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Based on how long the war has been going you might need to mop up those North African divisions soon or get your soldiers up from East Africa, 'cause I'd imagine the next line of British and French units will be sliding off the production line soon. :(

Awesome AAR as always.
 
Have been reading this AAR over the last few days and have caught up to date. I really enjoy the depth and style of presentation. Looking forward to reading more. :)

Thanks Garuda. :) Another update shortly.

Wait for them to attack you? Is Mussolini becoming patient all of a sudden?

Please remember that the war on the Allies was purely a defensive measure just like the 2nd Abyssinian War. :blush:

One "mad dog act" wouldnt follow another would it?

Great update. It is true, the process of searching for unique and appropriate images can become a major process all it's own, but interesting and educational.

Thanks tommy. I will admit, I have sometimes had to scrape the bottom of the barrel by screenshooting from poor video's.

Based on how long the war has been going you might need to mop up those North African divisions soon or get your soldiers up from East Africa, 'cause I'd imagine the next line of British and French units will be sliding off the production line soon. :(

Awesome AAR as always.

Its finally starting to happen but its a race against the Allies. I still have to many good divisions reducing the British 3rd Army at Jima. I need to get them out of AOI before the Anglo-French production capacity overwhlems me.

I am catching up to where I last left off the game, so the war still has an unknown conclusion.
 
Opening shots of the Sinai Campaign, loss of the 6th ‘Tevere’ Blackshirts Division

Recap: After the Italian victory in Ethiopia in May 1936, the large build-up of British forces on the Ethiopian-Sudanese Border unnerved the Italian leadership. Marshal Balbo pitched a “grand plan” (dubbed the "Drin-Drin" Plan by Mussolini) for a war against the Allies to Mussolini and the Fascist Council. It was accepted and a multi-front war began between Italy and the Allies on the 11th May 1936. The aim was to steal key British and French territories in Africa (including the Suez) and then sue for peace. Mussolini had committed the ‘mad dog act’ so feared by British diplomats and politicians.

On the 2nd July 1936, Spain erupted into civil war. The Italian Fascist’s and the German Nazi’s both supported the Nationalist side. With fascist support the Nationalists appear to have the edge.

British opinion on the Italian conquests hardened towards the beginning of August 1936 and it no longer looked like peace would be an option. It has become a battle to the death. Such a battle required a new approach to the war called Plan Carnera.




Europe
Recap: At the start of the war the Italian I and IV armies had easily pushed over the unprepared French forces along Little Maginot Line (in the Alps) and expanded into the Provence and Rhone regions. The front became static with the arrival of French armour divisions and the French forces then counterattacked and retook Marseille. With reinforcements from the II and VIII armies, the Italians have now retaken the initiative along the front. Marseille was recaptured on the 1st August. In accordance with Plan Carnera these forces have thrust westwards and effectively cleared the eastern bank of the Rhone to form a front along the Rhone River to Lyon in the north and then onto the Swiss border.


Rhone Front
31st August: The French counterattacked against three Italian divisions dug in at Lyon with only of one division of their own. They would need a serious “Ace up their sleeve” to make any gains with this attack.

At St Claude to the north, the situation was the same. The French armour was making no significant headway against the Italian divisions dug into the hilly countryside. More worrying for Marshal Badoglio and his Generals was the casualty rates arising from the continuous French bombing.

At this stage it had become very apparent to the Italian leadership that their Fiat CR.32 interceptors were unable to defend their troops this far into France from their forward bases at either Marseille or Milan. A retreat from St Claude was ordered to avert a massacre.

28c.jpg

The French attack Lyon with underwhelming force while the Italians pull out of St Claude to forestall the mounting casualty rate from French bombing.

1st September: To the east in Northern Italy, RAF carpet bombing continued. Now the British aviators had switched from Milan to Turin perhaps in an attempt to “pick low hanging fruit”.

28e.jpg

Turin is now the target of the British strategic bombing focus.

Italian Chief of the Air Force, Giuseppe Valle, had not been idle with his attempts to deal with this problem. Aviation engineers had been busy researching and testing technological advances in small single engine aircraft. Even before the war, new machine gun weaponry and aero engines had been designed and tested. Since then improvements had also been developed to small single engine airframes and now the focus was on improving fuel tanks for longer range.

28tinerkingwithengine0.jpg

Italian engineers tinkering with a fighter engine

More importantly it was the manufacture and roll out of these improvements that counted. With the devastation of the Milanese manufacturing and industrial centre’s, Valle was easily able to persuade Mussolini and the Fascist Grand Council to prioritise the upgrade of the CR-42 Wings within the slim budget allocated to military upgrade manufacturing.

28p.jpg

New weaponry and engines have improved the attack and defence capabilities of the Cr-42 biplanes.

Valle had also attempted different tactics to disrupt the British strategic bombings. His latest proposal was to simply fill the skies with a mass of Interceptors. He hoped that such overwhelming force coupled with the improvements made to the old Cr-42’s would be able to inflict some serious damage on the British bombers. So far it had yielded little in the way of results. Time would tell.

3rd September: The dreaded French bombers had returned to the Rhone-Lyon Front, this time over the skies of Lyon. Initially three Italian divisions defended the city from a weak attack from a single French division but now the numbers had evened up. The Italians had the advantage of defending in the urban terrain while the French bombers ruled the skies.

28f.jpg

Battle of Lyon is won by the Italians – French take heavy losses.

4th September: Despite their air superiority the French troops were making no headway against the Italian positions in Lyon. The French commanders pulled back their divisions to stop the slaughter.

28dead-french-soldiers-1940.jpg

French dead following the battle of Lyon.

7th September: After driving the Italian troops from St Claude a week earlier with the assistance of their air force, the 1st French Armour Division launched another assault. This time it was against the 2nd Alpine Division and the 6th ‘Cuneo’ Division who were dug in at Bourg-en-Bresse northeast of Lyon.

28m.jpg

French amour continues to harass the north end of the front – now attacks at Bourg-en-Bresse.

8th September: The odds on the battle at Bourg-en-Bresse were judged to be about even despite the Italians outnumbering the French tankers and mortised troops 4:3. This balance soon fell apart on the morning of the 8th when French bombers ripped into the temporary fortifications of the Italians leaving over 200 men dead or out of action on the field.



ASI
Recap: In North Africa, the Italian IX Army captured Tunis with leading elements heading west to Algiers. The X Army and the VI Army advanced east, first taking Cairo and then besieging the British in Alexandria. After a tough battle the British 7th Infantry Division and the Middle East Command were forced to surrender. The Italians were then forced on the defensive along the line of the Suez against a determined British and Iraqi attack. The line was breached in its entirety and the British were able to initially push on before their attack faulted. The depleted state of the VI and X armies meant that this front required new reinforcements - they would arrive from the south in accordance with Plan Carnera. de Stefanis’s 30th ‘Sabauda’ Division was the first division to be landed in the Eastern Desert of Egypt south of the front lines. The battle hardened men of the Sabauda Division have joined the fray and further divisions are on their way.


Suez Front
30th August: With the British attack from Port Said crushed, the 2nd ‘Emanuele Filiberto’ Division marched north to join the battle for Port Said, now poorly defended by battered British and Iraqi soldiers.

28b.jpg

The battle for Port Said intensifies.

31st August: Further bad news befell the Allied forces fighting in Egypt when news arrived of an invasion of Italian force to the east of the Sinai. The 19th ‘Venezia’ Division under the command of Major General di Feroleto had landed at Elat. The 19th was the lesser known sister division of the 30th ‘Sabauda’, both divisions being instrumental in the defeat of the 1st French Army in Djibouti in East Africa. The aggressive di Feroleto immediately ordered his veteran troops to attack Iraqi positions to the southwest. The Sinai campaign had begun.

28a.jpg

LEFT: di Feroleto 19th ‘Venezia’ Division landing at Elat; LEFT: The ‘Venezi’ Division attacks.

2nd September: The weakened Allied troops at Port Said had held out well against the attacks of the 1st Blackshirts Division across the Damietta Distributary of the Nile. With the full focus of the Allied forces now repelling their attack, the loss of men accelerated and ran out of control. Major General Rastreli ordered his men to pull back when in reality they already had.

28h.jpg

Rastreli’s 1st Blackshirts are mauled on the attack on Port Said while the 102nd ‘Trento’ Division returns from rest and refit to launch an attack across the Suez Canal

To the south the 102nd ‘Trento’ Division had returned to the front line after recuperating in Cairo and Alexandria. Silvesti was ordered to take the eastern bank of the Suez and then turn north in an attempt to trap the Allied divisions at Port Said. He chose Bir Gifgafa as the breakthrough point. It was only lightly defended by the ‘pen pushers’ and aristocrats of the Iraqi 1st Corps.

Following up on Silvesti’s attack would be de Stefanis’s 30th ‘Sabauda’ Division. They would cross the Suez at the point cleared by the 102nd and drive north to Romani cutting off the Allied troops in Port Said.

4th September: Within days, the 102nd ‘Trento’ Division had swept aside its opposition at Bir Gifgafa and now began to take control of the eastern side of the Suez. The 30th ‘Sabauda’ Division was clear to cross and advance north.

28i.jpg

MAIN: The 102nd ‘Trento’ and the 19th ‘Venezia’ Divisions sweep aside weak opposition from Iraqi non-combat troops; INSET: The Red Sea Fleet ferries more men from AOI to the front.

On the other side of the Sinai the 19th ‘Venezia’ Division was up against similar weak opposition at Thamad. Here the men of the Iraqi 1st Army HQ put up stiffer but limited resistance, knowing that their escape eastward was now cut off. After heavy casualties they fled westwards.

To the south, the Red Sea Naval Squadron was heading north with another division from AOI, the 26th ‘Assietta’. The dusty barren shores of the Sinai could be seen off the port side as the transport fleet cruised into the Gulf of Aqaba.

4th September: As the di Feroleto’s 19th ‘Venezia’ Division advanced into the Thamad region, they came into contact with reconnaissance forces of the Iraqi 3rd Division who were advancing westwards. Fire was exchanged and the Iraqis held firm and awaited the advance of their main force.

At the port of Elat the 26th ‘Assieta’ Division had now disembarked from the transports of the Red Sea Squadron. Rossi and his men were ordered to strike northward into Nizzane Sinay and cut off the Allied troops on the Sinai Peninsula from the Levant. Luckily for the British rear echelon troops happened to be in position to contest this move with a division of garrison troops moving into position to defend the area.

28j.jpg

The 19th ‘Venezia’ Divisions comes under attack at Thamad. British rear echelon troops contest the important ground at Nizzane Sinay against the newly arrived 26th ‘Assieta’ Division.

5th September: After a short battle where the Iraqi 3rd Division got the worst of the battle at Thamad and pulled out leaving the 19th Division in control of Thamad.

28k.jpg

LEFT: di Feroleto 19th ‘Venezia’ Division defeats the 3rd Iraqi Division at Thamad.

8th September: The Allied troops at Port Said may have beaten off the attack of the 1st Blackshirts but they were far from out of danger. To the south Major General Infante had repositioned the elite 2nd ‘Emanuele Filiberto’ Division and now attacked. His objective was twofold, pin the Allied troops in Port Said while the eastern bank of the Suez was secured by de Stefanis and then eliminate the Allied forces at Port Said.

28captuedBritishAC.jpg

Captured British "Marmon-Herrington” armoured car used for mine clearing ahead of the Italian advance.

On the eastern bank of the Suez the 30th ‘Sabauda’ Division also attacked the lightly defended town of Romani region. This expected to close the trap and bring about the end of the Allied resistance on the Suez. Coincidentally, Romani was the same location as the 1916 Battle of Romani which ended the Defence of the Suez Canal campaign in the Great War.

28n.jpg

The simultaneous battle of Port Said and Romani begin. Will this end the Suez campaign?


Algerian Front
Since his appointment as commander of the now combined Army Groups South & Tunisia, old Marshal de Bono had been intensely planning a combined amphibious and land operation for the capture of Algiers. When it was found that Algiers was not as lightly defended as first thought a new plan, Operation Icosium was put in place. The plan was wrecked when the elite 3rd ‘Principe Amedeo’ Division failed in its landing on the western beaches leaving the colonial troops of the IX Army stranded deep in French Algeria to fend for themselves. Two division of French mountaineers are now pushing the IX Army forces eastward.

3rd September: Tringali and his Lybian troops were given no chance to rest. Having retreated from Dou Saada and descended from the highlands to the desert land at M’Sila, they were soon under attack from French mountaineers again. Without having time to dig, the French troops again had the advantage over the 2nd Libyan Division.

28g.jpg

The 2nd Libyan Division retreats east to the deserts of M’Sila but once again the French mountaineers attack.

On a more positive note, to the north the French mountaineers who had driven 3rd Eritrean Division westward appeared to be returning to Algiers.



AOI
Recap: In East Africa, the strong French 1st Army in Djibouti initially made advances on the Eritrean capital of Asmara but were eventually surrounded and annihilated by the Italians. The Italians were also able to capture key British strategic locations in the Somaliland, northern Sudan and British East Africa, effectively trapping the British 3rd Army in the Sudan east of Ethiopia. Entrapment of the British 3rd Army and the colonial troops in the Sudan was the key objective of Marshal Balbo's "Drin-Drin" Plan. It meant that the Italians could also strike north and attack Egyptian Nile Delta from two directions. In the south, a relief effort attempted by the British 4th Infantry Division just north of Lake Victoria failed and the Italians were able to close the pincer and trap the British against the impenetrable water waste called The Sudd. The remaining British forces are slowly being compressed against the unforgiving marsh as the Italian forces position themselves for the final blow.

Italian forces have also pushed into Tanganyika to the south around the western shores of Lake Victoria. Recently, Marshal Graziani also launched a daring seaborne invasion of the last mainland British port in East Africa - Dar es Salaam.


Uganda/South Sudan
4th September: The battle at Juba had now been in progress for a week. Huxley-Walker’s 10th Indian Division was holding the front against the massed Italian assault along with an ad hoc force of non-combat troops. Of the six divisions trapped in Juba only the 10th Indian had the ‘stomach’ left to continue the fight. The other five divisions had lost their officers, were out of supplies and ammo, were deserting or just milling around. In fact, being colonial troops they could not see why they should continue to fight for the British at all when Italian superiority was clear.

28o.jpg

The reduction of Juba continues, with the full British force revealed.


Kenya/Tanganyika
2nd September: Within a few days of the British attack on Dar es Salaam, the 6th Blackshirts were in serious danger. The British 4th Division were fighting like lions and had already hemmed the Italians in on two sides and threatening to surround them completely.

The Italian 29th ‘Piemonte’ Division was a long way off, Italian bombers based out of Mombasa could not get enough fuel to lend a hand and the Red Sea Fleet was far to the north busy ferrying troops into Egypt.

The men of the 6th ‘Tevere’ Blackshirts Division were on their own and they knew it.

28d.jpg

The British 4th Division maul and surround the 6th Blackshirts Division in Dar es Salaam.

4th September: Despite the significant amounts of supplies captured at the port city, the Italians had not had the time to effectively put them to use. In fact the Blackshirts were being slowly squeezed out of the city as the British secured its northern parts and pushed them out into a no man’s land to the south.

28BSspinneddownoutsideDaS.jpg

Men of the 221. Legione CC.NN ‘Italiani all’Estero’ of 6th ‘Tevere’ Blackshirts Division pinned down (?) and demoralised on the high ground above Dar es Salaam.

28l.jpg

The defeat and surrender of the 6th ‘Tevere’ Blackshirts Division

6th September: Beaten and demoralised, elements of the 6th Blackshirts still holding out in the southern fringes of the port city initially began to surrender. The disease of cowardice quickly began to spread to the rest of the division and it wasn’t long before Major General Orsini had lost all control.

The 6th ‘Tevere’ Blackshirts Division surrendered...
 
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Great move at Sinai. This is sth that the AI rarely manages to counter properly - a landing behind its lines in Africa. It's one of the reasons why the African Campaign is usually a disappointment to me, no matter which side I pick.
 
The clincher will be if you can take Port Said I think, and carve a way for your army to the mediterranean coast. That'll put the British in the position your amphibious soldiers are in now; trapped in a desert and out of supply.
 
Great move at Sinai. This is sth that the AI rarely manages to counter properly - a landing behind its lines in Africa. It's one of the reasons why the African Campaign is usually a disappointment to me, no matter which side I pick.

From my first game I learnt that running the Royal Navy gauntlet in the Mediterranean for an amphibious invasion can be a high risk strategy for the Italians (unless you do a reload). In that game I couldn’t break into Iraq through Syria and ended up going the long way around the Arabian peninsula and into the Persian Gulf.

Now that I have blocked the Suez (well I think I have), there is no sign of the RN in the Red Sea or around the Gulf of Aden. There is nothing to stop me attacking north from the East Africa.

di Feroleto's landing in Elat makes me nervous. There are no ports nearby. It may take a while to link up for supplies.

Its a gamble when you dont know what is coming. As Cybvep said above, I am think this is the way to go in North Africa/Middle East. I am drawing close to where I left off the game, so I don’t know how far I will get. There is still no terrifying British armour anywhere in sight. I am also using air supply on the Delta/Suez region (one wing, thats all I have).

The clincher will be if you can take Port Said I think, and carve a way for your army to the mediterranean coast. That'll put the British in the position your amphibious soldiers are in now; trapped in a desert and out of supply.

Taking Port Said would be (will be or is :rolleyes:) nice, perhaps I can then establish a new front further east. I dream of driving along the Mediterranean coast all the way into French Syria but I am still worried about what troops the British have in the Levant and Iraq. I think they would also draw supplies from Iraq and the Persian Gulf.
 
What are your goals for a peace? I expect Tunisia, Egypt, and maybe the Levant, anything else?

Yes, definately Egypt and Tunisia but not the Levant. I am only going for areas with some sort of historical (WW2) claim or where there was strong Italian irredentism. This would mean:

- Savoy and Nice
- Corsica
- Malta
- Tunisia
- Egypt/Sudan
- French and British Somaliland
- maybe Jubaland in Kenya
 
I get a little charge out of your rampaging Italian Blackshirts (despite the small setback in Ethiopia). The RL Mussolini could only have dreamed of the success you're showing, especially on the Rhone front. But really, where are you not exceeding his wildest dreams? The French can kiss Algeria goodbye and, from the looks of it, have greater fears even closer to home. (not to mention the nightmare you've unleashed on the British). This is really fun to read Hardrardi. I love all the attention to detail. I can't wait for more.
 
I get a little charge out of your rampaging Italian Blackshirts (despite the small setback in Ethiopia). The RL Mussolini could only have dreamed of the success you're showing, especially on the Rhone front. But really, where are you not exceeding his wildest dreams? The French can kiss Algeria goodbye and, from the looks of it, have greater fears even closer to home. (not to mention the nightmare you've unleashed on the British). This is really fun to read Hardrardi. I love all the attention to detail. I can't wait for more.

Thanks robw963. Things have gone very well so far except for the odd upset. I sort of makes sense since the French and British were not really prepared for war in May 1936. Long term it can only be bad for me though.

I love my little Blackshirt divisions to. There not that great at fighting but they look pretty good. I was quite upset when I lost that 6th Tevere Division at Dar es Salaam. I had to fight hard against the urge to reload. :)

Next post will have an animated gif. I have been thinking about doing these for a while and when I read your amazing AAR I new I had to give it a go.
 
SPECIAL UPDATE: Convoy War (22/07/36 to 29/8/36)

31merchant-ship-ablaze-595x403.jpg


Recap: Refer to Convoy War (12/05/36 to 21/07/36)

July 1936
Mediterranean Sea
With Italian forces capturing the western side of the Suez Canal and Alexandria, British merchant shipping had all but dried up in the Mediterranean during the month of July. Early on in July the French had gone on the offensive, devastating Italian supply convoys in central Mediterranean which were attempting to service the Libyan ports. Losses were 7:13 in favour of the French. At the same time the French also knocked out 3 Italian convoy escort groups. The British forces took minor convoy losses in the Western Mediterranean during July. Losses were 3:1 in favour of the Italians.

31Ohio-struck-595x428.jpg

Convoy hit by Italian submarine

Red Sea
During the Italian invasion of Yemen and the Aden Protectorate in early July, the Italian Red Sea fleet and the convoy hunters positioned at the Gate of Tears had clashed harshly with a British carrier fleet. The flotilla of submarines under the command of the Duke of the Sea, Thaon di Revel, were severely mauled and put to the docks for repairs and refitting. This left the Gate unpatrolled with only minor damage being inflicted on British shipping.

Indian Ocean
To the south, Count ‘Jacare’ Cinao in the Mozambique Channel had repositioned further north along the East African coast, principally to target all British shipping in and out of Dar es Salaam. This was a focused attack, aimed at weakening the British land forces in Kenya and Rhodesia. Due to the remoteness of this region reports of success were unreliable and difficult to verify.


August 1936
Mediterranean Sea
Italian strategy remained the same with submarine forces continuing to heavily patrol the western and eastern end of the Mediterranean. After the devastation of the French naval power at the First Battle of Bonifacio Straits in June and the Second Battle of the Bonifacio Straits in July, the French Mediterranean offensive had come to a crashing halt.

It was now time for the Italian shipping to come out of hiding and support the future troop buildup along the Suez Front. The Chief of the Navy, Domenico Cavagnari was ordered to run supply convoys to all major North African ports. Assigned to shadow these convoys were a number of submarine and other maritime assets. In addition, at the centre of the triangle formed by Palermo (Sicily), Caglirari (Sardinia) and Tunis he assigned a submarine flotilla to patrol for Allied convoy raiders. Likewise a patrol was set up in the southern Adriatic Sea. This is where both French and British raiders had been having significant success against Italian merchant shipping.

25e.jpg

MAIN: Patrol zones in the Mediterranean in the middle of August (green defensive and red offensive). INSET: New convoys to North Africa.

No sooner had these new initiatives been put in place when the 2nd Marine Squadron was able to intercept and destroy an entire British submarine flotilla off Tunis. French convoy hunters were also successfully driven out of the Adriatic. They Venetian convoy lines were now protected from these attacks.


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Italian convoy hunter positioning in the Mediterranean Sea throughout the war (my first animated gif).

The Italians had now reaffirmed their advantage and inflicted losses of 4:1 on the French. The British took even more damage suffering losses of 9:1 as they attempted to ship in bulk war supplies to the Levant. The British freighters were primarily hit in the Western Mediterranean where they were easy pickings. Their convoys were easily intercepted heading east out of the Gibraltar bottleneck.

31gibraltar.jpg

Gibraltar, perhaps a liability for the British.

Red Sea
With the intermittent closure of the Suez Canal resulting from the back and forth battles in the area, the Red Sea offered less and less opportunity for hunting supply convoys. Coupled with this, the ports of Berbera and Port Sudan were now firmly under Italian control along with almost the entire western shoreline.

It was no longer an area of interest for convoy hunting and in fact in the future when the Suez was secured it was expected to become a major highway for Italian supply shipping into East Africa. It would become a defensive zone for the Regina Marina and securing any British ports within striking distance would need to become a priority.

Indian Ocean
The seizure of Berbera in British Somaliland and Aden on the Arabian Peninsula had given the Italians advance ports from which their Dardo-class destroyers could reach into the Persian Gulf, specifically the Straits of Hormuz. Count Ciano’s 7th Destroyer Flotilla had recently been ordered north to this new hunting ground.

Second only to the Mediterranean, the vast Indian Ocean would now become one of the primary hunting grounds for the Regina Marina. With the Suez closed, Britain’s major line of communication with the Far East was around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. The Mozambique Channel would continue to provide opportunities as the British still held the port of Dar es Salamm. This was their only link to the important Rhodesian copper-belt in the interior and also the only area in East Africa where Italian dominance was contested.

31IndianOcean2.jpg

Opportunities in the vast Indian Ocean

The Seychelles may have been a Royal Navy base but the lack of a Royal Navy presence in the area indicated that this was not the case. It was within striking distance of the Italian controlled ports at Mombassa and Mogadishu. This warranted the attention of the Regina Marina not as a forward base but as a hunting ground for merchant shipping.

Dominating the mouth of the Gulf of Aden was Soctura a British base which appeared to be abandoned and not currently used. Securing this island achieved several strategic objectives for the Italians. This island was very close to the Italian dominated Horn of Africa and thus within range for an Italian invasion. It would also be easier to defend because of this proximity. It was close to the Red Sea and would need to be taken from British control in case they decided to use it as a base for raiding into the Red Sea. Its forward position would give Italian raiders greater range, perhaps enough to reach the entire Indian sub-continent coast. Here the important ports of Karachi, Bombay, Mangalore and Cochin no doubt supplied the British Empire.

31reinforcements.jpg

Italian reinforcements expected to be deployed towards the end of September .

Orders were put in place as follows:
- Count Ciano’s 7th Destroyer Flotilla would continue to prowl the waters around the Straits of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
- The 8th Destroyer flotilla would relocate to East Africa. Based out of Mogadishu it would raid around Dar es Salaam and the Mozambique Channel.
- Marshal Graziani was ordered to seize the undefended British base of Soctura off the Horn of Africa.
- The long range Cadora class cruiser RM Duca d’Aosta would be sent through the Suez to North Africa. Basing out of either of the current most forward bases, Berbera or Aden, it would take on a high risk mission and hit the Pal Strait off Colombo.

Convoy Production
Early on in the War against the Allies, it was recognised by the Italian leadership that they would need to develop larger numbers of freighters and tankers to replace losses inflicted by their enemies. If possible expand their supply injections into both North Africa and East Africa would also help the cause. Plans had been put in place to this effect:

31convoyproduction.jpg

Italian convoy production line – 29-8-1936


Statistics
31convoystats3.jpg

31stats1.jpg
 
Things are getting rather close to the bone convoy wise. Can only hope the British are in the same position.

Love the sheer attention to detail. You even made graphs? :eek:
 
I have to say, it's a testament to the depth of this game that a long update can focus on one aspect (convoys) of the game and still be an interesting read. You, of course Hardradi, get most of credit for that. Your attention to detail is awesome and I loved the Excel statistical breakdown. It's really cool you made an animation as well! Great stuff.
 
Very Very impressive read so far. Really looking forward to being able to download this and try it as a stand alone mod. No way would I feel confident trying to take on france and England with the starting units Italy has. Heck of a game so far. Doing really well holding your own though, really looking forward to the next update.
 
Things are getting rather close to the bone convoy wise. Can only hope the British are in the same position.

Love the sheer attention to detail. You even made graphs? :eek:

Appreciate the feedback NC. Yes, it’s getting a bit tight with the convoys but I have 20 in the bag and 20 brewing. I think I better start building some more. :) A concerted effort by the allies could cripple me. I have no idea how they are going, I don’t think you can see their stats on the Intelligence screen.

NICE! especially the "progress" pictures and your excel data details!

Thanks Roosen. It’s a bit of work but keeping such a high level of detail allows me to come back to the game and remember what’s going on.

I have to say, it's a testament to the depth of this game that a long update can focus on one aspect (convoys) of the game and still be an interesting read. You, of course Hardradi, get most of credit for that. Your attention to detail is awesome and I loved the Excel statistical breakdown. It's really cool you made an animation as well! Great stuff.

Thanks robw963 for your comments and support. I am glad you liked the convoy update. You’re right about the depth of the game, it is vast. It’s really only the air wars where you can’t get conclusive results that you can report on in an AAR. Air interdiction is also a problem as it just spams out and is too overwhelming to report on. Look out for some more animation. :)

Very Very impressive read so far. Really looking forward to being able to download this and try it as a stand alone mod. No way would I feel confident trying to take on france and England with the starting units Italy has. Heck of a game so far. Doing really well holding your own though, really looking forward to the next update.

Thanks Mind. I only decided to take on the Allies when I could see how vulnerable they were in Africa. Nevertheless it was still a huge risk with multiple obstacles to overcome and perhaps a lot more to come.

I am really contemplating releasing the mod as a beta version as I now upgraded most of it to FtM. I haven’t actually played the FtM expansion to update it for Wargoals, Strat. Resources, etc.

Wow, spreadsheets and animated .gif. Raising the bar, raising the bar...

Nice update, again.

Cheers tommy, more animated gifs to come. I will start churning them out like T34's soon.
 
Amazing AAR. I missed it when it first came 'round, but I really love it. Viva Italia!