Thanks for clearing that up. I haven't been able to get Semper Fi yet so don't have much to go on. Steam doesn't seem to want to take my product key...
-
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.
Thanks for clearing that up. I haven't been able to get Semper Fi yet so don't have much to go on. Steam doesn't seem to want to take my product key...
Very enjoyable to date! I am curious to see what the new Imperium looks like in 1943 and will be along for the ride. Did taking the Romanian oil fields keep the oil supply issue at bay while you employed ARM & SPART in the early years (i.e. 1940, 1941)?
Thanks Whispering . . . You'll have to just stay tuned! Work is busy this week, but I'll try to get another update by the weekend. We've got the invasion of Cyprus coming up, and oh, what will Germany do with the Soviets!??
well, looks like my Sunday night MP game isn't going to happen this week, so I'll have an update on Sunday, Nov. 28!
Chapter 10: Closing off the Med
The final step to controlling the entire Mediterranean was taking Cyprus. Taking refuge here was a massive British fleet, although starved from supplies. Italy’s one division of Marines was recalled from duty in Iberia, and joined with elements from the 2nd Army task force, and the detached infantry corps that had taken Malta. Cyprus needed to be taken quickly, as Britain had strategic bombers based there inflicting a toll on Italian conquered lands in the Balkans.
The first stage was to ground the bombers and CAGS. Our Air Force launched our interceptors from Beirut in air superiority missions to secure domination of the skies. Tactical Bombers cratered the Cypriot runways and began limited port strike missions before learning that while hungry for fuel and supplies, the Royal Navy still had teeth!
The west side of the island was quickly taken and the forces (about 8 or 9 divisions – overkill in every sense of the word) quickly overwhelmed the minimal forces on the island. Once pushed out of the port on Cyprus, the British fleet emerged and wreaked a limited amount of havoc against our old cruisers and destroyers. Unfortunately, our commanders in the theatre kept spotty records and more details were sadly unavailable when requested.
All of our carriers survived, but the mopping up campaign stretched our antiquated naval forces to the breaking point. Most cruisers and destroyers survived and were repaired for later service, but this operation gave me pause and the decision was made to upgrade the naval technology of our screening vessels ourselves, as some shopping around and comparing the technologies available from our allies revealed that the growing power of our intellectual elite and industrial capacities would be able to produce better ships in a similar amount of time.
(Production and Research queues as of December 1940)
Elsewhere, in March, we had begun a limited campaign to start taking back territory from the British in East Africa.
With the Mediterranean secure, why would it be so important to upgrade our naval capabilities? The simple answer is that Italy has designs on Great Britain.
Procurement and training is moving along with more infantry, but transports, light cruisers and destroyers, convoy vessels and especially marines are on the way. We are now upgrading our medium armour and light armour as well as sundry doctrines and theoretical pursuits related to carrier warfare. We are now “in the green” with resources, supplies (maxed out at almost 100,000 tons and still producing a surplus while we underfund their production, amazingly), fuel and money. As the Italian empire was expanding, I had replaced myself (Mussolini) as minister of armaments with a minister who managed to find ways of refining resources to make them stretch 5% further. Now, I have decided that we can withstand an expansion of our industrial capacity and have resumed the position myself, and I have been able to get more out of our industry than anyone else.
This is necessary because we have researched new technological advances at such a high pace that we have outstripped our ability to fund the upgrades of this equipment adequately while maintaining the full funding for our most important production and training tasks. By retaking control of the armament ministry myself, I expect industrial capacity to increase by as much as 10%.
As war in the East looms (as our German Allies take more aggressive actions), we set up our defenses. As of March 1941, Guzzoni's 2nd Army had set up defensive lines in Anatolia, and Vercellino's 3rd Army had done the same in Romania.
Notice Vercellino's defense in Romania is not against the border. Vercellino originally proposed giving ground against a possible Soviet attack in order to line up against the more defensible river line. This defensive formation also avoids having a bubble facing the Soviets that could be attacked from several directions at once. It also gives us a shorter line to defend.
The German leader had briefly mentioned his plans to me, mumbling something about "Lebensraum" in the East. This concerned us. Was he going to wake the Russian Bear? Both of our borders with the Soviets (at the edge of the former Romania, and in Anatolia in former Turkey) are quite secure with a combined total of over 300,000 men with newly developed tanks and state of the art infantry equipment, but should the Soviets take offense to a German attack, we could be hard pressed in both those regions.....
The final step to controlling the entire Mediterranean was taking Cyprus. Taking refuge here was a massive British fleet, although starved from supplies. Italy’s one division of Marines was recalled from duty in Iberia, and joined with elements from the 2nd Army task force, and the detached infantry corps that had taken Malta. Cyprus needed to be taken quickly, as Britain had strategic bombers based there inflicting a toll on Italian conquered lands in the Balkans.
The first stage was to ground the bombers and CAGS. Our Air Force launched our interceptors from Beirut in air superiority missions to secure domination of the skies. Tactical Bombers cratered the Cypriot runways and began limited port strike missions before learning that while hungry for fuel and supplies, the Royal Navy still had teeth!
The west side of the island was quickly taken and the forces (about 8 or 9 divisions – overkill in every sense of the word) quickly overwhelmed the minimal forces on the island. Once pushed out of the port on Cyprus, the British fleet emerged and wreaked a limited amount of havoc against our old cruisers and destroyers. Unfortunately, our commanders in the theatre kept spotty records and more details were sadly unavailable when requested.
All of our carriers survived, but the mopping up campaign stretched our antiquated naval forces to the breaking point. Most cruisers and destroyers survived and were repaired for later service, but this operation gave me pause and the decision was made to upgrade the naval technology of our screening vessels ourselves, as some shopping around and comparing the technologies available from our allies revealed that the growing power of our intellectual elite and industrial capacities would be able to produce better ships in a similar amount of time.
Elsewhere, in March, we had begun a limited campaign to start taking back territory from the British in East Africa.
With the Mediterranean secure, why would it be so important to upgrade our naval capabilities? The simple answer is that Italy has designs on Great Britain.
Procurement and training is moving along with more infantry, but transports, light cruisers and destroyers, convoy vessels and especially marines are on the way. We are now upgrading our medium armour and light armour as well as sundry doctrines and theoretical pursuits related to carrier warfare. We are now “in the green” with resources, supplies (maxed out at almost 100,000 tons and still producing a surplus while we underfund their production, amazingly), fuel and money. As the Italian empire was expanding, I had replaced myself (Mussolini) as minister of armaments with a minister who managed to find ways of refining resources to make them stretch 5% further. Now, I have decided that we can withstand an expansion of our industrial capacity and have resumed the position myself, and I have been able to get more out of our industry than anyone else.
This is necessary because we have researched new technological advances at such a high pace that we have outstripped our ability to fund the upgrades of this equipment adequately while maintaining the full funding for our most important production and training tasks. By retaking control of the armament ministry myself, I expect industrial capacity to increase by as much as 10%.
As war in the East looms (as our German Allies take more aggressive actions), we set up our defenses. As of March 1941, Guzzoni's 2nd Army had set up defensive lines in Anatolia, and Vercellino's 3rd Army had done the same in Romania.
Notice Vercellino's defense in Romania is not against the border. Vercellino originally proposed giving ground against a possible Soviet attack in order to line up against the more defensible river line. This defensive formation also avoids having a bubble facing the Soviets that could be attacked from several directions at once. It also gives us a shorter line to defend.
The German leader had briefly mentioned his plans to me, mumbling something about "Lebensraum" in the East. This concerned us. Was he going to wake the Russian Bear? Both of our borders with the Soviets (at the edge of the former Romania, and in Anatolia in former Turkey) are quite secure with a combined total of over 300,000 men with newly developed tanks and state of the art infantry equipment, but should the Soviets take offense to a German attack, we could be hard pressed in both those regions.....
Barbarosa looms! Do you recall what your goals were for the soon-to-begin Soviet offensive? Were you aiming for more oil in Baku? Did you have to play it by ear? Was Italy planning to play a supporting role only? Inquiring fans want to know! 
Barbarossa coming soon! It wasn't until well into this campaign that I decided to write the AAR, so I'm embarassingly short of screenshots from early in the Soviet Campaign. Therefore, I need to load up some old saves!
Chapter 11: War in the East
July 30, 1941 was a fateful day. The Germans launched their Operation Barbarossa with no real notice to us (this wasn't the first time that we weren't kept entirely "in the loop"). When the Germans attacked in the north, the Russians took exception and began attacking our positions in Romania and Anatolia. Guzzoni's troops in Anatolia still hadn't completely reoccupied their defensive positions when the Soviet offensive began.
Rather than merely defending, I have instructed my Balkan HQ commanders to go on the offensive in order to aid our German allies in the north. In Graziani's case, he first allowed the Russians to approach his defensive lines, as the Germans were pushing east just north of our positions. Along the Black Sea Coast, he sent his divisions forward to take advantage of holes in the Soviet lines and to make a push for Odessa.
Once Odessa was taken, Graziani ordered his I Corpo d'Armata, commanded by Lisi, to undertake an amphibious assault of Sevastapol to take the Crimean Peninsula. By September 5, they had captured the port and were well on their way to the mainland, linking up with the rest of the 3rd Army by October 23.
Covering their way was the RN Aquila Carrier Task Force which consisted of the two Aquila class carriers and their escorts.
Commanders of both the 2nd and 3rd Armies had displayed virtuosity in their campaign. At the Battle of Ul’yanovka, which ended on October 24, 5 Soviet divisions had been encircled and surrendered to Graziani.
At the end of the Battle of Sadu, only a few weeks later, 6 infantry and 1 armour divisions, and 4 HQs were encircled and surrendered, while other divisions had already surrendered. This took upwards of 100,000 Soviet troops out of the war. In this encirclement, Graziani displayed an flair in coordinating with our German allies, using their advance as the anvil to smash the Soviet divisions against.
(closing the pocket)
His attempts to finalize another encirclement (seen just north of Crimea), ultimately failed, but this in no way denigrates his reputation or any of his other accomplishments.
Guzzoni’s men captured several divisions in much more isolated encirclements, but the terrain and the thinness of his line made it difficult to do more than push the Soviets north and wait for Graziani’s army to arrive to be the hammer to his anvil.
However, his men were distinguishing themselves in the war, and several of his division commanders were showing exemplary skill and would soon see themselves taking on more responsibility in the coming campaign to take the British Isles.
Guzzoni’s 2nd Army has pushed almost to the top of the Black and Caspian Seas by February of 1942, while Graziani’s 3rd Army has taken large amounts of territory north of the Black Sea. The Germans had taken Moscow by mid-November and were pushing hard to the east.
The necessity to hold a large front in the north against Russia forces had evaporated and I gave Graziani orders to march his army east hard, around the Sea of Azov, pushing to clear the Soviet forces on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
The goal is to have the 2nd and 3rd Armies link up and smash the Soviet line just north of the line between the Black and Caspian seas.
The Germans were not only taking the fight to the Soviets. They were also sending massive numbers of troops south into the Arabian Peninsula to wipe out the British presence there.
While we were making steady progress in the Soviet Union, the British were hitting back in Africa. A British fleet had broken through the Suez and was engaged by our carrier task forces. Several of their ships were sunk with only a light cruiser of ours being lost. However, the commander of our African forces had made a mess of the situation there. 10 of our divisions had become isolated in our West African holdings (inherited from Spain), without supply and were in danger of being destroyed by British and Free French forces.
Our transport fleet was sent with a small screening force taken from Iberia in order to extract our forces before they could be overwhelmed. This action was successful and Marshall Caviglia, commander of Tobruk HQ, was relieved of his command for allowing this shameful event to occur. Those troops of the African theatre will be forever indebted to the Regio Marina’s Admiral da Zara and the men of 8th corps from Pintor’s 1a Armata for forming a bulwark against attacking British troops.
By early 1942, the Germans had the Russians on their heels, no doubt due to the strong Italian force providing more than just protection to their southern flank. Our troops had pushed the Soviets completely out of southern Ukraine and the Caucasus.
Meanwhile, the Iberian Army Group was undergoing an extensive reorganization, and the previous commander, Field Marshall Beregamo had made a mess of the Order of Battle and had headquarters and divisions out of radio contact from each other for much of the defensive campaign against France. He was relieved of command and replaced with Field Marshall Balbo who was given simple orders:
1. Secure the Iberian Peninsula from invasion by the allies.
2. Prepare and plan for a possible invasion of the British Isles, starting with Ireland.
July 30, 1941 was a fateful day. The Germans launched their Operation Barbarossa with no real notice to us (this wasn't the first time that we weren't kept entirely "in the loop"). When the Germans attacked in the north, the Russians took exception and began attacking our positions in Romania and Anatolia. Guzzoni's troops in Anatolia still hadn't completely reoccupied their defensive positions when the Soviet offensive began.
Rather than merely defending, I have instructed my Balkan HQ commanders to go on the offensive in order to aid our German allies in the north. In Graziani's case, he first allowed the Russians to approach his defensive lines, as the Germans were pushing east just north of our positions. Along the Black Sea Coast, he sent his divisions forward to take advantage of holes in the Soviet lines and to make a push for Odessa.
Once Odessa was taken, Graziani ordered his I Corpo d'Armata, commanded by Lisi, to undertake an amphibious assault of Sevastapol to take the Crimean Peninsula. By September 5, they had captured the port and were well on their way to the mainland, linking up with the rest of the 3rd Army by October 23.
Covering their way was the RN Aquila Carrier Task Force which consisted of the two Aquila class carriers and their escorts.
Commanders of both the 2nd and 3rd Armies had displayed virtuosity in their campaign. At the Battle of Ul’yanovka, which ended on October 24, 5 Soviet divisions had been encircled and surrendered to Graziani.
At the end of the Battle of Sadu, only a few weeks later, 6 infantry and 1 armour divisions, and 4 HQs were encircled and surrendered, while other divisions had already surrendered. This took upwards of 100,000 Soviet troops out of the war. In this encirclement, Graziani displayed an flair in coordinating with our German allies, using their advance as the anvil to smash the Soviet divisions against.
His attempts to finalize another encirclement (seen just north of Crimea), ultimately failed, but this in no way denigrates his reputation or any of his other accomplishments.
Guzzoni’s men captured several divisions in much more isolated encirclements, but the terrain and the thinness of his line made it difficult to do more than push the Soviets north and wait for Graziani’s army to arrive to be the hammer to his anvil.
However, his men were distinguishing themselves in the war, and several of his division commanders were showing exemplary skill and would soon see themselves taking on more responsibility in the coming campaign to take the British Isles.
Guzzoni’s 2nd Army has pushed almost to the top of the Black and Caspian Seas by February of 1942, while Graziani’s 3rd Army has taken large amounts of territory north of the Black Sea. The Germans had taken Moscow by mid-November and were pushing hard to the east.
The necessity to hold a large front in the north against Russia forces had evaporated and I gave Graziani orders to march his army east hard, around the Sea of Azov, pushing to clear the Soviet forces on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
The goal is to have the 2nd and 3rd Armies link up and smash the Soviet line just north of the line between the Black and Caspian seas.
The Germans were not only taking the fight to the Soviets. They were also sending massive numbers of troops south into the Arabian Peninsula to wipe out the British presence there.
While we were making steady progress in the Soviet Union, the British were hitting back in Africa. A British fleet had broken through the Suez and was engaged by our carrier task forces. Several of their ships were sunk with only a light cruiser of ours being lost. However, the commander of our African forces had made a mess of the situation there. 10 of our divisions had become isolated in our West African holdings (inherited from Spain), without supply and were in danger of being destroyed by British and Free French forces.
Our transport fleet was sent with a small screening force taken from Iberia in order to extract our forces before they could be overwhelmed. This action was successful and Marshall Caviglia, commander of Tobruk HQ, was relieved of his command for allowing this shameful event to occur. Those troops of the African theatre will be forever indebted to the Regio Marina’s Admiral da Zara and the men of 8th corps from Pintor’s 1a Armata for forming a bulwark against attacking British troops.
By early 1942, the Germans had the Russians on their heels, no doubt due to the strong Italian force providing more than just protection to their southern flank. Our troops had pushed the Soviets completely out of southern Ukraine and the Caucasus.
Meanwhile, the Iberian Army Group was undergoing an extensive reorganization, and the previous commander, Field Marshall Beregamo had made a mess of the Order of Battle and had headquarters and divisions out of radio contact from each other for much of the defensive campaign against France. He was relieved of command and replaced with Field Marshall Balbo who was given simple orders:
1. Secure the Iberian Peninsula from invasion by the allies.
2. Prepare and plan for a possible invasion of the British Isles, starting with Ireland.
Amazing how the Russian Front collapsed relatively quickly under the coordinated assault of the Axis partners. I hope that Italy was able to keep her hard won land when the USSR sued for peace. Your mention of the upcoming Sealion operation is very tantalizing!
very quick collapse of the Soviet front facing off against you and the Germans. In my German campaign, barbarossa turned into a meat grinder almost immediately, though i didn't launch mine until June 1942 by which time the Soviet front was brimming with stacks of units on both sides. I ended up flanking North through occupied Finland and striking down against Leningrad then onto Moscow though haven't made much progress towards Moscow. Supply problems are beginning to kick in...
Looks like you've got the entirety of the black sea under your control. Are you going to push East with the German advance or stop? I did read you were preparing to invade Britain so am inclined to think the latter.
Also are you going to launch any significant campaigns in Central/South Africa to clear out British, French and Belgian colonial holdings?
Looks like you've got the entirety of the black sea under your control. Are you going to push East with the German advance or stop? I did read you were preparing to invade Britain so am inclined to think the latter.
Also are you going to launch any significant campaigns in Central/South Africa to clear out British, French and Belgian colonial holdings?
I do tend to get a little bit of tunnel vision while playing this game, so I wasn't watching what the Germans were doing with incredible interest. I've been reading Uriah's AAR - Rank and File, and I'm amazed how he is able to always give great updates of what's happening elsewhere! I didn't even notice that Moscow had been taken until days later!
I've just been reading about the German campaign in USSR in a book called Hitler's Panzers (by Dennis Showalter) -- it's a little on the academic side, but fascinating! -- and he writes of the Kursk offensive that, originally intended to be launched in April 1943, got pushed back further and further (they were refitting and getting as many Panthers and Tigers out to the front) until it didn't start until July. It was a catch-22.... by taking the time to replenish themselves until they figured they do real damage, the Germans gave the Soviets the same amount of time to prepare their sophisticated defenses and bring up more troops!
But I do have to say that the German AI has been very effective so far. Keep reading for more! And yes, supply is such a pain in the ass!
I've just been reading about the German campaign in USSR in a book called Hitler's Panzers (by Dennis Showalter) -- it's a little on the academic side, but fascinating! -- and he writes of the Kursk offensive that, originally intended to be launched in April 1943, got pushed back further and further (they were refitting and getting as many Panthers and Tigers out to the front) until it didn't start until July. It was a catch-22.... by taking the time to replenish themselves until they figured they do real damage, the Germans gave the Soviets the same amount of time to prepare their sophisticated defenses and bring up more troops!
But I do have to say that the German AI has been very effective so far. Keep reading for more! And yes, supply is such a pain in the ass!
Keep an eye on your manpower aswell. I've just finished beating the USSR into submission in my campaign with very timely intervention by the Romanians who literally stormed into the unguarded Ukraine with the Red Army concentrated against me.
But i came incredibly close to breaking. With a starting manpower of close to 800/900 i ended up being wittled down to 53. Luckily the Soviets caved before i did.
Not sure how it will be with Italy, it depends how much resistance the Soviets can give you, which i doubt will be much because germany will be the bigger threat to them.
But i came incredibly close to breaking. With a starting manpower of close to 800/900 i ended up being wittled down to 53. Luckily the Soviets caved before i did.
Not sure how it will be with Italy, it depends how much resistance the Soviets can give you, which i doubt will be much because germany will be the bigger threat to them.
Exactly, as you can see in the last screen shot of the Caucasus/Ukraine -- there aren't exactly a lof of Russian troops in between my two fronts ... although keep reading
I've yet to have a manpower issue with either Italy or Germany, although I haven't played a Germany campaign long enough to try Barbarossa myself. I usually get a little hung up on Sealion! Right now I've got a Germany campaign going (on Hard) and am pushing through France (started the campaign a little early in March 1940), and am finding that it's not as easy as some of the other times I've been able to sweep through France like a warm knife through butter. But my army isn't that big (about six or seven hundred thousand troops on that front), and it's not like we're losing, and I've gotten most of the French, British, and Belgian troops in a collapsing bubble from just north of Paris (I've almost got Paris surrounded) to the Maginot Line. I've also had to fight off a Canadian amphibious landing with 6 divisions, of which 3 landed in provinces neighbouring Den Haag, and I managed to defeat them fairly easily, but had to call troops from the fight in France. It's definitely proving a challenge!
I've yet to have a manpower issue with either Italy or Germany, although I haven't played a Germany campaign long enough to try Barbarossa myself. I usually get a little hung up on Sealion! Right now I've got a Germany campaign going (on Hard) and am pushing through France (started the campaign a little early in March 1940), and am finding that it's not as easy as some of the other times I've been able to sweep through France like a warm knife through butter. But my army isn't that big (about six or seven hundred thousand troops on that front), and it's not like we're losing, and I've gotten most of the French, British, and Belgian troops in a collapsing bubble from just north of Paris (I've almost got Paris surrounded) to the Maginot Line. I've also had to fight off a Canadian amphibious landing with 6 divisions, of which 3 landed in provinces neighbouring Den Haag, and I managed to defeat them fairly easily, but had to call troops from the fight in France. It's definitely proving a challenge!
I rode the highs and lows of Myth's Italy and I'm interested to see where this ends.
Chapter 12: Mopping up, and preparations for Operation Leone Marino
As of February 1942, our forces continue to capture territory from the Soviets, and planning and procurement was still under way for our British campaign, or Operation Leone Marino (Sealion) which, would be launched in 1943. 3 divisions of Marines had become operational, and another two more were in training. This will give us 7 divisions of Marines, including our two that had both distinguished themselves in combat in Ukraine.
In March, our carrier RN Falco II will be completed, as will 4 new, state of the art light cruisers. Earlier we procured a production license to build 2 runs of 2 parallel Agano class light cruisers from Japan. Following this procurement, I instructed my staff at the armament ministry to collaborate with the Department of the Navy in order to decide the best course of action for subsequent cruiser and destroyer production. After much research, and comparing the quality of our capabilities to those of our Allies, it was decided that if we put our research energies into Anti-Sub Warfare, and light cruiser development, we would be able to produce a new class of warship that was far superior to those of either the Japanese or the Germans. Another division of paratroopers has begun training, and we are also bolstering the merchant navy to ensure our supply lines remain open after invading the UK.
A new wave of cruisers will be ordered soon, as will another carrier, as we have made or will be making improvements in the technology of our ships and their armaments. We have also made efforts to upgrade our tanks and infantry weapons.
By March, Graziani's 3rd Army troops rush east from the top of the Black Sea, down the ithsmus and towards the line set up by Guzzoni.
By early April, they link up and crush the light resistance of the Soviets between them.
Progress was swift, comparitively. With the large spaces to work with in Asia, our troops moved slowly, even our quick progress against light opposition seemed slow. By mid-May, we had begun to send both of our armies east to take as much territory as we could.
You can see how light the opposition to the German advance was on May 15. Victory was only a matter of time.
By June 11, the Germans had overrun even our positions, and we decided to allow them to continue their advance, and that our contribution to their Soviet campaign had run its course.
The Soviets made peace with Germany on June 16th, and disappointingly, our German “allies” took all of the land that we had conquered in the Ukraine and the Caucasus. With no land bordering enemies in either the Balkans or Turkey , and a general quiet in the war, the time was right for reorganizing the portions of our armed forces.
We pulled back our 1st Army Group in the Balkans to Anatolia, leaving only Guzzoni's 2nd Army as defensive troops.
The 3rd Army under it's new commander, Babini, would be join the forces that were tasked for the invasion of the UK, but they had some work to do before that in cleaning up parts of East Africa that the British had usurped from us, and our client state, Ethiopia.
Thus concluded our Soviet Campaign. We were able to maneuver far faster and effectively than our enemies. That, combined with our excellent coordination with our German allies allowed us to complete several encirclements, taking hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers out of the war.
In April, our Iberian Army group, under Balbo's command, consisted of 7 corps in 2 armies, with Pintor's 1a Armata with the bulk of the responsibilities, and a smaller Southern Iberia Army tasked with holding Gibraltar, and Spanish Morocco. Balbo commanded 262,000 men in 27 divisions, with 3 squadrons of air support available. However, Balbo was dallying in his plans for our UK invasion, and thus was replaced on August 31 with Beregamo, who had distinguished himself again and again in combat. In the interim, the Iberian Army Group had gained almost 53,000 men, for a total of 309,000 at the end of August.
Tobruk HQ was now in the process of being reorganized into North and East African Army Groups, under the command of newly promoted Field Marshals R. Rossi, and Mancinelli (respectively).
North African Army Group was tasked with the defense of our holdings east of Vichy France’s African holdings. East African Army Group was tasked with the defense of our East African holdings south of Port Sudan. It was also tasked with pushing the British out of Africa, and in doing so, tying up their attention leading up to our invasion of the British Islands.
Graziani had been promoted to command the 1st Army Group in the Balkans, an taking his place as commander of 3rd Army was General Babini. His army was now attached to Tobruk HQ to serve as the primary offensive force taking Africa from the Allies. The ultimate objective would be to sweep through East Africa, and down through South Africa. Making this objective easier was the fact that German forces, assisting our new allies, Saudi Arabia had cleaned the British out of the Arabian peninsula.
Babini’s spearhead would be his newly minted Marine Corps of 50,000 Marines (now that three more divisions had completed training).
These five divisions succeeded in the taking of Socotra from the UK, taking away all ports they had on the Red Sea.
The plan is to advance from our current East African holdings (already we’ve taken everything east of Khartoum, and south to Muqdisho) south and west, with the Marines serving as a raiding force to take enemy ports and serve as the anvil to other 3rd Army elements’ hammer.
This way, we will be able to both supply our army through convoys as we proceed. An effort to upgrade some of the infrastructure in this region should also give us the logistical ability to supply the troops over land from as far away as Rome!
Finally, the USA have joined the Allies. They are making themselves quite a nuisance, attempting a landing against Portugal, which our nearby forces quickly suppressed, as the Portuguese seemed quite defenseless to control their own land.
My spies tell me that the US chose to land there due to the lesser defenses there. We have lost the Canary Islands to the US, however, and we must make plans to regain this territory primarily in order to deny the US a foothold in Africa with which to begin a push to dislodge our own Imperial visions!
Our Naval emphasis, as well as our powerful, fairly large army (at 168 Brigades on May 15) had allowed us to not only compete with the Royal Navy, defeat it. By May 15, we had sunk 61 vessels, to our losing of 36. Most of our losses were older ships, and we had been building our carriers and light cruisers for years, and those efforts were paying off. However, the ultimate test would come: soon, we would be taking our navy to the British's own backyard.
As of February 1942, our forces continue to capture territory from the Soviets, and planning and procurement was still under way for our British campaign, or Operation Leone Marino (Sealion) which, would be launched in 1943. 3 divisions of Marines had become operational, and another two more were in training. This will give us 7 divisions of Marines, including our two that had both distinguished themselves in combat in Ukraine.
In March, our carrier RN Falco II will be completed, as will 4 new, state of the art light cruisers. Earlier we procured a production license to build 2 runs of 2 parallel Agano class light cruisers from Japan. Following this procurement, I instructed my staff at the armament ministry to collaborate with the Department of the Navy in order to decide the best course of action for subsequent cruiser and destroyer production. After much research, and comparing the quality of our capabilities to those of our Allies, it was decided that if we put our research energies into Anti-Sub Warfare, and light cruiser development, we would be able to produce a new class of warship that was far superior to those of either the Japanese or the Germans. Another division of paratroopers has begun training, and we are also bolstering the merchant navy to ensure our supply lines remain open after invading the UK.
A new wave of cruisers will be ordered soon, as will another carrier, as we have made or will be making improvements in the technology of our ships and their armaments. We have also made efforts to upgrade our tanks and infantry weapons.
By March, Graziani's 3rd Army troops rush east from the top of the Black Sea, down the ithsmus and towards the line set up by Guzzoni.
By early April, they link up and crush the light resistance of the Soviets between them.
Progress was swift, comparitively. With the large spaces to work with in Asia, our troops moved slowly, even our quick progress against light opposition seemed slow. By mid-May, we had begun to send both of our armies east to take as much territory as we could.
You can see how light the opposition to the German advance was on May 15. Victory was only a matter of time.
By June 11, the Germans had overrun even our positions, and we decided to allow them to continue their advance, and that our contribution to their Soviet campaign had run its course.
(we begin withdrawing our forces for deployment elsewhere)
The Soviets made peace with Germany on June 16th, and disappointingly, our German “allies” took all of the land that we had conquered in the Ukraine and the Caucasus. With no land bordering enemies in either the Balkans or Turkey , and a general quiet in the war, the time was right for reorganizing the portions of our armed forces.
We pulled back our 1st Army Group in the Balkans to Anatolia, leaving only Guzzoni's 2nd Army as defensive troops.
The 3rd Army under it's new commander, Babini, would be join the forces that were tasked for the invasion of the UK, but they had some work to do before that in cleaning up parts of East Africa that the British had usurped from us, and our client state, Ethiopia.
(3rd army heading to Beirut for transit to Africa)
Thus concluded our Soviet Campaign. We were able to maneuver far faster and effectively than our enemies. That, combined with our excellent coordination with our German allies allowed us to complete several encirclements, taking hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers out of the war.
In April, our Iberian Army group, under Balbo's command, consisted of 7 corps in 2 armies, with Pintor's 1a Armata with the bulk of the responsibilities, and a smaller Southern Iberia Army tasked with holding Gibraltar, and Spanish Morocco. Balbo commanded 262,000 men in 27 divisions, with 3 squadrons of air support available. However, Balbo was dallying in his plans for our UK invasion, and thus was replaced on August 31 with Beregamo, who had distinguished himself again and again in combat. In the interim, the Iberian Army Group had gained almost 53,000 men, for a total of 309,000 at the end of August.
Tobruk HQ was now in the process of being reorganized into North and East African Army Groups, under the command of newly promoted Field Marshals R. Rossi, and Mancinelli (respectively).
North African Army Group was tasked with the defense of our holdings east of Vichy France’s African holdings. East African Army Group was tasked with the defense of our East African holdings south of Port Sudan. It was also tasked with pushing the British out of Africa, and in doing so, tying up their attention leading up to our invasion of the British Islands.
(British encroachments into Ethiopia)
Graziani had been promoted to command the 1st Army Group in the Balkans, an taking his place as commander of 3rd Army was General Babini. His army was now attached to Tobruk HQ to serve as the primary offensive force taking Africa from the Allies. The ultimate objective would be to sweep through East Africa, and down through South Africa. Making this objective easier was the fact that German forces, assisting our new allies, Saudi Arabia had cleaned the British out of the Arabian peninsula.
Babini’s spearhead would be his newly minted Marine Corps of 50,000 Marines (now that three more divisions had completed training).
(The Marine Corps under General Armellini)
These five divisions succeeded in the taking of Socotra from the UK, taking away all ports they had on the Red Sea.
The plan is to advance from our current East African holdings (already we’ve taken everything east of Khartoum, and south to Muqdisho) south and west, with the Marines serving as a raiding force to take enemy ports and serve as the anvil to other 3rd Army elements’ hammer.
This way, we will be able to both supply our army through convoys as we proceed. An effort to upgrade some of the infrastructure in this region should also give us the logistical ability to supply the troops over land from as far away as Rome!
Finally, the USA have joined the Allies. They are making themselves quite a nuisance, attempting a landing against Portugal, which our nearby forces quickly suppressed, as the Portuguese seemed quite defenseless to control their own land.
My spies tell me that the US chose to land there due to the lesser defenses there. We have lost the Canary Islands to the US, however, and we must make plans to regain this territory primarily in order to deny the US a foothold in Africa with which to begin a push to dislodge our own Imperial visions!
Our Naval emphasis, as well as our powerful, fairly large army (at 168 Brigades on May 15) had allowed us to not only compete with the Royal Navy, defeat it. By May 15, we had sunk 61 vessels, to our losing of 36. Most of our losses were older ships, and we had been building our carriers and light cruisers for years, and those efforts were paying off. However, the ultimate test would come: soon, we would be taking our navy to the British's own backyard.
Now the Italian navy will leave the Mare Nostrum behind and seek the open waters of the Atlantic! Was there a plan to take Iraq from the British? It strikes me that the new forces are more oil dependent and while I've noticed your oil reserves remaining steady, any full scale assault will surely drain same.
Vary sad, but expected, regarding the loss of the Caucasus lands and those oil-rich provinces!
Vary sad, but expected, regarding the loss of the Caucasus lands and those oil-rich provinces!
Stef: Thanks for reading!
Whispering: The Atlantic is daunting, but we've been coddled in the Med and the Black Sea for too long! Most of our new forces aren't armoured, actually. When we raised the army to invade Spain, most of the units consisted of 3 infantry brigades and no support units to avoid draining supply. We do have a decent sized armoured force, but most of those guys are built and will be upgraded, rather than building new units. If you look back at the December 1940 build queue, there are fewer armoured units than it looks (I accidentally cut and paste from 2 different days, and there is some duplication!), and now that we're in September 1942, the concentration has been on the navy, merchant marines, and marine corps. Not too many army units.
I've already taken Iraq, it was not difficult and a little side mission while the rest of 2nd Army's forces were taking Beirut. I puppetted Iraq, though, as I didn't want to have to garrison the country. Also, you'll notice some iraqi troops fighting in Russia (the slightly darker green ones) alongside the Germans.
Whispering: The Atlantic is daunting, but we've been coddled in the Med and the Black Sea for too long! Most of our new forces aren't armoured, actually. When we raised the army to invade Spain, most of the units consisted of 3 infantry brigades and no support units to avoid draining supply. We do have a decent sized armoured force, but most of those guys are built and will be upgraded, rather than building new units. If you look back at the December 1940 build queue, there are fewer armoured units than it looks (I accidentally cut and paste from 2 different days, and there is some duplication!), and now that we're in September 1942, the concentration has been on the navy, merchant marines, and marine corps. Not too many army units.
I've already taken Iraq, it was not difficult and a little side mission while the rest of 2nd Army's forces were taking Beirut. I puppetted Iraq, though, as I didn't want to have to garrison the country. Also, you'll notice some iraqi troops fighting in Russia (the slightly darker green ones) alongside the Germans.
Last edited:
Good luck with Op. Sealion, it was remarkably easy when i embarked on it myself, i occupied Ireland as well event though they were neutral, didnt want them joining the allies with nearly the entirety of my army concentrated against the Soviets.
Could we be seeing an Italian invasion of the US eventually? Your navy seems to be very strong dealing a serious blow to the RN with the destruction of 61 ships so shouldn't have many problems tackling the US Atlantic fleet. Incidentally where any of the RN's capital ships amongst those 61? Like Hood, Prince of Wales, Invincible etc.
Could we be seeing an Italian invasion of the US eventually? Your navy seems to be very strong dealing a serious blow to the RN with the destruction of 61 ships so shouldn't have many problems tackling the US Atlantic fleet. Incidentally where any of the RN's capital ships amongst those 61? Like Hood, Prince of Wales, Invincible etc.