Teutonic Dreams - A Germany 1936 HPP AAR

[Rensslaer]

VERY ambitious plan in Asia! And EXCELLENT analysis in your strategic plan!

I like the way you think - some of these decisions are very like what I would probably do. I'm considering a game like this, down the road.

I do agree that your fleet may not fare as well as you'd hoped against the IJN. But I look forward to seeing how you implement!

Rensslaer

[TheBromgrev]

@misterbean: What's their MP situation though? With that many brigades they probably can't reinforce them all.

@ve3609: Thanks! There are only 3 VP in Korea, so I probably won't have to take more than the home islands.

@Mikeb545: Stop fighting? Let there be world peace? I don't think those phrases exist in German

@Enewald: Maybe. I'm not sure when the map was dated, but it's definitely from before 1912 and after 1900. Libya is still part of the Ottoman Empire, and Spain doesn't control Cuba anymore. The proportions might be correct, as India's population wasn't really as big as most people think it was back then. India's population didn't explode until recently. This thread has global census data from '36, and is interesting to look at.

@Baltasar: You're correct, but I feel the risk is worth it. There are many reasons for me to attack Japan. One is so China can help me take out what's left of the USSR so I don't have to go to Vladivostock myself (actually, this is the main reason ). Another is to get some experience with overseas operations so I can better prepare for the assault on the US. Oh, and the Japanese fleet will help me out in the Pacific

@Rensslaer: Thanks. I did run into a serious vanilla bug which caused my entire fleet to get sunk by a single Japanese carrier Needless to say, I quit and loaded up to try again, because that's BS. After 5 tries and getting the same result, I loaded up as Japan to figure out what happened. Turns out that *all* of Japan's carrier had 6 air wings attached to them (they're only supposed to carry 2), or 3 in the case of the light carriers. Most of the wings were CAGs, but there were a lot of light and naval bombers attached. I edited the save and moved everything in such a way that made sense then tried again. I'll post the results today

[PaxImperator]

@Mikeb545: Stop fighting? Let there be world peace? I don't think those phrases exist in German

The German phrase you're looking for is 'World Conquest', I believe. Keep up the good work by the way. I'm curious what an invasion of Japan looks like, done by Germany.

[Brin Milo]

@Mikeb545: Stop fighting? Let there be world peace? I don't think those phrases exist in German

It exists its just known as peace through superior firepower

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 42: Stage 1 - September 9 to September 14, 1943

The Reich's armed buildup near the Pearl River Delta during the summer of 1943 went unnoticed by Japan. No Japanese submarines or ships patrolled the South China Sea, and no bombing runs against the heavily industrialized cities along the delta were performed. In fact, Chinese leadership informed the Reich that Japanese bombing runs along the front lines had almost ceased. The most obvious conclusion for the lack of naval and air patrols, which was later confirmed, was that Japan's fuel reserves had finally been depleted. Before Japan started the war, the USA was Japan's primary source of oil. After hostilities began, the US imposed an oil embargo on Japan, in order to protect its Asian interests. The embargo, combined with the fact that all oil-producing nations are either members of the Axis or the US-lead UN, meant that Japan was unable to purchase the crude oil it required for its air force and navy. During the summer of 1943, Japan had finally run out.

Due to Armee 1 experiencing a longer than expected return trip from the A-A Line, the start of the operation to invade Japan was pushed back to September. On September 9, the invasion began, with the four mountain divisions of I. Gebirgsjägerkorps landing adjacent to the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung. The Reich's three battlefleets blocked all approaches to the port. Three divisions attacked the port, while one division which landed south of the city advanced north to Chiai to cut off the Japanese escape route. The corps HQ advanced north to secure undefended Taipei. The battle would last 5 days and result in a German victory.


The Battle of Kaohsiung, the opening stage of the war

Immediately after the Battle of Kaohsiung began and the mountain divisions were ashore, Flotte 2 and Flotte 3 moved to Okinawa, to secure the immediate area and determine the level of resistance on the island. Three days later on September 11, the divisions of I. Marinekorps began their assault on the port of Naha, after the fleets reported only a single Japanese infantry division guarding the port. The heavy bombardment from the Reich's battleships crippled the Japanese defensive positions, and the marines were able to take the port by September 14.


The Battle of Naha, which completed the initial phase of Unternehmen Abendsonne

However, the initial surprise attack was not enough to make Japan lose all hope. Japan had, after all, the world's second largest navy. Despite the fuel shortage the IJN was still a fearsome opponent, especially for the Reich, which had little experience in performing naval operations outside of Europe. As soon as the attacks began, a Japanese fleet led by Admiral Nishimura consisting of the carriers IJN Akagi and IJN Kaga, along with 20 destroyer escorts, engaged Saalwächter's Flotte 3, which was protecting the marines' transport fleet. The Japanese goal was to sink the transport ships and prevent any further landings. (As a side note, the KMS Graf Zeppelin's and KMS Peter Strasser's flight decks and equipment were based off of the IJN Akagi's blueprints).

At 2:00 on September 14, aircraft from the KMS Peter Strasser spotted the Japanese screens, and alerted the fleet. Saalwächter immediately ordered his fleet to assume a protective stance between Nishimura's group and the transports, which hadn't fully unloaded the marines. Unaware that he had been spotted, Nishimura continued to advance toward Okinawa. It was at 3:00, one hour later, that Nishimura launched his planes, but by then he was too late - Saalwächter had ordered his CAGs to launch immediately, and the first wave caught the IJN Akagi by surprise, sinking the carrier while its own planes were preparing to launch. By 4:00 Nishimura's fleet had fled, reaching the port of Naha around 8:00. The Reich's marines would take the port at 16:00 and force Nishimura to flee through Saalwächter's waiting fleet.


The IJN Akagi was sunk in a surprise night attack

[FedGuard]

I fear the Kaga and Akagi will be reunited pretty soon.

[HecNev]

Nice update!

If the Japanese have really run out of fuel and once your forces have established a solid position in the mainland, the Chinese might actually be able to push the invaders back on their own, so maybe you won't even need to conquer any VPs in Korea, as the Chinese might do so.
I imagine the actual landing might proof to be a lot more difficult, because the Japanese are now aware of your presence in the Pacific.

[TheBromgrev]

@FedGuard: You'll find out in the next update

@HecNev: Maybe. My whole strategy here is to take over the home islands before Japan starts moving troops from China back home. An amphibious blitzkrieg. The AI isn't very smart, but hopefully it will go "oh #&%$" and move some troops back, which would be the sensible thing to do and be more challenging. But then again, the UK AI way back decided to invade Amsterdam instead of Dover, so who knows what will happen.

[Rensslaer]

Nice start to the campaign!

What a bizarre bug! Naval bombers on a carrier. lol Thanks for catching that.

Rensslaer

[FedGuard]

Yeah, that would be like having B-25's bombing from a carrier. lol
Hey... wait...

[Enewald]

AllgemeineOstAsieGmbh?

[panzermann]

Good battles,i am sure you will win them all

[ve3609]

Yeah, that would be like having B-25's bombing from a carrier. lol
Hey... wait...

I think Doolittle would like a word with you!

[FedGuard]

Wasn't sure somebody would get it.

[SSmith]

Disturbing to see such a glaring bug in the carrier/CAG mechanics! Let's hope that one gets fixed soon...

Also very interesting is what actually happened in your carrier battle. Assuming you didn't remove all of the Japanese CAGs , have you any idea why your lone carrier defeated the two Japanese carriers so comprehensively? Did they close with your battleships? Was it pure chance? Or is there some other factor that made your CAGs superior despite Japan's head start in carrier technology?

[TheBromgrev]

Well, taking off a carrier is one thing, but landing is quite another. What hurt the most is the fact that the CAG duty mission has half the stacking penalty of the other missions, so all of those planes were much more effective than if they had performed a normal naval strike. I hope it gets fixed soon as well.

Now, after I moved the excess planes off the carriers I loaded up as Japan to make sure I didn't mess up. Then I started the game again as Germany and fought the battle. I happened to get really lucky (and forgot the screenshot!) and my CAGs surprised the Japanese fleet. The surprise bonus was something massive like 2000%, and I took out the Akagi in the first round of combat, and the rest of the Japanese fleet ran off to Naha. You'll find out what happens to them in the next chapter

@SSmith: Remember, even the most advanced carrier is useless if its planes are outdated. In this case, Japan ran out of rares and has a 800 MP deficit, so pretty much everything was put on hold except for reinforcing its troops in China. As a result, my CAGs were completely up to date while Japan's were about a level behind, still waiting to be upgraded.

[misterbean]

from my last save: US MP at 777. tons of binary mech divs and '44 tech shermans. doesn't matter. Germany owns Europe and Russia, Italy owns Africa, Japan owns everything between Midway and India. I win.

[ROMMEL_HSQ]

Crazy plans, I like

[TheBromgrev]

Chapter 43: Stage 2 - September 15 to September 29, 1943

Stage 2 of Unternehmen Abendsonne, the invasion of southern Japan, was marked more by the Kriegsmarine's efforts to gain local naval supremacy than the actual invasion itself. The first naval actions of Stage 2 involved the Ishimura's fleet as it attempted to escape capture in Okinawa. Ishimura's plan was to split his fleet into two components, the IJN Kaga under Ishimura's direct command and the 20 destroyer escorts, under command of Takagi S. The combined fleet was to engage Saalwächter's Flotte 3, and split before contact, with the IJN Kaga fleeing north to Nagasaki and the destroyers fleeing south to Palau. The ruse worked, and Saalwächter was fooled into believing the destroyers also had the IJN Kaga with them, allowing the IJN Kaga to escape. Despite having been fooled, Saalwächter pursued the destroyers and sunk all ships of the destroyer group 24 Kuchikukantai. Afterward, he continued to pursue the destroyers east.


Saalwächter sinks 5 of the 20 destroyers whose diversion allowed the Kaga to escape.
(Author's note: I didn't realize Japan split its fleet and pursued the destroyer fleet, not realizing the Kaga was going in a different direction. Pretty damn sneaky for the AI; I'm impressed.)

On September 16, Raeder's Flotte 1 had reached Nagasaki, where his screens had determined the city had no military presence manning the port. Afterward, two paratrooper divisions were dropped on the city and quickly overcame the local resistance, mainly in the form of the local police. Here it was learned from the captured provincial governor that Japan was suffering greatly as a result of the war. Due to a lack of recruits for the army, the Japanese government had enacted an emergency draft. While the governor could not supply specifics, it soon became clear that production of materials needed for the war was severely impacted, even with factories closing due to a lack of workers. As a result, Japan was left utterly defenseless outside of a few divisions training in Tokyo, according to the governor. On September 21, after recovering in Kaohsiung, the Reich's four mountain divisions were relocated to Nagasaki with orders to secure Kyushu.

While the mountain troops were preparing for their relocation, Saalwächter was patrolling east of Okinawa, looking for Japanese ships returning from Japan's outer defense ring. On September 18, he came into contact with a large battle-group led by Japanese admiral Ozawa. Ozawa's group consisted of the Battleship IJN Nagato, the Battlecruisers IJN Kongo, IJN Hiei, and IJN Haruna, and 40 destroyer escorts. Almost immediately, the Kongo suffered a crippling hit from the KMS Sudetenland, and was finished by the KMS Peter Strasser's CAGs. The battle ended after the KMS Sudetenland had sunk 5 destroyers, and the KMS Peter Strasser had sunk the IJN Kongo, IJN Hiei, and 10 destroyers. Ozawa fled south and was pursued.


The KMS Peter Strasser sinks 2 Japanese battlecruisrs

A day later, Saalwächter had once again come into contact with Ozawa's group, which was slowed by the aging IJN Nagato. After a short 3-hour standoff engagement, the battle was over, with the IJN Nagato and the destroyers of 4 Kuchikukantai sinking and the IJN Haruna escaping to Palau. Saalwäcther did not pursue and resumed his patrol south-east of Japan.


The KMS Peter Strasser continues its successful career.

In the early morning hours of September 21, after the mountain divisions were deployed in Nagasaki, two pairs of paratrooper divisions were dropped in both Hiroshima and Susaki, meeting no resistance. At this point, the marines in Okinawa were being carefully moved to Susaki, and Armee 1 in Hong Kong and Kaohsiung began relocating to Hiroshima. The relocation was slow and cautious, as the IJN was by no means beaten and was likely being recalled from the outer defense ring back to the home islands.

The latter assumption proved to be correct. Admiral Marschall's Flotte 2 had assumed a patrol along the Korean Straight, in order to prevent supplies from reaching Korea and any IJN fleets located in the north from disrupting the landing operations. Late afternoon, on September 21, Marschall encountered a large battlefleet led by Admiral Kondo. A short battle ensued, ending with the KMS Graf Zeppelin sinking 10 destroyers, a transport group bringing reinforcements from China, and the heavy cruiser IJN Myoko.


The KMS Graf Zeppelin sinks a transport group carrying reinforcements from China to Japan

Not even 6 hours later, Marschall was attacked by Japan's main carrier group led by famed Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku. Yamamoto's fleet was heading from its station in Sapporo to protect Japan's southern shores when he encountered Flotte 3 regaining its position in the aftermath of the earlier battle. Immediately Yamamoto launched his planes, one of which managed to score a hit on the KMS Grossdeutschland. However, the sheer volume of anti-aircraft fire from the Reich's modern ships prevented any major hits from landing. After the IJN Fuso and IJN Hosho taking some hits and losing the light cruiser IJN Kitikama and 5 destroyers, Yamamoto realized he would not be able to win the battle with his aging ships, and fled south. Admiral Marschall pursued.


Marschall wins his second major in two days.

The following day Flotte 3 came into contact with Yamamoto's group, but only managed to sink 5 destroyers who volunteered to distract Marschall's fleet in a rear guard action. Yamamoto's group then fled east, eventually reaching Tokyo. Rather than pursue, Marschall decided to remain in Seto Naikai and support the ground troops with direct bombardments. A day after defeating Yamamoto's fleet, another Japanese transport fleet had the misfortune to pass through Marschall's blockade. All 10 destroyers and the entire transport group plus reinforcements from China were sunk.


Admiral Marschall's Flotte 2 prevents more Japanese from returning home

On the ground, little resistance was met until September 23, when a paratrooper division in Takamatsu was attacked by Japanese paratroopers attempting to dislodge the occupiers in Susaki. By September 25, the marines from Okinawa hand landed and moved to support the defending paratroopers, and by September 29, the Japanese counter attack had stalled. News had reached Tokyo of Armee 1's landing in Hiroshima.


The Japanese attempt to dislodge the Reich from Shikoku is called off

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Not related to this chapter at all, but I didn't feel like making a new post for this question. Do you guys like my "analysis" and overview chapters before and after each major conflict?

[ve3609]

I really liked the "analysis" of Barbarossa. I think you should do it again with Japan and any other major invasions (USA maybe?)