs to be to secure the english channel. That can be could be best done using land-based aircraft and mines, for now, while you use your many new docks to build up a strong surface fleet. If you develop a strong force of naval bombers (dive bombers or torpedo bombers) now, that can both help you control the channel as well as benefit you later when you're setting up your carrier force.

This is, in fact, spot on. If my supply chain to the UK stays this bad, then the US will liberate it with ease. I hope, however, to achieve the same effect in my conquest of Spain as I did in Britain, by simply taking the naval bases through land power.

I am aware that, even after having secured my convoys, I need at least a small navy to help defend Western Rurope from Allied landings.

Additionally, as you've already recognized, now that the US has entered the war, you're in a very real danger of finding a US army on european soil. Since most of Britain's army (and air force) is probably in spain at this point, adding some americans to the mix would make for quite a threat, even to you. Especially since their control of the seas would let them resupply with (relative) ease. Even if spain was eliminated, there's still the british-held territories in Africa and the Middle east, which could feasibly be used to stage an invasion. Or, hell, there'd even be the threat of a simple landing in force somewhere along the spanis coastline. Nothing on overlord scale, obviously, but certainly enough to force you to garrison far too many troops in france.

At this stage, if I take Spain, I really cannot see the UK contributing anything meaningful to the war after that point.

I admit that the Spanish/UK/Canada force would be significantly bolstered by US forces, but only an alliance of those nations could really harm my position in France. If I take Spain before the US arrives, or if the US lands separately in France, I am reasonably confident that I can deal with the threats separately.

My real worry is the Soviet Union. If they invade me while I'm fiddling about in Spain, then it's going to be really, really bad. I have some troops in Poland, and a reasonable force along the Hungarian border, but I doubt it's enough to protect Germany from a speedy attack.

The other problem is - the longer I leave my invasion of the Soviet Union, the harder it will get. If I had invaded in 1941, as I originally planned before the occupation of the UK took so long, it would have been twice as easy as attacking the force I see now, in 1942.

Plus, allied control of the seas is restricting you from using your strong amphibious force optimally. My favored strategy in spain would be a simple massed landing at a weakly-defended probably huelva or cadiz, and then a push along the coast with one column and towards madrid with another.

This is also true. I have the men to invade the Northern Spanish Coast (a strategy that I'm very seriously considering), but the Allies had a superior naval presence there.

If (and it's a big "if") I land behind the Allied army in Spain, securing the Northern Coast, then the ferocity and damage of my advance would be absolutely crippling. I'd have occupied most of Spain before the Allied army had crossed the Pyrenees, and they'd have a knife in their back - I still have 400,000 men in South-Western France.

So after securing the channel, I think you need to prioritize gaining naval control over the waters surrounding europe. I'm not sure how to do that, though. Mines are indiscriminate, aircraft don't have sufficient range to cover (and threaten) everything. Once you've gained territory, you can build airbases to defend it, but you can't rely on naval air cover in territory you don't have a foothold in. Can you work with u-boats, maybe?

It's pretty simple to secure the seas after I have control of the naval bases, I don't need a particularly large force. Just some submarines, and a small surface navy, to deal with any potential invasion fleets.

Your second threat, would lie in the threat of a massed ground attack by enemies in spain. You can reduce this threat by challenging allied naval control over europe's coastlines, but not eliminate it. And if you conclude that you cannot effectively challenge allied naval control, then spain (and, ultimately, all hostile and neutral territory in or close to europe) has to come under your control, before the americans can start reinforcing their belaguered allies. So how to attack it? No clue, honestly I've already mentioned the idea of an amphibious invasion, but with the british navy still out and about, that's probably infeasible. The mountainous bottleneck of the ardennes is really what horribly restricts your freedom of movement, and elminates your troops' advantages here. Plus, no roads. Hmm.

I am firmly convinced that I must take Spain. I have a few plans floating around in my head, I guess you should have faith in my ability .

Looking at spain's topography, there's plains along the coast, right where the major cities are. Would it be possible to deploy a small, but powerful mobile force to rush along that line and capture the spanish coastal cities? Perhaps using paratroopers to secure their flank? The defenders would either have to let you savage their coastline, or be forced to pull forces away from the defence of the ardennes.

As I said, I'm definitely interested in a potential naval invasion, and I know that if my ships can deliver even one column (and even if all the ships are sunk in the attempt), I can break the Allied army from both sides.

Alternately, is it possible to quickly train some sort of special mountain infantry? Cause that is really what you need here. You put tons of preparation into sealion and were rewarded with quick success. I'm sure if you got the specialized forces, you could take spain just as easily. Only question is, can you do it before the allies get there? Some mountain-capable infantry, coupled with strong fighter cover and maybe aerial resupply could probably get you in there.

I have very few Mountain Infantry, and while I can definitely build some, they simply won't be able to attack a force of the size I'm dealing with in Spain. I might use them more in my next invasion, but only as a perimeter force. I still need the tanks and the infantry to deliver the brunt of my attack.

Alternately, could you get some help from your allies? I think italy always kept 12 divisions of elite mountain infantry rolling around, could you get them to join the fight?

I can no longer rely on Italy as an ally. They are not interested in joining the Axis, they refused to enter my war when I called upon our alliance, and even if they join the war "in theory", I have no certainty whatsoever about their commitment to fight.

The only ally I seek is Japan, partly to attack India and make the British finally surrender, and partly to divert the American attention away from Europe.

As a tactical aside, would it be feasible (and cost-effective) to use your new Wunderwaffen to attack allied airfields in spain? It'd even the odds a bit.

The Rocket development is still kind of in "prototype" stage. I have the basic tech, but the weapon isn't battle-ready.

And finally, on a bright note, now that britain's gone, I'm pretty sure spain is going to have a lot of problem resupplying. Its british forces aren't gonna get any more equipment or munitions, and the spanish economy is probably stretched enough supplying its own armed forces. Hell, maybe with some well-placed sabotage, and a nicely timed offensive, you can get it to collapse

This is, thankfully, true. The British forces in Spain will be low on supplies, and as they constitute about half of the force that actually scares me (the Spanish army isn't a threat by itself, but the UK/Canadian troops are good), it should be a bit easier to break them this time around.

After spain, you could probably take all of british-held africa and the middle east without too much trouble. This would get you much cherished oil, as well as some nice staging areas, usable in combating your third major threat, an attack by the soviet union.

As tempting as it is to take what is sure to be an undefended Africa (and Vichy France while I'm at it, I want the rest of France as well, damn it!), I'm not sure if I can afford the time delay it would put on my invasion of the Soviet Union.

Also, I'm not at all certain I can protect the coastline of Allied Africa against a US landing.

This is probably your lowest threat so far. You appeased them nicely by dropping eastern poland, and I'm sure they've still got plenty of internal strife to be worried about. Mind you, if they do decide to attack while you are elsewhere, you have no time or ground to lose, because they don't have too long to advance before coming across your cities and industrial complexes. Really, you need to balance the risk of them attacking with the cost of the force you decide to keep along their borders. I'd honestly suggest some sort of trade pact to keep them happy. Later, you can start offending them, but not until you've taken care of europe.

I trust the Soviet Union about as far as I can throw it.

I wouldn't consider attacking the united states yet, really. Establish naval control, secure europe, and then strike towards the east. I honestly think it'd be less resource-intensive than trying to invade a nation that's almost as huge and half a world away.

Yes, I came to this conclusion as well. It simply isn't feasible to conduct an invasion of that scale, across such a long area of sea, without any guaranteed strongholds.

A couple of further notes, I'd really try to get turkey on my side. I think they're neutral, so far, and they're not worth much economically, but they control a major access route to the middle east, and I don't know how much trouble they can give you if you fight them.

On of my Victory Conditions is that the Axis control Turkey. I can either convince them to join the Axis, or conquer them. I have no preference.

Also, see if you can't sabotage the panama canal. That'd really piss the US off, while delaying them horribly whenever they want to redeploy forces between the Japanese and you.

I think, given the way the game map is coded, the Panama canal doesn't really exist. It's a sea zone, I think, just with rules about ownership depending on who owns either half of the canal.

What's up with norway and sweden? Are they on your side? Sweden's got some very nice steel, I think, so that would probably be a valuable future ally.

I was thinking of conquering Norway and Sweden, but they don't really serve me much strategic purpose, and I might need the men elsewhere.

I think that they (rather wisely) are both stepping in line with me, given that I'm the biggest military power near them.

Anyway, quick TL;DR:
Priorities:
Secure the english channel and the waters around europe.
Fight spain via either an armored spearhead to capture (and raze) their cities, or by deploying specialist mountain infantry that retains some mobility. Improve air cover over the ardennes to protect your supply lines and allow for aerial resupply. Alternately, if naval superiority is achieved, go amphibious on their asses. When spain is down, go for africa and the middle east.
Appease the soviet union as best you can while taking care of europe.

Whew, I wrote a lot. Sorry bout that, got a bit carried away, I guess. Like I said, a bit of a WWII buff. Hope I made some usable suggestions, eager to see the next update.

Responding to that megapost took almost as long as writing an entry .

 

[Burninator]

Responding to that megapost took almost as long as writing an entry .

Oh dear. Sorry. ^^;

Anyways, that's clarified quite a bit, thanks.

I didn't realize that all you needed for naval superiority was ports, but it makes sense. Any allied fleet before your coasts would need to head back to american ports to resupply, or get resupplied via ship, which you'd be more than capable of preventing.

Mind you, the "ports" thing really makes it all the more vital to break britain's control on africa and the middle east, doesn't it? They could, theoretically, use those to support a force of raiders in the mediterranean. Those would admittedly be mostly italy's problem, and good riddance, but I still think that the territory down there would benefit you far more than it costs you, time-wise. The invasion would take you what, 12 months? 6? You could take a mobile force, roll from Morocco through to Iran, mop up the british forces, capture their ports and production, get your hands on all that delicious oil, and then you could use Iran as a staging area for a secondary invasion. Your supply lines would be a bit stretched (probably an understatement, that. Ship supplies from eastern france to what is today Israel, Syria and Lebanon, truck them through Iran over treacherous mountain paths), but once you're on the iranian border, it'd be 1000 miles, over level ground, to get behind the Ural mountains. You could completely cut off the western USSR from the east.

I'm not sure if that last bit is feasible, but given the (apparent) ease with which soviet factories were moves east in the real thing, it kinda made sense to me. But anyway, your call.

Is the soviet union really growing that quickly? I thought you said that your economy was stronger than theirs and the united states' combined? I understand that they have a lot of resources and manpower, but can they outbuild all of europe in the long run? I mean, in the long run, probably, but they'd have to do a lot of investing to get that far.

But back to spain. Hmm.

Back to the question of naval invasion. So far, all I've really been considering was an invasion along the west of spain, launched from the french channel ports. But what if you went through the mediterranean instead? Launch from, say, Toulon and Marseille, land in Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante, with the majority of your forces in the west, savage their coasts and force them to give it up. If you can secure the straits of gibraltar with u-boats, you should be able to get it done without too much naval resistance.

Would that be feasible?

I totally have trust in your abilities, btw, I'm just throwing stuff out there. See if any of it sticks. : D

 

[Bostur]

How are you doing on British victory points? If you could somehow make the British surrender, that would help on naval defense. I imagine it may be hard to do, due to all the colonies.

Other than that I agree your only bet would be to invade spain and hope you can do it before allied reinforcements arrive.

Is there any way you can do your paratrooper magic in Gibraltar? Or maybe take it in some other way. That might inconvenience British naval forces a bit.

 

[Octorok]

How are you doing on British victory points? If you could somehow make the British surrender, that would help on naval defense. I imagine it may be hard to do, due to all the colonies.

Other than that I agree your only bet would be to invade spain and hope you can do it before allied reinforcements arrive.

Is there any way you can do your paratrooper magic in Gibraltar? Or maybe take it in some other way. That might inconvenience British naval forces a bit.

I own about half of their Victory Provinces, but there are just enough left in Africa and Asia to keep them from surrendering.

I have a plan now for the complete annhilation of the Allied ground forces in Spain. It'll look a bit familiar, and I'll be using my alarmingly effective Paratroopers once again, but you'll have to wait for the next entry to see how it goes.

Responding to that megapost took almost as long as writing an entry .

Oh dear. Sorry. ^^;

Anyways, that's clarified quite a bit, thanks.

I didn't realize that all you needed for naval superiority was ports, but it makes sense. Any allied fleet before your coasts would need to head back to american ports to resupply, or get resupplied via ship, which you'd be more than capable of preventing.

Mind you, the "ports" thing really makes it all the more vital to break britain's control on africa and the middle east, doesn't it? They could, theoretically, use those to support a force of raiders in the mediterranean. Those would admittedly be mostly italy's problem, and good riddance, but I still think that the territory down there would benefit you far more than it costs you, time-wise. The invasion would take you what, 12 months? 6? You could take a mobile force, roll from Morocco through to Iran, mop up the british forces, capture their ports and production, get your hands on all that delicious oil, and then you could use Iran as a staging area for a secondary invasion. Your supply lines would be a bit stretched (probably an understatement, that. Ship supplies from eastern france to what is today Israel, Syria and Lebanon, truck them through Iran over treacherous mountain paths), but once you're on the iranian border, it'd be 1000 miles, over level ground, to get behind the Ural mountains. You could completely cut off the western USSR from the east.

I'm not sure if that last bit is feasible, but given the (apparent) ease with which soviet factories were moves east in the real thing, it kinda made sense to me. But anyway, your call.

Is the soviet union really growing that quickly? I thought you said that your economy was stronger than theirs and the united states' combined? I understand that they have a lot of resources and manpower, but can they outbuild all of europe in the long run? I mean, in the long run, probably, but they'd have to do a lot of investing to get that far.

But back to spain. Hmm.

Back to the question of naval invasion. So far, all I've really been considering was an invasion along the west of spain, launched from the french channel ports. But what if you went through the mediterranean instead? Launch from, say, Toulon and Marseille, land in Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante, with the majority of your forces in the west, savage their coasts and force them to give it up. If you can secure the straits of gibraltar with u-boats, you should be able to get it done without too much naval resistance.

Would that be feasible?

I totally have trust in your abilities, btw, I'm just throwing stuff out there. See if any of it sticks. : D

I'm not averse to taking Africa (and the route through N. Africa to the Middle East), but it depends on how well defended it is. If I judge it to be too large a commitment of manpower, then I might stick with the "safer" option of going through Southern Europe and Turkey.

For a time, my industry really was as good as the Soviet Union and the US combined. But, now that the US is at war, its factories have massively increased their output, and in the time since I said that, the Soviet Union has been increasing its industrial power at a steady pace.

And, strictly speaking, I do not have access to the French Mediterranean ports. They belong to Vichy France, who has no diplomatic ties to me whatsoever, which pisses me off.

See, when you (as Germany) conquer France, Vichy France is automatically installed. No choices, nothing. Then, they are not an ally of yours, they are not your puppet, and they do not allow you military access.

In one game, I actually saw Vichy France join the Allies, although given the enormous diplomatic pull I have, it's unlikely.

Then again, the US was halfway across the diplomatic triangle when it randomly decided to hate me, so I guess you cannot count on that.

I actually considered attacking Vichy France, but I was wary of doing it while the Allied army is still in Spain, since they would then be able to go through Vichy France into my territory.

And as I said, I have a plan that will (hopefully) force the destruction or surrender of the Allied army on my border.

 

[BrotherSurplice]

I've just read the entire AAR so far, and I have to say, its damn good. I recently bought HoI3, along with Semper Fi and FtM, so I'm reading up on the game as much as possible to help me prepare for my first game.

 

[Fangv2]

Really good LP, keep it up.

 

[Octorok]

I've just read the entire AAR so far, and I have to say, its damn good. I recently bought HoI3, along with Semper Fi and FtM, so I'm reading up on the game as much as possible to help me prepare for my first game.

Really good LP, keep it up.

Thanks, both of you.

Working on latest entry, should be up today. (Then again, I think I've managed to miss every single deadline I ever said I "should" meet, so take that as you will.)

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Im currently playing through the game as the UK, i got an event which told me that the USA would protect all of its convoys despite being neutral, if the ships you were losing were along a convoy route this might be why you were being attacked.

As for the Day of Infamy, in real life, and my game this is when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.. so i have no idea how you got that event without Japan declaring war on the US.

And taking care of Britain in Africa and Asia wont require a huge amount of manpower, you could easily take both with relatively small force. The only problem is the terrain/infrastructure. It can take literally weeks to move from just one province to another.

Also depending on what Japan is upto at the moment, you might want to get some of the Asian countries into the axis. If you bring in Manchukuo, Russia will get worried and will line troops all along its border drawing vital forces away from poland (much to my dismay in my game -.-)

You might also want to bring in Siam and Tibet/Nepal and other countries that border India/Singapore, meaning they can do your job for you there.

As for Italy not joining you, its probably a good thing at this point actually, it means the Allies cant invade through Italy meaning you dont have to station your own troops there, and it also means Britain doesnt have a substantial dominance in Africa.

If it were you, i'd force Britain out of Africa, or at least gain control of the suez canal. From there you can work your way east and try and take any strategically vital points, especially ports... because you need to get rid of their fleet if you want Japan to be of any use against the US (they cant take on both fleets at once)

 

[Octorok]

No spoilers about today's entry, but I feel this video sums up a lot of my feelings about the matter.

Adjusted for the passage of 130 years, the part of Germany is played by Prussia/Great Britain, while the Allies (ironically including Great Britain) are represented in the video by France.


"Damn me, Himmler, if I ever saw 500,000 men run a race before!"

 

[Octorok]

[HEADING=2]Entry 11 - Annihilation[/HEADING]

Spoiler

When last we were observing our glorious campaign, we had just suffered the unexpected blow of war with the United States.

Our first order of business, therefore, is to split the US forces, and prevent it from bringing its industrial weight down solely upon Europe.

The Japanese were, slowly, heading towards the Axis, but we have to rush the process. Ideally, they'll be prepared for the war I'm getting them into.

Spoiler

I also, finally, begin the removal of personnel from the United Kingdom. Occupying the whole of the British Isles took twice as long as the initial victory, throwing my plans off, but no matter - we won, and my armies are needed elsewhere.

Spoiler

Basically, I'll be needing Italy on my side. If I am to succeed in Africa, I'll need their backup, and it's one of my Victory Conditions that they join the Axis anyway.

Spoiler

*sigh* No, that's not an old screenshot. Yes, this bug is annoying. Encircle Metz, Paratroopers, lather/rinse/repeat.

Spoiler

I fire Goring as the chief of the air force. His bonuses weren't bad, but his preposterous spending is actually causing the economy to decline.

Spoiler

Perhaps a bit late, I start work on my own huge fleet of submarines to disrupt enemy naval movement.

It has to be noticed that the US have occupied Iceland (it was owned by Denmark), and they conduct their own naval operations from there.

Spoiler

I had intended to trap the Allied armies between a massive Paratrooper drop coupled with a Marine landing, and my ground forces in Bordeaux.

However, the Allies see the weakness of Vichy France, and decide to strike there, with the intent of pushing through my exposed border into France, wreaking all kinds of havoc.

With the bulk of my army in the UK or the East, I must prevent an Allied advance through Vichy France by any means necessary. No time to wait for the Paratroopers, in we go again.

Spoiler

My advance is virtually uncontested, for several reasons. Firstly, I can now expand my front into Vichy France, allowing me a wider front, suited to my numbers and tank forces.

Secondly, the Allies have diverted one of their Armies to the invasion of Vichy, leaving their front with me exposed.

Lastly, with my lesson learned from our disastrous invasion of 1940, I've built forward airfields, allowing my air force to enter the battle once again.

With that in mind...

Spoiler

The Paratroopers I had in Paris are flown in immediately, and seize Madrid without difficulty.

If I had all of my Paratroopers back in France at this stage, I could have taken half the country, but unfortunately, my air transports were either trapped in Madrid, or resupplying the Paratroopers there by air.

Spoiler

If Vichy France was strong enough to hold its own, I'd be using troops from the UK for this, but as I said, literally every hour matters in this case.

Spoiler

I finally build my first series of V1 Flying Bombs. Let us hope that they prove as useful as our unique military advantage, the Paratroopers.

Spoiler

The Allies speed into Vichy France with a ferocity not seen since our humiliation of Poland.

While I am on their tail, they move past me, soon running through Southern France with impunity.

Spoiler

In Madrid, my men are encircled. Erp. Their supply drops are going well, and the Special Forces have prepared a good defense, but still. It's looking a bit rough.

Spoiler

I execute a smaller-scale of my original plan, and the troops stationed at Liverpool land in Spain.

I can't convey it through images, but watching my undefended transports zip through Allied naval blockades, dodging submarines and destroyer flotillas, is both tense and hilarious.

Amazingly, the transports make it back to England without a ship lost. Great stuff.

Spoiler

Now, with the armour landed happily out of the main battle, it is time to seize the naval bases of Northern Spain.

Spoiler

The first priority of stopping the Spanish advance into our territory is starting up now, with Toulouse back under my control, and two columns severing the thinly-spread frontline units from the primary armies back on the border.

Spoiler

The Americans land in force in the North of Scotland. I can only assume that they are staging this invasion from their position in Iceland. I'll have to do something about that.

Spoiler

They spread out very quickly, as I hold my ground and bring up reinforcements from England. Probably a good thing I didn't fully evacuate, huh?

Spoiler

I counterattack from the sea, taking Aberdeen, and I bring up Paratroopers from Dover.

Spoiler

My intention is to seize every naval base, cutting off their supply, then launch my assault from Central and Lower Scotland.

Also, by restricting American naval access to Scotland, I forbid them any chance of evacuation.

Spoiler

Aha! A veritable army of Tactical Bombers arrives. Now, the Allies will feel the slow, agonising pain of mass-scale bombing on their supply chains.

In Spain, I bring these bombers to bear all over the place, shattering infrastructure and preventing efficient retreat or movement for the Allies.

Spoiler

I have, finally, shattered the Allied naval dominance of the Eastern Atlantic, and their attacks on my convoys.

They still attack the convoys around Britain, but Iceland and Gibraltar are far enough away to keep the ones around France mostly safe.

Spoiler

Having now got ahold of the situation, the Allies are in full retreat from France, leaving just a few lonely divisions behind.

Spoiler

I occupy Barcelona, and push on, past the difficult terrain, into the undefended heart of Southern Spain.

Spoiler

Back in the North, I push the Americans back with ease, enjoying an advantage in both numbers and supplies.

Spoiler

The Marines move out from Bristol, and land in Spain.

Spoiler

The rockets arrive. I have no obvious targets to hand (since I'm about to win in Spain, it seems pretty pointless to use the bombs on them now), so I just put them in Germany for a rainy day.

Spoiler

I begin work on a vast project, to upgrade my industry and to fortify my cities in case of an invasion of Germany.

It's not as militarily efficient as a "Maginot" style defensive-line, but fortifying my key cities will at least make the invaders pay dearly for their assault on the Fatherland.

Spoiler

In Scotland, 200,000 men just keep on pushing the Yanks back. Look, one day lads, you're going to run out of Scotland find yourself faced with a choice - swimming to Iceland, or surrender.

Make it easy on yourselves.

Spoiler

By the time I've reached my Paratroopers at Scapa Flow, the US invasion force surrenders en masse.

Spoiler

In Spain, I link up with Madrid (the encirclement long since broken), and push on South.

Spoiler

Finally, with many thousands of Germans dead still littering the mountains, Spain surrenders on the 11th of May, 1942.

It's been a long campaign, but now, we once again emerge victorious, with the entire military capacity of the Allied nations either in a UK prison camp, dead, or being put to labour in Spain.

Where next, I wonder?

END OF ENTRY 11

 

[Melon Hunter]

Mother of all snips

Well, things are certainly looking up from Entry 10! I'm glad to see you've finally wiped out the Spanish menace. What will you do now? Are you going to conquer Portugal for security's sake as you did with Ireland? And will you capture Iceland to reduce the risk of future American invasions?

I guess now everything's leading up to Germany's date with destiny; the invasion of the Soviet Union. Best of luck for Operation Barbarossa!

 

[Fat Hippo]

Nice one, once again you humiliate the Allies completely.

And yeah, might as well take Portugal, can't be too hard.

Also, is there anything stopping you from annexing Vichy-France? Your armies are in the area anyway, and the whole thing just seems pointless. It's weird the game doesn't let you make that decision yourself.

 

[Burninator]

Very nice. Very nice indeed.

So spain was basically, the Allies trying to flank you through Vichy france, but running out of steam while you took advantage of their reduced numbers and your strategic mobility (paratroopers, marine landings) to cripple their inland forces. You used your forward airfield to cut their supply lines and basically ended it without a contest.

One question, though. They got quite a few divisions into southern france, by the looks of it. Those didn't threaten your supply lines or airbases at all? Or did you manage to secure those?

In regards to the Metz Question, why not simply salvage the maginot line? It might turn out to be valuable in the long term, but if you're threatened by a major attack either from the west or the east of the maginot line, I doubt the fortifications will do anything but postpone the inevitable. Whereas if you salvage it, you can get some much-needed resources and you can stop the goddamn poles from capturing those fortresses.

Second, the USA. Would there be any diplomatic alternative to war? The US public still favor you after all. Now that you've got something like 200 k prisoners of war, you have a nice bargaining chip as well. Could you try to get an armistice of some sort?

Thirdly, why're you fortifying your cities? Is this more a measure to discourage an attack, or do you really expect an attack on them? I'd have thought that the resources would be better put to use expanding your army, or industry. Though you said you were investing in industry as well? Nevermind.

I guess... Africa, now? Supply lines might be a bit of a problem, but since you now own spain, You can probably resupply your troops with relative ease until you start going past egypt. Any idea how big your desert corps is going to need to be? If you intend to go through iran into the soviet union, I'd definitely diferentiate between your forces for desert warfare and those for an attack on the soviet union. You could probably ship the latter in once you've secured Iran, that'd serve additionally to avoid tipping off the soviets too soon.

Speaking of the soviet union, where are their industrial centers? Cause, from what I remember, they're mostly in the belt about 100 k to the west of the ural mountains, which means your best chance of beating them later would be a strong thrust through their front lines, into their industrial centers, coupled with a flanking attack through iran and probably a naval landing at leningrad. The problem is that you'd have to go a lot further than the nazi did. Maybe use Leningrad as your main avenue of attack, land all of your armor and mechanized forces there? You'd have the advantage of being deep in their territory alread when you start your advance. You could go for industrial centers with armored spearhead from Leningrad and Iran, capture them, raze them to the ground, and then attempt to let your forces to link up with each other. The infantry could move up behind them once the soviet troops break down from lack of supplies. The only problem would be air support.

In any case, noninterference by soviet, finnish, swedish and norwegian navies would be paramount, kinda.

How are relations with them?

BTW, I'm not sure if I've said this yet, but I'm really enjoying this LP. If it wasn't, my posts probably wouldn't be quite this long. : p
Anyway, well done. And good luck.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and vichy france and portugal. Shouldn't be too hard.