Five for Fighting - How Hockey Saved the Allies - An FtM AAR

[Saithis]

Italians aren't very good at hockey.

You're surely not going to try and take Rhodes against those kind of odds?!

[eqqman]

I would agree, attacking Rhodes seems unwise.

[Baltasar]

Would've been fun if the Italians had happened to sail out of Rhodos at that point, knocking out your fleet and a considerable part of your non-existing manpower at the same time

[morningSIDEr]

Attacking Rhodes may seem a risky proposition for most but surely not for the Streamroller of the North! Onwards!

*ahem* Well, maybe not but action packed updates nonetheless. Good to see some more lands nabbed with Corsica falling to Canada, some more technological progress made and an epic voyage completed.

[croguy]

"Then we remembered that Alexander the Great never met the French. "

Sounds like France is becoming your next target. Or will you shift sights to mainland Italy?

[Caleb The Great]

Subscribed! Excellent work so far, I can't help admiring your fortunate navy that is still alive after so many fights against a major power. Also, the adventure in Italy has been most entertaining. Go Canada!

[Marshall Daub]

This is turning out to be an addictively good chronicle of the war. Who knew that Canada was such a capable military power, but also relegated to watching through the windows while the "Big Three" decide the fate of the world. I think it's time to show them what Canada is really capable of. Perhaps a limited invasion of a major power? Italy perhaps?

Incidentally I'm playing my own game as Australia and pulling off some of the same tactics, though not as successfully. After some ill-conceived actions in Europe and N. Africa, I now find myself invading Axis Siam to try to push the Japanese out of SE Asia. I'm having quite the opposite problem you are - plenty of manpower but little production to put it all into use. Too few divisions is always a problem I have to work around in my battles, so I must choose them carefully.

[Midge]

Why not pull off a Dippie style raid into Southern France or Italy? That could divert Axis manpower away from the Eastern Front and give you some interesting intelligence on what your next target could be.

Just don't attack a fortified town/harbor without bombardment or air support when the enemy know your coming (that was the many lesson learned at Dippie after all)

[InnocentIII]

Italians aren't very good at hockey. You're surely not going to try and take Rhodes against those kind of odds?!

Good point, and No! I ran away.

I would agree, attacking Rhodes seems unwise.

+1

Would've been fun if the Italians had happened to sail out of Rhodos at that point, knocking out your fleet and a considerable part of your non-existing manpower at the same time

Very true, but the Italian Fleets are like beehives, leave them alone and they leave you alone. Land troops and they come looking.

Attacking Rhodes may seem a risky proposition for most but surely not for the Streamroller of the North! Onwards!

*ahem* Well, maybe not but action packed updates nonetheless. Good to see some more lands nabbed with Corsica falling to Canada, some more technological progress made and an epic voyage completed.

Rhodes was nastiness waiting to happen. More land on the way!

"Then we remembered that Alexander the Great never met the French. "

Sounds like France is becoming your next target. Or will you shift sights to mainland Italy?

I can't attack masses of troops just yet, and I fear the allies are too busy with other things to be able to take on the Germans in 1942. Soon, though, soon.

Subscribed! Excellent work so far, I can't help admiring your fortunate navy that is still alive after so many fights against a major power. Also, the adventure in Italy has been most entertaining. Go Canada!

Thanks! Yes, we have taken relatively few losses considering the size of the ships involved in many of these fights. Running away has its advantages.

This is turning out to be an addictively good chronicle of the war. Who knew that Canada was such a capable military power, but also relegated to watching through the windows while the "Big Three" decide the fate of the world. I think it's time to show them what Canada is really capable of. Perhaps a limited invasion of a major power? Italy perhaps?

Incidentally I'm playing my own game as Australia and pulling off some of the same tactics, though not as successfully. After some ill-conceived actions in Europe and N. Africa, I now find myself invading Axis Siam to try to push the Japanese out of SE Asia. I'm having quite the opposite problem you are - plenty of manpower but little production to put it all into use. Too few divisions is always a problem I have to work around in my battles, so I must choose them carefully.

Limited or not an Invasion of Italy will be a bit. OTOH if I can find a place to raid... We smaller powers always have something holding us back, good luck in Asia!

Why not pull off a Dieppe style raid into Southern France or Italy? That could divert Axis manpower away from the Eastern Front and give you some interesting intelligence on what your next target could be.

Just don't attack a fortified town/harbor without bombardment or air support when the enemy know your coming (that was the many lesson learned at Dieppe after all)

A raid is definitely a hope for the future, right now we're adding to the Canadian Co-Prosperity Sphere! And we'd only launch another Dieppe if we gave the Brits our troops

[InnocentIII]

It's not just Pliny the Elder anymore, even Canadians are saying there's always something new out of Africa. So let's go looking, shall we?

But first, let's see how the Pacific and Asia are doing. My hope is that the Allies will take a Europe First approach, leaving something for Canada to do in Japan. My fear is that the USA will "Impose Conquer on Japan" before we get a shot at helping. Right now, however, the USA is active and on the offensive, but not too far along.



The USA has not lost the Phillipines, and has in fact taken many of the islands (except one, is that Truk?).

I don't know much about the normal look of the map of Asia in Spring 1942, but I'd hazard a guess that not much is happening here.



I decided that rather than go pick them up in Persia, a risky trip, I'd start the Last March of the ATs, and sent my lone Anti-Tank brigade to walk from southeast Persia to Alexandria. I also sent all of my transports from Canada to Sicily, three units with 100% strength. I then sent two especially hard hit destroyer flotillas back to Canada. We won the "Are You Still Here?" Bowl in Messina, 610-10.

We then loaded as many men as our tranports could hold, and headed off to Africa with them.



Now, Vichy had been fighting here and there, they lost in Syria-Lebanon, for example, and I took Corsica, but I don't think they'd been hurt much in Africa. In fact, as you can see above, they'd even taken a little land from the UK.

Two minor Convoy hits, each destroying one ship, were unwelcome news given how stretched we were already. And here we are out to conquer more land!

Our first attack into Africa went much as our last couple of island attacks had gone - unopposed.



Ah, Casablanca. The next meeting that nobody else shows up for will be held here.

Casablanca is a level four port, with one level damaged, of course. However, this should be plenty for our troops to get supplies from, and as you can see, I did not send all my men in on the first wave, just in case. So most of them are not ashore drawing supplies from Casablanca, anyway.



Well, spoke too soon. I landed briefly to re-arrange my men, and saw that supply was an issue, or would be once what we captured ran out.

Travel anywhere is faster by boat than by land, and in Africa it's also less stressful due to so many places with low infrastructure.



On the other hand, the men who were going to be left behind anyway were given the job of walking across Africa to conquer the bits we could get to and cared enough about to actually click on. It would take some time, but the purpose for these guys was to save me time and let me load the others and forget this area unless the enemy chose to present itself.



I ordered my Armored Cars to make a run up to the Mediterranean to quickly capture the desert south of (Republican!) Spain's holdings, and noticed a disappointing red corner. Turns out that Canada's acquisition of new lands has completely exhausted her Convoy capacity.



Turns out, that things got worse (which I only noticed when cutting these screenshots). we now had -90 Convoys.



I re-arranged my build queue, and added more convoys when these are done, but the real question here is this: will Canada's African Offensive be stopped before we even face the enemy troops?

[eqqman]

I re-arranged my build queue, and added more convoys when these are done, but the real question here is this: will Canada's African Offensive be stopped before we even face the enemy troops?

I'd say no... if Darlan isn't down there, you can pull out everybody you have except for one or two brigades that can live on local supply, & send the rest someplace you can still run a Convoy to.

[Caleb The Great]

I agree with eqqman, except it might not even be necessary to keep any garrison in Vichy's North Africa. They rarely revolt and Canada needs every man in Europe later on

[morningSIDEr]

I re-arranged my build queue, and added more convoys when these are done, but the real question here is this: will Canada's African Offensive be stopped before we even face the enemy troops?

Of course not! With her invincible armoured cars a small and unimportant matter such as a complete lack of supplies will not stop Canada from gaining yet more land!

[Viper1989]

Canada spearheading the attack on Germany? Well we did it in WW1, no reason not to do it again .

[blsteen]

Of course not! With her invincible armoured cars a small and unimportant matter such as a complete lack of supplies will not stop Canada from gaining yet more land!

Evidently you've never experienced the Canadian Arctic. Thanks GB. No Northwest Passage, what do we do with the land claims we have...give it to the colonials.
(No I have never experienced the Canadian Arctic either, but Northern Manitoba is still a good representation in my view excepting the fact that there are trees and the bears are brown not white). Still not a place I'd enjoy when the wind howls at -40.
The serious lack of convoys must be remedied, if Canada is to take her rightful place as "Number Four" on the Allies Top Twenty Countdown.

[InnocentIII]

I'd say no... if Darlan isn't down there, you can pull out everybody you have except for one or two brigades that can live on local supply, & send the rest someplace you can still run a Convoy to.

Yeah, I am going to have to work on rearranging supply. Building ships will take far too long.

I agree with eqqman, except it might not even be necessary to keep any garrison in Vichy's North Africa. They rarely revolt and Canada needs every man in Europe later on

Good point, if I keep troops somewhere in Africa, i.e. the ones I already have, that's plenty.

Of course not! With her invincible armoured cars a small and unimportant matter such as a complete lack of supplies will not stop Canada from gaining yet more land!

My poor Armored Cars. Lord knows they don't need bullets but the do need gas.

Canada spearheading the attack on Germany? Well we did it in WW1, no reason not to do it again .

"We were off to fight the Hun, we would kill them with our gun; somehow it didn't seem like war at all at all at all..."

Evidently you've never experienced the Canadian Arctic. Thanks GB. No Northwest Passage, what do we do with the land claims we have...give it to the colonials.
(No I have never experienced the Canadian Arctic either, but Northern Manitoba is still a good representation in my view excepting the fact that there are trees and the bears are brown not white). Still not a place I'd enjoy when the wind howls at -40.
The serious lack of convoys must be remedied, if Canada is to take her rightful place as "Number Four" on the Allies Top Twenty Countdown.

I've had Canadian air (and shouted "I'll sue!"). I have a brother in Fairbanks who doesn't think much of Upstate NY winters anymore tho. -40 is the same F or C, apparently.

[InnocentIII]

Last time we were successful in taking Casablanca from Vichy France, but Canada found itself having no available Convoys, with a recommendation that ninety more be constructed. Some are in the queue, but nothing like 90 will be available even months down the road. As a result, our speedy Armore Cars were unable even to move. Who would have thought they'd become even less useful as time went on?



Still, captured supplies will see the infantry through for now. And I thought I'd try "rebasing" everything I could at Gibraltar. Let the Brits supply us for a while, we'll gladly pay you Thursday for some fuel and food today.

We then brought our troops to take Vichy from the north in Algeria, and managed to spot a few defensive forces reacting to our capture of Casablanca.



That HQ unit was remarkable, when you zoom in on it, it vanishes! Our troops should be so good. Or maybe it's a Vichy Special Power?

In any event, HQ units aren't what we're worried about. It's a combination of not having transport for supplies plus the presence of actually existing enemy units. We're gonna have to take their sources of supply, or cut them off, just to make the fight even I suspect.

Still, we do need to fight the HQ unit, even if it's in reserve the entire time.



Doesn't the excitement ever let up? Well, we do have lulls now and then.

What's important though, is that we took Oran and the surrounding area from the Vichy swine.



Note that, despite having stopped in at Gibraltar for "Re-base"-ing, the land we captured became Canadian owned, not UK. So my earlier worries were needless. We captured around 300 supply, which ought to last for some time, but the Frenchies had zero fuel, even here.



That's not all the French had in the line of ports in this area though, so we moved on with other troops we'd brought.

We sent in the marines where we were unsure of the number or presence of defenders.



We need not have worried. On the other hand, we did finally find a real Vichy division.



A few more of them and we may have to start shooting at the Vichy forces.

For all the lack of actual combat, Canada has deprived the collaborationists of a fair amount of territory, and a few ports!



There's still quite a bit left to take, and what we have captured, both land and ports, is not going to improve our supply lines. The French still have enough ports to supply their men, and Canadians can expect to fight at a disadvantage when the shooting starts.

[eqqman]

Note that, despite having stopped in at Gibraltar for "Re-base"-ing, the land we captured became Canadian owned, not UK. So my earlier worries were needless.

Did you literally stop in Gibraltar, or you just re-based them en route and kept moving?

[morningSIDEr]

Some good progress being made against Vichy France. Hopefully said progress can continue and you nab enough supplies so that your men have some bullets and so forth when the actual fighting begins!

[Landris]

Entertaining as always!

Quick comment: I believe the +90 in convoys actually means that you are currently constructing 90 convoys, not that you have a shortage of 90 convoys.