Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 11

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

28 November 1943

Philippines liberated!  Western China captured!  Japanese army crushed!  Beijing falls!  ANZACs triumph!

Australia led the naval invasion of southern Philippines and then the push through the islands to capture Manila and the rest (1 on map).

New Zealand led the breakout from the port captured in southern China with the armour pushing up the coast and the infantry pushing inland (2 on map).  Most of the Japanese army perished as it was trapped between the Chinese to the west and the ANZACs to the east.

With Japanese casualties caused by the ANZAC forces now exceeding one million, the popular press is full of stories about what ANZACs can do under their own generals.  Staff officers instead point to the successful Australian submarines sinking transports laden with troops and to most front-line divisions having some tanks, which the Japanese cannot counter. 

Diplomatic considerations have now arisen.  China is not part of the Allies and has been fighting its own war against Japan.  Whereas the Philippines was liberated and is again a US puppet (as US is in Allies), Western China is now controlled by New Zealand, which the Chinese must hate.  If the Japanese are driven off the mainland and make a separate peace with China, will all those territories revert to Chinese control? 

How will the Japanese home islands be invaded?  The Japanese navy is bruised but still intact (about 7 carriers) and is defending its home waters.  While the US and UK navies are larger, they are not concentrated on Japanese home waters but are largely devoted to defensive convoy escort roles.  So, even with the Japanese army largely beaten, how can the home islands be invaded?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 10

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

14 February 1943

The naval invasion of central Philippines launched (1).  Initial progress looked very promising but Japanese reinforcements swung the balance against us.  Further ANZAC reinforcements were required to have any chance as the initial wave was driven off.  Success was finally achieved by our reinforcements but it was a very close thing. 

Japanese control of certain seas succeeded in blocking many further invasion attempts.  A few further naval invasions did launch, perhaps as the Japanese navy was temporarily refueling or refitting. 

A naval invasion of Iwo Jima launched and was taken unopposed (2).

A naval invasion of southern Philippines launched but was driven off by the port's defenders.

A naval invasion of Okinawa was planned but the Japanese fleet repositioned and so it was cancelled.  Instead, southern China was successfully invaded and a beachhead was established in a small port (3). 

Siam entered the war on the Axis side, whether from Japanese pressure or from a misguided sense of adventure is not clear.  As they were surrounded and outnumbered by British units in Burma, Malaya and Indochina, they were quickly overwhelmed and surrendered. 

ANZAC strategists ponder their options given their relatively small armed forces.  How can they tempt the Japanese navy to relax their grip, even if momentarily, on key sea areas to allow further naval invasions?  Will the Chinese beachhead quickly break out before Japanese reinforcements arrive and so help turn around the slow retreat of the Chinese?  Or will it become a quagmire that generates large casualties in a strategic sideshow as superior Japanese numbers are brought to bear?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 9

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

9 July 1942

ANZACs have moved from defence to offence against Japan, both at sea and on land.

In the war with Japan, the Australian navy (Ed, predominantly submarines) has sunk 473 convoys, 1 aircraft carrier and 2 other ships.  They have lost one destroyer.  Initially, the convoys were mostly sunk around the Indonesian archipelago but the Australian navy is now engaging further north and the carrier was lost around Truk.

There have been three successful ANZAC naval invasions that were uncontested by the Japanese navy.  The first was from northern Malaya to capture the port near Phnom Penh.  This was followed up by the capture of Saigon, which cut off Japanese supply, and a push north to link up with the British coming south from Hanoi.  The second was from near Hanoi to Formosa, which was not garrisoned.  The third was a short hop from Guam to Saipan. 

Politically, New Zealand has followed Australia in losing its Dominion status and becoming fully independent.  Using its Maori heritage, it is also drawing effectively on manpower from the Pacific islands it controls or liberates.

After these successes, planners are considering their options for the next steps.  Iwo Jima and Okinawa are the next islands.  The Philippines is a natural target.  Though it is still strongly defended by the Japanese navy in the south and Manila is garrisoned, the centre looks lightly defended.  A naval invasion of occupied China could greatly assist the embattled Chinese.  Or should local strong points be bypassed and an invasion of the Japanese main islands be contemplated?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 8

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

3 January 1942

Japan declared war on the Allies.  With years of war experience in China, the Imperial Japanese Army is expected to be battle hardened, formidable and aggressive.  That shifts the focus from Africa to the Asia/Pacific region and from offence to defence.

In political developments, Australia declared its independence to better mobilise its resources and convinced the Dutch government in exile, which has its homeland occupied by the Germans, to transfer effective control of its East Indies colonies to Australia.  New Zealand is 94% of the way to losing its Dominion status – it just needs a bit more successful fighting.

ANZAC forces defend Malaya and Singapore with 14 divisions, which is also close enough to assist with the expected defence of the oil fields in Borneo, Sumatra and Java.  Three Australian divisions are in Rabaul and Port Moresby.  The remaining six divisions are guarding the homelands but ready for quick deployment overseas to counter expected invasions. 

Japan invaded and conquered the Phillipines but never ventured further south.  Was it deterred by the ANZAC defence?  While the Australian navy has sunk about 300 Japanese conveys around the East Indies, ANZAC ground forces have not yet been engaged.

Instead, there is fighting around Hanoi where the British are pushing for a port to get supply.  In the Pacific islands, most of the contest is around Truk and Guam (shown by the square), which New Zealand decided not to defend but has been occupied by many US and UK units. 

Where shall the ANZAC forces strike?  The Pacific islands around Truk and Guam don’t yet have the Allied naval supremacy needed for relative safety.  What about the shorter and less-contested route from the East Indies to Palau?  Or what about an invasion from Malaya to Cambodia across the Gulf of Thailand to eventually link up with UK forces around Hanoi?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 7

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

18 March 1941

Italian East Africa is entirely conquered! 

Australia suggested one last push to finish off the isolated pocket.  Carefully preparations and planning maximized every available advantage.  When the ANZAC attack started in one area the British launched a series of attacks on other areas that pinned down any potential reinforcements.  This time, the ANZAC attack succeeded.  Once the Axis started retreating they were pursued by armour and motorised units so they had no opportunity to regroup. 

Meanwhile, there have been the developments in Italian North Africa where ANZAC motorised and armoured units played a small but important role.

At 16 May 1940 the front was stuck near the Egyptian border due to a lack of supply.

By 7 November 1940, the British had invaded Benghazi by sea 

and expanded their bridgehead so that Tobruk was isolated.

18 March 1941, the Tobruk pocket was closed, the Italians had been chased back to Tripoli and outflanked around their southern flank, and Tripoli was captured from the west.

The few remaining Axis troops were isolated and out of supply.  Presumably, they would be quickly destroyed.

What then for the ANZAC forces?  Invade Sicily?  Defend against the Axis invasions in Norway or Greece?  Or defend somewhere closer to home given the Japanese gains in China?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 6

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce, who has now caught up with all his paperwork.

16 May 1940

The Axis forces in Italian East Africa are now much reduced.  More importantly, they are cut off from Europe, having lost their last port, and must rely on local supplies.

Progress in Italian East Africa: 19 February 1940 on left and 16 May 1940 on right

 

After that, things became more difficult.  The Axis units were all defending in mountains.  They had just enough local supply from their new capital to keep them going.  The Axis were now more concentrated in their pocket.  Their interior lines allowed them to reinforce just enough new units to keep battles going a long time.

As the weeks rolled past and the ANZAC losses mounted, commanders wondered whether this was really the best place to deploy the few ANZAC troops.  Perhaps they should leave the British to grind out the last mountain strongholds.  Perhaps they should redeploy north to push the Italians out of Libya.  Perhaps they should relocate to assist the brave Norwegians defending against the German invaders where, though outnumbered, they would have the advantage of the mountainous terrain.  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 5

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

16 May 1940

The Axis forces in Italian East Africa are now much reduced.  More importantly, they are cut off from Europe, having lost their last port, and must rely on local supplies.

Progress in Italian East Africa: 19 February 1940 on left and 16 May 1940 on right

 

Initially, ANZAC units mounted a naval invasion of the northern port of Massawa, but the Axis reinforced faster than the ANZAC units could gain a secure footing and the invasion was called off after some losses.

Much more successful was a land assault from the south, then along the border with (Vichy) French Somaliland to the coast and port.  Australian infantry first engaged, then New Zealand armour joined and finally motorised units were added to be ready to exploit any success.  Once a breakthrough was made, the armour and motorised were able to race north while infantry followed to hold the area taken.  Massawa was only lightly held and was quickly taken from the land side.

Finally, special mention must be made for the Australian navy in the Red Sea that, assisted by the air forces of both countries, killed 230 Axis transports this year.  That is more than the 200 transports that Italy started 1939 with! 

What fresh ANZAC triumphs await as the pocket in Italian East Africa is closed?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 4

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

19 February 1940

New Zealand swept south from British Somaliland towards Mogadishu before lack of supply and Italian counter attacks stopped them, and then slowly drove them back. 

Australia attacks from Kenya north east along the coast.  It is slower but a much more successful attack, and captures the southernmost port.  New Zealand found a hole in the Italian line along the coast and eventually seizes Mogadishu. 

With the Somalia coast secured and the ports offering supply, the rest of southern Italian East Africa falls more easily.

This first campaign teaches many hard lessons.  Both countries move their supply systems to make extensive use of trucks.  Australia introduces limited conscription whereas New Zealand already has extensive conscription.  New Zealand loses about 1 per cent of its entire male population within a couple of months, which brings back memories of the appalling losses in the Great War and is clearly unsustainable.  It resolves to better conserve manpower by using its armour to attack and its infantry to defend. 

The occupied south east largely comprises flat desert, which largely favours the attacker.  The remainder of Ethiopia is largely mountains, the Italians have a shorter line to defend, there are few railways and insufficient airbases. 

The next campaign promises to be much tougher for the attackers. How much tougher?  Only time will tell…

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 3

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

23 November 1939

Germany forced the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, the Anschluss of Austria, the ceding of the Sudetenland, the end of Czechoslovakia, and the annexation of Memel.  Following Germany’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France both declared war on Germany.  As Commonwealth dominions, both Australia and New Zealand are at war with Germany too.  Germany steamrolled through Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium, so Italy decided to enter the war too as Germany’s ally.

Suddenly, the preparation of industries and armed forces in Australia and New Zealand looks wise – almost as though they knew what would happen.  Australia has 30 factories and 6 dockyards while New Zealand has 21 factories.  Australia has 9 fully equipped divisions (1 motorised) and 30 warships (2 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 11 destroyers and 13 submarines) while New Zealand has 7 fully equipped divisions (2 armoured and 1 motorised).

They have decided to fight first in Italian East Africa.  New Zealand is poised on the southern border of British Somaliland ready to strike south while the Australians are heading to Kenya to fight north east up the coast of Somalia.  Hopefully, they will meet in or nearby Mogadishu.

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 2

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce

2 September 1937

 

The industrial build up in Australia and New Zealand has proceeded at a rapid pace. 

 

Australia has doubled its number of military factories (from 4 to 8) and tripled its dockyards (from 2 to 6), while New Zealand has increased its military factories from 1 to 6.  The number of civilian factories has also increased, but only by 2 in both countries.  Overall, there has been a significant increase in their armaments capacity.

 

Charts: Total industrial capacity available for military use.

Australia

New Zealand

Analysts note that these increases have usually been seen in totalitarian regimes, such as Germany, Italy, Japan and the USSR.  Does this indicate some forthcoming change in the nature of these democracies?  Are they heeding the words of Winston Churchill in the UK?  What difference could such small countries make in world affairs?

 

Only time will tell...

 

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand -

Bruce and I started a new session of Hearts of Iron where we play pairs of mutually supporting countries.  In the past we have done Germany/Italy, Commonwealth/France and Poland/Rumania.  It is a computer game which is constantly receiving updates and so what worked before, might not work again.  This time there is an enhance logistics element for example.

Bruce, who is playing New Zealand, has provided the following:

1 January 1936

Leaders of Australia and New Zealand today discussed the increase in authoritarianism in Asia and Europe and reassessed the threats to democracy in the Pacific. 

They resolved to strengthen their own defences, starting by building up their infrastructure, construction and industrial sectors.

Informed commentators react with many questions.  Will other countries react?  How can two small countries, with populations of less than seven and two million for Australia and New Zealand respectively, influence world events driven by much more populated countries in Asia and Europe?  What policies shall these governments follow to achieve their goals?

Only time will tell…

France - Closure

This games has been a bit of a bugger to play, and that's before adding in Internet and computer problems.  However I have prevailed,

18 July 1942 and I direct the armies I control as France as follows:

• The US 1st Army is directed towards Magdeburg.
• De Gaulle will liberate Denmark, but he also has a secret mission - À Berlin !  The Belgians and perhaps even the British, can liberate Denmark
• The US 2nd Army will head for Leipzig.
• The French Army of the Rhine, soon the be renamed the French 2nd Army, is to head to Prague.
• The French 3rd Army (which was the Army defending the Maginot Line) is to head to Munich.
• The French Army of the Alps is head north.

22 July and the US 2nd Army has surrounded Erfurt.  The French 3rd Army surrounds Stuttgart.

By 24 July de Gaulle has reached the outskirts of Berlin.  He begins the attack straight away.

On 26 July the US 1st Army captures Magdeburg, the US 2nd Army captures Erfurt, eliminating a dozen Axis divisions.  Leipzig is also captured.

The French 3rd Army captures Stuttgart and now it is onto Munich.  Will they be in time for Oktoberfest?

1 August and Leipzig is under counterattack.

The Army of the Alps is striking towards Innsbruck.

De Gaulle enters Berlin on 7 August.

This is the state of things in Europe on 7 August.

 And Asia, just for completeness.

The US 3rd Army, which is still forming, is redirected to Syria.

9 August the French 2nd Army has failed to make headway towards Prague and calls off its attacks.

The French 3rd Army is having better luck against Innsbruck, aided by the thrust north by the Army of the Alps.

The French aircraft carrier and its attendant vessels is sent to patrol the Red Sea.  The other fleet containing the main French capital ships is still undergoing repair.

12 August and fighting is raging at Stettin in the north and Innsbruck in the south.

The US 1st Army is now attacking Dresden while the US 2nd Army is now heading to Prague.

Dresden falls on 15 August along with Innsbruck.  The southern focus is now on Salzburg.

On 18 August the French 2nd Army and the US 2nd Army restart the offensive to liberate Prague.

By 23 August Salzburg is captured and Prague freed.

Germany and its European Axis partners surrender.

The Treaty of Rome occurs on the 27 of August and France makes many demands, securing a sizeable chunk of western Germany and northern Italy.

A different world order.

There is still the Pacific War to go, but that is mainly being played by the AI and given that there is a recent module which provides a major update for the naval components it would be rather redundant to pursue this part of the game.  My interest was France and that interest has now been served.  It's a pity we had so many challenges playing this game.

France 1942

The first challenge is to get all those American Divisions over to France.  I'm short of generals (you need Political Points to get more and my PPs have gone on dealing with mutineers).  I manage to free up two generals and create the US 1st Army which consists of Trained Divisions and the US 2nd Army which is composed of Regular Divisions ready to fight.  The remaining units are either fit for garrison only (as in they are just a few battalions) or are green.  The Green Divisions will come over last and go into training.  Shuffling them over is easy for the Generals who I can give garrison commands to.  The AI then moves their units to the garrison area.  That saves a lot of hassle, except for the US 3rd Army which I have to wait until I can get a commander for.

8 March and the Axis start an offensive in the Alps.  I assume they are doing this to pin my troops.

A German convoy appears in the Bay of Biscay and is promptly sunk.

16 March and the British fleet is observed engaging the German fleet in the eastern North Sea.  It seems to be building up to a decisive engagement.

21 March and British Malaya surrenders.

De Gaulle is ordered to prepare an attack.

Luxembourg sends us an expeditionary force of one Division.  This is very handy as it is powerful and immediately available to fight.

21 March and the British Raj has been pushed back to Bengal.  I haven't been paying much attention, but believe they lost a few troops trapped in Burma and then the north west coast of Malaya.  The Japanese are also fighting the British Raj in Kashmir.

Siam has taken Singapore, possibly without a fight.

The US Navy is being sunk in a big battle near Iwo Jima.

Back in Europe the British Navy is believed to be trying to help landings around Hamburg.

On 1 April de Gaulle is ordered to start his offensive.  He has nine divisions, but seems to only want to use one.  After watching this for a while, I give up and take over, micromanaging his attack.

The attempt to suppress the mutineers has failed.  Attempts to take further action are limited due to lack of Political Power.

By 6 April de Gaulle is getting on with his attack into the north Rhineland.

The English have landed near Hamburg.

De Gaulle's attack succeeds, as does an attack north of Strasbourg.  The focus is now on Strasbourg itself, but we will not make the mistake of endless attacks on the heavily fortified location.

We have out first naval battle with Japan and sink one of their subs in the east Indian Ocean.

25 April and the US 2nd Army is on its way to the front.

De Gaulle's attacks are going well.  The US 2nd Army crosses the Rhine south of Essen where the Belgians have been successful is fighting the Germans. It will take part in the attack on Essen.

The US 1st Army has started training (to get the up to regular status).

5 May and we make another attempt to put down the mutiny in the French army.

7 May and the US 2nd Army attacks.

The attack on Strasbourg has not been going well and is called off.

By 14 May the US 2nd Army attack seems to have run out of steam.

De Gaulle attacks north of Essen.

The US 2nd Army switches focus to Hessen and makes better progress (it is into a zone where the Allies have air superiority).

We send our fleet to help the British in the precarious landings around Hamburg.

The US 2nd Army is now heading for Frankfurt.

3 June and the mutiny is crushed.  Let's hope it stays that way.

8 June and we pull our fleet out of the North Sea after losing two destroyers.  The Axis still have a preponderance of bombers that they have committed to that area (rather than supporting their land armies).

The US 2nd Army starts its attack on Frankfurt.

9 June the Belgians start attacking Dortmund.

Mid June and German lines have been broken around Stuttgart and Dortmund.  That is good news, however checking the Pacific and I see that the British Raj has been overrun.

24 June Wilhelmshaven is captured.

28 June The British Raj capitulates.

29 June the US 2nd Army has taken Frankfurt.

5 July and Nuremberg is captured.  We will stage a mass rally to celebrate.

8 July Strasburg is recaptured and Hamburg is captured.

The US 1st Army has completed training and is dispatched to Bremen.

14 July and we launch an offensive in the Alps.

Kiel is captured.

Situation 18 July 1942

The AI has given all almost the gains in Germany to Belgium.

France - Late 41, Early 42

After recovering the game, I ploughed on.

2 October Japan declares war on British Malaya.  Britain calls us as allies and after a delay to deploy our Far East submarine fleets, we join in the war.

Immediately our subs are attacked by the Japanese navy in the South China Sea.  Things don't look optimum and I order them to disengage and head back to Saigon.  This is achieved with the loss of only one sub.

At this time I note that what had been a steady sinking of German convoys in the Bay of Biscay and off the coast of Iberia had stopped.  Have they a new route or have they been wiped out?

With the expansion of the war we decide to embark on growing rubber in Madagascar.  The naval base on that island is also strengthened.

A Japanese fleet engages our subs in eastern Micronesia and I order the sub fleet to retreat (all the way to Madagascar).

Another battle starts in the South China Sea.  I am horrified to find the sub fleet which I had ordered back to Saigon had ventured back out.  It was all sunk :-(

After having some thoughts about what to do with the French navy and whether I should send it to the Pacific, I decided to wait for now.

Back in Europe the Germans are continuing to attack Belgium, Luxembourg and the breech in the Maginot Line.

By 17 October we are now producing a surplus of rifles.  Is it time to switch some production back to aircraft?

Nothing seems to be happening in the Pacific, but three US National Guard divisions are seen in Singapore.  As the overly challenged French I am happy to leave aspects of the war to others.

Japan is getting oil from Venezuela and five old destroyers are sent to patrol the waters off its coast. (This turns out to be a waste as I think the shipping used is solely from Venezuela and therefore neutral.)

Late October and all the Axis attacks in Europe seem well contained.  Only the airwar in Northern France seems to be a problem (with my airforce suffering excessive losses).  Is this because Germany has deployed new types of fighters?

At the end of October Japan attacks Hanoi.

2 November and mutinies breakout in the French army.  What, again?  We attempt to contain them by deploying loyal troops to surround the mutineers.

Five factories are switched to aircraft production.  Research is started on our own fighters as we are currently only licensing the Spitfire from the UK.  While this is good in the short term, it limits future options.  It wouldn't be an issue if I knew what the English were doing.

Hanoi falls early November.

By the first of December the mutiny is crushed!  (The effect is hard to determine, except that it has used up Political Power which is in very short supply in France).

The airwar in Northern France is continuing to be a concern and more factories are switched to fighter production.  Where are the other Allied air forces?

11 December and Siam joins the Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

More worrying is that the Belgians seem to have abandoned part of their front line.  They did have 17 divisions there, now only 2...

Late December sees the Axis withdraw from the air war over the Alps.  I shift 100 planes to Northern France.

31 December sees Saigon invested.  The loss of IndoChina will seriously reduce access to rubber which is essential for aircraft production.

1942

There is a major lull in the fighting on the Western Front and that gives us a chance to complete fortifications and digging in on the Maginot Line.

The British navy is reported as engaging the Japanese navy in the South China Sea.  Despite having a numerical advantage, the British navy is getting mauled and ends up being sunk :-(

Saigon falls and we now have a rubber shortage (as predicted).  However by late January we have found enough trading partners to make up the shortfall.

31 January and Belgium launches an offensive against the Germans.  Somewhat bizarrely this causes the Germans to start attacking the Maginot Line again.

The critical air war is now at 1 to 2 odds, a marked improvement.

Siam enters the war.

The first newly recruited French division in a long time arrives and is deployed to Luxembourg.

9 February and the Belgian's offensive has reached Koln.  We cautiously join in.

10 February and the Belgians have crossed the Rhine.

Five fortress divisions are now ready to be deployed on the extended Maginot Line, just when the crisis is over.  So it goes.

19 February and the air war switches to Western Germany.

27 February and the US joins the Allies.

28 February and the US would like to send us 70 divisions to help us out.  YES PLEASE!

7 March and there are further mutinies in the French army.  Again we will surround them with loyalists.  I'm not sure what the effect of these mutinies are, but they consume scarce Political Power to put down (and that stops me getting extra Generals or putting better advisors into the Government).

Note the poor state of the Axis divisions 

(the orange bar denotes the strength of the division)

France 1941

I continue to persevere with this game...

The situation in January 1941.

As the year starts, we take a pessimistic view and start strengthening the forts on the border with Belgium.

In the Alps we are being slowly pushed back.

Then we get a message that we are running out of convoys.  After a panic it turns out to be just plain wrong.  Clearly the AI has a sense of humour.  We actually have over 350.  More than enough for our modest requirements.

Come February and things seem dire.

We appoint Zivony Peshkov to the Government.  He will aid in building military factories.  We desperately need to be able to produce more armaments, of all kinds.  The failure of Lend Lease has been a big blow.

The grind in the Alps continues to push us back.  We have almost collapsed and the Axis look like retaking Venice.

Our research is still focussed on improving our industrial output.

In late February there is an actual lull in the fighting on the Western Front.  Ominous.

This spreads to Italy where the Germans have pulled back, leaving the front to Hungarians.  We are saved!

March 1941.

The only change is the reappearance of Italy.

In March the Germans start attacking in the West again.  The airwar switches to Northern France, however the Axis make an effort to capture Trieste.

The shortage of rifles now stands at 14,400.  We are producing over a 100 per day.

A large German convoy is sunk off Corsica.  What were they thinking?

In another strange twist, the Germans have retreated from the Alps.  We start to advance.

The German attacks continue against Belgium, which seems to be holding out okay, and against the Maginot Line (which needs constant reinforcement and force rotation).

Romania joins the Axis and enters the war.

Our advance in the Alps brings the Germans back.  By late March they are pushing us back again.

The air war is being fought over the Alps and Northern France.  We might have the better planes, but we are heavily outnumbered: something like 200 to 1,500!

We switch two factories from artillery to rifle production.  We might have just turned the corner in the rectification of our armament shortages.  We also start researching Assembly Line Production.

3 April and it looks like our Front in the Alps will collapse for sure this time.

But in mid April the German attacks in the West stop and by 18 April the Germans, with the exception of attacks on Trieste, have stopped their offensive in the Alps.  We are saved again.

The break doesn't last long and in late April the Germans launch another big offensive against the Maginot Line.

9 May and fighting starts again in the Alps.  We move a fleet to the Adriatic to help with the defence of Trieste.  This draws the German naval bombers and we quickly withdraw, after losing two old destroyers.  In all this fighting Trieste was lost but then recaptured.  Venice also came under attack.

By late May the situation in Italy looks calamitous.  The decision is made to move the motorised/tank army (that was resting on the French Belgium border) to the northern Italian plain where it can help in the fighting for Venice and limit any potential breakthroughs the Axis might make.

The shortage in rifles sits at 11,000, however the situation is definitely improving.  At the end of May we are able to switch to War Economy (about time).

In a shock move, the Germans pull out of Italy in the beginning of June.  The question now is how aggressive should I be in counterattacking?

June 1941.

I decide on a few modest advances and by mid June the Germans have returned.  I should be saying Axis as most of the troops seem to be Hungarians and Romanians.

Japanese divisions are observed on the Western Front and later significant Japanese air assets appear over the Alps.  I feel that the Axis have more allies than the Allies.  This is very true after the AI has been continually sending Commonwealth troops to a watery grave in the eastern North Sea.

In late June we start researching how to improve our ability to break the enemy codes.

Sadly at the same time the British Raj cancels its Lend Lease arrangements.  They have been very helpful.

Against the Axis attacks in the Alps I have planned a defence in depth.  If we can get the time my troops can dig in and significantly improve their defensive posture.

Come July the Axis attacks in the Alps have stalled (giving my troops time to improve their defensive works). 

The situation on the western Front is quite different and the Germans attack endlessly.  Even with the Maginot line it is necessary to continually rotate throops through as they get exhausted.  There are two benefits however, our material losses are limited and the experience gained by our troops is significant (and is not being diluted by constant influx of replacements to make up losses).

By August the rifle shortage is almost over.  The focus is now switching to planes and new factories are being built to produce them (mainly fighters).

Both fronts are a bit of a mess with divisions from different armies intermingled.  I look at trying to create Army Groups, but this idea doesn't seem to be available.  Things are shuffled around to try and create cohesive formations.

Again the Germans leave the Alps.  This time however they leave plenty of their allies to hold the front.  We are happy to just dig in and watch them.  The few British divisions on the Italian front make some suicidal attacks, but stop after a while. 

21 August and we receive news that Germany is justifying war goals against us.  WTF?

The peace and quiet in the Alps has allowed us to complete digging in.  Just in time as the Axis launch another offensive.  Now however I feel confident that the front will hold and decide to redeploy the tactical bombers that were supporting this front  to Northern France.  The fighter aircraft remaining, even though there are just 200, seem to be getting the advantage over the enemy (which appear to be flying predominantly Japanese models).

Some thinking about this war goals business reveals some fine print and the aim of Germany to "Go around the Maginot Line".  Oh dear!  Maybe Japan is getting ready to go to war against the Netherlands and is planning to do this in conjunction with a German attack on that country (I've been surprised they haven't done so before and that was why I had the motorised/tank army sitting on the Belgian frontier).

At this time resistance also occurs in Piedmont.  The Italian front can spare some troops to take care of that. 

But what to do about the Netherlands?

The existing forts on the French/Belgian frontier (the extension of the Maginot Line) are further strengthened, but they are of no use without troops.  Four divisions are dispatched to the Belgian Netherlands border and told to dig in.  This might by time if an attack comes.

Five fortress divisions are commissioned (luckily the rifle shortage has just about been cleared).  Will they arrive in time? 

The game crawls forward to October.  I save the game and look forward to picking up play the next day...

On attempting to load the game I get a message to the effect that the saved game is not compatible.

It takes me a while to absorb this fact.

Once the red mist settles I see that the game has indeed been upgraded.  Those lovely people at Paradox have made some free content available and unbidden Steam updated my game.

At this time the first world problems pile up: reusable sealed plastic bags don't allow themselves to be unsealed; front doorbell doesn't ring (more on this); dogs bark; delivery expected and planned for next week comes early; partner rings wanting to know who's at the door (she's at work but the new fangled door bell has notified her and not me - it probably sensed that I have taken leave of my senses); I rant at partner telling her never to retire, that retirement is a nightmare and that whatever shit she has to put up with at work (and there is plenty) is nothing like what I am now experiencing in my desire to get back to my imaginary world.

Rant mode off.

There is what looks like a highly convoluted process to go through to get a back version of the Hearts of Iron IV software.  Am I brave enough to try it?

France Late 1940

November

Five factories are switched from airplane production to rifles as there is a critical shortage of small arms which is limiting our ability to provide reinforcements to our division which seem to be under constant attack on every front.

5/11/40 The Germans recapture Innsbruck.

Germany is also now attacking Luxembourg after they have recaptured Koln.

More factories are switched to the production of rifles (away from tanks this time).

All armoured and motorised formations have been pulled out of the front lines and deployed along the Belgium frontier just in case and also to provide a reserve and more importantly get them out of the fighting as their equipment cannot be replaced with current factory allocations.

There still seems to be a bug that stops units retreating to be able to regain their organisation.  This leads to a collection of exhausted units on the frontline and the sudden collapse when the last unit is exhausted.  This has to be watched closely and an effort made to rotate units back and forth.

We find that in order to get Lend Lease from the US we need to get them to improve their opinion of us.  A diplomatic effort is initiated, spearheaded by cheese, wine and can can dancers.

The British Raj offers us some lend lease support equipment.  Yeah!

22/11/40 the situation in the Alps is deteriorating.  How the Germans are able to maintain their offensive in the winter is beyond me (and the capabilities of my armies it seems).

But suddenly the way is open to recapture Koln.  Are the Germans finally exhausted?  Is their collapse imminent?

December

A fresh appeal to our allies is made for the lend lease of rifles and artillery.

Research is completed on new small arms for the army and the MAS-38 is now available.  Rather foolishly we switch production to this new weapon which means our overall production volumes decrease.  Whoops.  (With time they will pick up, but we lost about 50% of our output.)

4/12/40 The US cancels the Lend Lease agreement.

We ask again and they agree, only to cancel the next day WTF???

The AI keeps sending British troops into the eastern North Sea where they are continuously sunk.

We try to recruit a small division for garrison purposes,but it won't proceed without rifles.

The Germans launch a counterattack to retake Koln.  So much for thoughts of their collapse.

The German attacks continue against Koln and now Bitburg is under attack as well.  Both are taken by the Germans in mid December.

Back to the Lend Lease saga.  We try the US for support equipment.  They agree.  Luxembourg and Norway agree to send us rifles.

Lend Lease is cancelled again (all except from the British Raj).  I do some research and it is revealed as a delightful game bug.  There is a proposed work around, but it doesn't work for me.  "Why are we fighting?" comes to mind or rather why am I continuing to play.

We are short 15,180 rifles by 17/12/40.

At this stage I  start pulling back French troops to let the Belgians take over the fighting (as it is on their turf).  This might also give my troops time to be reinforced (if the continual losses can be reduced).

Lend Lease takes a month to arrive, and we do actually get some supplies from the Britsh Raj.  Now we'll give those Germans curry!

24/12/40 Luxembourg is under attack.

France October 1940

This post has been a while in coming, the reasons for which will soon be apparent,

The light green is areas held by Belgium, light blue is France while dark blue is German.

This represents the "contained" German breakthrough, after they were pushed back from Nancy.

September 1940

Session 13

During September the Axis airforce starts making a presence in the English Channel, however it doesn't seem to be long lived.  I pull the small force of patrolling destroyers out into deeper water (Bay of Biscay).

Fighting continues on the Rhine with much toing and froing.

We start to research army doctrine "Grand Assault", but it will take almost a year to complete.

Venezuela sends troops to help Germany.

Germany breaks through south of Strasbourg, but is repulsed.

At this stage Bruce suggests we play something different as the apparent bugs (units not retreating when they should) and poor performance (most likely caused by my underspec new machine that I got cheap) have lessened the pleasure.  Plus we had achieved a major outcome with France not falling and Italy being wiped out.

So we've gone on to play Europa Universalis.

October

But the game lingered on in my mind...

So I play with the AI controlling Britain.

First thing I find is the British abandon Strasbourg.  I am too slow to get French troops into the city and it falls to the Germans.

Just to make things really good, the US ends Lend Lease.

The British forces head to the Channel.

At least they stay put in the Alps where the German attacks are unrelenting.

There is a lull on the Rhine, but then the Germans launch a major offensive and start to make progress.  Koln is at risk of being surrounded.

We appoint the defensive general, Maxime Weygrand, to be Chief of Army.

The AI has British troops garrisoning Italy and a heap in the UK.  Not sure what they are planning (I originally thought a naval invasion of Germany) but they will need to get control of the Eastern North Sea first and I don't see that happening.

It took me an hour to play the one month.

France Mid 1940

Session 11

We are across the Rhine!

The Spitfire arrives.  We licence it from the UK and commence production.  Our air force has been pulled back to rebuild, so here's hoping new technology will allow us to challenge the skies (I think the problem really is production volumes rather than equipment quality).

One of the "flaws" in the AI is that it masses enemy airpower in single regions.  So they are overwhelming in one spot (Western Germany with fighters, or East North Sea with bombers) and absent in other areas (Italy).

10 July 1940 and the Soviet Union announces it is prepared to offer security to the small nations of Europe.  That's so sweet.

The Germans are now cleared from the west bank of the Rhine.  Hurray!

But on a bleak note, France has run out of manpower.  I can increase mobilisation, but I need political power to do that and that is something seriously lacking in France (particularly when playing on Elite level).

Britain is a similar state, with battleships it can't launch for want of crews.

The battle for Essen commences.

Session 12

This is probably the Allied high water mark, July 1940.

We've been having performance problems with the game, both in terms of speed and responsiveness to commands.  Apart from the fiasco with the British fleet (wiped out as it refused to move out of the Eastern North Sea for two months or more), there is also the situation were exhausted troops won't retreat or worse when they have they just sit there thinking they are still in combat.  Now possibly you could explain that in some historical sense, but it seems more like a bug.

We play on.

4 August 1940 and we here about the assassination of Trotsky.  Seems the Russians have form in killing exiles in foreign countries.

There is ferocious fighting against our Rhine bridgeheads.  It is annoying (although this is about to get a lot worse), in that the territory has been claimed by Belgium, but they are not doing much to help defend it.

There is also fierce fighting in Austria against Innsbruck and Salzburg.  We capture the former but the latter is saved by the timely arrival of Germany's allies the Hungarians (who obviously don't work under the same guidelines as the Belgians).

23 August 1940 Germany has broken through the Maginot line and reached as far as Nancy.

WTF?

Admittedly we were focused on Austria.

I can only think that either I made a mistake in shuffling troops around defending the Rhine and somehow left an area undefended (possibly due to failure of my command to move a unit to register due to game response problems), or that somehow the Germans got lucky in an attack (hadn't been the case so far).  The area they broke through is the skinny tile, four up from the Swiss border

This is a disaster.

The race is on to plug the gap.  The Belgians just sit there doing nothing.  The French move so slow and end up getting pinned down.  Luckily the British (and Bruce's skill) manage to create a defensive line and start to push the lead German units back.

At least we now have the political power to be able to implement extensive  conscription.

We do recapture Nancy.

In our hour of need Belgians decides to cancel their Lend Lease agreement with us.  Are they thinking of deserting the cause?

2 September 1940 and we call off the offensive in Austria.

I am no longer feeling confident.

I blame Bruce as he said the game was getting bogged down like the WW1 front.  Hmpf! Too much excitement now.

France 1940

Session 9

Fighting rages on the Rhine and in southern Italy, where the Italians, now devoid of German support, look like collapsing.  Indeed Rome falls on 21 February 1940.  But the Italians fight on.

We launch a second offensive on the Italian Alps.

The Germans start sending troops to Italy again.

Colonial industry starts to come online.  France is desperately short of industrial capacity and is not keeping up with equipment losses.  We are getting Lend Lease trucks from Belgium, artillery from the US and (later) rifles from the UK.

De Gaulle plans an offensive against Koln (19 March).  It is a fizz (due to the AI misbehaving and continual destabilising attacks from the Germans and ineptitude on my part most likely).

Late March and our Italian offensive is starting to make progress.

Argh!! There are mutinies in the Army.  We attempt to surround the mutinous troops with loyalists and carry on.  Perhaps that was why De Gaulle's offensive failed?

In April 1940 the Battle for Turin and Genoa starts.  Turin is captured by mid April.

The mutiny is crushed by 26 April.  Phew.

Session 10

The situation at the beginning of April 1940.

One of the odd things in the game is how the minor countries can grab territory even though other countries fought for it and won it.  Belgium is a case in example.  All gets sorted out in the eventual peace conference, but meantime they get all the resources.

After the mutiny at the beginning of the year, France then faced elections in which the Communists gained ground.  I decided to go for a broad coalition of democratic parties to try and head them off, even though it did decrease the country's stability.  France is not easy to play.  Just how hard it is I was about to find out.

Fighting continues on the Rhine frontier.  It is impossible to coordinate with the Belgians.  The airwar is also going badly.

Genoa falls on 3 May and shortly after Italy capitulates.  There is then the race to get to the Austrian alps.  Our southern front is able to advance to just outside Innsbruck and Salzburg, before German resistance empeds further progress.

Koln is captured on 14 May 1940.

The USSR declares war on Finland and makes the country their puppet by mid June.

The French plan a big offensive against Salzburg.  It is a failure.  The French army just doesn't have the capability.

With the demise of Italy and the security that brings to the Mediterranean, I start to move some naval capacity to the Indian Ocean.

As June closes, US troops are observed moving into Norway on the border with Soviet Finland.  This could be interesting.  What are they up to?

France Late 1939 and Early 1940

Session 7

The Situation September 1939

Army reforms start with improving the colonial troops fighting capabilities, which is effectively turning selected brigades into divisions with plenty of artillery and support troops.

The naval battle in the Eastern North Sea turned out to be ineffective.  The Axis airpower is formidable which makes it a risky affair, as the British were to later find out.

21 September 1939 Hungary join the Axis.  At the Second Vienna Conference Hungary is given North Transylvania.  Bulgaria also gets part of Romania under the Treaty of Craiova.

More news from the Balkans, on 16 October under the Treaty of Varma Yugoslavia annexes Bulgaria.

Hmmm.

Our focus switches to building up our industrial capacity in Algeria.  We need every factory we can get.

The UK is involved in heavy fighting in southern Italy.  I send de Gaulle to help, but it is too late and I luckily pull him back before he lands.  Noting that the Danes are having success in the Dodecanese I send him to capture Rhodes, which he does on 30 November.

The UK lose some carriers in the East North Sea.  Bad as we had just decided that they would be of better use in the Pacific to counter a potential Japanese threat.

We start the production of medium tanks.  It will be a slow process.

Session 8

The USSR declares war on Finland.

Germany launches a winter offensive against Belgium and Luxembourg.

Naval battles rage in the East North Sea and Tyrrhenian sea against Axis remnants.  It takes time to catch the Italian ships, but this is done.  However the UK feet gets mauled in the North Sea (something went wrong as the British fleet was supposed to break off, but refused to budge).

The Italians launch an offensive in the southern alps.

We focus on building up our industrial capacity, including developing Algeria.  We also continue fortifying the Pyrenees.

9 January 1940 and the USSR and Finland sign a peace treaty.

In a surprise move the Belgians launch a counterattack and capture Bitburg.  The UK and France rush troops to join in the counter offensive against the Germans who must of worn themselves out with their offensive.

The British fleet remains unable to extricate itself and is losing capital ships.

However their forces in southern Italy suddenly find themselves in possession of Taranto again as the Germans have pulled out (as presumably they need troops to defend the Rhine).

We launch an attack on the Italian front, but winter fighting in the southern alps is a mug's game and we soon call it off.

There is heavy fighting on the Rhine.

The UK are starting to overrun southern Italy.

This is from January.  Come mid February, the pink wave is half way up Italy.