In defense of Freedom, a USA Kaiserreich AAR

@Zhuge Liang: Thats not the state of their entire fleet. Those ships that I encountered are their old battleships, ones that the Germans have been using since the early part of this game. They do have a lot of them though. Germany does have more modern units, including a bunch of modern lvl10 aircraft carriers. Don't worry, you will soon be seeing those in action....

@salidas16: The AI is actually the reason why the time to get to this point in the AAR has been so long. For the last month, updates to this AAR have become very infrequent, because I have been trying to get the AI to behave more aggressively and logically in a 3rd world war. I have even been getting help from another forum member to try and get the AI to behave more intelligently. By the point I am in the actual game, the AI is starting to show better signs of intelligence, so I am hoping that better results will soon begin to take form.

@everyone else: thanks for the comments!

In Italy, German forces attempt to cross the Po River, in an attempt to outflank the allied forces held up in the city of Milan, which has been turned into an urban fortress. The Germans, led by 2 powerful Panzer divisions, battle 12 American infantry divisions for a secure bridgehead. Unfortunately for the Germans, they underestimate the in depth US defenses on the southern banks of the Po, with their attack being successfully repulsed.



In Southern Africa, US and South African forces overrun southern Mozambique, resulting in the entrapment of 70,000 Mittelafrikan troops in Lourenco Marques. The South African Army leads the assault on the beleaguered enemy defenders, successfully overrunning their defenses and forcing their complete surrender within 2 days. This defeat is a huge blow for the Mittelafrikan regime.


Out in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Azores island chain, Admiral Kinkaid's veteran carrier battlegroup runs into the battered German capital ships that had clashed with the Enterprise battlegroups only a short while ago as they attempt to flee to Europe. The old and slow German warships are prime targets for Kinkaid's CAG's, which descend upon the enemy with extreme prejudice.


In only a couple of hours, the German fleet is pounded and forced to retreat. German casualties are extensive, losing 3 battleships, a battlecruiser, and 2 heavy cruisers to American aircraft with very little to show for it.


While Allied Forces in southern Africa are pounding at their defenses, Mittelafrika decides to retaliate by launching a very extensive ground offensive in French controlled western Africa. French colonial units, stripped of many of their forces due to fighting in Morocco and Libya, are facing extreme pressure from many thousands of Mittelafrikan conscripts marching towards the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Mali. Without reinforcements, the French colonial forces here are in danger of being completely overrun.


In the Indian Ocean, US marines begin landing operations on Diego Garcia island, a strategically important German naval and air base which could be used to launch attacks on South East Asia. (as shown by the Ottoman invasions of Australia during the Pacific War) Facing the marines are 20,000 well armed and highly trained German and Ottoman infantry, which fight for every square inch of the island before being overwhelmed by the powerful combination of US navy fire support and devastating ground attacks by the elite soldiers of the USMC.


In an interesting development, allied forces land in Ottoman dominated Libya at the port city of Benghazi. What makes this much more interesting is the fact that it is not the Italians, or the French, or even the Canadians who have taken Benghazi, but rather 30,000 soldiers of the Platinean army, which now begin to expand their bridgehead and clear the path for more of their troops to arrive from South America.


Back in the Atlantic, Admiral Kinkaid's battlegroup intervenes in a rather large naval battle near the coast of Portugal. Not much is known about the size of the German force that was here, only that they definitely had lots of capital ships. In the chaos of the battle, some of the German vessels are able to close within firing range of the US fleet, inflicting heavy damage to the USS Ranger before being forced to withdraw. By the end of the battle, the Germans flee, having lost 3 battlecruisers, 4 flotillas of destroyers, and 2 cruisers. The only allied losses are a flotilla of Canadian destroyers that were sent to the bottom by German artillery.


In India, Allied forces in the center of the frontlines facing Russian central Asia are hit by a huge Russian offensive. Unlike previous assaults, this time, the Russian army sustains its offensive, invading Afghanistan with unknown numbers of tanks and heavy armoured vehicles and forces allied troops to withdraw. However, despite this victory, it will take the Russian army some time to exploit it, with the terrain becoming a huge obstacle to their advance towards the rest of India.

@Karaiskandar: That is most likely what I will need to do to stop the Russian advance. The Indus is the last natural obstacle the allies have left in India. If that is lost, then those huge Russian tank forces will be able to roll easily through the plains of central India.

@Asalto: I have been constantly impressed by the conduct of my Latin American allies throughout this entire campaign. La Plata and Brazil have been some of my most aggressive allies, even more than the French or the Canadians. Oh, and dont worry about French West Africa, once Morocco and Libya are dealt with, the Allied Forces are bound to send large reinforcements to the region. Plus, I have something special being prepared for Mittelafrika.

@Zhuge Liang: I honestly can't explain it. The Germans do have a bunch of brand new lvl 10 aircraft carriers, and enough escorts for them, but they seem inclined to send their old battleships out to sea instead. I don't really care though, since if they want to send those obsolete ships into battle, I am happy to add them to the US navy's kill count!

@CylonAndrew: That comes painfully later.....

Northeastern France. Some of the most heavily fortified ground on the entire earth now becomes much more active, as the French Army, with the support of other Allied forces, most notably the Spanish, launch a large scale offensive against the German front. Remarkably, the French are able to breach German lines near Troyes, pouring a huge amount of heavy mechanized and armoured units into the region, securing the entire province. However, the French attack is halted after this, thanks to powerful German reinforcements that arrive from the north and east, blocking any further advance.


In Southern Africa, US forces secure the major German settler city of Windhoek, all the way in southern Namibia. The Mittelafrikaners are not willing to give up the town without a fight however, and launch a sizeable counteroffensive with some 50,000 troops to retake the area. Their advance is cut short though, thanks to superior American firepower and artillery support, forcing the Mittelafrikan troops to retreat.


In India, the situation is continuing to deteriorate. As the Russian army continues to march into central Afghanistan, a very large army group of 590,000 Russian troops converge on the allied eastern flank at Feyzabad. Grossly outnumbered and outmatched, Allied troops are forced to withdraw to the south, towards Peshawar.


Meanwhile, in China, the United States decides to launch a large-scale offensive against Qing forces, with the objective of taking the entire southern bank of the Yellow river. The first obstacle to this objective is the heavily fortified city of Qingdao, which, before the German-Japanese pacific war of the 1930's was once the German colony of Tsingtau. Taking advantage of heavy firepower and numbers, the US army is able to break the city's 110,000 defenders, forcing them to withdraw to the north.


The offensive is now expanded to the west, with US forces attacking Jinan and Kaifeng with overwhelming force. The Qing forces have no choice but to withdraw further north, unable to blunt the American offensive.


Back in Europe, the USAF is finally ready for its first air missions over the western European frontlines. However, right from the start, things go very sour. The first air engagement involves a huge jet vs jet fighter battle over Reims, against a huge force of 1900 German and Mitteleuropan fighters and tactical bombers. American F-100's prove highly vulnerable to the Luftwaffe's exotic Gotha flying wing fighters, armed with a heavy loadout of cannons and missiles. Huge numbers of American fighters are shot down before the USAF flees back for British airfields.


A smaller, and much more evenly matched airbattle later takes place over Amiens, with 400 super sabres taking on a similar sized force of German Gotha fighters and powerful Lippish interceptors. Both sides take heavy losses before disengaging from the fight and fleeing back to their airfields.


Once again, over Amiens, American fighters engage in heavy air combat, this time against a force made up mostly of Russian air force Bi-6 interceptors. The older Russian fighters, obsolete in comparison to the newer MiG and Sukhoi models also used by the Russians, are outmatched by the USAF's F-100's, and take very large casualties before the end of the engagement.


Back in Southern Africa, US forces are hit by another large Mittelafrikan counterattack near the border town of Maun, just recently secured by US forces. The Mittelafrikan forces, although superior in numbers, make the mistake of attacking the area at night, severely weakening their offensive capabilities, resulting in their defeat at the hands of US forces.


Meanwhile, In Italy, German forces have temporarily halted their offensive operations in the area, giving US forces an opportunity to launch a counterattack aimed at retaking the city of Venice. However, US forces underestimate the size of German defenses here, and find that they are actually outnumbered by the German army forces positioned in the region. The attack turns into a disaster as heavy German firepower forces the US army to fall back to its start positions.


With Italy stabilized and the French being more than capable of holding the frontlines to the northeast, US forces are recalled to the port city of Marseilles. These 880,000 US troops are now preparing to take part in a massive offensive, one that will be directed at one of Germany's largest allies....

@Zhuge Liang: To be honest, I WANTED the Germans to throw everything they had at me in France. My whole idea for how this game would go story wise would be that the German's and their buddies would all go on a rampage at the beginning of the war, overrunning most of Italy, China, India, and France before I could counterattack. Unfortunately, the German AI has become kinda timid, even though they are set to furious and have been modified to behave very aggressively.

@Karaiskandar: Yeah, Mitteleuropa is doing very well in the skies right now. They seem to have an almost unlimited amount of fighters and interceptors at their disposal, and have utterly massacred even the strongest air units the allies can throw at them, including my poor F-100 super sabres.

@Xesan: gonna put the old empire out of its misery, at the barrels of hundreds of tanks.

@salidas16: I am surprised too. I think I should not have positioned so many troops in China, to at least give the Qing a good start to the war. Oh well, too late to change that now.

@everyone else: thanks for the comments!

Admiral Nimitz's carrier battlegroup sorties out of the Indian ocean, arriving in the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping route still being used by the German and Mitteleuropan navies. These carriers are also scouting out enemy defenses in the area, which due to the needs of the major frontlines, are woefully inadequate...


Back in the United States, new light aircraft carriers enter service with the US navy. These ships, carrying large numbers of helicopters, will be used to hunt down enemy submarines in the Pacific ocean. These new CVL's are named after significant battles of the 2nd American civil war.


Admiral Nimitz's blockade of the Gulf of Aden is put to the test by the obsolete warships of Mittelafrika's antique navy. The old enemy warships, which are barely equipped with any anti-aircraft weapons, are easily wiped out by the American aircraft carriers.


In the Atlantic however, a far more significant naval engagement suddenly takes place. Without warning, Admiral Kinkaid's taskforce is engaged by a huge German battlegroup, composed of a huge number of modern aircraft carriers commanded by Admiral Donitz. These vessels are equal in capabilities to the US navy's Enterprise class nuclear carriers, and create total havoc on Kinkaids fleet.


Hopelessly outgunned, Kinkaid's fleet is forced to flee to the north. This battle has resulted in huge losses for the US navy, with 6 veteran aircraft carriers and a large number of escorting vessels having been destroyed by the German fleet. The Germans have paid a high price for this victory though, losing 3 of their carriers, a battleship, and a heavy cruiser. Donitz, proud to have given the US navy a very bloody nose, withdraws his ships back to Germany for repairs and replacements.


In more positive news, Libya, a puppet state of the Ottoman Empire, surrenders to French and Platinean forces. This frees up many French formations for combat against the Mittelafrikaners to the south.


Even more positive news comes for the Allied Forces. The Ottoman Empire, although having powerful beach defenses, has neglected to garrison German territories that straddle its borders, such as German Yemen or the Suez Canal. Taking advantage of this blunder, US forces from both Europe and India land in the Middle east. Their objective is simple: crush the Ottoman empire and seize control of the Middle east's huge oil fields, needed by both the Germans and Russians to fuel their huge air and mechanized forces.


The first battle of the Middle Eastern campaign takes place at Sanaa, in the southern portion of the Arabian peninsula. 160,000 US troops, under the command of General Stilwell, attack the city, defended by 70,000 Ottoman soldiers. Although their infantry is very well equipped, thanks to huge German and Russian arms shipments, the Ottomans are heavily outmatched by US training, numbers, and mechanized formations, forcing the Ottomans to flee to the northern deserts.


Battles also rage in the Sinai Peninsula, as Ottoman forces begin to pour into the region in an effort to blunt the American offensive. El Arish and Sharm el Sheikh fall to American tanks, as US forces push towards Palestine and Jordan.


American tanks and motorized infantry now push into the port city of Eilat, defended by 160,000 Ottoman infantry. Although outnumbered, US mobility allows the army to punch through the Ottoman lines in multiple sectors, hitting their rear areas and forcing the Ottoman troops in Eilat to withdraw into the Negev desert.


US marines are also ordered to clear out the colony of German Somaliland of enemy presence. An entire corps of US marines land in Djibouti, overcoming German defenses and taking control of the port.