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Thanks ! Nice to know I haven't lost my utter lack of talent yet ! ;)

Next update shall be about the Latin American War, and then it'll probably be back to France for the dramatization of a research result (lucky you, it won't be about agriculture and the marvel that is the cow's digestive system).

Oh, BTW, I foujnd neat pictures of Dutch planes. Wanna bet they'll show up in the story at some point ? :D

The research: Icecream perhaps? ( In-joke of my own AARs I'm afraid )

The pictures: Would you be willing to share them with me? I am collecting that type of pictures from wherever I can get them.
 
The early models were bleh indeed (though I have a soft spot for the Ansaldo tankettes). But from what I have read, the late-war medium tank models were pretty decent, along with the self-propelled artillery.

And from what I've read, the late-war medium tanks would have been decent if they had been mid- or early-war (with the exception of the 26/40, but then that was hardly in wide use).
I agree with you on the SPA though, even if I've always been told that artillery was the one branch that the Italian government didn't manage to mess up completely.
 
Dictatorships always favour 'political reliability' over everything else, particularly when there's no-one at the top who actually knows what a good officer looks like. ;)


"Join the Waffen-SS now ! The Reich is looking for a few good men ! Hiding them is punishable by death !"

The preference therefore was good fascists followed by technical officers, skilled technocrats who couldn't actually command a ship or motivate a crew.

Of course, failing to motivate the troops is pretty much required of any officer worth his salt. :D

Melchett: Field Marshall Haig is worried this may be depressing the men a tad, so he's looking for a way to cheer them up.

Blackadder: Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious answer

This was the standard choice across all the armed services as I understand, there was a distinct belief in machine over man with predictably bad consequences.

Faith in machines more than in men ? That does sound Fascist in a way indeed.

Not purged, just when faced with a budget crunch in the very early 1920s they sacked almost all the junior officers and kept the senior one. Plenty of Admirals and very few Lieutenants, moreover those who were kept were the spineless yes-men who agreed with their bosses and didn't rock the boat. By the time the navy started recruiting again there was a large 'gap' in the officer corps that couldn't easily be filled, there is no substitute for experience after all.

Ah, a classe creuse, I see. Very odd, with the launching of so many modern ships. And a tad distressing when every brand-new cruiser is commanded by people who served under Garibaldi.
 
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The research: Icecream perhaps? ( In-joke of my own AARs I'm afraid )

Nah, the Italians are leading that field of research.

The pictures: Would you be willing to share them with me? I am collecting that type of pictures from wherever I can get them.

Tell me what you need, and I'll find them for you in my not-so-little stash ! Most of my pictures are about French matériel, but I have also a few hundreds of German and British ones, if you're interested.
 
Nah, the Italians are leading that field of research.



Tell me what you need, and I'll find them for you in my not-so-little stash ! Most of my pictures are about French matériel, but I have also a few hundreds of German and British ones, if you're interested.

If it isn't too big I'd love to have pretty much everything. I honestly and fully collect these pictures as a hobby you know. One day perhaps I am going to put them to the print. :) Also as Case yellow will kick off in my AAR not too far from now I would need some French pics anyway. I could also send you my stash in return.

Oh and Icecream, it's this in most of my AARs.
 
Lovely update, AF! Love the ship talk. I concur with the consensus that, barring the IJN drawing Western navies off, this will form a pretty battle fleet but one still insufficient to get much done.

Vann
 
Happy New year ladies and gentlemen ! May 2009 be a year of success, health and happiness to you and your loved ones, and may Feldgrauen never nick your champagne !
And the same to you!
 
Happy New Year! I'll say this AAR is one of my favorites, but I still have a fair amount to catch up :eek:o
 
Chapter 81 this week - it's 75% done, the only thing that keeps bugging me is finding appropriate pictures. It'll deal with the Latin American War, as will Chapter 82. I've paused this week-end to ponder the fate of various world players (notably Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey) between the 1938-1939 period. What I've come up with seems plausible enough, and should also present many opportunities for action and mayhem when the shaky peace of the 1930s finally collapses.
 
Chapter 81 this week - it's 75% done, the only thing that keeps bugging me is finding appropriate pictures. It'll deal with the Latin American War, as will Chapter 82. I've paused this week-end to ponder the fate of various world players (notably Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey) between the 1938-1939 period. What I've come up with seems plausible enough, and should also present many opportunities for action and mayhem when the shaky peace of the 1930s finally collapses.
What kind of pictures are you looking for? Maybe we can help you :)
 
Then you better stay calm. This AAR has been going on for 2 YEARS and still WWII hasn't started :D
2 years IRL for 3 years of AAR time :D
 
Kurt_Steiner : I had a feeling you might be getting bored... ;)

4th Dimension : Yep, it's going baaaaaarely faster than the real thing. There are four reasons, IMHo :

- First a Narrative, IMHO, demands much more detail, and whole chapters might be needed to describe events that happens in a mere few days.

- Second, while keeping most of the focus on France - as France will be at the heart of the coming conflict - I also wanted to present you a panorama of events happening elsewhere. To be fair, this is as much for my own benefit as it is for yours, as it forces me to think more about the events that, directly or not, do and will affect France.

- Third, I probably enjoy keeping you on your toes, because I'm a sadist. Either that or I enjoy boring you for month after month, because I'm a sadist AND a mediocre writer ! Muhuhaha ! Take your pick ! :D

- And last but not the least, the AAR went into hiatus for some weeks, at the time of my divorce, and went very slowly last year because I was working 16-hour working days for these damn elections I had to organize (personal record was a 26-hour working day that began a Friday morning at 7 and ended on Saturday at 9. As they say on TV : don't try to do this at home, kids)

HJ Tulp : I am presently looking for pictures of Argentinian and Brazilian soldiers of the 1930s-1940s (but before the Brazilians got US-equipped - Pictures of the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces in Italy I cannot use now, for obvious reasons, and yes I am anally retentive with that kind of thing). But don't worry. If anything, I'll find pictures of the location where the action will take place and put "Ciudad X in happier times" as caption. I won't let a lack of pictures bring the AAR to a halt, I promise !
 
Just one question. Did you ever, complete the game, or are you STILL playing it :D
 
Just one question. Did you ever, complete the game, or are you STILL playing it :D

Still playing, Comrade ! Worried I'm not taking you anywhere ? ;)

What I did in 2008 was to refine the political situation, to add ships and Tech teams to various nations, and to think hard about what could and should happen. Then I put the game away, ready to be played again when WW2 truly breaks out.

Playing interferred too much with the narration, and the chapters you are reading (and will read in the next few months) will set the stage for the conflagration.

If you think this "small" introduction hasn't been too shabby, with its cortege of limited wars and political powerplays, I can only hope you'll enjoy it when truly major action begins.
 
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Still playing, Comrade ! Worried I'm not taking you anywhere ? ;)

What I did in 2008 was to refine the political situation, to add ships and Tech teams to various nations, and to think hard about what could and should happen. Then I put the game away, ready to be played again when WW2 truly breaks out.

Playing interferred too much with the narration, and the chapters you are reading (and will read in the next few months) will set the stage for the conflagration.

If you think this "small" introduction hasn't been too shabby, with its cortege of limited wars and political powerplays, I can only hope you'll enjoy it when truly major action begins.

This has been pretty fantastic so far; I'm quite excited for the major war :D