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

[morningSIDEr]

I do like that this is increasingly resembling an AAR for Left 4 Dead considering all of the zombie attacks!

Being a genius, I am sending the Marines into the mountains, but I did bring Mountain Troops in case the Marines need help, or directions. Until then the mountain troops defend the beaches from zombies.

A most masterful strategy.

Really good stuff, it's proving more of a hard slog to push up north through Italy (or is it west? I forget) than I had anticipated, although I had admittedly not expected more zombies to appear. Progress is being made nonetheless and hopefully you can conquer Italy before the bear conquers Germany.

[InnocentIII]

Why don't you just head through Frosinone and Littoria? That has to be more efficient than banging your head against a wall. Remember from ice hockey: If you're going to run into a wall, make sure the opposition is in between. Then it's not "moron", it's a "body check".

Yeah, the battle in Monte Cassino did not go on long. My poor marines, however...

I do like that this is increasingly resembling an AAR for Left 4 Dead considering all of the zombie attacks!

A most masterful strategy.

Really good stuff, it's proving more of a hard slog to push up north through Italy (or is it west? I forget) than I had anticipated, although I had admittedly not expected more zombies to appear. Progress is being made nonetheless and hopefully you can conquer Italy before the bear conquers Germany.

Thanks, yes, getting to Rome before Stalin takes Berlin is the key.

Distressing news, I played from December 3 to nearly Christmas, I had Rome half-encircled (okay, I was in the outskirts in two places), and Berlin was nearly completely cut off by the Rooskies, when I got "HOI3 Has Stopped responding". So I have many screenshots from a position which cannot be continued. I suspect that the surrender of Germany triggered the crash, but I have no idea. I don't believe HOI3 has crashed more than once on me this entire time. I think it would be unfortunate to end the AAR on a note like that, so I'm thinking I'll just start again at 12/3/43 and save often, but I'm probably going to take a week off to do that. What I'd played was pretty high-density action, probably three chapters, but I don't want to leave it like that. However, unless I get very ambitious Sunday, I'm not going to get the play time and writing time in soon enough. It's always frustrating to re-do something due to a crash, whether it's writing something or playing or whatever.

To be continued...

UPDATE - I think I have a way to make a virtue of necessity, so stay tuned same bat day, same bat forum.

[InnocentIII]

As we were about to learn at the end of last chapter, Canadia Rules the Waves!



Rule, Canadia, Rule!

Let's review the kills which weren't stolen by the British Navy. None of our cruisers has gotten in the final blow, but Destroyer Flotillas 2, 4, 5 and 6 all have one kill each. Fear us! Canadia Rules the Waves!



Hmm, looking this over I do not see the boat I just sank. I wonder if I should have checked the transports? I'll try to check before next time.

As we mop up on the north/east coast of Italy, our Marines come under attack by the enemy. There is a lot going on, so I hope they don't mind fighting for a bit while we are busy elsewhere. Look, a squirrel!



I called off the fight in Monte Cassino pretty quickly, losing 117 men to the enemy's 64. We're not going to be taking that mountain with even strength.

I'm sending the 6th Mountain Division into Isernia where my Marines are holding the mountain and being bombed repeatedly.



The eastern mopping up operation is going well. Meanwhile Garrison troops tend to wander into positions we've taken, as in Castera, where we shut them out 12-0. Great hockey score, kind of meaninless in combat, except to those twelve guys. I guess garrison troops move slowly, but faster than orders to stop moving. Perhaps the AI thinks I have empty icons, too?

Iserna gets bombed a couple times costing 125 marines, but I win the battle of Foggia, 1100-600, pushing the remnant of the 10,000 into the one remaining province in that pocket.

Isernia, whose name changed suddenly and without warning, probably in homage to Canadia Rules the Waves!, starts to look bad, and I wonder, do I actually need to hold that province? Could my marines be suffering for no good reason?



I realize that my mountain division, which has nearly arrived, has seen better days, and could use a rest. Plus, even if they arrive before the marines hit zero ORG, how long will it take them to take their place in the line of battle? Finally, we give the marines the order to return to the beaches.



We clean up the battle in Manfredonia, finishing off the 20,000 enemy we'd already counted as captured in the prior chapter. Overall, we are making progress.



We're not the only ones.



Yes, that's Berlin. The British are home for tea, the USA is meandering up the Korean peninsula, and Italy has 36% of it's VPs occupado. Compare occupied to National Unity, 36/82.5 makes Italy 43.6% ready to surrender. All we have in our sights right now is Rome itself, so unless we plan to launch a far-flung raid for Venice or Genoa, it's time to get a move on and take Roma.

It is then that the most important event of December 1943 took place. It was a meeting between the overall commander [Ed - that would be you? Me - yeah, obviously] and the marine commander, just back to HQ from the battle in Isandlwandia. It was to prove a fateful event [Ed - you mean keep this in mind over the next couple of chapters? Me - if you don't mind, yes, please]. He seemed upset.

"Why were we left fighting in the mountains for two weeks when the important objectives had been taken and our position meant nothing?"
"Um, good question. It seemed like you were doing pretty well with what you had, and the 6th Mountain was on the way, but they seemed tired, so we called the whole thing off. Why do you ask?"

It seemed as though we'd handled this pretty well, as the other officers present were so impressed they all fell over in unison. I don't recall the rest of the conversation. But the war did continue.

It was time to make another landing, and slice off another bit of Italy.



We loaded up four divisions and set off to the southern side of the peninsula. We hoped to grab the port of Rome in Civitavecchia with nobody home.



We were not that lucky. Here's our problem, the boot thickens as you move up.



Italy is four or five provinces wide from here on out. No more landing on both sides and having a pincers to take the center. Plus, though we'd captured many enemy, the progress we were making had the effect of compressing the defenders. It's like a power play. Theoretically, being one man up is always an advantage, but I'd rather be four-on-three with all that open ice than five-on-four, and while pulling the goalie is great, six-on-five just means there's a huge mess of bodies flooding the zone. Same thing in Italy, too many bodies, especially when the dead bodies start fighting, too.

We gave up our landing, very quickly, killing two enemy and losing 38 men. I thought we heard someone say the word "marines" but it was muffled and my head hurt again. The Axis took Isernia, but we can't remember why that mattered so much and my head hurt even more.

We have zero manpower and need 6.83, so I'm guessing that we won't be making any units of any kind for the rest of the war.

We decide to take our chances with the other side of Italy and see if we can't make some progress there.



We launch two invasions at once, hoping to take one province, if not both. Our attack delay has worn off on all four divisions.



A few hours in, our attack on the port of Pescara is looking like failure, but our attack on Astro-Pensicola - We'll just call it AP - is looking like success.



For some reason, our head throbs as we call off the battle of Pescara to avoid taking unnecessary losses, and losing men pointlessly.

[InnocentIII]

Mental Health Will Drive You Mad!

Having been pushed back after trying to land just past Rome, in fact, after trying to land directly onto Rome's attached port city, we decide to claim the other side of Italy and see what we can accomplish there. This is no longer a matter of simple slices of the country, far more mental power will be required, which would be much easier if our head didn't hurt so much [Ed - thanks for the suble reminder! Me - I am to please].

Meanwhile, since our direct attack at the port of Pescara had to be called off because of our newfound concern over taking needless losses, we were worried that we'd be lacking a port for too long, and have all our men cut off. So we made a move north along the coast to try to give us two attacks on the defended port, once the landing is complete.



We brush seven Brigades of zombies aside! This feat is now Canada's specialty. Let's check on our progress in Alfa-Profumo (AP), looking good.



We win shortly after with losses, 35 Canadians and 180 Axis, which were minimal. We'll land the other two divisions as soon as we have taken the province. Their attack has been used up, but once the province is friendly we can start moving, right? The 302 units of supply we captured in AP should be good until we take a port. Another enemy garrison division gets word too late that AP has been taken and retreats as soon as combat starts. I feel bad for these guys.

I won't be doing another exploded top bar, but a look at our officer ratio shows we're doing pretty well, I think. And look, an old friend.



But the clock is ticking.



Three more Italian garrison divisions receive word that Canada has taken Altair Prime (AP) when they arrive there and turn around after an exchange of gunfire. Yet another does the same thing, but we discover that our troops aboard ship refuse to move (apparently) into AP even though it's been captured. Their progress meter remains unchanged long after I'd have expected them to arrive. Hmm. Meanwhile, the clock ticks louder as the Russians take Potsdam, south of Berlin. Our headache grows worse.

We decide to call off the move to AP, as the enemy has cleared out of the port of Pescara. Our men will invade an empty province because they refuse to walk to friendly territory. In the meantime, Monte Cassino has likewise been cleared of visible enemy forces, so we'll move in and be ready to put pressure on the enemy from the south of Rome.



Even if we do take Monte Cassino, finally, we're still three provinces from Rome. In the north, around AP, we have linked up, so all units have supply, not just from the new port, but from the supply chain up and down Italy.



Our headache has grown so bad, however, that we completely forgot that the Littorio was anchored in the port we just captured, and our navy moved away without taking the opportunity to be frustrated by its inability to fire on visible enemy ships [Ed - remember that! Me - Why? Oh, wait, yeah!].

We decide to move on the center and see if we can't take a raggedy chuck out of Italy, since a clean slice isn't available.



With ports on both sides of Italy, the transfer of Canadian troops from where the fighting had been to where it is now is fast.



We'll brush aside another HQ, since they put up no fight at all, and close in on Rome. We'll probably only capture the one unit, but so long as those two zombie divisions don't cause trouble, we've got a clear path to the outskirts of the outskirts of Rome, and we're coming in from the North, too.



I don't think the HQs fight any better with XXXX than they do with XXX on their helmets. We're cutting off minimal troops, but taking territory.



If I keep the entire Canadian Army on the move like this, I'm gonna have to stop making fun of the AI when I see a map like this.



It's a fluid situation, like the pain in my head [Ed - ooh, smooth segway. Me - segue. Ed - whatever, it sucked and you know it]

And then, in a move not seen since our gallant marines fought so bravely <ouch>, the Italians show up with troops which are neither zombies nor HQ.



Facing our first actual infantry in some time, I send in our bombers, only this time I add the fighters to the same group the way the Axis have been doing it.



We kill thirty-three more, then eleven more, then fifteen, but by the end of a few ground attacks our air force doesn't feel so good, as you can see from the inset. So they are given a rest, and hope the Italian air force stops being so effective if we use them again.

We're able to feed more troops into the fight when the combat delay wears off, and the battle in Agnani starts to look good.



Even before the first reinforcements have joined the battle, our second division, mountain troops, cause everyone to re-think the odds.



We quickly drive the actual real enemy troops out of Isernia with a handful of losses on each side, as we work to close off the mini-pocket.

We're not as close to Rome as the Soviets have been to Berlin for some time, but we are making steady progress.



We note that our army now need 11.5 ManPower, but we're up to 6.5 per month, so it doesn't worry us. The troops following up on our victory in Agnani run into the Croatian zombies, setting back their preparations for a future attack by four days. This causes our head to nearly explode with pain.

We start the battle to finish off the mini-pocket, with a mere 9000 enemy or so, when we see that Germany won't last much longer.



A quick probe of Rome shows nearly 40,000 defenders, for the most part fresh and ready for battle.



Hey, I've got an idea!

[droy75]

oh the suspense!

If I have to take a guess at the strategy its like when you give a baby a shiny bauble to distract its attention

Looking forward to the next episode

[FelixMajor]

Wonderful AAR. This is the the first AAR in a long while that I have checked in on daily since discovery. It's also great to see a fellow upstater ... though I'm on the eastern border which was depressingly unfrozen this winter.

[sprites]

Nice progress here!
Whether or not this landing draw enemy attention from Rome units , you are winning , as they can move on their own or be pocketed!

Berlin will soon fall , but Germany won't surrender for a while.

[InnocentIII]

oh the suspense!

If I have to take a guess at the strategy its like when you give a baby a shiny bauble to distract its attention

Looking forward to the next episode

I do hope the Axis are running here and there and leave me a clean shot at Rome, eventually. And thanks!

Wonderful AAR. This is the the first AAR in a long while that I have checked in on daily since discovery. It's also great to see a fellow upstater ... though I'm on the eastern border which was depressingly unfrozen this winter.

Thank you, and yeah, my plow guy definitely made out this year.

Nice progress here!
Whether or not this landing draw enemy attention from Rome units , you are winning , as they can move on their own or be pocketed!

Berlin will soon fall , but Germany won't surrender for a while.

That is very good to know, and I guess I should have expected it, since Italy won't fall when I take Rome. I just remember from my USA game, but the Germans had lost a lot by then.

For anyone who hadn't interpreted my various silly hints, or reads the Chapters and not the comments where I mention the crash, remember this is a dream sequence. Sorry, it was the best I could do.

[InnocentIII]

To paraphrase Tolkien when they told him Volume III of the Lord of the Rings was going to be called "The Return of the King", that title kind of gives the game away, doesn't it? Yes, yes it does. Only in this case it's more of a repetition or prior warnings which gave the game away (Ed - so what you're saying is that the game crashes on December 25, 1943, and you have to restore back on December 3, 1943 when this is done? Me - was I that obvious?).

On the map, it looks like somebody's beginning to take an interest in our handiwork.



They could at least take an interest after we're done with our handiwork. Meanwhile, we're finishing off the mini-pocket. That division north of the battle has an Armored Car attachment and is getting no fuel. My supply situation is otherwise just fine.



To tell the truth, the most important fact about this battle is that I rid myself of two zombie divisions. My marines, having landed, prepare for another beating at the hands of a large Axis force.



I need to do something though, because I can't just creep up on Rome from the south. The two divisions still on the transports will be on their way to help the not-quite-recovered marines. It's taking a while, though, and the one thing I know that my three pre-built naval bases are good for is insta-landings.



Let's face it, how many more of these things am I likely to need? Plus, doubling the defenders causes the enemy to immediately call off their attack.



And my supply situation is not safe, but it will have to do for now. I'm hoping that repairs to the port will help stretch out the supplies I have here.

The clock that matters, however, is not my supplies in the pocket I just walked my marines into, but the one in Berlin, and it's ticking down to midnight.



My head hurts horribly (Ed - really, you're just gonna keep repeating that your head hurts? Me - Well, if you have a better idea I'll steal it) In any event, my troops are ordered to break out to the south. I need to link up with my other forces. I can't cut Rome off from supplies because it's the Eternal City, but I can cut her off from reinforcements.



Plus, the enemy has been running away from large forces this entire time. If I could encourage them to "escape" with some troops, I might keep the Rome defensive force down to something I can handle. It's the same as the prior slices. I need enough enemy to make a nice splash, but not enough that I get stuck in the mud for ages grinding them down.

My port is recovering pretty quickly, but with 15 supplies used up each day, and 1.2 shipped in yesterday, I'm going to have trouble before long.



Let's hope we capture enough to keep these four divisions happy. Or that the marines get captured before I get punched again. I've got four or five days left if the port repairs at .3 a day. After that the men will need fifteen supply and get only four, I think. Maddeningly, many Canadian divisions use up their capacity to attack fighting a zombie Croatian division.



Fortunately, we win the battle of Orbetello, which we expect will provide us with breathing space in terms of supplies, as well as pinch Rome even further.



A garrison division is politely informed that Orbetello is now Canadian. They thank us and depart. Meanwhile, it appears that Britain has decided to contribute something to the operation!



Can the space-time continuum stand the strain? Apparently it can, for a few hours longer, since the Axis decide to counter-attack in Tivoli.



Unfortunately, at first all I see is the attack coming out of Rome itself, so I counter that counter-attack. (Ed - perhaps it was because your head hurt? Me - good point). It was only because of the constant, pounding headaches that I missed this. We send one division to attack the five garrison divisions in Rome. So, 6000 men crossing a river to distract 35,000. Yup, that's a plan alright. We kill 20 and lose 300.

Then we realize the error, and despite the presence of new German troops in the north, we're pretty sure we can cut off one part of the attack.



The Axis call off the attack on Tivoli, with losses on each side of about 250.

North of Rome, our two non-marine divisions have to wait a while yet to attack, and I need one division to remain back with the port, but I move one marine division south in the hopes that I can take Civitavecchia on the cheap.



Then it happened. The last thing I saw was the Axis bombing Orbetello at 5am Christmas morning, and the next thing I knew, my men were lifting me from the floor, that marine commander is storming out of the room, and my officers, who had all fallen at once, I thought, are instead upright, and I am the one on the floor.

Officer #1 - "Sorry sir, he shouldn't have hit you like that."
Officer #2 - "Yeah, he should have aimed for the gut, or used his left. His right hand is gonna hurt, if he didn't break something."
Me - "Wha? What happened. How did the Christmas bombing go? Did we lose many men?"
<Officer's look at each other>
Officer #1 - "Christmas, sir? It's December 3rd."
Officer #2 - "1943, sir."
Me - "1943! Quick! Somebody buy $100 in steel pennies!"

It was indeed December 3rd, 1943. The rules of space and time had been violated, and they weren't happy about it.

Neither was I. Eddies, in the space-time continuum? This can never be allowed to happen in the future. Our staff is ordered to take all possible steps to prevent it.

With God as my witness, my head will never hurt again!

[Midge]

Eddies in the space-time continuum?

Whats he doing in there?

Great AAR. Keep it up.

[InnocentIII]

Whats he doing in there?

Great AAR. Keep it up.

He's looking for his sofa, and thanks!

By the way, another great thing about hockey, 8 vs 6! It's not the same few teams taking turns playing for the championship every year. Of course, some might see having the 10th and 14th best regular season teams play for the Cup as a flaw, but I like league's parity.

[InnocentIII]

The Tesla Coils crackled in the darkness which, since they also produced a shrill, sporadic light, was not as dark as you'd expect from the word "darkness". For some reason, we had a brief urge to wear makeup, garters and really camp it up, but we're from Canada, not Transylvania, so we slipped into a lumberjack outfit and we were o-kay. Still, the question had to be asked.

"What's with all this science stuff?"
"It's your new HQ sir", and since it was obvious I didn't get it, "your temporal HQ sir, to minimize any future displacements. You'll be operating from here from this day forward."
"Are you sure this is necessary?"
"It may not be, sir, but we can't take any chances. Nobody's going to put up with two dream sequences."
"I'm not sure they put up with the one. Will it work?"
"Yes, sir. There is no way you can lose more than a week, now, and the scientists place the odds at three and a half days, if you lose anything."



We're right back where we were.



Orbatello is Axis, Ascot-Pantaloons (AP) is Axis. We're right back where we were. But so are the Soviets, and so is the Littorio. The great thing is that we remember the recent past, and Stalin does not. So while we will benefit from our practice run, the Russians will do no better the second time around. We may yet win this race!



Our advance into Astrid Pulchritude (AP) will be easy, since the enemy has the men, but they are badly worn down. We have three more divisions aboard to move ashore as soon as we've cleared the beaches.



With what amounts to knowledge of the future, we move quickly, and AP is taken, with reinforcements following rapidly.



The Italians, by the way, have been bombing us with impunity. Thirty men here, fifty there, but there is not much we can do about it.

Fourteen thousand Italian Garrison soldiers bounce off AP, poor souls. We push the zombies from Otello, and attack into Pescara to grab the port. We'll keep our entire navy stationed off the port to engage the Littorio when we take the province.



There is no reason for Pescara to be any tougher in this timeline than the last. We just got there quicker by skipping the abortive western attack as well as the abortive direct assault from the sea.



Our Al Pacino (AP) supplies ought to last us a good long time. If we run out, we will eat the cockaroaches he keeps talking about as long as we don't fool with him. We lose about 250 men to various bombardments, mostly in AP itself.

Further south/east we had pushed the zombies out with limited forces, and ordered fresh troops to follow. So even though the attack on Pescara is going fine, we want to finish it off and flush the Littorio into the open. So we send in a division which could hardly be more ready.



We defeat the troops but do not get a victory report for some reason. We order a port strike, hoping to soften up the Littorio since our men will take the port soon and the Littorio will have to come out and fight.



Or will she?



Every order I gave, Patrol, Intercept, whatever, resulted in my navy returning to port. Perhaps the gulf of Venice was out of range? Our orders to patrol, intecept, what have you in our current location also produces a desire on the part of our navy to run away home. In any event, I order the navy to sit aggressively where they were, and nothing happens.

My air force is all in the 90s in STR, so with a little rest perhaps they can still do some good. We order five divisions into the once-again vacated Monte Cassino, and return the navy to Naples to pick up troops for an attack on the Western Shore. Our overall supply situation is outstanding, Pescara adds 5 per day for now, but it's hardly needed as we've linked up all our holdings once again.

The Russians have Potsdam again, but Berlin is in no danger of falling anytime soon.

We make a push for the center in L'Aquila.



I was hoping to get away with taking the mountainous province without using up my somewhat worn mountain division, but after a few hours the scoresheet reads 35% and I decide to give in and send the mountain men into the mountains. Foolish, I know, but the perception of the battle changes right away and indeed, the men jump immediately into the front line. They couldn't wait to get ABOVE THE TIMBERLINE.



The Axis bomb the attackers, then relent.



We bounce the Croatian zombies out of Sulmona, and begin a push into the center south of L'Aquila in Avezzano, where an exhausted Italian garrison brigade puts up no fight. We lose more men, 150, to bombings than to combat for a day or two.

Hey, I've got an idea!

[droy75]

Nice! as Yogi Berra would say its deja vu all over again

[blsteen]

Nice! as Yogi Berra would say its deja vu all over again

Indeed, hopefully the new temporal HQ still has the new car smell, not the used couch smell.
And that the pocketing of Rome continues

[Dewirix]

Canada is securing the title of "Best WWII re-enactors" by doing it for real. It's always frustrating to lose progress to a crash, especially so near to the end of a month, but you seem to have bounced back well.

The escape of the Littorio is irritating - I always wonder at just how bad the fleets are in HoI3. Their ability to miss out on bringing surface vessels to battle is a little overdone.

[InnocentIII]

Nice! as Yogi Berra would say its deja vu all over again

It's getting late early in Europe!

Indeed, hopefully the new temporal HQ still has the new car smell, not the used couch smell.
And that the pocketing of Rome continues

Well, someone's going to be in a pocket, let's hope it's not me.

Canada is securing the title of "Best WWII re-enactors" by doing it for real. It's always frustrating to lose progress to a crash, especially so near to the end of a month, but you seem to have bounced back well.

The escape of the Littorio is irritating - I always wonder at just how bad the fleets are in HoI3. Their ability to miss out on bringing surface vessels to battle is a little overdone.

I'd had so few problems for so long it never occurred to me that I needed to go weekly. And I'm thinking I made the best move, but it does seem as though naval escape is a pretty easy maneuver. There's always next time!

[InnocentIII]

Hey, give me two cracks at history and I can do anything, except sink the Littorio. No matter, 70 years ago today the USA won the Battle of Midway, iirc Nimitz was touring the Pacific and accidentally ran over the Japanese Navy, and in response, the Japanese ran over JFK.

We land our marines easily in Grosetto, and send the rest of the men into Orbetello. This being our third attempt at this invasion, it goes smoothly.



Or, you know, not.





So we've got a contested landing in Orbetello, and our outgunned, worn down marines are dying in Grosetto. I guess history does repeat itself. We place a port.



We win again! Well, that could have gone better. Actually, given my supply situation, it did go better than the first time through. I think the 78 day figure is from after all four divisions had landed. I suspect that the two new units hadn't drawn supplies yet, so I'm not counting on 2.5 months. Obviously it doesn't factor in the port repairing and helping stretch out what we have. Plus, the men had supplies when they landed, so they should not be an issue this time around.

We continue to take what the Italians abandon.



And they abandon a lot. We bounce an HQ unit from Littoria, and send a mountain division into Terni.



We're doing two things here I want to mention. One, we're mostly counting on divisions moving up to hold our provinces. So I frequently move the last defender out of a province, counting on the guys behind him to be present and defend if need be. This only proves embarassing once. Second, we're not trying to choke off Rome completely. So long as the Axis are content to move generally north, we're content to generally let them. I need to surround Rome at some point, but not so soon that I maximize her defenders. If the enemy were coalescing in the Italian capitol, well then I'd be worried about cutting off access asap. As it is, all I really want is to let the enemy escape as much as possible, and then fight one big nasty battle for Roma.

Meanwhile, Canada has unexpectedly built up Manpower, which stinks because we need all of that to be in place. I change production to use up the MP.



The Soviets are in good shape a week before Christmas. I begin to worry that Stalin has a temportal HQ as well and has learned from history better than I have learned from history. Is that possible?

We take Frozone, trapping the one enemy division we expect to capture in Isernia. They attempt to break out, we cut off their attack and move in.



As much as I hate to fight troops who are leaving the province I want to take, the Axis are a blur of motion, so one division will replace the one I'm attacking if I wait. And these are garrison troops, it takes them an hour to pee. I'm not waiting for them to march 100 miles.



We win the battle of Frosinone 270-90, and start to pile on the surrounded Italians in Isernia. Unfortunately, our incursion north of Rome has placed more troops within range of Italian bombers, and we begin to suffer twice as much.



We start bombing Isernia, and kill six men. Still, we have five divisions from four provinces attacking, Isernia will be ours soon. Then we see that Anzio is defended only by an HQ unit, so we attack.



That Canadian division displayed is an important reminder: I don't always think clearly about what's on the screen before I take a screenshot. On the other hand, a combination of production assigned to reinforcements, and added manpower, and probably divisions too busy to absorb manpower and therefore count, should have reduced our MP shortage. More importantly, all our available manpower should be in the field where it can be used. It's not, we have 3MP showing, but we're working on it.

Our airforce kills thirty men in Isernia in two raids, the Italians launch two raids at once and kill 100 men. Life is unfair. They kill 300 more over the next few hours in five more raids to emphasize the point. We kill fifty or so. On the other hand, we're winning Isernia, and take Grosetto.



We've abandoned AP because I can't think of any more silly names for it (Ed - but now it's in play, bringing more emphasis to it, fool). We have one province continguous to Rome, and we notice that Tivoli is undefended. We're sending marines south to snap up Civitavecchia if history repeats itself there, too.

This does not look good.



I've seen good, it didn't look like that.

[mnplastic]

And the judgement day is coming for Germany and Italy. Italian garrisons should not last for long now.

[sprites]

Berlin is surrounded , we don't know what is in there but the germans will lose it all ...
the italian expeditionary forces should not be affected

[Xenophon13]

As someone unfamiliar with HOI3, I have to ask, will taking Berlin cause Germany to automatically capitulate, or will the Soviet Union still have to build up more warscore? Either way, it looks like the war is wrapping up. I'll be sorry to see this end.