-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Ah i love this.proactive british move,hopefully the french will launch an attack as well and poland will hold up german troops too.This might be ur window of oppurtunity .I was a little disappointed though with how the german player had so few divisions.I was expecting a horde.
Looking forward eagerly towards the next update.
Yes, lets hope that window is open. Few divisions? Yeah, I know you had some more in your AAR
Well. We'll se how it turnes out.me too
Good. Here goes... ->
Part V - Operation Trident
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
UK had already been working on their diplomatic and historical ties with several parties in the Commonwealth. Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada immediately responded and declared war on Germany.
June 3rd, 1939
While Operation Trident was in motion, the Brits, very secretly, started to build a new weapon. With the rocket artillery they would spread fear and terror to their enemies. Even though the British leadership realized that this new weapon still was less effective than the good ol’ artillery, they knew that rockets were part of future warfare and they wanted to be the first to construct it.
June 4th, 1939
British submarines started to harass German convoys in Skagerack and Helgoland Bight while a strong task force made certain no German surface fleet left the Baltics. The submarines were unchallenged and could search for German tonnage without fearing to be attacked. Soon they found targets and started to pick them off one at the time.
June 5th, 1939
Newalls heavy bombers started to soften up the AA-guns in Saarbrücken before the French attack would commence.
::Joe Monaghan was delighted. After finally having had the pleasure to take a tumble with Shanti they were timely sent away. He could only pretend he was sorry and they left dear ol’ Britain behind. They were based in a small French airfield close to the Suisse border in a God-forsaken place called Besancon. It was a really sleepy township which hardly knew a war was going on. From here they immediately left on their first combat mission. They were supposed to bomb AA-installations in a German border province, called Saarbrucken. The first time the German Messerschmitt’s showed up with their blasting auto-cannons he was actually really scared. Their own shooters managed to keep the German fighters at a preferable distance before a horde of Hurricanes showed up. That was bliss. How he loved those cocky fighter-pilots then. The German fighters was outnumbered and left pretty soon. Day two, the targets were all open to him. It was clear weather and the AA-fire didn’t even reach up to them. It was a piece of cake. The bombes just pulverized that damned place. And the AA-guns silenced one after one. Oh, how they celebrated that night. He actually spotted a really fine farmer-girl then, but he hadn’t gotten her name yet. He could tell, though, she liked his looks.::
June 12th, 1939.
The full attack force landed around Wilhelmshafen. Montgomery immediately laid siege on the city itself and the forces defending it. He launched a heavy assault in order to chock the defenders into submission.
Even though the attack on Wilhelmshafen went according to plan, Lieutenant-General Gort leading the strike force, quickly realized that Germany was not totally unprepared for this attack and had forces around Denmark and Hamburg. They even had a light tank division. The fast British motorized units quickly took suitable defensive positions in the east and prepared to hold the line while moving southwards where the land was open.
June 13th, 1939
13 days into the conflict and the German forces have been pressing the Poles backwards and cut a deep gash into the heart of the country – seemingly aiming for Warszawa. The Poles, however, are keeping their defense together and are so far retreating in good order.
June 13th, 1939
The French ground attack on Saarbrücken went according to plan. British Handley Page Hampden bombers supported the French infantry and dropped bomb loads after bomb loads on the German garrisons. Other bomber wings attacked other provinces to confuse the Germans and swarms of Hurricans intercepted whatever German craft entering the airspace of the entire region. So far, they were quite successful and even though Park had lost quite a few planes in one of his Wings, it was still a clearly acceptable loss during the circumstances. The German militias under Gelb must have had a hellish time as their ratio was something in the range of 1 for each 5 French attacker.
June 16th, 1939
The defenders of Wilhelmshaven held out for more than a week, even though they were being surrounded and outnumbered. For many of the partaking British infantrymen, this was a good start of the war. They had a real test of actual combat, but they were superior enough to keep the organization and the control throughout the battle. Maybe they even thought themselves being invincible as well…
June 18th, 1939
Italy honored the Steel Pact a came to support Germany’s struggle. Immediately, Italian submarines started to sink British and French tonnage in the Mediterranean Sea. This came as a blow to Brits - and their first casualties as “targets”. Moreover, they were deeply involved in Operation Trident with a very low focus on other theatres.
::Mark Monaghan was in a way disappointed. He had talked so much about the value of attacking Kriegsmarine in the Baltic Sea, if it came to war. War came but the Germans had attacked Denmark first. Even if Operation Trident was launched, he didn’t get to go to the Baltic’s. Moreover, the Germans didn’t venture out of the Baltic’s either, so it was a huge maritime stalemate. And now he was sent to the Mediterranean Sea to command the Light Cruiser HMS Coventry. It was a 1918 warship, slightly outdated but still a lot more than a destroyer. He should have been happy, getting a higher command, but he had focused so much on the Kriegsmarine that the Regia Marina seemed a lesser foe. He was now part of Admiral Forbes Mediterranean fleet.::
HMS Coventry
June 19th, 1939
From their desert fort in Tobruk, the Italians charged eastwards. The British defensive line was weak and the troops there could only hope to stall the Italians – but not stop. Moreover, the Italians had full air superiority and their tactical bombers constantly harassed the British infantrymen who had problems to shield themselves out in the open desert. These reports were grimly received in London. Until now, the war had been more or less a medial success, but this kind of news was more difficult to handle. So far, they disguised it as a “tactical retreat”.
June 20th, 1939
As Italian submarines constantly attacked British convoys, the Royal Navy tried desperately to hunt down these marauders by putting all surface naval task forces on patrol duties in the Mediterranean. It was not an easy job to track down the swarms of submarines, but finally, outside Crete, a large gathering of Italians submarines were spotted. The Brits early got the upper hand and against the specially designed submarine-hunter task force, the Italians had no chance and scattered with quite a lot of u-boats being sunk.
June 20st, 1939
Needing a public victory the British leadership gave the victory a little more credit than it actually deserved – and it was celebrated as a huge victory in England.
June 21st, 1939
The German advance is stuck in the Polish countryside. In a week’s time, they have only gained a few provinces and actually lost one. None of these are strategically important. What IS important is the fact that 2 German paradivisions and Walter Nehrings panzer division have been cut off in the middle of Poland. The paradrops gave Poland o lot of troubles in the area as lots of Polish troops were either on their way in or out of the province and thus got unexpectedly locked in combat. At the end, the loss was Germany’s since these three divisions surrendered after desperate battle as no supply or reinforcements got through to them.
June 25th, 1939
The Brits are being pushed back in North Africa, but at least they make the Italians pay every Godforsaken mile of desert with their own blood. The Italians seems to have a lot of reserves and the British leadership realizes that something drastically has to be done – or entire North Africa will fall to the Italians.
June 25th, 1939
In French North Africa, the French gives the Italians even less resistance. The road to Tunis lies more or less open, even if it is hard ground to advance through. Just mountains and rocks. North Africa seems to lie open like a smorgasbord for the Italians.
June, 1939
During the entire month, Cyril Newall’s heavy bombers are conducting air missions into southern Germany. ALL their industry where flattened.
::June was a wonderful month for Joe Monaghan. The weather in the French province of Besancon was wonderful. Most days on the bombing runs were wonderful. The lack of German fighters and decent AA-guns were wonderful and the lovely farmer’s daughter Adeline Bessette was quite wonderful. The bombings of the German cities were even easier than the trainings. The only backside was the long flights to the target areas. Long flights in the tight bloody cramped bomber were a drag sometimes. He and his copilot Bill Murphy has gossiped about all possible things so many times over that they even were silent at times – something that was very odd for Joe. It even came to the point that Bill had told Joe that he didn’t want to hear about the new positions Joe had managed with Adeline. Now THAT was odd. Joe himself could take about it 24-7. Shanti was dirty in her mouth but quiet in the bed. Now, sweet Adeline Bessette was quite the opposite. As the day-bombings became routine, the evenings were when the real action started. As they were heroes in the eyes of the French villagers there was always a party, a dance or a festival of some sort. Perhaps the French male citizens weren’t too happy about the heavy competition in the hunt for love, but there weren’t too many brawls about that. Most brawls were between different bomber-crews arguing about whatever unimportant issue. In short – it was a wonderful time.::
June 25th, 1939
After the initial easy gains, the Germans have moved more and more troops to the British front. Barker’s motorized division had gone so far as to conquer Hannover, but as wehrmacht came strong from Denmark and Hamburg, he had to retreat to Bremen to consolidate the defense – for that was what it was. The attack had turned into defense.
::The 1st Infantry division went ashore in Heide. It was a fine summers day and as he waded ashore and the first German citizens came out with their hands held high, he joked with Johnny and said that he hope he at least got to shoot a few German soldiers before the war was over. Well, Hitler must have heard his pray and chosen to answer. Not before long, Cunningham’s 4th Infantry Division north of them, in Leck, had to retreat to Heide as their line was too long. There they were attacked by Major General von Arnim. Richards Dog Company was caught out in the open and had to fall back to better defenses. He only got to shoot his rifle five times and he was quite sure he didn’t hit. As they consolidated the defense, they were ordered to retreat behind the river. It sucked… but Richard had to admit, the Germans were tough, and he was actually scared shitless as the bullet screamed passed his head.::
::Both divisions retreated over the river after half a day of battle. When they arrived at Cuxhaven, the 1st Armor Division was in trouble in Bremerhaven, south from Cuxhaven. As Cunningham’s 4th Division stayed on behind the river and dug in, 1st Division mounted the trucks and hurried south. Word was spread that they was going to face German armor. Cocky as they were, they had great respect for the German armor. A month before they left Britain, they got the new model of light anti-tank guns. That at least felt reassuring.::
::As they arrived in Bremerhaven, the battle was already into is 4th day. The enemy was major general Steiner with motorized and light armor units. If felt good to know the 1st Armor Division was around with their light tanks too. Still, as Richard and Johnny was squatting in a foxhole and heard the metallic complaining sound of metal tracks grinding under the weight of charging German armor, it just felt really bad and they gave each other a worried look and nodded grimly. Now it was for real. Sound, their world was all explosions as German mortars made firewood of the forest around them. German infantry supported by a few light panzers followed shortly after, and Richard and Johnny got a mouthful of shooting. As the Germans met the dug in position of Dog Company and one of their panzers got hit by AT, they fell back. Richard and Johnny cheered. They both claimed to have killed an enemy but secretly they knew that only one had fallen in front of their foxhole, but they never tried to sort it out. Both of them carved a line in their rifle and congratulated each other. Later they found out that Bill Roberts, a funny guy in their platoon, got his eyes and nose torn off by artillery shrapnel. It took away most of their mirth. Instead, they sullenly prepared to spend a night in the foxhole. The Germans would be back.::
June 25th, 1939
One 2-brigade division and a single brigade had charged south into Germany as wehrmacht was tied down on three front. Several of their big cities fell without battle. At the time, Britain held major German industries, (at a value of about 25-30 pre-bonus ICs) with Köln as the crown jewel. Several German divisions, however, cut in to recapture them. It was impossible to place any troops to hold them. It seemed Germany had an endless amount of troops. Or, if anything, they prioritized to keep the French at bay by the West Wall and to throw the Brit back into the water – rather than to kill of Poland quickly.
Well, if all Operation Trident led to, was to postpone the fall of Poland, it was still a success – if not a stunning one.
June 25th, 1939
Germany vs Operation Trident. Poland is losing slowly. The Brits have gained a substantial foothold but is meeting harder and harder resistance. They are not in Germany to stay. French and Germans have been warring constantly, but neither has yielded to the other.
-----
Authers note: Didn't go exactly as I had planned and hoped - still - Germany have all hands full. Any comments from the readers? Anybody have and alternetive idea for this situation?
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
UK had already been working on their diplomatic and historical ties with several parties in the Commonwealth. Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada immediately responded and declared war on Germany.
June 3rd, 1939
While Operation Trident was in motion, the Brits, very secretly, started to build a new weapon. With the rocket artillery they would spread fear and terror to their enemies. Even though the British leadership realized that this new weapon still was less effective than the good ol’ artillery, they knew that rockets were part of future warfare and they wanted to be the first to construct it.
June 4th, 1939
British submarines started to harass German convoys in Skagerack and Helgoland Bight while a strong task force made certain no German surface fleet left the Baltics. The submarines were unchallenged and could search for German tonnage without fearing to be attacked. Soon they found targets and started to pick them off one at the time.
June 5th, 1939
Newalls heavy bombers started to soften up the AA-guns in Saarbrücken before the French attack would commence.
::Joe Monaghan was delighted. After finally having had the pleasure to take a tumble with Shanti they were timely sent away. He could only pretend he was sorry and they left dear ol’ Britain behind. They were based in a small French airfield close to the Suisse border in a God-forsaken place called Besancon. It was a really sleepy township which hardly knew a war was going on. From here they immediately left on their first combat mission. They were supposed to bomb AA-installations in a German border province, called Saarbrucken. The first time the German Messerschmitt’s showed up with their blasting auto-cannons he was actually really scared. Their own shooters managed to keep the German fighters at a preferable distance before a horde of Hurricanes showed up. That was bliss. How he loved those cocky fighter-pilots then. The German fighters was outnumbered and left pretty soon. Day two, the targets were all open to him. It was clear weather and the AA-fire didn’t even reach up to them. It was a piece of cake. The bombes just pulverized that damned place. And the AA-guns silenced one after one. Oh, how they celebrated that night. He actually spotted a really fine farmer-girl then, but he hadn’t gotten her name yet. He could tell, though, she liked his looks.::
June 12th, 1939.
The full attack force landed around Wilhelmshafen. Montgomery immediately laid siege on the city itself and the forces defending it. He launched a heavy assault in order to chock the defenders into submission.
Even though the attack on Wilhelmshafen went according to plan, Lieutenant-General Gort leading the strike force, quickly realized that Germany was not totally unprepared for this attack and had forces around Denmark and Hamburg. They even had a light tank division. The fast British motorized units quickly took suitable defensive positions in the east and prepared to hold the line while moving southwards where the land was open.
June 13th, 1939
13 days into the conflict and the German forces have been pressing the Poles backwards and cut a deep gash into the heart of the country – seemingly aiming for Warszawa. The Poles, however, are keeping their defense together and are so far retreating in good order.
June 13th, 1939
The French ground attack on Saarbrücken went according to plan. British Handley Page Hampden bombers supported the French infantry and dropped bomb loads after bomb loads on the German garrisons. Other bomber wings attacked other provinces to confuse the Germans and swarms of Hurricans intercepted whatever German craft entering the airspace of the entire region. So far, they were quite successful and even though Park had lost quite a few planes in one of his Wings, it was still a clearly acceptable loss during the circumstances. The German militias under Gelb must have had a hellish time as their ratio was something in the range of 1 for each 5 French attacker.
June 16th, 1939
The defenders of Wilhelmshaven held out for more than a week, even though they were being surrounded and outnumbered. For many of the partaking British infantrymen, this was a good start of the war. They had a real test of actual combat, but they were superior enough to keep the organization and the control throughout the battle. Maybe they even thought themselves being invincible as well…
June 18th, 1939
Italy honored the Steel Pact a came to support Germany’s struggle. Immediately, Italian submarines started to sink British and French tonnage in the Mediterranean Sea. This came as a blow to Brits - and their first casualties as “targets”. Moreover, they were deeply involved in Operation Trident with a very low focus on other theatres.
::Mark Monaghan was in a way disappointed. He had talked so much about the value of attacking Kriegsmarine in the Baltic Sea, if it came to war. War came but the Germans had attacked Denmark first. Even if Operation Trident was launched, he didn’t get to go to the Baltic’s. Moreover, the Germans didn’t venture out of the Baltic’s either, so it was a huge maritime stalemate. And now he was sent to the Mediterranean Sea to command the Light Cruiser HMS Coventry. It was a 1918 warship, slightly outdated but still a lot more than a destroyer. He should have been happy, getting a higher command, but he had focused so much on the Kriegsmarine that the Regia Marina seemed a lesser foe. He was now part of Admiral Forbes Mediterranean fleet.::
HMS Coventry
June 19th, 1939
From their desert fort in Tobruk, the Italians charged eastwards. The British defensive line was weak and the troops there could only hope to stall the Italians – but not stop. Moreover, the Italians had full air superiority and their tactical bombers constantly harassed the British infantrymen who had problems to shield themselves out in the open desert. These reports were grimly received in London. Until now, the war had been more or less a medial success, but this kind of news was more difficult to handle. So far, they disguised it as a “tactical retreat”.
June 20th, 1939
As Italian submarines constantly attacked British convoys, the Royal Navy tried desperately to hunt down these marauders by putting all surface naval task forces on patrol duties in the Mediterranean. It was not an easy job to track down the swarms of submarines, but finally, outside Crete, a large gathering of Italians submarines were spotted. The Brits early got the upper hand and against the specially designed submarine-hunter task force, the Italians had no chance and scattered with quite a lot of u-boats being sunk.
June 20st, 1939
Needing a public victory the British leadership gave the victory a little more credit than it actually deserved – and it was celebrated as a huge victory in England.
June 21st, 1939
The German advance is stuck in the Polish countryside. In a week’s time, they have only gained a few provinces and actually lost one. None of these are strategically important. What IS important is the fact that 2 German paradivisions and Walter Nehrings panzer division have been cut off in the middle of Poland. The paradrops gave Poland o lot of troubles in the area as lots of Polish troops were either on their way in or out of the province and thus got unexpectedly locked in combat. At the end, the loss was Germany’s since these three divisions surrendered after desperate battle as no supply or reinforcements got through to them.
June 25th, 1939
The Brits are being pushed back in North Africa, but at least they make the Italians pay every Godforsaken mile of desert with their own blood. The Italians seems to have a lot of reserves and the British leadership realizes that something drastically has to be done – or entire North Africa will fall to the Italians.
June 25th, 1939
In French North Africa, the French gives the Italians even less resistance. The road to Tunis lies more or less open, even if it is hard ground to advance through. Just mountains and rocks. North Africa seems to lie open like a smorgasbord for the Italians.
June, 1939
During the entire month, Cyril Newall’s heavy bombers are conducting air missions into southern Germany. ALL their industry where flattened.
::June was a wonderful month for Joe Monaghan. The weather in the French province of Besancon was wonderful. Most days on the bombing runs were wonderful. The lack of German fighters and decent AA-guns were wonderful and the lovely farmer’s daughter Adeline Bessette was quite wonderful. The bombings of the German cities were even easier than the trainings. The only backside was the long flights to the target areas. Long flights in the tight bloody cramped bomber were a drag sometimes. He and his copilot Bill Murphy has gossiped about all possible things so many times over that they even were silent at times – something that was very odd for Joe. It even came to the point that Bill had told Joe that he didn’t want to hear about the new positions Joe had managed with Adeline. Now THAT was odd. Joe himself could take about it 24-7. Shanti was dirty in her mouth but quiet in the bed. Now, sweet Adeline Bessette was quite the opposite. As the day-bombings became routine, the evenings were when the real action started. As they were heroes in the eyes of the French villagers there was always a party, a dance or a festival of some sort. Perhaps the French male citizens weren’t too happy about the heavy competition in the hunt for love, but there weren’t too many brawls about that. Most brawls were between different bomber-crews arguing about whatever unimportant issue. In short – it was a wonderful time.::
June 25th, 1939
After the initial easy gains, the Germans have moved more and more troops to the British front. Barker’s motorized division had gone so far as to conquer Hannover, but as wehrmacht came strong from Denmark and Hamburg, he had to retreat to Bremen to consolidate the defense – for that was what it was. The attack had turned into defense.
::The 1st Infantry division went ashore in Heide. It was a fine summers day and as he waded ashore and the first German citizens came out with their hands held high, he joked with Johnny and said that he hope he at least got to shoot a few German soldiers before the war was over. Well, Hitler must have heard his pray and chosen to answer. Not before long, Cunningham’s 4th Infantry Division north of them, in Leck, had to retreat to Heide as their line was too long. There they were attacked by Major General von Arnim. Richards Dog Company was caught out in the open and had to fall back to better defenses. He only got to shoot his rifle five times and he was quite sure he didn’t hit. As they consolidated the defense, they were ordered to retreat behind the river. It sucked… but Richard had to admit, the Germans were tough, and he was actually scared shitless as the bullet screamed passed his head.::
::Both divisions retreated over the river after half a day of battle. When they arrived at Cuxhaven, the 1st Armor Division was in trouble in Bremerhaven, south from Cuxhaven. As Cunningham’s 4th Division stayed on behind the river and dug in, 1st Division mounted the trucks and hurried south. Word was spread that they was going to face German armor. Cocky as they were, they had great respect for the German armor. A month before they left Britain, they got the new model of light anti-tank guns. That at least felt reassuring.::
::As they arrived in Bremerhaven, the battle was already into is 4th day. The enemy was major general Steiner with motorized and light armor units. If felt good to know the 1st Armor Division was around with their light tanks too. Still, as Richard and Johnny was squatting in a foxhole and heard the metallic complaining sound of metal tracks grinding under the weight of charging German armor, it just felt really bad and they gave each other a worried look and nodded grimly. Now it was for real. Sound, their world was all explosions as German mortars made firewood of the forest around them. German infantry supported by a few light panzers followed shortly after, and Richard and Johnny got a mouthful of shooting. As the Germans met the dug in position of Dog Company and one of their panzers got hit by AT, they fell back. Richard and Johnny cheered. They both claimed to have killed an enemy but secretly they knew that only one had fallen in front of their foxhole, but they never tried to sort it out. Both of them carved a line in their rifle and congratulated each other. Later they found out that Bill Roberts, a funny guy in their platoon, got his eyes and nose torn off by artillery shrapnel. It took away most of their mirth. Instead, they sullenly prepared to spend a night in the foxhole. The Germans would be back.::
June 25th, 1939
One 2-brigade division and a single brigade had charged south into Germany as wehrmacht was tied down on three front. Several of their big cities fell without battle. At the time, Britain held major German industries, (at a value of about 25-30 pre-bonus ICs) with Köln as the crown jewel. Several German divisions, however, cut in to recapture them. It was impossible to place any troops to hold them. It seemed Germany had an endless amount of troops. Or, if anything, they prioritized to keep the French at bay by the West Wall and to throw the Brit back into the water – rather than to kill of Poland quickly.
Well, if all Operation Trident led to, was to postpone the fall of Poland, it was still a success – if not a stunning one.
June 25th, 1939
Germany vs Operation Trident. Poland is losing slowly. The Brits have gained a substantial foothold but is meeting harder and harder resistance. They are not in Germany to stay. French and Germans have been warring constantly, but neither has yielded to the other.
-----
Authers note: Didn't go exactly as I had planned and hoped - still - Germany have all hands full. Any comments from the readers? Anybody have and alternetive idea for this situation?
Last edited:
Hi all, I´m playing GER in this game and liking the time and effort Cpt Easy is putting into this story. I will add comments here and there about the Axis decision. However, for the next two weeks I will be sipping a beer on a nice white beach in Vietnam.
The invasion of Denmark was launched before Poland to close the Baltic Sea for the Royal Navy. However, we were not shore how the GER threat would change due to this but we thought the advantage of a safe Baltic coast would be more important. The threat from as British invasion was therefore not expected even though some troops were left behind. The GER troops at the French border were ready for an attack from the poorly equipped French army. Most of the mighty German army was facing Poland and a battelplan had been drawn by the officers how to subdue the Polish people in a swift wave of heavy troops, however, after the change in command from a AI to a human player, new plans was drawn. Especially as the polish player could leave the Russian border and launch all troops against the west. After the initial attack on Poland was launch, the German officers in Wilhelmshaven were on their toes for something, but what?
The invasion of Denmark was launched before Poland to close the Baltic Sea for the Royal Navy. However, we were not shore how the GER threat would change due to this but we thought the advantage of a safe Baltic coast would be more important. The threat from as British invasion was therefore not expected even though some troops were left behind. The GER troops at the French border were ready for an attack from the poorly equipped French army. Most of the mighty German army was facing Poland and a battelplan had been drawn by the officers how to subdue the Polish people in a swift wave of heavy troops, however, after the change in command from a AI to a human player, new plans was drawn. Especially as the polish player could leave the Russian border and launch all troops against the west. After the initial attack on Poland was launch, the German officers in Wilhelmshaven were on their toes for something, but what?
thank you both for sharing this.
This is not an easy one for Ger, that's for sure.
Keep on, this could easily become one the most exciting AARs ever.
This is not an easy one for Ger, that's for sure.
Keep on, this could easily become one the most exciting AARs ever.
Epic.
I think trident has accomplished much more than was asked of it.
Its also taken down german ic heavily.
Time to pull back i think and reinforce france now.
TRy to get belgium and holland into the war maybe?
But u really shouldn't be giving up north africa without a fight,after suez if they take gibraltar now u are in big trouble.
@sirhenry,why isn't luftwaffe intercepting british strt bombing?
Looking forward to a real rollercoaster.
I think trident has accomplished much more than was asked of it.
Its also taken down german ic heavily.
Time to pull back i think and reinforce france now.
TRy to get belgium and holland into the war maybe?
But u really shouldn't be giving up north africa without a fight,after suez if they take gibraltar now u are in big trouble.
@sirhenry,why isn't luftwaffe intercepting british strt bombing?
Looking forward to a real rollercoaster.
No, playing Germany with human players on Poland, Uk and France must be very stressfull. And that was part of the plan of course - to make Sir Henrys life a real hell
Epic.
I think trident has accomplished much more than was asked of it.
Its also taken down german ic heavily.
Time to pull back i think and reinforce france now.
TRy to get belgium and holland into the war maybe?
But u really shouldn't be giving up north africa without a fight,after suez if they take gibraltar now u are in big trouble.
@sirhenry,why isn't luftwaffe intercepting british strt bombing?
Looking forward to a real rollercoaster.
Yes, I was thinking along those lines as well, at this point - but can't go in to details yet - but coming fairly soon. With my strat bomb and conquring of GER cities - the IC-loss must have been substansial. Do you really think it be good to drop expensive leadership in Belgium and Netherlands? Too expensive when Germany are bound to attack them anyway quite soon. You are right about North Africa. I was surprised Italy got into the fight so soon, and with Trident in motion I had nothing to throw in. But it was on my radar... And I think I can answer for Sir Henry on the last question. Don't forget that he had fights on three front already. He just had too much to do and Luftwaffe was spread to thin. Still, you can argue about what is most important to spend Luftwaffe on in this situation...
A thoroughly enjoyable read. I shall keep up to date
Nice to have you onboard Redandwhite
2 cents from Italy:
The OKW had a slight mishap when operation trident was launched. The Axis, fully expecting some kind of UK intervention, had troops ready to intercept an attack on the north sea cost. However, when the attack came, the troops were ordered into trains instead of taking up their attack positions (accidentally used strategic redeployment). This cost a few very important days delay, and allowed Willemshafen to fall far more easily than it would have otherwise. I belive that Trident could have been a very costly attack for the brits, and was very risky.
Italys entry was debated in the Axis team. We were not really sure if it was a good idea, but decided that GER needed a bit more help, and not play against UK, France and Poland by itself.
In 30 min the carnage will begin again. We are now playing winter 1940-1941.
The OKW had a slight mishap when operation trident was launched. The Axis, fully expecting some kind of UK intervention, had troops ready to intercept an attack on the north sea cost. However, when the attack came, the troops were ordered into trains instead of taking up their attack positions (accidentally used strategic redeployment). This cost a few very important days delay, and allowed Willemshafen to fall far more easily than it would have otherwise. I belive that Trident could have been a very costly attack for the brits, and was very risky.
Italys entry was debated in the Axis team. We were not really sure if it was a good idea, but decided that GER needed a bit more help, and not play against UK, France and Poland by itself.
In 30 min the carnage will begin again. We are now playing winter 1940-1941.
If italy takes suez and gibraltar then it frees up all italian trooops from defending the mainland.
Any thoughts on that zid?
also if france does fall,u might have to man the atlantic wall for germany to fend off british landings while german player is doing barbarossa,otherwise he will be caught in 2 fronts and in Mp that means terrible problems,this shouldn't be risked with such a make or break operation like barbarossa.
Also japan should attack russia immediately too on barbarossa.
Also why hasn't japan attacked britain yet.
Britain's land forces are strained terrible atm,now is the time for the push into india?
Any thoughts on that zid?
also if france does fall,u might have to man the atlantic wall for germany to fend off british landings while german player is doing barbarossa,otherwise he will be caught in 2 fronts and in Mp that means terrible problems,this shouldn't be risked with such a make or break operation like barbarossa.
Also japan should attack russia immediately too on barbarossa.
Also why hasn't japan attacked britain yet.
Britain's land forces are strained terrible atm,now is the time for the push into india?
PART VI - End of Trident and Blood in Africa
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
June 26th, 1939
Cunningham’s 4th Infantry Division fought hard in Cuxhaven. The Germans, under command of von Arnim had been attacking savagely over the river but was beaten back most of the times. The muddy beaches were littered with bodies. Cunningham actually had quite a good position with Germans only coming from one direction, and that being across the river. Thus, it was easy for him and his officers to position the men in the 4th to cover the entire river.
One of Elbes smaller river arms in Cuxhaven on a beautiful summer’s day such as the 4th Motorized experienced it.
Still, his only supply line came through Bremerhaven and battle was raging there. So far, 1st Armor and 1st Motorized Infantry kept the German armor division at bay in the forests, but even so, it was risky situation with more and more Germans closing in. Lieutenant General Wavell ordered him to fall back to Bremerhaven, and even though Cunningham could weep to leave such a great position, he did not want to get trapped. So he had to lose this day, but von Arnim had to pay dearly for the victory.
June 29th, 1939
Alas, the battleships of Royal Navy and Regia Nautica finally clashed. When it happened, Britain had the numbers on their side.
::Standing at the bridge at HMS Coventry, Captain Monaghan had the sight of his life. The darkness was lit by hundreds and hundreds of muzzle flames as huge war ships fired all their guns in the night. It was chaotic and it was difficult for him to form a decent picture of the naval battle. Never the less he ordered full speed ahead to act as part of the screen whose mission it was to protect the three battleships. On his port side, he could see in the distance, how HMS Devonshire was hit by one of the Italian battleships. Smaller blasts followed, probably from internal explosions, and Mark made the sign of the cross over his chest and mumbled a short prayer for the sake of Dovenshire’s sailors. He actually knew the captain a little - a short middle-aged man with grey whiskers who had seen World War One as a young deck officer. He hoped the old man would be okay, but doubted the old sea-bear would leave the sinking ship.::
::HMS Coventry fired the stem guns three times at the maximum distance aiming at an Italian destroyer. The destroyer evaded the grenades only to be hit a little bit later by someone else’s fire. In the end, the three Italian battleships got away, but their entire screen was sunk. Admiral Forbes continued his patrol and just a few days later, outside Tunis, some Italian submarines was found and attacked. Several were sunk. Mark realized that his transfer to the Mediterranean perhaps wasn’t such a bad idea. He really enjoyed the days at sea and the weather was fine this summer. He reckoned, as he silently pondered one morning, that he probably got to fight the Germans one day too. He doubted, somehow, that this would be a short war.::
June 30th, 1939
The German presses on around the retreating Brits. Bremerhaven is being abandoned. Broads 1st Armor Division and Cunningham’s 4th Infantry had already pulled back and Alexander’s 1st Infantry covered their backs. Further south, in Harpstedt, Brits fight a losing battle but they soon retreat as the German advance into neighboring Cloppenburg threatens to cut off the Brits.
::Richard had been fighting in the woods for about a week. Steiner’s light armor had pulled back and it was joy to be freed from those Panzerkampvagens. They had apparently been taken too much punishment. Instead, they had been fighting with more infantry. Air forces from both sides had been visible in the sky but apparently, RAF was victorious in the sky for a lot more bombs fell over the Germans than the Brits. Richard was happy over that. The sound of the screaming stukas and the whistles from their fallings bombs was even worse that the sound of squealing armor tracks. The Germans just seemed to have a tough time and couldn’t break through. Worthless bloody fascists.::
::Richard, Johnny and a couple of other lads were hanging back, a hundred yards or so behind the frontline, smoking a couple of woodbines. Dog Company had been moved closer to the coast to cover a section there, and right now they had naval artillery grenades whistling over their heads before hearing explosions amongst the Germans. It was a beautiful melody. Their mood was quite good. Even though they had now realized that they weren’t in Germany to actually win the war, they still felt they got the best of the German forces. Dog company hadn’t taken too many casualties, and instead, several of them had iron crosses, Hitler-Jugend daggers or Lugers as war-prices. Supply was coming in plenty and they didn’t have to go hungry.::
::They knew they were just covering the ass of 4th Infantry and 1st Armor and they joked a lot about being babysitters. Still, they knew that they eventually had to retreat themselves and hope that their friends repayed the courtesy. The Germans’s had reinforcement coming in. They knew that from a worn down prisoner they took on a patrol. So, soon enough their position would be a lot worse than now. As it turned out, major general Alexander made them retreat before that.::
The Germans had to pay dearly for the land they took back from the Brits. Most of the British losses came from 1st Armor, and Alexander’s 1st Infantry had just lost a few hundreds.
July 5th, 1939
With Bremerhaven down, Oldenburg was next. Cunningham’s 4th Infantry had the support of 12th and they had had a couple of days to dig down and prepare in the woodlands. This time, the attack was strong indeed and came from two directions. The Germans had really put together a powerful force to deal with the Brits. Cunningham soon got the order to abandon Oldenburg.
Sir Alan Cunningham
July 9th, 1939
Churchill described it as the big change in North Africa. Several air squadrons had left the European theatre to engage the Italians in North Africa. Leigh-Mallory’s three Hurricane squadrons based in Alexandria now conducted intercepting missions over the retreating ground troops. The Italian air force, Regia Auronatica, was unprepared for the challenge and the first bomber crews got to realize it the hard way. Several planes were shot down over the unforgiving desert. Churchill declared; In El’Alamein we will stop the Italians!
Still, the battle-weary ground troops were on full retreat.
July 9th, 1939
As the Brits retreated from Wilhelmshaven, the Germans bombed the port to pieces. No hurricanes intercepted them as they were busy in Africa, and only a few queyes could be used to unload the tired troops. Still, most troops had already be lifted out to sea and no more supply was shipped into the destroyed harbor. The German bombing was cunning, but as the Brits were leaving, it did not matter much. The port would soon be Germany's to repair.
Screen Dump from Sir Henry (Germany)
July 11th, 1939
As the last division to leave Germany was Cunningham and his 4th Infantry. They were all shipped to Portsmouth to regroup. All troops got away clean, except the renegade brigade who refused to return and took a German city in the far south and tried to hold it. It failed. Germany however, lost a division and a HQ in Wilhelmshaven. They lost a lot of men, a lot of effort and during a month a huge amount of IC, leadership and manpower belonged to UK and not Germany.
Now, it was time to focus on Italy for a while. Poland would not last, but at least the odds had been evened out a little.
July 14th, 1939
The Battle of El’Alamein has commenced. The Brits have only been retreating all along, being bombed as they went. Now, the Italians have to fight for the air space and the Hurricanes are giving them a good fight. With the Italian bombers gone, the ground troops make a brave stand. In the hot summer, with the burning sun shining down on them, they prepare to stop the Italian desert dash.
17th July, 1939
Already during the 16th, a storm blew up. The British troops were fairly consolidated and without their bombers, the Italians had lost their bite. Several of the British divisions, like the 7th armor, were in bad shape after weeks of battles. But as fresh troops came from Alexandria, they mounted a counter offensive a shocked the Italians with offensive maneuvers in the sand storm. It looked like the Italians maybe could be stopped at El’Alamein.
18th July, 1939
The Poles still hold their defense together and retreats slowly and in order. Germany’s war in the west has clearly inhibited their effectiveness in the east. At several locations, the fronts have been still, if not peaceful, for more than a week (green lines).They even had to call in the Hungarians into the war. This came as a slight chock to the Poles who struggled to contain the new front – but with obvious problems. Good news though, they just deployed a brand new light tank division (yellow ring). This will bring fear to the enemy. In the north, the Poles even pushed the weak German forces back and conquered German land. Moreover, they surrounded Lieutenant General von Leeb’s HQ which surrendered after battles against Polish revengeful militias.
Poland will still hold for some time.
18th July, 1939
In French North Africa, the Italians have been able to rush straight into the land and straight up to Tunis. The French leadership cried in alarm as the inferior resistance had difficulties to hold the city and the important port. The first army group from the German battlefield was just on their way to Alexandria. The British leadership quickly changed the order, seeing that the Italian attack-force left their backs open…
July 19th, 1939
The Brits waded ashore during the evening and three divisions immediately launched and attack into the backs of the Italians. For Broad’s 1st Armor, who about two weeks ago fought German panzers in Bremerhaven, this was a piece of cake.
However, the Italians, cut of as they were, kept on attacking Tunis. In the city, the two French HQs retreated, utterly beaten. The lone infantry division had great troubles keeping the four Italians divisions at bay.
July 20th, 1939
Just as the French defenders were about to break, the second Army Group from the Operation Trident was deployed in the port of Tunis. Alexander’s 1st Infantry Division was the first to leave the docks and secure the harbor area.
::Richard had hoped that they got to have a few days of RNR in Plymouth – but no no. They didn’t even unload their cargo. They had three hours of RNR and Richard, Johnny and Willy got a few beers at a small pub, and on their way back they manage to buy a small stock of cigarettes. That could always come in handy. Then they went onboard their refitted cargo ship. It was simply an enormous amount of quadruple iron beds standing on top of each others. It was a jungle of beds and it all smelled from sweat. They got some reinforcements too.::
::The trip was not too bad. Richard got a little seasick, and Johnny too, but as the weather was quite alright the rocking didn’t made too many throw up. But it was boring. Damn boring. At least they had a lot of smoke. They heard Alexandria was the goal, and then fighting in the desert. Richard had never been outside Britain before he rushed ashore in Germany. Going to Africa was a complete different thing. Johnny worried about that, but Richard didn’t care. Shooting Germans or Shooting Italians… What did it matter?.::
::Well. They got new orders. Suddenly, several days ahead of schedule, they got the order to prepare for battle and before they knew it they left the ship running onto a dockside that was actually under fire. One of the newbies was shot in the head straight away and stumbled off the pier with a scream and into the water. Dog Company flushed out a few Italian snipers, shot a French soldier by mistake, and then ran into solid Italian troop formations. Their Major told them that risky pushes was not necessary so they took positions in houses and made sure that their flank was covered. Richard sat by a window at the second floor in two-storey house. He had quite a good view from there. It was hot as hell and he was sweating profoundly, big as he was. Italian infantry tried to make a push and Richard fired away. He killed one and wounded another, then a grenade blast threw him to the floor. Except a gash in his cheek, he was ok, and the Italians broke of their attack.::
July 22nd, 1939
Regia Marina soon emerged at Gulf of Tunis and attacked the British fleet there. They probably wanted to rescue their badly cornered army group – but instead they ran into a joint Anglo-French fleet and a colossal naval battle was initiated.
It lasted for during the night and the morning and was so chaotic that it was difficult to get a clear picture of the success. The Brits lost a light cruiser but the Italians lost at least five minor ships.
July 25th, 1939
The Italian fleet limped into the ports of Cagliari in Sardinia, hoping to be safe. British naval bombers soon made a raid and saw several torpedoes hit targets. However, the anti aircraft fire was so strong that RAF cancelled the second run. The naval bombers, who took losses up to 30% in the one single raid, were rebased to France for repairs and reinforcement. The British leadership, however, have gotten the taste for sinking Regia Marina, and they started to make plans to be able to destroy the fleet in Cagliari…
July 26th, 1939
1 week after the English landing in Sousse, followed by the instantaneous attack in the back of the Italian aggressors, the battle was over. Four Italian divisions, of which two was motorized, surrendered. Tunis was saved. The French had paid a heavy price as most of the dead in Tunis were French staff personnel from the two HQs, who bravely sacrificed themselves. It was a great victory. Soon, two Italian HQs followed the infantrymen into imprisonment. With this, the North African west front was calm… at least for the moment.
........
Next part: The Battle of El Alamain and Cagliari
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
June 26th, 1939
Cunningham’s 4th Infantry Division fought hard in Cuxhaven. The Germans, under command of von Arnim had been attacking savagely over the river but was beaten back most of the times. The muddy beaches were littered with bodies. Cunningham actually had quite a good position with Germans only coming from one direction, and that being across the river. Thus, it was easy for him and his officers to position the men in the 4th to cover the entire river.
One of Elbes smaller river arms in Cuxhaven on a beautiful summer’s day such as the 4th Motorized experienced it.
Still, his only supply line came through Bremerhaven and battle was raging there. So far, 1st Armor and 1st Motorized Infantry kept the German armor division at bay in the forests, but even so, it was risky situation with more and more Germans closing in. Lieutenant General Wavell ordered him to fall back to Bremerhaven, and even though Cunningham could weep to leave such a great position, he did not want to get trapped. So he had to lose this day, but von Arnim had to pay dearly for the victory.
June 29th, 1939
Alas, the battleships of Royal Navy and Regia Nautica finally clashed. When it happened, Britain had the numbers on their side.
::Standing at the bridge at HMS Coventry, Captain Monaghan had the sight of his life. The darkness was lit by hundreds and hundreds of muzzle flames as huge war ships fired all their guns in the night. It was chaotic and it was difficult for him to form a decent picture of the naval battle. Never the less he ordered full speed ahead to act as part of the screen whose mission it was to protect the three battleships. On his port side, he could see in the distance, how HMS Devonshire was hit by one of the Italian battleships. Smaller blasts followed, probably from internal explosions, and Mark made the sign of the cross over his chest and mumbled a short prayer for the sake of Dovenshire’s sailors. He actually knew the captain a little - a short middle-aged man with grey whiskers who had seen World War One as a young deck officer. He hoped the old man would be okay, but doubted the old sea-bear would leave the sinking ship.::
::HMS Coventry fired the stem guns three times at the maximum distance aiming at an Italian destroyer. The destroyer evaded the grenades only to be hit a little bit later by someone else’s fire. In the end, the three Italian battleships got away, but their entire screen was sunk. Admiral Forbes continued his patrol and just a few days later, outside Tunis, some Italian submarines was found and attacked. Several were sunk. Mark realized that his transfer to the Mediterranean perhaps wasn’t such a bad idea. He really enjoyed the days at sea and the weather was fine this summer. He reckoned, as he silently pondered one morning, that he probably got to fight the Germans one day too. He doubted, somehow, that this would be a short war.::
June 30th, 1939
The German presses on around the retreating Brits. Bremerhaven is being abandoned. Broads 1st Armor Division and Cunningham’s 4th Infantry had already pulled back and Alexander’s 1st Infantry covered their backs. Further south, in Harpstedt, Brits fight a losing battle but they soon retreat as the German advance into neighboring Cloppenburg threatens to cut off the Brits.
::Richard had been fighting in the woods for about a week. Steiner’s light armor had pulled back and it was joy to be freed from those Panzerkampvagens. They had apparently been taken too much punishment. Instead, they had been fighting with more infantry. Air forces from both sides had been visible in the sky but apparently, RAF was victorious in the sky for a lot more bombs fell over the Germans than the Brits. Richard was happy over that. The sound of the screaming stukas and the whistles from their fallings bombs was even worse that the sound of squealing armor tracks. The Germans just seemed to have a tough time and couldn’t break through. Worthless bloody fascists.::
::Richard, Johnny and a couple of other lads were hanging back, a hundred yards or so behind the frontline, smoking a couple of woodbines. Dog Company had been moved closer to the coast to cover a section there, and right now they had naval artillery grenades whistling over their heads before hearing explosions amongst the Germans. It was a beautiful melody. Their mood was quite good. Even though they had now realized that they weren’t in Germany to actually win the war, they still felt they got the best of the German forces. Dog company hadn’t taken too many casualties, and instead, several of them had iron crosses, Hitler-Jugend daggers or Lugers as war-prices. Supply was coming in plenty and they didn’t have to go hungry.::
::They knew they were just covering the ass of 4th Infantry and 1st Armor and they joked a lot about being babysitters. Still, they knew that they eventually had to retreat themselves and hope that their friends repayed the courtesy. The Germans’s had reinforcement coming in. They knew that from a worn down prisoner they took on a patrol. So, soon enough their position would be a lot worse than now. As it turned out, major general Alexander made them retreat before that.::
The Germans had to pay dearly for the land they took back from the Brits. Most of the British losses came from 1st Armor, and Alexander’s 1st Infantry had just lost a few hundreds.
July 5th, 1939
With Bremerhaven down, Oldenburg was next. Cunningham’s 4th Infantry had the support of 12th and they had had a couple of days to dig down and prepare in the woodlands. This time, the attack was strong indeed and came from two directions. The Germans had really put together a powerful force to deal with the Brits. Cunningham soon got the order to abandon Oldenburg.
Sir Alan Cunningham
July 9th, 1939
Churchill described it as the big change in North Africa. Several air squadrons had left the European theatre to engage the Italians in North Africa. Leigh-Mallory’s three Hurricane squadrons based in Alexandria now conducted intercepting missions over the retreating ground troops. The Italian air force, Regia Auronatica, was unprepared for the challenge and the first bomber crews got to realize it the hard way. Several planes were shot down over the unforgiving desert. Churchill declared; In El’Alamein we will stop the Italians!
Still, the battle-weary ground troops were on full retreat.
July 9th, 1939
As the Brits retreated from Wilhelmshaven, the Germans bombed the port to pieces. No hurricanes intercepted them as they were busy in Africa, and only a few queyes could be used to unload the tired troops. Still, most troops had already be lifted out to sea and no more supply was shipped into the destroyed harbor. The German bombing was cunning, but as the Brits were leaving, it did not matter much. The port would soon be Germany's to repair.
Screen Dump from Sir Henry (Germany)
July 11th, 1939
As the last division to leave Germany was Cunningham and his 4th Infantry. They were all shipped to Portsmouth to regroup. All troops got away clean, except the renegade brigade who refused to return and took a German city in the far south and tried to hold it. It failed. Germany however, lost a division and a HQ in Wilhelmshaven. They lost a lot of men, a lot of effort and during a month a huge amount of IC, leadership and manpower belonged to UK and not Germany.
Now, it was time to focus on Italy for a while. Poland would not last, but at least the odds had been evened out a little.
July 14th, 1939
The Battle of El’Alamein has commenced. The Brits have only been retreating all along, being bombed as they went. Now, the Italians have to fight for the air space and the Hurricanes are giving them a good fight. With the Italian bombers gone, the ground troops make a brave stand. In the hot summer, with the burning sun shining down on them, they prepare to stop the Italian desert dash.
17th July, 1939
Already during the 16th, a storm blew up. The British troops were fairly consolidated and without their bombers, the Italians had lost their bite. Several of the British divisions, like the 7th armor, were in bad shape after weeks of battles. But as fresh troops came from Alexandria, they mounted a counter offensive a shocked the Italians with offensive maneuvers in the sand storm. It looked like the Italians maybe could be stopped at El’Alamein.
18th July, 1939
The Poles still hold their defense together and retreats slowly and in order. Germany’s war in the west has clearly inhibited their effectiveness in the east. At several locations, the fronts have been still, if not peaceful, for more than a week (green lines).They even had to call in the Hungarians into the war. This came as a slight chock to the Poles who struggled to contain the new front – but with obvious problems. Good news though, they just deployed a brand new light tank division (yellow ring). This will bring fear to the enemy. In the north, the Poles even pushed the weak German forces back and conquered German land. Moreover, they surrounded Lieutenant General von Leeb’s HQ which surrendered after battles against Polish revengeful militias.
Poland will still hold for some time.
18th July, 1939
In French North Africa, the Italians have been able to rush straight into the land and straight up to Tunis. The French leadership cried in alarm as the inferior resistance had difficulties to hold the city and the important port. The first army group from the German battlefield was just on their way to Alexandria. The British leadership quickly changed the order, seeing that the Italian attack-force left their backs open…
July 19th, 1939
The Brits waded ashore during the evening and three divisions immediately launched and attack into the backs of the Italians. For Broad’s 1st Armor, who about two weeks ago fought German panzers in Bremerhaven, this was a piece of cake.
However, the Italians, cut of as they were, kept on attacking Tunis. In the city, the two French HQs retreated, utterly beaten. The lone infantry division had great troubles keeping the four Italians divisions at bay.
July 20th, 1939
Just as the French defenders were about to break, the second Army Group from the Operation Trident was deployed in the port of Tunis. Alexander’s 1st Infantry Division was the first to leave the docks and secure the harbor area.
::Richard had hoped that they got to have a few days of RNR in Plymouth – but no no. They didn’t even unload their cargo. They had three hours of RNR and Richard, Johnny and Willy got a few beers at a small pub, and on their way back they manage to buy a small stock of cigarettes. That could always come in handy. Then they went onboard their refitted cargo ship. It was simply an enormous amount of quadruple iron beds standing on top of each others. It was a jungle of beds and it all smelled from sweat. They got some reinforcements too.::
::The trip was not too bad. Richard got a little seasick, and Johnny too, but as the weather was quite alright the rocking didn’t made too many throw up. But it was boring. Damn boring. At least they had a lot of smoke. They heard Alexandria was the goal, and then fighting in the desert. Richard had never been outside Britain before he rushed ashore in Germany. Going to Africa was a complete different thing. Johnny worried about that, but Richard didn’t care. Shooting Germans or Shooting Italians… What did it matter?.::
::Well. They got new orders. Suddenly, several days ahead of schedule, they got the order to prepare for battle and before they knew it they left the ship running onto a dockside that was actually under fire. One of the newbies was shot in the head straight away and stumbled off the pier with a scream and into the water. Dog Company flushed out a few Italian snipers, shot a French soldier by mistake, and then ran into solid Italian troop formations. Their Major told them that risky pushes was not necessary so they took positions in houses and made sure that their flank was covered. Richard sat by a window at the second floor in two-storey house. He had quite a good view from there. It was hot as hell and he was sweating profoundly, big as he was. Italian infantry tried to make a push and Richard fired away. He killed one and wounded another, then a grenade blast threw him to the floor. Except a gash in his cheek, he was ok, and the Italians broke of their attack.::
July 22nd, 1939
Regia Marina soon emerged at Gulf of Tunis and attacked the British fleet there. They probably wanted to rescue their badly cornered army group – but instead they ran into a joint Anglo-French fleet and a colossal naval battle was initiated.
It lasted for during the night and the morning and was so chaotic that it was difficult to get a clear picture of the success. The Brits lost a light cruiser but the Italians lost at least five minor ships.
July 25th, 1939
The Italian fleet limped into the ports of Cagliari in Sardinia, hoping to be safe. British naval bombers soon made a raid and saw several torpedoes hit targets. However, the anti aircraft fire was so strong that RAF cancelled the second run. The naval bombers, who took losses up to 30% in the one single raid, were rebased to France for repairs and reinforcement. The British leadership, however, have gotten the taste for sinking Regia Marina, and they started to make plans to be able to destroy the fleet in Cagliari…
July 26th, 1939
1 week after the English landing in Sousse, followed by the instantaneous attack in the back of the Italian aggressors, the battle was over. Four Italian divisions, of which two was motorized, surrendered. Tunis was saved. The French had paid a heavy price as most of the dead in Tunis were French staff personnel from the two HQs, who bravely sacrificed themselves. It was a great victory. Soon, two Italian HQs followed the infantrymen into imprisonment. With this, the North African west front was calm… at least for the moment.
........
Next part: The Battle of El Alamain and Cagliari
Last edited:
Decisive turn of events for the allies.
now even if they manage to beat poland and france eventually they won't have enough steam left for barbarossa i think.
now even if they manage to beat poland and france eventually they won't have enough steam left for barbarossa i think.
Not sure about that. With human players around, they're bound to come up with something more inventive than just go straight for Moskow.
well the soviets are being played by a human player as well.
He has had all the time to build up in total peace and will for the next 2 yrs.
Also italy is engaged in africa and can't render aid atm.
No idea what japan is doing,has it attacked britain yet?
Unless these 3 coordinate germany is likely to be attrited down.
He has had all the time to build up in total peace and will for the next 2 yrs.
Also italy is engaged in africa and can't render aid atm.
No idea what japan is doing,has it attacked britain yet?
Unless these 3 coordinate germany is likely to be attrited down.
Do not trust their bolshevik propaganda! The Axis are strong!
But really, the sea battles gave Italy real headaches. A lot of ships were lost, I tried big fleets, small fleets, but nothing worked. The RN just whooped me every time I left port, unfortunately with disasterous results for the African campaign.
I think Baltasar has a point. Its far to early in the game to let a few fairly small positive events from the Allied side cast any decisive shadow of the outcome of the game - and Africa is far from won yet.
To answer Austerlitz concerning Japan - no they are not in the world war at this point. They are still struggeling with Xibei San Ma...
I am planing for an update later today. After three days of pan-Baltic IRL political negotiations I am longing for a session of brute warfare
To answer Austerlitz concerning Japan - no they are not in the world war at this point. They are still struggeling with Xibei San Ma...
I am planing for an update later today. After three days of pan-Baltic IRL political negotiations I am longing for a session of brute warfare
Part VII - Battle of El Alamein and Cagliari, and massive naval destruction
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
July 27th, 1939
The day after the victory in Tunis, news reached London of yet a great victory. Even though it was much more expensive in British lives, and less so in Italian, it was even a greater moral and medial victory. El Alamain was saved after 10 days of hard battle! The Italian advance had stopped!
With these two victories, on both North African flanks, coming straight after each other, the British leadership quickly started to think in the terms of advances. Their force in El Alamain, however, was in a miserable state and could not do much for the moment. Moreover, the reinforcements were still in Tunis. In other words – nothing could be done immediately except a few bombing runs as Britain now had the air space for themselves for a majority of the time.
July - last week, 1939
Newall’s heavy bombers rebased to Malta and conducted several air missions. The target on the African theatre was roads and supply. Italian air force, however, reacted quicker on RAF’s missions than the Germans. The first losses to hostile action since the beginning of the war was due to anti aircraft fire in Benghazi. But Benghazi got to pay for it. After the third run, Italian fighters were directed there. They were spotted in time and bombing missions shifted to Tarabulus, the westernmost city in Italian North Africa. The city got some heavy pounding, but soon fighters showed up here too and a small battle was fought. The single squadron of Italian fighters failed to harm the bombers, but further missions here were cancelled. A raid over Palermo took extensive AA-fire and severe losses. However, Palermo was left in flames and utter destruction. After this, the heavy bombers were grounded for some time - to repair and reinforce.
::It had been a gut-crunching experience to see the first Whitley go down with screaming engines and a tail of black smoke over the mountainous city of Benghazi. Joe could only stare at it, but a blast from exploding AA ammunition close by rocked the entire vessel and shook the bomber pilot to life. It was not that the anti air fire was more powerful here, but reconnaissance had miscalculated their location and thus the planes came in to low over that crest. Joe could see at least three planes go down but then his bomb-leader dropped their entire load on a twin-gunned position which was silenced. It was good payback to come back the night after, getting no AA-fire at all and bomb the hell out of their port side oil tanks.::
::Beeing attacked by Italian fighters over Tarabulus was a less frightening experience. Obviously, the outdated fighters didn’t dare engage the bombers too closely. Still, it made the bombing difficult. The gun-crews on his bomber shouted to the Italians to engage, eager to score kills of which they had none, but that didn’t happen.::
::The hellish blaze over Palermo was something neither of the crews had ever experienced before. The sky was thick of black AA-fire blasts and their Whitley shook and rocked like a washer machine. It was truly nerve-wrecking and their fuselage was hit by shrapnel several times. One shrapnel collided with the big cupped front window, creating a big fracture from top to bottom. Around them, several bombers went down, trying, but often failing, to land in the rocky and hilly terrain. It created an outburst of rage amongst the crews who dropped their bomb-loads shouting curses.::
::After the disaster at Palermo, any additional were cancelled and they got their first RnR since the beginning of the war. That was all good – if they were not located on Malta. Ok, the beaches were nice. Ok, the weather was great and yes, they had decent bars… BUT… it was all just full of British soldiers and not only that. They were very used to flyers since the three Naval Bomber squadrons normally were based here. Gee, the few girls around were not impressed at all by his cap, his wings or his stories. That was awful. Who the heck what to lie on a beach full of guys? Joe only hoped they would be rebased again - and soon too. He missed France and sweet Adeline Bessette.::
August 2nd, 1939
Finland refused to cave in for the demands of the Soviet Union. Could this small land really refuse the giant?
August 6th, 1939
Eager to snatch that Italian fleet before it could be repaired, Britain launched an attack against the weakly defended island of Sardinia. While two divisions tying down the defenders in Cagliari, Cunningham’s 4th Infantry steered their trucks towards Laconi, still not sure whether they had seen all Italian troops there was.
August 7th, 1939
24-hours later, Harold Alexander’s 1st Infantry came ashore in Iglesias and by that, the Italians in Cagliari was completely surrounded. As the 1st Infantry attacked from the west, the defending Italians were in dire need of help. And they got help. Several Italian bomber squadrons harassed the Brits continuously and made their life a lot tougher. Cunningham did not take part of the battle but went north with his division to secure the rest of the island.
:: Sardinia. Richard had never heard about that. That didn’t mean much, though. He had realized how little he knew about anything these few weeks. Well, he was glad to be out of Tunis. He thought they’d be treated like heroes after throwin’ out the Spaghetti’s, but no… They got grave digging duty. Can you believe that? Saving the French asses and then burying their dead. Sod it… If they didn’t fight so crappy there wouldn’t be so many of ‘em to bury. It was not fair. He was a soldier, and one of the best too – not some friggin’ red neck digger. And the people, then. A strange breed. Dressed up in pyjamas the whole lot. And was’ the point with all this frigging screaming in the towers at odd hours? Religion, Johnny said. Richard never heard nothin’ about Jesus wanted to be screamed at. Well, he had to admit, not that he knew much about what Jesus wanted anyway.::
::Here he was now, crawling on thin grass between shrubs and rocks with bullets screaming over his head. Willy lay sprawled just behind with bullet hole in his chest. Johnny was behind a rock close by firing away. As he changed his mag he gave Richard a confused look. Hey, Dick! These fellas’ are all black! This seemed strange to Richard. Don’t we own all the blacks!? A bullet hit the rock Johnny was covering behind with a distinct crack and he threw himself to the ground and got sand in his face which made him cough. Not these blacks, I tell you!::
What they did not know yet was that they were fighting militia retrieved from Ethiopia.
August 8th, 1939
As the African militia had to back further and further into Cagliari the huge Italian fleet felt more and more nervous. The 8th of August they tried to break free. However, they were already battered from previous battles and bombings and had difficulties in get into proper positions quick enough. Another Italian fleet joint in, hoping to break the British superiority. The Italian fleets did not communicate well and could not use its modern battleships optimally. The Brits however, used the situation to the fullest and the Italians got severe punishment.
Ship after ship sank from the former mighty Italian fleet. Moreover, they failed to break free and had to retreat back into Cagliari again. Many of the surviving warships were in bad shape, leaking oil, burning, taking in water or resting uneven in the water.
August 11th, 1939
The retreating Italian sailors got a short rest in the port after the devastating losses in the Battle of Gulf of Tunis. Even though the British ground troops had been under heavy bombings during the entire battle, the militia division was simply to weak and few in numbers to offer any substantial resistance. The Ethiopian fighters surrendered and the fleet, far from recovered, had to sail out in the Gulf again.
August 11th, 1939
The cornered fleet in Cagliari did not have a chance. They hardly gave any fight but tried to sneak away as fast as possible. It was a wise decision which paid off to some point. Only two light cruisers were sunk and they even sank a few overly brave destroyers. On the other hand, all their modern and feared battleship had taken hits and were in a terrible state. The Brits would own Mediterranean for the next months ahead.
::On board HMS Coventry Captain Monaghan had busy hours. It wasn’t that he was overly afraid of being shot at. The problem was more that the Italians had surprised the awaiting Brits in the cloudy and rainy weather and now tried to make a dash for it – and now all ships crews were eager to get into weapons range and score hits worthy of tales. In an earlier skirmish, when they tried to break out the first time, Coventry sank a few transport ships and even if it was important enough, his crew wanted something better.::
::They bursted through the stormy waves and as Mark stood rain-beaten on the bridge, he scouted the grey horizon for enemy ships. Finally, he spotted a big bulky battleship and headed for it. The battleship, it turned out to be the famous Andrea Doria, was already damaged and only fired its aft guns. The wind tore at Mark but he stood there steady and watched the ocean, calculating other ships movements. A few friendly destroyers lay slightly before him, rounding in the fleeing fleet like shepherd dogs. As the forward gunners signaled ‘clear station’, Mark left the gun rail and entered the bridge where he gave the order to open fire at Andrea Doria.::
::A few shots missed, but two grenades hit the massive battleship. Coventry’s guns were not powerful enough to bite through the immense hull, but one of the hits resulted in a fire. Andrea Doria answered with mighty muzzle flashes. The huge grenades hit the water not far away and created great plumes of water. Coventry followed suit, Mark giving harsh orders, and the fire exchange continued. Mark never lost his nerves. His brothers had always been a screaming shouting lot, but Mark always prided himself with being a true British officer. He never worked himself up, was always composed and did never waver in the face of death. Bravely he drove Coventry closer to the mighty battleship in the screaming wind with torn storm clouds tumbling past likes the shadows of hovering Valkyries.::
::Suddenly, Andrea Dorias aft battery hit one of the destroyers which exploded like a New Year cracker. Mark new his responsibility and let Andrea Doria run while he steered closer to the quickly sinking destroyer hoping to save some of its crew. He later heard Andrea Doria got away.::
August 13th, 1939
The British leadership had foreseen the escape route of the Italian fleet and a smaller fleet awaited them outside the port of Palermo. The Italians quickly tried to reach the safety of the port and guns blasted wildly as they went. A few more brave destroyer crews were lost on the British side, killed by the powerful guns of the Battleship Guilio Cesare. The Italians took more hits and a few more sank. The rest, a sorry battered lot, reached the safety of Palermo.
The Italians had succeeded in saving all their battleships from the dramatic episode, but it would take a long time to get them operational again. Also, they had lost a lot of their screens which would make them more vulnerable in upcoming battles. For the Brits, it was a big victory even if the failure to sink the famous battleships took some of the sweetness away.
August 20th, 1939
In southern Poland, the Axis started to break through. Refusing to lose the big cities, the Poles let themselves get surrounded and prepared to fight until the bitter end.
...............
Next part - More fighting in Africa and some tricks
Authors note: Players are UK, FRA, POL, SU, GER, ITA, JAP
July 27th, 1939
The day after the victory in Tunis, news reached London of yet a great victory. Even though it was much more expensive in British lives, and less so in Italian, it was even a greater moral and medial victory. El Alamain was saved after 10 days of hard battle! The Italian advance had stopped!
With these two victories, on both North African flanks, coming straight after each other, the British leadership quickly started to think in the terms of advances. Their force in El Alamain, however, was in a miserable state and could not do much for the moment. Moreover, the reinforcements were still in Tunis. In other words – nothing could be done immediately except a few bombing runs as Britain now had the air space for themselves for a majority of the time.
July - last week, 1939
Newall’s heavy bombers rebased to Malta and conducted several air missions. The target on the African theatre was roads and supply. Italian air force, however, reacted quicker on RAF’s missions than the Germans. The first losses to hostile action since the beginning of the war was due to anti aircraft fire in Benghazi. But Benghazi got to pay for it. After the third run, Italian fighters were directed there. They were spotted in time and bombing missions shifted to Tarabulus, the westernmost city in Italian North Africa. The city got some heavy pounding, but soon fighters showed up here too and a small battle was fought. The single squadron of Italian fighters failed to harm the bombers, but further missions here were cancelled. A raid over Palermo took extensive AA-fire and severe losses. However, Palermo was left in flames and utter destruction. After this, the heavy bombers were grounded for some time - to repair and reinforce.
::It had been a gut-crunching experience to see the first Whitley go down with screaming engines and a tail of black smoke over the mountainous city of Benghazi. Joe could only stare at it, but a blast from exploding AA ammunition close by rocked the entire vessel and shook the bomber pilot to life. It was not that the anti air fire was more powerful here, but reconnaissance had miscalculated their location and thus the planes came in to low over that crest. Joe could see at least three planes go down but then his bomb-leader dropped their entire load on a twin-gunned position which was silenced. It was good payback to come back the night after, getting no AA-fire at all and bomb the hell out of their port side oil tanks.::
::Beeing attacked by Italian fighters over Tarabulus was a less frightening experience. Obviously, the outdated fighters didn’t dare engage the bombers too closely. Still, it made the bombing difficult. The gun-crews on his bomber shouted to the Italians to engage, eager to score kills of which they had none, but that didn’t happen.::
::The hellish blaze over Palermo was something neither of the crews had ever experienced before. The sky was thick of black AA-fire blasts and their Whitley shook and rocked like a washer machine. It was truly nerve-wrecking and their fuselage was hit by shrapnel several times. One shrapnel collided with the big cupped front window, creating a big fracture from top to bottom. Around them, several bombers went down, trying, but often failing, to land in the rocky and hilly terrain. It created an outburst of rage amongst the crews who dropped their bomb-loads shouting curses.::
::After the disaster at Palermo, any additional were cancelled and they got their first RnR since the beginning of the war. That was all good – if they were not located on Malta. Ok, the beaches were nice. Ok, the weather was great and yes, they had decent bars… BUT… it was all just full of British soldiers and not only that. They were very used to flyers since the three Naval Bomber squadrons normally were based here. Gee, the few girls around were not impressed at all by his cap, his wings or his stories. That was awful. Who the heck what to lie on a beach full of guys? Joe only hoped they would be rebased again - and soon too. He missed France and sweet Adeline Bessette.::
August 2nd, 1939
Finland refused to cave in for the demands of the Soviet Union. Could this small land really refuse the giant?
August 6th, 1939
Eager to snatch that Italian fleet before it could be repaired, Britain launched an attack against the weakly defended island of Sardinia. While two divisions tying down the defenders in Cagliari, Cunningham’s 4th Infantry steered their trucks towards Laconi, still not sure whether they had seen all Italian troops there was.
August 7th, 1939
24-hours later, Harold Alexander’s 1st Infantry came ashore in Iglesias and by that, the Italians in Cagliari was completely surrounded. As the 1st Infantry attacked from the west, the defending Italians were in dire need of help. And they got help. Several Italian bomber squadrons harassed the Brits continuously and made their life a lot tougher. Cunningham did not take part of the battle but went north with his division to secure the rest of the island.
:: Sardinia. Richard had never heard about that. That didn’t mean much, though. He had realized how little he knew about anything these few weeks. Well, he was glad to be out of Tunis. He thought they’d be treated like heroes after throwin’ out the Spaghetti’s, but no… They got grave digging duty. Can you believe that? Saving the French asses and then burying their dead. Sod it… If they didn’t fight so crappy there wouldn’t be so many of ‘em to bury. It was not fair. He was a soldier, and one of the best too – not some friggin’ red neck digger. And the people, then. A strange breed. Dressed up in pyjamas the whole lot. And was’ the point with all this frigging screaming in the towers at odd hours? Religion, Johnny said. Richard never heard nothin’ about Jesus wanted to be screamed at. Well, he had to admit, not that he knew much about what Jesus wanted anyway.::
::Here he was now, crawling on thin grass between shrubs and rocks with bullets screaming over his head. Willy lay sprawled just behind with bullet hole in his chest. Johnny was behind a rock close by firing away. As he changed his mag he gave Richard a confused look. Hey, Dick! These fellas’ are all black! This seemed strange to Richard. Don’t we own all the blacks!? A bullet hit the rock Johnny was covering behind with a distinct crack and he threw himself to the ground and got sand in his face which made him cough. Not these blacks, I tell you!::
What they did not know yet was that they were fighting militia retrieved from Ethiopia.
August 8th, 1939
As the African militia had to back further and further into Cagliari the huge Italian fleet felt more and more nervous. The 8th of August they tried to break free. However, they were already battered from previous battles and bombings and had difficulties in get into proper positions quick enough. Another Italian fleet joint in, hoping to break the British superiority. The Italian fleets did not communicate well and could not use its modern battleships optimally. The Brits however, used the situation to the fullest and the Italians got severe punishment.
Ship after ship sank from the former mighty Italian fleet. Moreover, they failed to break free and had to retreat back into Cagliari again. Many of the surviving warships were in bad shape, leaking oil, burning, taking in water or resting uneven in the water.
August 11th, 1939
The retreating Italian sailors got a short rest in the port after the devastating losses in the Battle of Gulf of Tunis. Even though the British ground troops had been under heavy bombings during the entire battle, the militia division was simply to weak and few in numbers to offer any substantial resistance. The Ethiopian fighters surrendered and the fleet, far from recovered, had to sail out in the Gulf again.
August 11th, 1939
The cornered fleet in Cagliari did not have a chance. They hardly gave any fight but tried to sneak away as fast as possible. It was a wise decision which paid off to some point. Only two light cruisers were sunk and they even sank a few overly brave destroyers. On the other hand, all their modern and feared battleship had taken hits and were in a terrible state. The Brits would own Mediterranean for the next months ahead.
::On board HMS Coventry Captain Monaghan had busy hours. It wasn’t that he was overly afraid of being shot at. The problem was more that the Italians had surprised the awaiting Brits in the cloudy and rainy weather and now tried to make a dash for it – and now all ships crews were eager to get into weapons range and score hits worthy of tales. In an earlier skirmish, when they tried to break out the first time, Coventry sank a few transport ships and even if it was important enough, his crew wanted something better.::
::They bursted through the stormy waves and as Mark stood rain-beaten on the bridge, he scouted the grey horizon for enemy ships. Finally, he spotted a big bulky battleship and headed for it. The battleship, it turned out to be the famous Andrea Doria, was already damaged and only fired its aft guns. The wind tore at Mark but he stood there steady and watched the ocean, calculating other ships movements. A few friendly destroyers lay slightly before him, rounding in the fleeing fleet like shepherd dogs. As the forward gunners signaled ‘clear station’, Mark left the gun rail and entered the bridge where he gave the order to open fire at Andrea Doria.::
::A few shots missed, but two grenades hit the massive battleship. Coventry’s guns were not powerful enough to bite through the immense hull, but one of the hits resulted in a fire. Andrea Doria answered with mighty muzzle flashes. The huge grenades hit the water not far away and created great plumes of water. Coventry followed suit, Mark giving harsh orders, and the fire exchange continued. Mark never lost his nerves. His brothers had always been a screaming shouting lot, but Mark always prided himself with being a true British officer. He never worked himself up, was always composed and did never waver in the face of death. Bravely he drove Coventry closer to the mighty battleship in the screaming wind with torn storm clouds tumbling past likes the shadows of hovering Valkyries.::
::Suddenly, Andrea Dorias aft battery hit one of the destroyers which exploded like a New Year cracker. Mark new his responsibility and let Andrea Doria run while he steered closer to the quickly sinking destroyer hoping to save some of its crew. He later heard Andrea Doria got away.::
August 13th, 1939
The British leadership had foreseen the escape route of the Italian fleet and a smaller fleet awaited them outside the port of Palermo. The Italians quickly tried to reach the safety of the port and guns blasted wildly as they went. A few more brave destroyer crews were lost on the British side, killed by the powerful guns of the Battleship Guilio Cesare. The Italians took more hits and a few more sank. The rest, a sorry battered lot, reached the safety of Palermo.
The Italians had succeeded in saving all their battleships from the dramatic episode, but it would take a long time to get them operational again. Also, they had lost a lot of their screens which would make them more vulnerable in upcoming battles. For the Brits, it was a big victory even if the failure to sink the famous battleships took some of the sweetness away.
August 20th, 1939
In southern Poland, the Axis started to break through. Refusing to lose the big cities, the Poles let themselves get surrounded and prepared to fight until the bitter end.
...............
Next part - More fighting in Africa and some tricks
Last edited:
Beautifully coordinated to destroy the italian navy cap.
That was real pro.
Anyway germany is now starting to wake up ,i hope some medium panzers are now being deployed and this one is going to be uber.
Anyway loss of its navy means africa is more or less lost to the italians as they can't send reinforcements,this is a very good allied start in this area.
However it also means that substantial italian forces will be brought to bear in europe.
And japan should really attack this is the time to strike,i don't know what he is waiting for.
That was real pro.
Anyway germany is now starting to wake up ,i hope some medium panzers are now being deployed and this one is going to be uber.
Anyway loss of its navy means africa is more or less lost to the italians as they can't send reinforcements,this is a very good allied start in this area.
However it also means that substantial italian forces will be brought to bear in europe.
And japan should really attack this is the time to strike,i don't know what he is waiting for.
Thank for those nice words Austerlits
but its more to it than simply the tactics of the moment. I actually think that one of the best things with Operation Trident (the three-front attack on Germany) was Italy's early war entry. As Italy went into war when Germany was still occupied with fighting against the Poles, the Brits could really concentrate against Italy, with the good help of the French navy. The Italien player (Zid) was in such a tight spot that the smallest of misstakes on his part immediately could be exploited by the Allies. Not a good position to be in. I think they would have benefited a lot with a later Italian war entry - or what do you guys think? When should Italy joint the war in an MP-game? Heh, well, the player of Japan must answer for himself
I think he was busy stalling his Chinese war in Xibei San Ma and not prepeared for Italy's early war-entry, but its just a guess.
Last edited:
I think that fighting against three human-controlled countries is a bit too much for the German player - too much micromanagement required and too many possible failures. At least Poland should be AI-controlled. On the other hand, I think that he/she reacted quite well to English invasion and managed to hold the GER-FRA line well.