Rebuilding an Empire - Italy (HPP Semper Fi 1936)

superjames1992 · Jul 30, 2011

[video=youtube;LLQa5QwPD8k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLQa5QwPD8k&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Hello and welcomeI to my new Italian AAR. This will replace the old one I started a few months ago. Then I found the HPP mod shortly after starting that AAR and decided to roll for it. However, I was out of town much of this summer and unable to play HOI3, but I just got back yesterday and am ready to start AARing again, this time with HPP!

The HPP mod makes Italy even tougher than normal. Playing on Normal, I start with only 79 IC, but the OOB is much better initially than in Vanilla or Semper Fi. I start off at war with Ethiopia and currently in control of one of its provinces.

I am playing on Normal as I hear that the HPP mod is designed to be run on a Normal difficulty setting. If the game becomes too easy later on, perhaps I can tinker with the settings and make it harder, but I doubt that will be necessary as I am not very good at this game.

superjames1992 · Jul 30, 2011

UGH, talk about a crappy way to start out an AAR: fire up the game, play a month during a war (The war against Ethiopia), have a lot of fun, take awhile preparing an update, upload some images, ect. Then ... load up the game later that night to play the next month and realize YOU FORGOT TO SAVE THE GAME before!!!

Nevertheless, I have replayed and saved this time, haha. I will have an update soon.

superjames1992 · Jul 31, 2011

The Second Italo-Abyssnian War
Chapter One
January 1st - 31st, 1936

In 1935, Ethiopia was positioned between Italian Somaliland in the south and Italian Eritrea in the north.

The date was January 1st, 1936 as Mussolini rose from his bed and gazed upon the city of Rome which lay below him outside his bedroom window. It was now 1936 and a new era of Italian history, though Mussolini did not yet realize this. During the night he had had exciting visions of Italian dominance over the Mediterranean Sea and beyond, essentially recreating the once-great Roman Empire. While these visions meant little to him at the time, they would greatly shape his strategic outlook in the future as Italy took on the great powers of the world in order to attempt to recreate what Rome once had conquered 2,000 years ago.

Italy had other pressing problems on her plate on New Year's Day in 1936, however, specifically the war of colonial conquest currently raging in East Africa. Italy had began an invasion of the independent African nation of Ethiopia during 1935, but little fruit had been seen so far in the invasion. Hundreds of thousands of Italian soldiers were grouped along the northern and southern borders of the nation.

The northern front mainly consisted of professional infantry divisions. However, along Ethiopia's southern border, only one professional two brigade infantry division existed while four CCNN Blackshirt divisions existed. The CCNN Blackshirts were Fascist paramilitary groups which had volunteered to fight for Mussolini and Italy in the invasion of Ethiopia. They were also known as the Voluntary Militia for National Security. While these units fought hard and would likely be sufficient in fighting backwards nations like Ethiopia, these units had neither the skills, the tactics, or the weaponry needed to face industrialized nations. In the future, these units would be relegated for homeland defense of Italy itself, but they would have to prove their worth in offensive operations in the Ethiopian wilderness first.

Ethiopian soldiers prepare for battle.

January 1st saw the launching of a renewed offensive on the northern front as the 3rd and 26th Infantry Divisions attacked Maych'ew along with the 5th Alpine Division while the 27th and 30th Infantry divisions attacked the Ethiopian border province of Afrera Terar. During the offensive, the Italians experienced substantial advantages qualitatively and quantitatively on the ground while also completely controlling the skies with Italian air power operating out of Italian Eritrea. Italian medium bombers pounded the Ethiopian defensive positions and played a huge role in forcing quick surrenders and withdrawals of Ethiopian forces in Afrera Terar within a week. Maych'ew would take 16 days to fall, but in the end Italian forces prevailed, as well. Italian ground forces escaped the first two battles of the war with only 39 casualties while inflicting over 175 casualties on the opposition, not including air attacks which were estimated to have killed at least a few hundred more defenders.

Under continued stress from unrelenting air attacks, Ethiopians surrendered Serdo without a fight on January 11th and by the 16th Italian forces had moved in to occupy this area with the Ethiopians in full retreat, their organization completely shattered by Italian medium bombers. By January 18th, Italian forces had made dramatic advances into Ethiopia, though their progress was being slowed down now by the harsh environment of central Ethiopia. The lack of roads and infrastructure combined with the mountains made for a very slow advance despite little Ethiopian opposition standing in their way. As one unnamed Italian officer put it, "I feel like we're on a God damned survival hike more than I feel like we're in a war a lot of times."

Troop dispositions in northeastern Ethiopia in mid-January, 1936.

Nevertheless, the offensive continued on January 24th, when an Ethiopian headquarters brigade retreated out of Fiche. The headquarters brigade had been subject to an intense bombing campaign for several days and with its supplies and defenses torn to pieces, was in little condition to put up much of a fight against the elite men of the Italian 5th Alpine Division.

Towards the end of the month, an Italian victory was also won at Dese, despite the Italian forces involved being outnumbered by more than two-to-one. This put several thousand Ethiopian troops in northern Ethiopia at risk of being cut off from their supplies. Italian generals scrambled to take advantage of this and instructed the 5th Alpline Division to advance westward in order to do so.

Meanwhile, on the southern front, attacks also commenced on New Year's Day with the 6th and 7th CCNN Blackshirts attempting to rupture the Ethiopian front at Geladi, which, in contrast to much of the rest of Ethiopia, was primarily a desert region. This battle was a prime example of why militia divisions should not be used in offensive operations as the blackshirts struggled to punch through the Ethiopian lines, despite outnumbering them almost two-and-a-half-to-one. It wasn't until the 29th Infantry Division arrived in mid-January from the south to reinforce the blackshirts that the battle truly turned in Italy's favor, with the Italians finally repelling the Ethiopian militia on January 19th. It was the bloodiest battle of the war for Italy with 61 Italian deaths being recorded in comparison to 157 Ethiopians slain during the battle.

One fact that must be noted, however, regarding the initial performance of the Italian units along the southern front is that these units had no air support like their northern counterparts. Italian Somaliland had no suitable airfields in which to conduct military operations from and southern Ethiopia was far out of range of the Italian medium bombers operating out of Ed in Eritrea. Nevertheless, the environment in which much of the fighting took place was more conducive to offensive operations than in the north, with desert being the primary climate in the border provinces of southern Ethiopia.

However, the breakthrough at Geladi opened the doors for several more victories along the southern front in the last 10 days of January as over 20,000 Italian soldiers streamed through the breaching. Victories at Bahir Dar, Domo, and Dire Dawa were seen in the last part of January with very minimal Italian losses suffered in combat. In fact, throughout the entire Ethiopian campaign, far more Italians - and Ethiopians - had been slain at the hands of disease and attrition as soldiers on both sides were forced to march through rough terrain.

The breakthrough at Geladi shattered the Ethiopian defenses in the South.

By the end of January, Italian forces were nearing the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and many thought that the war would surely be over before the end of February, if not sooner. Ethiopian lines had been completely breached and their soldiers' morale was extremely low as many Ethiopians surrendered or retreated at the first sign of gunfire. There was really no doubt that the Italians were going to win the war now; it was just a matter of how quickly it would end. Then again, there was never truly much doubt about who would win the war from the get-go.

The overall situation in Ethiopia at the end of January.

superjames1992 · Jul 31, 2011

Ethiopia's Last Stand
Chapter Two
February 1st - April 6th, 1936

Italian artillery in Ethiopia

After consolidating their gains for a few days, Italian forces were on the move again in the South against Ethiopian resistance, claiming victory at Gedo on February 3rd as the 29th Infantry Division smashed a helpless Ethiopian headquarters brigade. The offensive in the North also resumed in early February with Debre Markos falling on the 9th of February. Despite the successful victory there, this was the first, and only, battle of the war in which the Italians suffered more casualties than their opponents, as 11 Italians perished in the conflict compared to only seven Ethiopians.

Nevertheless, the offensive continued and later that day, troops from the 29th Infantry Division had met up with elements from the Italian northern front. In effect, both fronts were now connected. This had the effect of slicing Ethiopia into two parts, a major blow for the shattering defense of their homeland.

The southern and northern fronts unite!

The Ethiopians made a last-ditch effort for peace on February 9th. Mussolini was willing to listen to any peace offers, provided they include severe territorial concessions. Instead, the peace offer which the Ethiopians put forth asked for a White Peace. When the Italian generals at the meeting saw this, they immediately slammed the papers down onto the floor and tore them up. There is no way Italian men and boys would put their lives on the line to fight in a desolate, foreign land and get nothing in return! The war would go on and Italy would stop at nothing short of conquering all of Ethiopia now. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I would be removed from power and Ethiopia would be annexed into the Kingdom of Italy!

On February 18th, Ethiopia suffered another painful defeat as the retreating headquarters brigade which had previously been defeated at Gedo was surrounded and smashed with over 500 Ethiopian officers taken prisoner at Jima. The victory at Jima also solidified Italian control over western Ethiopia. In effect, the only area which was controlled by Ethiopian forces now was Addis Ababa itself as well as Awasa.

The rest of the month of February was used by Italy to reestablish lengthening supply lines and to consolidate on the gains made during the first half of the month. Italy now had control over almost the entire country and preparations were made for the final assault on the Ethiopian capital itself.

The offensive was kicked off in late February with the seizing of Awasa. What followed was the bloodiest battle of the war for both sides thus far as almost 30,000 Italians stormed the 15,000 Ethiopian defenders. Despite being outnumbered two-to-one, the Ethiopians performed well, holding off the invading Italians for over a week before finally caving in to Italian resistance on March 5th. In the end, 91 Italians perished during the conflict while Ethiopia lost 275 men.

The loss of Awasa further tightened Italy's grip on Addis Ababa itself. Ethiopia made another ridiculous offer for peace on the 10th and this offer was quickly rejected. It was now only a matter of time before the final showdown was made on the capital city itself. These orders were given on March 12th as the 26th and 29th Infantry Divisions along with the 5th Alpine Division began an assault on the city from two directions.

The fighting in Addis Ababa was fierce and was collectively the bloodiest battle of the war by far. Ethiopian resistance was tough, but after 10 days, resistance effectively crumbled. In the end, of the 27,000 defenders of the city, over 550 were killed during the final defense of the city. The casualty numbers were much better for the Italians, who only lost 65 soldiers during the final battle of the war.

Despite organized resistance crumbling on March 22nd, paramilitary groups continued to plague the occupation force in Addis Ababa. It wasn't until early April that these isolated pockets of resistance were effectively eliminated. Finally, on April 6th, resistance seized and Ethiopia formally surrendered to the Kingdom of Italy. On the same day, Ethiopia was annexed into Italy and became yet another one of Italy's proud colonial possessions.

superjames1992 · Aug 4, 2011

Leading Up to War!
Chapter Three
January 1936 - June 1938

Mussolini celebrates Italy's victory in Ethiopia in April 1936.

Europe was heating up. There was no denying that. The National Socialist nation of Germany, which in many ways was ideologically similar to Mussolini's Fascist Italy, was beginning to stir the pot in an already fiery Europe. The reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936 further proved Hitler's ambitions were hostile. The most obvious question among the higher ups of the Italian government in early 1936 was, 'What should be done about Germany?'

Mussolini regarded Adolf Hitler, Germany's leader, was a bit of a nutcase. He certainly had shown to be quite mentally unstable. Nevertheless, he was a fantastic leader and if he did choose to wage war in Europe, Italy would have to choose to either fight with him, against him, or stay neutral. Mussolini was adamantly opposed to the latter. Italy had sat idly by in the beginning of the Great War before joining the Allies in 1915 and Mussolini did not wish to see that happen again.

The first option would give Italy the biggest prize if successful, but it was a risky proposition. If Mussolini opted to side with Hitler and lost the war, Italy could seize to exist and Mussolini could be ousted from power. Joining a coalition of nations against the Germany Reich was less risky, but it is likely that Italy would see little benefit if it won against the Reich.

To Mussolini, after deliberation and numerous meetings with his advisers, it became obvious to Benito that Italy should seek an alliance with Hitler and his German Reich. Mussolini was a risk-taker and this was the obvious choice for such a man as himself! Thus, Italy would immediately begin to align herself with Hitler and his Reich.

In mid-April, following the end of the Second Italo-Abyssnian War, Mussolini demobilized Italy's armed forces. With no wars likely in the near future, there was little need for a mobilized armed forces at the moment. If war looked likely, these forces could always be re-mobilized. The Italian forces in Ethiopia were also redeployed. A full corps was transferred to Libya while other forces were repositioned in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia in order to properly occupy the Italian colonies and protect them from invasion by British or French colonial forces.

Also, in mid-April, the light cruiser RM Eugenio di Savoia was completed and the cruiser was placed into the main fleet, the Regia Marina. In addition, five submarines were completed in April and added to the 27th Submarine Flotilla.

The light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia sets sail on her maiden voyage.

With the completion of the prior mentioned naval vessels, four new divisions were ordered for the Regio Esercito. Two light armored divisions and two motorized infantry divisions were ordered and were expected to be completed and trained in 1937. These four divisions would be utilized in Libya in case of a war against the United Kingdom of France. Their mobility would be instrumental in a war in the desert of North Africa. These units could move at 16 kilometers per hour at full speed and could reach the Suez from Libya within weeks in the event of a war.

Another significant move was made in regard to the Regio Esercito in mid-April. Mussolini made a proclamation that every Italian infantry division would be fitted with an artillery brigade. Italian infantry divisions generally consisted of only two infantry brigades rather than the usual three, so the artillery would give Italian infantry units the firepower they needed to fight any foes in Europe.

An April 1936, Italy made the decision to longer abide by the Naval Treaties set forth at the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference. Japan did likewise. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States decided to sign the treaty. This further isolated Italy from the West, making Italy's decision to join Germany and her Axis even easier.

In May 1936, the Spanish Civil War kicked off with Franco and his fascist allies attempting to overthrow the existing government. Mussolini immediately threw moral support behind Franco, but resisted aiding the nationalists any material, supplies, or expeditionary forces. Mussolini would have liked to aided the revolution in Spain, but Italy simply did not have the money, supplies, or industrial resources to spare.

The various factions in the Spanish Civil War would see help, however. Mexico, Brazil
Belgium, Sweden, Argentina, and Switzerland would eventually provide military help to the Republicans' cause. Meanwhile, Poland would aid Franco with Germany surprisingly offering nothing more than moral support like Italy.

Nevertheless, by the end of 1936 it had became clear that Franco and the fascists would likely win the war. Franco finally claimed victory on June 29th, 1937, ousting the prior government and setting up Spain's legitimate government in Madrid. Mussolini saw this as a positive outcome as it gave Italy another ideological ally in Europe.

In December 1936, after technological progress regarding infantry support tanks, four new divisions were ordered to be produced and trained for use on the Western Front against France. These four divisions would be placed in a single corps. Each division consisted of two infantry regiments and two infantry support tank regiments. These divisions, while lacking mobility, would be very helpful in breaking the strong French defenses in the Alps along their border with Italy.

In January 1937, further orders were made for mobile troops for use in Libya. Two more motorized divisions were ordered as well as two light armored divisions.

Italian armor on an exercise in Libya in 1937.

In late May 1937, a group of disgruntled Ethiopians erupted in Bati. These Ethiopians organized a group of several thousand men that had taken control of the province of Bati and were looking to take back Ethiopia and free the nation of Italian control. The 27th Infantry Division was immediately dispatched to put the rebels down, but it would be several weeks before these soldiers could make it over the rough terrain to put down the revolution. In the meantime, Italian medium bombers from Eritrea began to bomb the rebels. This proved to be effective as the rebels were finally defeated on June 8th. Nevertheless, 37 brave Italian men died in the conflict, which enraged Mussolini. There is no way disorganized tribesmen should inflict so much damage on professional Italian soldiers with close air support!

Two Conte di Cavour-Class Battleships were ordered in early May 1937 for use in the Regia Marina. Mussolini recognized that the Regia Marina needed to be modernized if it hoped to achieve local naval superiority in the Mediterranean. Mussolini saw little need for aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea due to the numerous Italian-controlled islands with air bases. Instead, Mussolini envisioned a Regia Marina that had impressive battleships and air support provided by land-based naval bombers, which would do everything from interdict enemy convoys to taking down enemy fleets and invasion forces. In June 1938, a heavy cruiser was ordered for production for use in the Regia Marina, as well.

Orders were made in late 1937 for many garrison divisions for use on Sardinia, Rados, Dodecanese, and other Italian islands and naval bases. These garrisons would protect these important strategic locales from foreign invasions. These garrison divisions were very effective at defending static locations such as these, but had little offensive value. Nevertheless, they were cheaper and required less training, so with Italy's industry and military capacity already strained, these units were a wise choice.

Four divisions of marines were also ordered in late 1937. These marine divisions were specialized in amphibious warfare. Mussolini requested these marines for two primary reasons. First, they could be used to take the British island of Malta. If Malta could be invaded, this would be very beneficial to the Italian war effort as British ships and planes based out of the island could wreak havoc on the Italian mainland and her convoys. Secondly, these marines would be used to assault Gibraltar. The British "rock" would need to be taken in order to secure the Mediterranean Sea as an Italian lake. Marines could also be used against Crete or other islands or in amphibious operations against Greece, Yugoslavia, or Egypt if the proper situation arose. These marines would be ready for action in May 1938.

Four regular infantry divisions were ordered in the spring of 1938. These foot-marching infantry would see use in Libya and would be used in case the Suez needed to be taken. These infantry would allow the faster motorized and armored divisions in North Africa to race ahead while the infantry would wipe out any enemy pockets left behind. These slower, methodical infantry units would still be helpful in the mobile warfare that would be necessary in North Africa. These units would also be useful in case Libya needed to be defended, though Mussolini preferred an offensive stance in North Africa rather than a defensive one.

Italian infantry training in 1938.

This period of time also saw several border incidents with France. On several occasions in 1936, 1937, and 1938, Italian customs intercepted foreigners trying to smuggle goods out of France. However, rather than seize the goods and send them back to France, Italy seized the goods for herself and left France out in the dry. This greatly hardened relations between the Kingdom of Italy and France.

Meanwhile, relations between Italy and Germany continued to improve. In 1937, Mussolini made the decision to sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. Being a fascist, Mussolini harbored intense hatred towards the Communist Soviet Union and, while not particularly desiring a head-on confrontation against the USSR, Mussolini hoped to strengthen relations between Italy and Germany and Mussolini saw this as one of the best ways to do so.

By the end of this period, Italy had, for the most part, prepared itself to go to war. Yes, there were still some shortfalls in officer training and some technologies in which Italy lagged behind other European nations. But Italy was prepared to strike hard for the Suez in case of a war against the Allies. Once the Allies were driven out of North Africa, Mussolini could dedicate his efforts towards the Balkans, where Mussolini hoped to impose his will on this region and bring it all under Italian influence. Italy was ready to rise; it was now all about waiting for the right timing! Let the madman (Hitler) do his work!

TheBromgrev · Aug 4, 2011

Nice start. Which HPP version are you using? From your screenshots the number of Ethiopian and Italian troops seem kind of light, and you didn't encounter severe supply problems either.

In Europe, the burden of Axis naval superiority falls on Italy. Do you have plans to massively expand the Italian navy, or will you try to get the other 2 branches up to speed first at the cost of falling behind the RN?

Also, where did you get your pictures?

Good luck! HPP Italy is much harder than vanilla.

unmerged(205323) · Aug 4, 2011

I remember in your Turkey AAR you had quite the supply issues, I really hope for the sake of your army and your future conquests that you understand the supply system better now

Anyways,Good Luck!

tommylotto · Aug 4, 2011

Looking forward to this one. It is difficult to break Italy out of mediocrity in HPP. I would be interested to hear how you manipulated the laws to maximize the IC. Better laws might be available, but Italy struggles to raise money to enact them. Catching those smugglers is essential! Yugoslavia is guaranteed by France and Germany. The only early conquests available are Greece (and possibly Spain, but that is likely too much to take on before the war starts) and must be done amphibiously. The rest of the Balkans and Turkey are protected by majors. Even Portugal is protected by the UK.

Marines are handy, but will your fleets be able to control the seas long enough for them to land on Malta or Gibraltar? Think about paratroopers...

superjames1992 · Aug 4, 2011

TheBromgrev said:
Nice start. Which HPP version are you using? From your screenshots the number of Ethiopian and Italian troops seem kind of light, and you didn't encounter severe supply problems either.

I am using 1.8.1, the latest non-beta HPP version. I held back most of the militia troops in Ethiopia, so I think that is why I failed to see many supply issues.

Ethiopia is really tricky, though, as I see little reason to try to hang on to it against the Allies, who have me surrounded on almost all sides. The British have shown to have many troops in the region and there are quite a few French, as well. I think it will be pretty hard to hold Italian East Africa without sending a significant amount of troops there which I don't have, so I think the wisest thing may be to just ditch them.

TheBromgrev said:
In Europe, the burden of Axis naval superiority falls on Italy. Do you have plans to massively expand the Italian navy, or will you try to get the other 2 branches up to speed first at the cost of falling behind the RN?

Also, where did you get your pictures?

Good luck! HPP Italy is much harder than vanilla.

I plan on concentrating on a battleship-centric naval doctrine in order to save on my scarce research points available. I would like carriers, but I think that the numerous islands which I control in the Mediterranean will be able to provide me with the air support I need to back up the battleships without making me spend the research needed to strengthen my carriers and CAGs.

My pictures are from various websites, such as Wikipedia and especially and THIS SITE, which is even a better resource for German units.

Megaherz said:
I remember in your Turkey AAR you had quite the supply issues, I really hope for the sake of your army and your future conquests that you understand the supply system better now

Anyways,Good Luck!

I understand better now, but I still struggle some, haha. Thanks.

tommylotto said:
Looking forward to this one. It is difficult to break Italy out of mediocrity in HPP. I would be interested to hear how you manipulated the laws to maximize the IC. Better laws might be available, but Italy struggles to raise money to enact them. Catching those smugglers is essential! Yugoslavia is guaranteed by France and Germany. The only early conquests available are Greece (and possibly Spain, but that is likely too much to take on before the war starts) and must be done amphibiously. The rest of the Balkans and Turkey are protected by majors. Even Portugal is protected by the UK.

Yep, I pretty much have to sit around and wait for World War II to start. The amount of IC available is rather tiny. I could raise 25% more IC by enacting a war economy, but doing so will make the people disgruntled, which is not something I want to do considering Mussolini's support is not the greatest right now, despite average taxes.

tommylotto said:
Marines are handy, but will your fleets be able to control the seas long enough for them to land on Malta or Gibraltar? Think about paratroopers...

Good question. Paratroopers would be a good idea, too, since I already own a transport plane in Libya which I started with. From what I understand, Italy (along with the USSR) was at the forefront of paratrooper methods and technology in the mid-1930s.

I am interested to see how I handle the Regia Marina in this game. I also intend to start up a Japan AAR concurrently with this, so these two AARs will give me a lot of practice with handling navies, which is something that I have struggled with in the past and is one of the harder portions of the game, IMO.

Thank you for following, everyone! I may have another update before the day is done!

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Rebuilding an Empire - Italy (HPP Semper Fi 1936)

superjames1992

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superjames1992

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superjames1992

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superjames1992

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superjames1992

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TheBromgrev

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unmerged(205323)

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tommylotto

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superjames1992

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