We, the People -- A USA Interactive FTM AAR

[Saithis]

((Saithis, is there any way to send your fleets on looping patrol routes that link ports together? I was thinking about sending groups of CA + 2 DD along triangular routes that covered our outer engagement zone. Failing that, we can dispatch those same 3-ship squadrons to patrol the outer Atlantic wall - we have enough of them in our three Atlantic SAGs that we could form a solid line of patrol from Canada to the Panama Canal.))

(( I'll check if there's a mechanical way to do it when I get some spare time. We certainly have enough destroyers on the Atlantic to patrol the whole area, that group composition sounds fine to me. We should try to make sure that any older destroyers are always paired up with a squadron of newer ones, just in case. I've actually lost old destroyers to new subs in the past. ))

[wzhang29]

Is anybody interested in the Pacific Commander slot, which is officially open? You have to own HOI3 (ideally FTM) and have some idea of what you're doing. It's not something we'll need right away, but I don't want to overload Saithis either

Does that mean I HAVE to own FTM? Or is any HOI3 fine? Also I can't open your saves.

[Avindian]

Does that mean I HAVE to own FTM? Or is any HOI3 fine? Also I can't open your saves.

You can't open the saves because you don't have FTM. If you think you can do the job without access to the saves, HOI3 base is fine, because, in many cases, what worked in vanilla will (probably) work in FTM, and you'll have to run things by the Chief of the Army to get plans approved anyway.

Poll:

Extend undeclared war

Aye: 9
Nay: 3

[TankOfMidgets]

(( I'll check if there's a mechanical way to do it when I get some spare time. We certainly have enough destroyers on the Atlantic to patrol the whole area, that group composition sounds fine to me. We should try to make sure that any older destroyers are always paired up with a squadron of newer ones, just in case. I've actually lost old destroyers to new subs in the past. ))

((That's a good idea, but unfortunately I think almost all of our destroyers are the level I 1918 models - I only found 5 DDs that weren't level I, and they're all either in SAG Montana or CTF Lexington, both of which probably have higher priority than ASW patrol on the Eastern Seaboard. If worst comes to worst, we can afford a couple of DD losses - though given Germany's fleet losses so far, I'll be surprised if the Kriegsmarine leaves port at all, much less crosses the Atlantic to fight us. ))

[Avindian]

((That's a good idea, but unfortunately I think almost all of our destroyers are the level I 1918 models - I only found 5 DDs that weren't level I, and they're all either in SAG Montana or CTF Lexington, both of which probably have higher priority than ASW patrol on the Eastern Seaboard. If worst comes to worst, we can afford a couple of DD losses - though given Germany's fleet losses so far, I'll be surprised if the Kriegsmarine leaves port at all, much less crosses the Atlantic to fight us. ))

Given the discussion of our relative weakness in DDs, did you want to devote increasing IC to DDs or CLs, Saithis? We'll have some spare manpower soon, and I just gave the army a shot in the arm with the AA brigades, so it's the the navy's turn once I boot back up.

[Saithis]

(( Very fair points. I originally said CLs because of our tech, but we could use the DDs for sub hunting. I guess I'd go with 1 DD, 1 CL, 1 DD etc. for now? We'll need some up to date DDs. Odd, I thought ours were more modern than that. I'm not worried about the Kriegsmarine in an open fight, Yorktown should be able to swat it with ease at our tech levels, but I am worried about those subs and Yorktown needs escorts nonetheless. ))

[Avindian]

(( Very fair points. I originally said CLs because of our tech, but we could use the DDs for sub hunting. I guess I'd go with 1 DD, 1 CL, 1 DD etc. for now? We'll need some up to date DDs. Odd, I thought ours were more modern than that. I'm not worried about the Kriegsmarine in an open fight, Yorktown should be able to swat it with ease at our tech levels, but I am worried about those subs and Yorktown needs escorts nonetheless. ))

((Understood. How close are we to concrete plans for which forces go where, or should we just stick to port [as the old joke goes] for now?))

[TankOfMidgets]

((Alright, I've looked at the Atlantic situation and figured out where we can deploy our patrol squadrons (each of 1 CA + 2 DD/CL for maximum coverage. Let me know if you need screenshots.

Northeast Gulf of St. Lawrence (3 sea zones east of Quebec)
Laurentian Channel (2 sea zones south of St. Pierre and Miquelon)
Northwest Northeastern Seamounts (4 sea zones north of Bermuda)
Coast of Bermuda (the sea zone north of Bermuda)
Southeast Hatteras Plain (2 sea zones west, 1 sea zone south, 1 sea zone southwest of Bermuda)
Turks and Caicos Islands (3 sea zones northwest of Puerto Rico)
Jamaica Channel (4 sea zones west of Puerto Rico)
Atlantic Panama Canal Approaches (sea zone just north of the Panama Canal)
Straits of Florida (sea zone north of La Habana, Cuba)

We can base our SAGs at New York, Cuba, and Miami; by dispatching three groups from each SAG to cover the nearest patrol sites, we should be able to create a solid ASW wall facing the Atlantic.))

[Avindian]

((Alright, I've looked at the Atlantic situation and figured out where we can deploy our patrol squadrons (each of 1 CA + 2 DD/CL for maximum coverage. Let me know if you need screenshots.

Northeast Gulf of St. Lawrence (3 sea zones east of Quebec)
Laurentian Channel (2 sea zones south of St. Pierre and Miquelon)
Northwest Northeastern Seamounts (4 sea zones north of Bermuda)
Coast of Bermuda (the sea zone north of Bermuda)
Southeast Hatteras Plain (2 sea zones west, 1 sea zone south, 1 sea zone southwest of Bermuda)
Turks and Caicos Islands (3 sea zones northwest of Puerto Rico)
Jamaica Channel (4 sea zones west of Puerto Rico)
Atlantic Panama Canal Approaches (sea zone just north of the Panama Canal)
Straits of Florida (sea zone north of La Habana, Cuba)

We can base our SAGs at New York, Cuba, and Miami; by dispatching three groups from each SAG to cover the nearest patrol sites, we should be able to create a solid ASW wall facing the Atlantic.))

((In game terms, what mission should we give them? Do we have enough ships to cover all of these spots?))

[TankOfMidgets]

((In game terms, what mission should we give them? Do we have enough ships to cover all of these spots?))

((We can set them all to the Patrol mission - that should get them to roam the surrounding area and hunt for subs.

As for numbers, we have 9 CAs and 27 CLs/DDs between our three Atlantic SAGs, so we should be able to keep all nine areas covered - we can leave the BBs in port, as they'd just be targets for subs.))

[Saithis]

((I'm happy with that plan, AFAIK we have just enough. Patrol is indeed probably the best mission since subs don't stick to one province in particular.

[Avindian]

Very good. I'm going to call the issue of Extending the Undeclared War closed and play tonight; I hope to have an update tonight as well, but more likely tomorrow.

[Greek HOI3]

General MacArthur

Can you extend the date to tomorow 3 pm GMT
General Devers

[Avindian]

Emergency Session of Congress

((Note: I will not be doing the standard what got built and what techs we researched update now or in the future. For those who are curious, we built two rocket test sites (in Denver), two CLs, and an IC. We'll skip the build and tech queue for now; we'll do that at the end of 1941. This will make updates quicker, since we're officially at "The Good Part" ))

My fellow Americans,

We are at war. This was not a war of our own making, it is indeed a war that nobody expected. But nonetheless, this day, November 6, 1941 -- a date which shall live in infamy -- we were attacked by the Empire of Japan.



They have coupled this dastardly attack on our nation with an amphibious assault on the Chinese, which is paying some dividends.



That is not the only surprising bit of news. Although many of our citizens -- myself included -- at best disapprove of Communism and all the Soviet Union stands for, our hearts cannot but go out to the poor Russian people, who have been needlessly victimized by Nazi Germany.



Unfortunately for Germany, the Russian bear has claws, and has already conquered Germany's ally, Finland, as well as made significant inroads into the German-occupied areas of Poland.



I do have a little good news; American destroyers and cruisers have already sunk four German transports and one escort with no American loss of life. That will almost certainly be the last time I am able to say that.

I come here today asking for a few things. First, a new package of laws designed to meet the manpower requirements of our army.



Second, I would request funding to ensure that a copy of my radio address to be transmitted to our friends in the United Kingdom as well as here.



Third, although it may seem a formality, I am nonetheless bound by our Constitution to ask for a formal declaration of war on Japan, Manchukuo, and Siam. We must also consider whether or not we wish to declare war upon Germany, or wait until they declare war upon us. I have already issued the order for all American formations to mobilize.

Finally, Chiefs, please discuss plans for action against Japan and -- provisionally -- Germany. I would like to have this discussion here in the Senate, but I would beg everybody to remember that we are now at war and to keep whatever we say within these walls to yourselves. Secretary Grumman, I would argue that our industrial plan now needs tweaking. Please formulate a new one, with consultation from our chiefs. I am attaching some detailed paperwork for all present to peruse.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have one more piece of news. Our scientists have mastered Isotope Separation. I have already authorized research into nuclear power plants but there is a chance -- a small one -- that it could be developed into an ultimate weapon of some kind. We will have a formal vote on this when or if such a design is practical.

We all have work to do. Thank you, and good night.
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11/6/41 save --> http://www.mediafire.com/?97e5wcrf48j8b8j

We have lots to vote on!

1. DOW on Japan.
2. DOW on Germany -- we are not currently at war with them, remember. We will almost certainly get a Call to Arms from the UK as soon as we do Day of Infamy, so that is how we would do it.
3. Which of the four law changes to accept, if any.
4. Day of Infamy decision.

We also need war plans and a new IC and LS budget to reflect the wartime setting. son of liberty, go ahead and draft this plan, and the rest of the Senators/Chiefs can offer input. I will treat building and tech plans as posted, although I would like all the Chiefs to review the build and tech queue in-game.

Future updates will cover from two to six weeks, depending on how much action there is.

Let's get this done by Monday at 10 PM (-6 GMT).

[Greek HOI3]

Here is comes! The wave of war! In order to prepare so this won't be a tsunami I agree on all the law changes

And yep I agree on the Day of Infamy Decision((I came a month earlier though}}

However I contacted Devers who wants to delay German DOW until his troops are in place so NO to German War

[SovietAmerika]

I vote Aye on each and every issue. It's time to defend democracy, boys.

- Senator Elexis Sinclaire (R - MA)

[genbrad]

I request more specialized troops be raised (mountain, marine, para, and medium armor). I also request Permission to transfer my command to the british Isles to ensure their safety from German aggression

General Stillwell

[Vrael_1492]

I am of the same mind as Senator Sarigis. We should delay war with Germany until we have our troops in place but except that, I agree to everything

Senator Charles Beckendorf, D-MA

[son of liberty]

I vote AYE on everything except dow on Germany. Wait until the generals are ready.

[Sparta141]

I vote AYE for all decisions. It's time to use the arsenal of democracy

Micheal Collins (R) TN