Seems to be going well so far. But how long can the advance continue considering the woe-fully inadequate tank forces at hand? I mean the generals are practically screaming for armored support!
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Nice, nice, nice... So far, the AI seems capable of (slowly?) beating a couple of Ethiopian militia divisions - I guess that's about on par for the historical performance, right? 
Looking forward to more AI maneuvers, as well as your own personal input into the game.
Looking forward to more AI maneuvers, as well as your own personal input into the game.
I'm not a fan of Italy by any means...but this AAR has me rooting for you and the poor AI generals! Very interesting AAR and one that I'm watching.
Very interesting AAR and one that I'm watching.
Fascinating...
I'm going to love reading this.
One recommendation... from your earlier post, it looked like you might go with carrier tech. Italy doesn't need until the Med is owned completely. I'd suggest researching / building / using Nav's from land bases until after the Brits are tossed out of the Med. THEN maybe spend precious research on Blue-water techs like carriers.
Imperial Rome Redux!
I'm going to love reading this.
One recommendation... from your earlier post, it looked like you might go with carrier tech. Italy doesn't need until the Med is owned completely. I'd suggest researching / building / using Nav's from land bases until after the Brits are tossed out of the Med. THEN maybe spend precious research on Blue-water techs like carriers.
Imperial Rome Redux!
Alexus: Yeah, Mussolini isn't paranoid yet, no matter how dictatorial he is.
Lordban: I'm shocked, shocked at such allegations!
stnylan: Very true. Sometimes it's not so delightfully idiotic too.
Enewald: Actually, it may play right into my plans...
Karelian: More or less, yeah. It's been pretty smooth so far.
takishan: Thanks!
Exterous: They are! And I don't know why, they're only Abyssinians! Their army consists nearly entirely of militiamen!
Stuyvesant: More or less on par, yeah. And my own input will begin in the next update.
Jorath13: Thank you, and welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Von Lippe: Welcome to you as well! My broad strategy will allow me to gain command of the Mediterranean fairly quickly, assuming it works.
Maj. von Mauser: Thank you! And yeah, the invasion's not going badly so far. It's too bad that the bulk of my army's so far behind though.
Lordban: I'm shocked, shocked at such allegations!
stnylan: Very true. Sometimes it's not so delightfully idiotic too.
Enewald: Actually, it may play right into my plans...
Karelian: More or less, yeah. It's been pretty smooth so far.
takishan: Thanks!
Exterous: They are! And I don't know why, they're only Abyssinians! Their army consists nearly entirely of militiamen!
Stuyvesant: More or less on par, yeah. And my own input will begin in the next update.
Jorath13: Thank you, and welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Von Lippe: Welcome to you as well! My broad strategy will allow me to gain command of the Mediterranean fairly quickly, assuming it works.
Maj. von Mauser: Thank you! And yeah, the invasion's not going badly so far. It's too bad that the bulk of my army's so far behind though.
The invasion is going well I see!
I'm also playing Italy and have left the Abyssinian theater to Grazioli. It'll be interesting to see how he plays his hand in my game.
I'm also playing Italy and have left the Abyssinian theater to Grazioli. It'll be interesting to see how he plays his hand in my game.
Nice AAR
How is your supply situation in Ethiopia?
Are you going for a quick conquest or rather stall it for a couple years to enjoy the wartime laws?
How is your supply situation in Ethiopia?
Are you going for a quick conquest or rather stall it for a couple years to enjoy the wartime laws?
Guangxi Clique a world power! I'll have to give that a try. Don't tell me, you won the war vs. Nationalist China and took control of the alliance from there.
I enjoy making world powers like, the Big Four; US, GB, Russia, and ..... Canada! From 1936 thru 1942 Canada does nothing but build infrastructure and industry. Then they take a year or two to build a great army (mosly mechs), and by June of 1944 they lead the invasion of Germany. Oh, I almost forgot, Canada also has strategic bombers and the Bomb.
-a
I enjoy making world powers like, the Big Four; US, GB, Russia, and ..... Canada! From 1936 thru 1942 Canada does nothing but build infrastructure and industry. Then they take a year or two to build a great army (mosly mechs), and by June of 1944 they lead the invasion of Germany. Oh, I almost forgot, Canada also has strategic bombers and the Bomb.
-a
Ahhh, sweet, sweet game-play. Now it truly begins and it looks like, without much standing in your way. Did we expect much though? Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. And especially after Il Duce's new-found regard for military history.
And especially after Il Duce's new-found regard for military history. 
/subscribed
I never could do well as Italy, but then again that was because of the crappy tech teams they had compared to the Allies.
I never could do well as Italy, but then again that was because of the crappy tech teams they had compared to the Allies.
Mussolini reading a book? Clearly this must be filed under fiction!
I saw an interesting on-line exhibit of Italian Modernist art the other day - all very machine-oriented as you say. Colorful stuff but not really my style. For the 20's and 30's I prefer Art Deco and Moderne. But I digress.
Italy had strong educational and professional ties with Great Britain. Part of the problem Mussolini had in WWII was convincing his officers that they could fight the British and win... he failed, and his officers frequently doubted they could beat their British counterparts. Other than some brave small-craft exploits the history of the Italian Navy in WWII is not a good one (The joke of the day was that the Royal Navy drank rum, the Americans beer, the Germans schnapps, the French preferred wine and the Italians stuck to port). That said, with few exceptions the Italian ships were less resistant to damage, had slower-firing guns and more accuracy problems, less-well-trained crews and as you say no sonar and radar. Massive improvement in fighting quality could be had by addressing these points. Expect major passive opposition from the older officers of all three branches, especially if your air force looks into producing an effective fighter plane.
Your points about the early superiority of Italian aircraft and their rapid relative fall from prominence is well taken. Rapid deployment of technology in its earlier stages led to an emphasis on deployment in numbers. Sounds like you are going to forego a massive buildup in size in favor of fewer, better units. I heartily concur.
I'm enjoying your style and the insights into your game-play. Looking forward to more.
I saw an interesting on-line exhibit of Italian Modernist art the other day - all very machine-oriented as you say. Colorful stuff but not really my style. For the 20's and 30's I prefer Art Deco and Moderne. But I digress.
Italy had strong educational and professional ties with Great Britain. Part of the problem Mussolini had in WWII was convincing his officers that they could fight the British and win... he failed, and his officers frequently doubted they could beat their British counterparts. Other than some brave small-craft exploits the history of the Italian Navy in WWII is not a good one (The joke of the day was that the Royal Navy drank rum, the Americans beer, the Germans schnapps, the French preferred wine and the Italians stuck to port). That said, with few exceptions the Italian ships were less resistant to damage, had slower-firing guns and more accuracy problems, less-well-trained crews and as you say no sonar and radar. Massive improvement in fighting quality could be had by addressing these points. Expect major passive opposition from the older officers of all three branches, especially if your air force looks into producing an effective fighter plane.
Your points about the early superiority of Italian aircraft and their rapid relative fall from prominence is well taken. Rapid deployment of technology in its earlier stages led to an emphasis on deployment in numbers. Sounds like you are going to forego a massive buildup in size in favor of fewer, better units. I heartily concur.
I'm enjoying your style and the insights into your game-play. Looking forward to more.
burning_phoneix: Welcome! It'll be interesting to hear back from you on how your Grazioli is doing in Abyssinia, compare notes and all.
Yozhik: At the moment of the post, the supply situation was good. As for my intentions, they quickly became irrelevant.
Valentinan: Yes indeed, Guangxi Clique a world power. It's one of my HoI2 AARs, am certainly interested in making the attempt in HoI3.
coz1: And not just military history, but also strategic theory! This squirrel may have found a nut that could cure its blindness.
Merrick Chance': Welcome! In my HoI2 Italy AAR (a dual campaign with Discomb) we both got quite far (I was pushing into Siberia and had conquered Britain and he was campaigning in Florida) but he in the end was defeated by the USA and me by the Soviets. I want to see how I do in this game.
Director: Definitely a tale of fiction, this one! And that's an excellent joke, I'm certainly going to be circulating it around. And yeah, I'm going with quality rather than quantity; the Italians will have a hard time affording it, but they'll have an even harder time affording quantity. And, of course, welcome and thank you!
I'll write the next update later, on what Mussolini's already setting into motion. Depending on how I feel and when I write it, I'll post it either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Yozhik: At the moment of the post, the supply situation was good. As for my intentions, they quickly became irrelevant.
Valentinan: Yes indeed, Guangxi Clique a world power. It's one of my HoI2 AARs, am certainly interested in making the attempt in HoI3.
coz1: And not just military history, but also strategic theory! This squirrel may have found a nut that could cure its blindness.
Merrick Chance': Welcome! In my HoI2 Italy AAR (a dual campaign with Discomb) we both got quite far (I was pushing into Siberia and had conquered Britain and he was campaigning in Florida) but he in the end was defeated by the USA and me by the Soviets. I want to see how I do in this game.
Director: Definitely a tale of fiction, this one! And that's an excellent joke, I'm certainly going to be circulating it around.
And yeah, I'm going with quality rather than quantity; the Italians will have a hard time affording it, but they'll have an even harder time affording quantity. And, of course, welcome and thank you! I'll write the next update later, on what Mussolini's already setting into motion. Depending on how I feel and when I write it, I'll post it either tonight or tomorrow morning.
when I let the AI run the war on Ethiopia it quickly turned into a standstill in the mountains and a rout in Somalia (with my brave Italians doing the running away part).
fun, fun, fun - so much new stuff to learn! enjoying your AAR a lot!
fun, fun, fun - so much new stuff to learn! enjoying your AAR a lot!
I really like this AAR, and the introduction was one of the more scholarly peices of writing I have seen on these forums in a while.
Good luck, as I am playing my own Italy game right now I am curious to see where you take this.
Good luck, as I am playing my own Italy game right now I am curious to see where you take this.
Thomas Kenobi: Thank you, and welcome! I hope you continue to approve of its quality!
Soulitaire: How odd, well armed Italians being stymied by poorly armed Abyssinians. And thanks!
Cyrus_The_Great: Thanks, and welcome! Academic writing is on my mind at the moment, as I'm doing research for my master's dissertation, plus I only just finished my bachelor's dissertation in March/April of this year. Between these works and all the other usual university assignments I'm just in that basic scholarly frame of mind, I guess. Also, Italy seems to be a popular choice for games, you must be the fourth or fifth or so. What are your thoughts so far on it?
I've also decided to post my update tonight this time! Lucky you guys.
Soulitaire: How odd, well armed Italians being stymied by poorly armed Abyssinians.
And thanks! Cyrus_The_Great: Thanks, and welcome! Academic writing is on my mind at the moment, as I'm doing research for my master's dissertation, plus I only just finished my bachelor's dissertation in March/April of this year. Between these works and all the other usual university assignments I'm just in that basic scholarly frame of mind, I guess. Also, Italy seems to be a popular choice for games, you must be the fourth or fifth or so. What are your thoughts so far on it?
I've also decided to post my update tonight this time! Lucky you guys.
The First Year of Renaissance
Part 2: Drastic Measures I, January 1, 1936
When Mussolini set to his task of turning the ponderous state bureaucracy of the Kingdom of Italy he was nearly overwhelmed by it all, seeing all the avenues he would have to go down and all the leads he would have to pursue to make sure his strategic vision take root and succeed. He, indeed, nearly balked at the task. It was fortunate for him that political intrigue was kept to a minimum: none of his primary ministers were threatened by his plans and one, his chief of staff, was far too busy already. The chief of staff was Francesco Grazioli, and he was far too concerned with supply throughput to Eritrea and Somalia and the Abyssinian War generally to care much about what Mussolini was doing in Italy. It is possible that he anticipated the great prestige he would gain from victory in that colonial war would render him relatively immune to Mussolini’s more bothersome dictates.
The first task he set himself was to grapple with comprehending the state of the Italian armed forces in early January 1936 and planning the structure of the Royal Italian forces from there. All three staffs turned out reams of documents at his request, complete with informed, and biased, advisors to answer any questions Mussolini had regarding anything remotely relevant to that branch. Arguments broke out often but Mussolini nevertheless made remarkable progress wading through the dense archival materials. The broad overview was thus: the army disposed of 145 brigades whose theoretical manpower should have totaled just over 400,000 by his rough calculations. However, at the same time the army reported that considerable resources were required to bring reserve units up to full strength. The navy consisted of 59 ships of varying types and classes, and the air force of 12 units. The navy and air force claimed most of the fuel spent, though the army required two thirds of all the supplies that were directed to the support of the armed forces.
Four pie charts detailing the general status of the Italian armed forces.
Looking into the make-up of the army in further detail, Mussolini found that nearly an entire fifth of the army, unit-wise, consisted of headquarters alone totaling 99,000 men and requiring over a fourth of all the supplies the army consumed! Nearly half the army consisted of infantry brigades, with an upper limit of 189,000 men. Most importantly for Mussolini’s future plans were the mobile forces of the Regio Esercito: six cavalry, three motorized infantry and one armored car brigades. These were the units that would for the moment be the cadre of his armored corps. This revelation had noticeably shaken Mussolini: he had never before realized just how much of his bombast was an utter lie. And yet the international community had fallen for it wholesale. It is difficult to discern which is more staggering.
Four pie charts detailing in further detail the status of the Regio Esercito.
The air force was arguably in better shape as a whole than the army. Nearly half of the Regia Aeronautica was comprised of interceptor squadrons. Given his budding maritime emphasis, Mussolini’s desire was for a primarily defensive army aviation doctrine. The role of interceptors was to clear the skies above Italian armies and perhaps escort medium bombers on tactical missions. Of these medium bombers there were three squadrons. Despite Douhet’s influence on Mussolini, he did not believe that bombers—certainly not such bombers—could inflict decisive defeat on the enemy on their own. As mentioned, he determined to reign them in to just tactical missions, not only against armies but if necessary against navies as well. This dual role was forced upon them as the Italian air force had only three squadrons of naval bombers. These specialized bombers would be of great importance in helping to define and control sea zones to impose lop-sided battle conditions onto any enemy. The squadron of transport planes was simply inexplicable, though Mussolini is on record for deciding to keep them.
Three pie charts detailing the status and needs of the Regia Aeronautica.
The Regia Marina in 1936 was possibly the most effective service of the Italian armed forces. Four of its 59 ships were battleships and another eight were heavy cruisers; these were capital ships of the fleet. The navy also had eighteen destroyer flotillas and twelve light cruisers. These lighter ships were the workhorses of the fleet and they were myriad enough to put Mussolini at ease concerning certain portions of his strategic vision. Another light cruiser was also near to being operational and would join the fleet by mid January. The remaining naval units were six transport flotillas and a fairly strong submarine arm of eleven flotillas. Given the importance of controlling the littoral in maritime strategy, despite Mahan’s pronouncements to the contrary, Mussolini knew that the transport fleet would have to be expanded. He did not anticipate too much use of the submarines; he did not believe that commerce warfare would be particularly useful unless many submarines were built, and their anti-warship capabilities were likely to be limited too. Mussolini did not anticipate building more submarines; the one submarine production on-going at that time was cancelled.
Three pie charts detailing the status and needs of the Regia Marina.
After bringing himself up to speed on his armed forces, Mussolini overviewed the laws currently in place in Italy. Of the seven groups of laws in force, Mussolini believed he could modify five for the benefit of Italy. Italy went from a one year draft system to service by requirement; from basic to total economic mobilization; from a medium-large to a big educational investment; from a mixed to a heavy industry emphasis; and he implemented specialist training.
Italy’s laws before and after—note however that at this point Mussolini had not enacted specialist training yet.
The recently changed laws went into effect immediately, and indeed had immediate effect. They used to say that the trains ran on time in Fascist Italy even though this was not actually the case; afterwards they other wonders of administration to marvel about. From these laws the armed forces were slated to received half again more manpower and mid-ranking leaders than the year earlier. Industry increased by fifty per cent over night, and the populace suddenly demanded less luxury items. Supply throughput increased as well, to Grazioli’s approval. New recruits were getting more training, though this would take longer. Mussolini was finally taking advantage of the war with Abyssinia to push through a number of reforms that would help make his strategic visions a reality.
The precise effects of the five laws enacted by Mussolini.
This concludes the first portion of the overview of the drastic measures and changes Mussolini implements to begin turning the ship of state toward his strategic vision. These overviews and initial law reforms were an important step in Mussolini’s task. Next, we shall examine what necessarily followed from this, his apportioning of contracts for technological development and their strategic purposes, and the beginning of his army reforms.
Part 2: Drastic Measures I, January 1, 1936
When Mussolini set to his task of turning the ponderous state bureaucracy of the Kingdom of Italy he was nearly overwhelmed by it all, seeing all the avenues he would have to go down and all the leads he would have to pursue to make sure his strategic vision take root and succeed. He, indeed, nearly balked at the task. It was fortunate for him that political intrigue was kept to a minimum: none of his primary ministers were threatened by his plans and one, his chief of staff, was far too busy already. The chief of staff was Francesco Grazioli, and he was far too concerned with supply throughput to Eritrea and Somalia and the Abyssinian War generally to care much about what Mussolini was doing in Italy. It is possible that he anticipated the great prestige he would gain from victory in that colonial war would render him relatively immune to Mussolini’s more bothersome dictates.
The first task he set himself was to grapple with comprehending the state of the Italian armed forces in early January 1936 and planning the structure of the Royal Italian forces from there. All three staffs turned out reams of documents at his request, complete with informed, and biased, advisors to answer any questions Mussolini had regarding anything remotely relevant to that branch. Arguments broke out often but Mussolini nevertheless made remarkable progress wading through the dense archival materials. The broad overview was thus: the army disposed of 145 brigades whose theoretical manpower should have totaled just over 400,000 by his rough calculations. However, at the same time the army reported that considerable resources were required to bring reserve units up to full strength. The navy consisted of 59 ships of varying types and classes, and the air force of 12 units. The navy and air force claimed most of the fuel spent, though the army required two thirds of all the supplies that were directed to the support of the armed forces.
Four pie charts detailing the general status of the Italian armed forces.
Looking into the make-up of the army in further detail, Mussolini found that nearly an entire fifth of the army, unit-wise, consisted of headquarters alone totaling 99,000 men and requiring over a fourth of all the supplies the army consumed! Nearly half the army consisted of infantry brigades, with an upper limit of 189,000 men. Most importantly for Mussolini’s future plans were the mobile forces of the Regio Esercito: six cavalry, three motorized infantry and one armored car brigades. These were the units that would for the moment be the cadre of his armored corps. This revelation had noticeably shaken Mussolini: he had never before realized just how much of his bombast was an utter lie. And yet the international community had fallen for it wholesale. It is difficult to discern which is more staggering.
Four pie charts detailing in further detail the status of the Regio Esercito.
The air force was arguably in better shape as a whole than the army. Nearly half of the Regia Aeronautica was comprised of interceptor squadrons. Given his budding maritime emphasis, Mussolini’s desire was for a primarily defensive army aviation doctrine. The role of interceptors was to clear the skies above Italian armies and perhaps escort medium bombers on tactical missions. Of these medium bombers there were three squadrons. Despite Douhet’s influence on Mussolini, he did not believe that bombers—certainly not such bombers—could inflict decisive defeat on the enemy on their own. As mentioned, he determined to reign them in to just tactical missions, not only against armies but if necessary against navies as well. This dual role was forced upon them as the Italian air force had only three squadrons of naval bombers. These specialized bombers would be of great importance in helping to define and control sea zones to impose lop-sided battle conditions onto any enemy. The squadron of transport planes was simply inexplicable, though Mussolini is on record for deciding to keep them.
Three pie charts detailing the status and needs of the Regia Aeronautica.
The Regia Marina in 1936 was possibly the most effective service of the Italian armed forces. Four of its 59 ships were battleships and another eight were heavy cruisers; these were capital ships of the fleet. The navy also had eighteen destroyer flotillas and twelve light cruisers. These lighter ships were the workhorses of the fleet and they were myriad enough to put Mussolini at ease concerning certain portions of his strategic vision. Another light cruiser was also near to being operational and would join the fleet by mid January. The remaining naval units were six transport flotillas and a fairly strong submarine arm of eleven flotillas. Given the importance of controlling the littoral in maritime strategy, despite Mahan’s pronouncements to the contrary, Mussolini knew that the transport fleet would have to be expanded. He did not anticipate too much use of the submarines; he did not believe that commerce warfare would be particularly useful unless many submarines were built, and their anti-warship capabilities were likely to be limited too. Mussolini did not anticipate building more submarines; the one submarine production on-going at that time was cancelled.
Three pie charts detailing the status and needs of the Regia Marina.
After bringing himself up to speed on his armed forces, Mussolini overviewed the laws currently in place in Italy. Of the seven groups of laws in force, Mussolini believed he could modify five for the benefit of Italy. Italy went from a one year draft system to service by requirement; from basic to total economic mobilization; from a medium-large to a big educational investment; from a mixed to a heavy industry emphasis; and he implemented specialist training.
Italy’s laws before and after—note however that at this point Mussolini had not enacted specialist training yet.
The recently changed laws went into effect immediately, and indeed had immediate effect. They used to say that the trains ran on time in Fascist Italy even though this was not actually the case; afterwards they other wonders of administration to marvel about. From these laws the armed forces were slated to received half again more manpower and mid-ranking leaders than the year earlier. Industry increased by fifty per cent over night, and the populace suddenly demanded less luxury items. Supply throughput increased as well, to Grazioli’s approval. New recruits were getting more training, though this would take longer. Mussolini was finally taking advantage of the war with Abyssinia to push through a number of reforms that would help make his strategic visions a reality.
The precise effects of the five laws enacted by Mussolini.
This concludes the first portion of the overview of the drastic measures and changes Mussolini implements to begin turning the ship of state toward his strategic vision. These overviews and initial law reforms were an important step in Mussolini’s task. Next, we shall examine what necessarily followed from this, his apportioning of contracts for technological development and their strategic purposes, and the beginning of his army reforms.
Ahhh, decisions, decisions... This Mussolini is wiser than one would think
You possibly don't imagine how odd it feels to read Mussolini actually thinking Especially when he's thinking a well thought-out strategy.
This Mussolini is wiser than one would think You possibly don't imagine how odd it feels to read Mussolini actually thinking
Especially when he's thinking a well thought-out strategy.
In view of the Huge distances the Italian Army will have to traverse to get to Addis Ababba, I do hope Il Duce considerd improving supply techs. Supplying the large force in the mountains and desert will not be an easy task-ah hindsight.