The Red Menace: The Story of World War III

[Deus Eversor]

yeeeeeeeaaaaaahaaaaaaa!

[Megaherz]

and no those aren't jellyfish, they're airborne landing sites

Hmm...And here I thought I finally found a place in China where they serve Jellyfish.

Anyways,should be really interesting once America will take action against this tiny threat...

[sunnn]

Dastardly Soviets! Four a-bombs in 10 days?!

Would have been more if I had more worthwhile targets. The Soviets have never been known for restraint

Hmm...And here I thought I finally found a place in China where they serve Jellyfish.

Anyways,should be really interesting once America will take action against this tiny threat...

haha aren't my drawing skills great?

and yeah America is late to the party. They've reacted slower than I expected

[TKFS]

Would have been more if I had more worthwhile targets. The Soviets have never been known for restraint

haha, this is true

[sunnn]

Before I get started on this next update, I have a question for you guys.

Is it normal for my puppets to only attack one province deep into enemy territory and then just sit there? Every one of them is doing it and its getting a bit frustrating seeing massive stacks of friendly troops sitting on an undefended enemy border doing nothing

[Alfredian]

Not sure on the answer to that, but just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this.

[sydor]

Before I get started on this next update, I have a question for you guys.

Is it normal for my puppets to only attack one province deep into enemy territory and then just sit there? Every one of them is doing it and its getting a bit frustrating seeing massive stacks of friendly troops sitting on an undefended enemy border doing nothing

Did you set them objectives?

[sunnn]

Not sure on the answer to that, but just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this.

I'm glad you like it. I aim to please

Did you set them objectives?

Yep. They haven't seemed too inclined to follow any of my suggestions so far, except for Italy taking Malta for me

[sydor]

Then I don't know :-)

[sunnn]

The World At War, Again

Though seven years had passed since the end of WWII, the French Army had never truly recovered. Without immediate Allied support they had no hope of holding out. The French government knew that with the fall of the crumbling Maginot Line it would only be a matter of time before they would be forced to give in. Therefore they chose to spare their country the devastation of a third prolonged war. On July 26, just two weeks after the Third World War began, France formally surrendered. A new Communist government was quickly installed. Belgium and the Netherlands had been overrun shortly before, leaving the Soviet Union as master of continental Europe.



In the Mediterranean, things were looking even more grim for the Allies. On August 2 the Italian Navy, with Soviet air support, captured Malta after a short battle. In Egypt, Soviet naval assault troops had already captured most of the Suez Canal. They surrounded the famed American 82nd Airborne Division in Alexandria and took the survivors prisoner after a brief, one-sided fight.


In early September the Allies at last struck back. While it was too late for continental Europe, the Soviets were still vulnerable in Asia. All of the Soviet eastern armies were busy destroying the trapped Chinese Army in Manchuria and the southern flank had been left open. This was not lost on the Americans, who invaded communist South Korea on September 6.


US troops hit the beach at Suwon

The Soviets were caught off-guard but quickly recovered. That same day a Red Navy carrier group clashed with two American carriers off the coast of China. No ships were lost on either side, but the American fleet was driven off.



Several Soviet armored divisions were diverted from the fight in Manchuria and rushed to Korea. They arrived on the 13th and retook the port of Suwon, cutting the Allied invasion troops off from their supplies. A force of American cruisers foolishly attempted to engage the Red Fleet in the waters off Suwon, and paid a heavy price.



For the next four days the American Navy practically threw itself at the Soviet carriers in a desperate attempt to relieve the cut-off troops. By the 17th they had exhausted themselves and lost countless ships. While several Soviet ships were badly damaged, not a single vessel of the Red Fleet was lost.

In the most decisive naval battle of the war so far, American light carriers proved no match for the modern Soviet Navy

It took only a week to mop up the last few Allied troops in Korea, and by that time the fighting in Manchuria was winding down. The hundreds of thousands of trapped Chinese soldiers had long since run out of food and ammunition and only a few diehard divisions still fought on.


By October 6 it was all over. In three months of bloody combat in atrocious terrain, the Red Army had succeeded in eliminating the cream of the Chinese Army. The plains of central China now lay open and ripe for the taking. A few American landings on the east coast of Siberia proved to be an annoyance, but the bulk of the Soviet forces were redeployed south, ready for the final assault on China.

[sunnn]

Just realized I forgot to add a table of contents too. All fixed now.

[TKFS]

It almost seems to easy, ha.

[sunnn]

It almost seems to easy, ha.

Haha yeah almost. I'm not sure what the American AI was hoping to accomplish by sending small groups of 1 CVL + a few escorts at me over and over

[sunnn]

War at Sea

Soviet Command now temporarily shifted their attention to Europe. The British fortress of Gibraltar had long been a thorn in the Soviet Navy's side. British and American ships based there could raid Soviet supply lines in the Mediterranean at will and the large naval base posed a threat to any possible invasion of England. It had to be neutralized.


Two carrier fleets and one battleship fleet of the Red Navy, along with 3 divisions of marines, were dispatched to take the fortress. From October 12-14 they encountered British naval units and sank the famous battlecruisers Hood and Repulse. The way was now open for the marines.



The British Army's first priority was defense of the home island and they had been relying on the British Navy to defend Gibraltar. Thus the only resistance the Soviet marines met as they stormed the beach was from one under-strength division of garrison troops. It took less than a day to secure the entire fortress, sealing the Allies out of the Mediterranean.


The disorganized British fleet based at Gibraltar had no choice but to attempt to fight its way out. The battleships of the Royal Navy valiantly stood their ground against the well-rested and well-positioned Red Fleet, but it did them no good. After an epic 8-hour gun duel three new British battleships were sent to the bottom, while the battered remnants of the fleet retired to England. Soviet losses of heavy cruiser Kalinin and two light cruisers were negligible in comparison.


The crew of a doomed British battleship abandons ship during the Battle off Casablanca

While the loss of Gibraltar and the severe naval mauling had hit the Allies hard, they were ready to hit back by the next month. On November 22 British and American forces began an invasion of the southern USSR, having already forced the Soviet-allied governments of Tibet and Afghanistan to surrender. This presented a problem for the Red Army. No Soviet forces were closer than 1500 km to the new front, and it would take months to reorganize sufficient units to repel the Allies. It was therefore decided to ignore the Allied invasion for the time being as it did not threaten any vital industrial or military areas.


At the same time the Allies began a massive attempt to retake Gibraltar. On November 23 Soviet carrier aircraft spotted large numbers of British ships massing for an attack. Not wishing to be forced into an even fight with the superior Allied force, the Red Navy launched an immediate preemptive surprise attack. The result was disastrous for the Allies. Two British escort carriers were sunk before they could launch any aircraft of their own and the rest of the fleet attempted to withdraw. Two days later the Red Navy caught up with them, and by the end of the day the outgunned Soviet Navy stood victorious. November 26 brought more good news. The remnants of the British Mediterranean Fleet had used the battle as an opportunity to attempt a breakout. They got as far as Tanger before they ran straight into the guns of the Soviet battle line and were obliterated. The battles of November 23-26 had cost the Red Fleet one ship, heavy cruiser Admiral Lazarev. In return they had sunk three British battleships and three aircraft carriers. The Royal Navy's frontline strength had been decimated, and they could no longer contest the waters of the Atlantic or defend the British Isles from invasion.



Three Soviet naval victories in as many days

The final act of 1952 took place in Korea. Not deterred by their failure earlier in the year, the Americans once again invaded the peninsula. This time they hit both North and South Korea at the same time. American troops went ashore at Pusan while Japanese troops landed at Hamhung. Once again Soviet armor was rushed from Manchuria to repel the invaders.


The Americans had failed to learn from their previous mistakes and left Pusan undefended as their troops advanced north. In a simple yet effective move, the Soviet Navy sneaked a division of infantry from Dalian into the unguarded port, cutting the Allied invasion force off from supply. At the same time the Red Navy moved to attack the American fleet covering the landings. They met on December 1 and the American Fleet was driven off with minor losses.



By the end of December the Allied troops in Korea had almost had enough. The Japanese forces at Hamhung had already been driven into the sea. The Americans near Pusan were cut off from supply and their capture was imminent. In desperation the Royal Australian Navy made a brave but futile attempt to land reinforcements and reopen the port of Pusan. Their transports stood no chance against the Soviet carriers and they were swiftly driven away with heavy losses.



With the failure of both their Gibraltar and Korea counterattacks, the Allies were spent. They had exhausted their available divisions and naval resources for no considerable gain. The beginning of 1953 saw the initiative firmly in the hands of the USSR, and it now seemed that nothing could save Britain, China, and perhaps the world from the Red tidal wave.

[TKFS]

Man, I hadn't imagined the Soviet navy being so dominant. I figured it would be the only thing holding them back, actually. Good update though!

[wexer9]

This AAR is monstrous.

Definitely following this one!

[sunnn]

Man, I hadn't imagined the Soviet navy being so dominant. I figured it would be the only thing holding them back, actually. Good update though!

thanks

I'm honestly very surprised myself. I think what happened is that the American and British AI went crazy on building more BB and CV/CVL, and now has a severe shortage of screens.

This AAR is monstrous.

Definitely following this one!

thanks for following, welcome aboard.

[Avindian]

I've waited to read this one for a while, but now I'm kicking myself for that transgression! This is awesome!

[sunnn]

I've waited to read this one for a while, but now I'm kicking myself for that transgression! This is awesome!

Glad to have you


also I'm having a CTD problem with the save at the moment, hopefully I'll be able to fix it sometime soon.

[damnt512]

damn, this is the first time i read a cold war AAR with HoI 3, subscribed