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All that matters now is that you NEVER SURRENDER!
 
Things are looking pretty grim, and it looks like we need to go back to shooting admirals. Certainly, the ones the British have could use a bit of encouragement.

Had things gone this badly in reality, there's little doubt the UK would have broken out the chemical weapons. I can't imagine the Battle of London would have been much fun for either side in that case, to say nothing of the rest of the war.
 
That's unfortunate. I thought you still had a few updates left in you before London fell. I was actually secretly worried that you might win. Needn't have worried though. =)

I love where this is going and hope you keep up the good work. The time to leave europe is fast approaching.
 
Hey everyone, I've been occupied with a bad case of writer's block and real life business combined. The good news is I've taken this time to write a bunch of mostly functional events for the AAR game that will allow me a more divergent and unique game path in the coming future, so I'm hoping you'll enjoy what will come. In the next few updates this game will transfer from a vanilla version of HPP to a customized one with addons, so don't be surprised if you see some events that you wouldn't normally expect from a game of HOI. In the meantime I'll answer some comments.

Just found this and read it all in one go. Great work so far... alway very cool to see struggling gameplay of this kind, where victory very much isn't a foregone conclusion. Will keep on following... Cheers!

Thank you, glad to have you onboard and I'll try to get an update out soon for you!

For some reason I hadn't taken the time to read this wonderful AAR before. Better late than never I guess. Excellent writing and the screenshots are beautifully edited (I am a sucker for good graphics).

That Sealion is a thing of beauty (and an excellent twist for your story). It seems the German AI somewhere found a bit of intelligence. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the British AI. The way it protected its beaches it should be called AD (artificially dumbness).

Thanks, it's a pleasure to have you on board. I'm glad you like the writing and screenshots although the screenshots are just a very simple 30 second process each, it's not that hard. The Sealion actually put a smile on my lips and I knew it would make for a good game, despite the AD. This means that I have a challenge ahead of me as the USAI won't be good enough to abuse its unlimited industry.

Hope there is an event for the Free State to join in!

My grandfather fought for the Brits in WWII!

HPP doesn't have one by default.

Just read through this whole AAR in a day, congratulations on a very well written AAR. I was very impressed by how you had Italy on the ropes there for a while.

Unfortunately it seems you have been let down at two crucial junctures by the AI. When it gave up the Maginot line France fell much quicker than it was going to. Then the complete absence of the Royal Navy from home waters that allowed Sealion to occur was rather stupid, one would like to think the AI should prioritise keeping at least some of the RN's 15? Battleships and Battlecruisers at home. Any human player would have had a few to sortie and destroy an invasion fleet, sigh :wacko:. As someone who gave up on Arsenal of Democracy because of the crap AI it seems HOI3 is better but still lacking. Well done on making the best of it though. :)

Obviously you are planning to try to hold onto the North for a while? It seems like a good prospect with your substantial army, some British units, a narrow front and some favourable terrain. Surely it can't be too much longer until the Russian Bear is prodded into action, in which case I think holding onto the North would give you a good shot of booting the Germans out when the Russian pressure starts to bite. Or do you think the Wehrmacht will have their measure as well?

Thank you, I did very well in Italy I feel with limited resources, completely taking Africa by myself and doing a lot of damage (I captured what, 10 Italian divisions? That's probably over 100 manpower and a fair number of IC days, plus the temporary capture of a lot of Italy's rare materials output and the big IC chunk in Palermo). I was initially thinking of mustering up more forces and attacking at Napoli and Bari, trying to cut off the forces across the Strait of Messina, but it seemed foolish to stay with Britain under threat. The AI should definitely prioritize having a fleet with a large capital ship detachment guarding her capital island at all times. It's just common sense and I was stunned that the Home Fleet was off in Indonesia. Maginot Line collapse was also completely inexcusable, no way that the French should have let it fall without a huge concerted attack that just wasn't there. As for where I'm going to hold...you'll have to wait and see!

If I were in your position, I would leave the British Isles. It's like trying to fight with a rotten arm. The rot has set and no matter how much you throw at it the arm will fall, and when it does you will go with it. It is far better to cut it off before the infection spreads and carry on the fight without it. If anything this is a good thing.

The British have fallen and their empire has fallen apart. All it would take is a strong power in Asia to take advantage of the fall of this empire to become a serious force to reckon with.

Defending Britain carries a high risk of losing divisions due to fast-moving German columns (Blitzkrieg is painful), but I'm not ready to surrender her just yet. Germany at least has to pay for their invasion with blood and toil. Britain's loss of central authority is very good for Australia's power, but let's not forget that Australia is also a loyal defender of the Empire. I won't turn on Britain, but I may use this opportunity to politick hard and try to get my way.

Just found this AAR and have to say it's one of the best I've ever read! Gripping story, very well written and a perfect balance between screenshots, pictures and text.
Very, very well done!

Looking forward to the next update.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Next update will come soon enough!

To be honest, it's a bit late to be fighting on the beaches and the landing grounds, and it's definitely too late to be fighting in France. Fighting on the seas and oceans doesn't seem to be stopping more Jerries from landing. As for the air - the RAF is fighting, but I doubt their strength and confidence are increasing.

That leaves just the fighting in the streets, fields, and hills, then.

Indeed! And fight we will, good sir!

All that matters now is that you NEVER SURRENDER!

Never Give Up, Never Surrender! Australia will never fall.

Things are looking pretty grim, and it looks like we need to go back to shooting admirals. Certainly, the ones the British have could use a bit of encouragement.

Had things gone this badly in reality, there's little doubt the UK would have broken out the chemical weapons. I can't imagine the Battle of London would have been much fun for either side in that case, to say nothing of the rest of the war.

I fully intend to have an admiral or two shot for this. I won't get into the topic of chemical weapons though as it starts to stray dangerously close to banned topics, just that I'll agree a realistic invasion of Britain would probably have ended very brutally.

That's unfortunate. I thought you still had a few updates left in you before London fell. I was actually secretly worried that you might win. Needn't have worried though. =)

I love where this is going and hope you keep up the good work. The time to leave europe is fast approaching.

No need to worry there, the AI couldn't handle this even with my help, there were just too many Germans once they landed at Grimsby. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it and the work will continue - evacuation plans are already made.

Gief weekly dose of updates!

To be honest this AAR is the only reason I come on the HoI3 AAR forum these days!

So, how is it going? :)

Next update? :unsure:

Update is coming soon, patience guys! Sorry for the wait.
 
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Chapter 3.5 - Battle of Yorkshire

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RAAF Squadrons were assigned to the vital role of interception - they would engage any German aircraft spotted over Northern and Central England.

As the Battle of Yorkshire began to rage intensely on the ground, the RAAF realized now that the weakened RAF had little remaining capacity to intercept German bombers due to repeated battles against the Luftwaffe. Air General Caldwell took the matter into his own hands and drew up plans to cover England against air attack by fighters mainly based out of Lancaster. RAAF Hurricanes and Spitfires would have a hard job against a German air force that vastly outnumbered them. With just three fighter wings to try and control the skies of the entirety of Northern England, Caldwell commanded little more than 240 fighters - of which only 50 were the superior Spitfire model. Intelligence estimated that the Germans had four times as many fighters based in England and Northern France alone.

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As the Australians begin to push back into Yorkshire, a German advance force collides with defensive positions near Nottingham.

Nonetheless, the battle would be joined on the ground and in the sky. Australian troops had successfully defended the positions north of Hull and began to advance on the city, fighting through the Yorkshire countryside against a well-equipped and veteran German Army. Although outnumbered, the Australians successfully pushed Germany off the banks of the River Ouse and was slowly driving them back towards Hull, albeit with great cost. To their southwest, battles raged over the town of Doncaster, where Australian troops had blunted the advance on Sheffield. Retaking Doncaster would be a huge victory in the Battle of Yorkshire and Field Marshall Sir Cyril Bingham-White ordered three divisions to push against it, eager to earn a much-needed victory for the British people.

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Luftwaffe Bombers strike at the vital steel industry of Sheffield as well as bombing the front line just 2km east of the city.

On the morning of February 7th, a large German bombing force was spotted heading for Yorkshire. RAAF aircraft were scrambled and intercepted the bombers just before they reached their intended target - Sheffield. The city held what some called the world's largest steelworks and it was the beating heart of British Industry in the region. If the steelworks were destroyed, industry in England would grind to a halt - this could not be allowed to happen. The RAAF were largely successful in their efforts, forcing the Germans to bomb from high altitudes and under heavy attack by interceptors. In the end the Germans turned back, causing no serious damage to the front line troops and only hitting two buildings in the entire Sheffield industrial park. It was a great success for the Australians, who had thus far struggled against German aircraft.

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Following an RAAF naval strike against German convoys heading for the Thames, a massive air battle as German interceptors collided with Hurricanes and Spitfires chasing the Sheffield Bombers.

Caldwell knew this was his one chance to deal a significant blow to the German bomber force and he ordered his freshly-fuelled plans to pursue and dog the German bombers on their way home. Even as the Junkers called desperately for backup while Australian interceptors picked them off one by one, German interceptors were chasing a force of Australian Short Sunderlands which had been harassing German Convoys attempting to enter the River Thames. The two forces met east of London and a large aerial dogfight ensued. Lasting for nearly two hours before both sides turned back, the battle was a tactical victory for the RAAF. They lost few bombers while the Germans lost many and in the following dogfight, Australia got the upper hand over a weakened German air group for the first time. 72 German fighters were shot down through the course of the battle, compared to just 44 Australian fighters lost. Likewise, Australia shot down 99 German bombers, but only lost 12 of her own to German fighter craft. This was not the first time Allied aircraft had been able to score a victory over the Luftwaffe, but it was one of the largest victories of the Battle of Britain and the first time Australia had decisively defeated the Germans in the air.

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In the Balkans, the Yugoslavian-Greek front was collapsing as increasing numbers of Italian and German troops staged breakthroughs in the south, threatening to overwhelm their opposing numbers.

The Yugoslavians and Greeks were now having serious issues. With the impending threat of invasion by any or all of Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, they were unable to realistically withdraw their border forces to meet the Italians and Germans. The Italians and Germans, likewise, were too great a force to resist without these reserves. Inevitably, Axis forces broke the Yugoslavian lines in the south and as quickly as Greek reinforcements tried to move in, Hitler's armies moved quicker. It seemed that they would be able to break out in the South and sweep east to completely cut off the Yugoslavian army from her supply production in Bosnia and Serbia.

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Japanese troops advance into Burma against heavy resistance. At this rate it is doubtful if the Japanese can reach Mandalay, let alone Rangoon.

Axis forces in Asia, too, were making minimal progress. Japanese and Chinese troops under the command of General Yamagata had made advances deep into Burma, but the British Colony was a vast and unforgiving country. As Indian and Burmese troops bitterly resisted Yamagata's advance, his troops were ground to a halt and the advance ceased thanks to supply shortages and heavy resistance. Yamagata wrote back of his pessimism regarding Japan's ability to take Burma as long as Indian troops defended her so fiercely. He suggested that he should be permitted to relocate the bulk of his forces off of the direct Indian Front and instead thrust from Indochina towards the Kra Isthmus to confront the advancing Australian forces, who he believed would be easier prey.

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In the Pacific, Japan has reached a stalemate with Britain and America - no islands have changed hands and neither side is able to gain the upper hand on the seas.

Imperial Command was worried about Yamagata's idea as they would be unable to support a serious invasion of Malaya from the sea, while the British could. Although the Navy had long had plans of war with America, Admiral Yamamoto, the Naval Supreme Commander, regarded their only real chance of defeating the Americans as coming from a first strike scenario. They had not accounted for an early declaration of war, which was negatively received in America. Ironically, although they did not realize it, this declaration of war by Roosevelt had weakened the American war potential - no one wanted this war except the politicians and it was negatively viewed as breaking the isolationism which America had enjoyed since the Great War. Neither Allied nor Imperial forces had been able to break each other on the seas and the Japanese Navy was successfully engaging the world's first and second largest Navies simultaneously without defeat.

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Australian infantry relax before the scheduled push to Bangkok - despite awful terrain and terrible weather, Australians show remarkable readiness and high morale.

Progress in the jungles was difficult for the ANZAC forces, but now that Bangkok was near, morale was greatly improving. The Indochinese troops were highly immobile and expected to surrender within the week, freeing up the Australian infantry and tanks for a serious push on the city.

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As ANZAC forces attempt to finish off the surrounded Indochinese on the Kra, NZ Cavalry have taken Phet Buri. A newly-mobilized division has also arrived from New Zealand as reinforcements.

Australian troops were ordered to hold out and avoid serious frontal assaults due to the risk of casualties - as fresh weapons, reinforcements and supplies were delivered to the front, NZ cavalry elements linked up with the Indian Army and began the initial march to Bangkok, hoping to be on the city's outskirts before the main assault force arrived. This push would be a difficult one, but Australian command expected huge results from it. Thai troops were no match for the Commonwealth Armies and without the support of Japanese troops the city seemed doomed to fall.

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News hits the world that British and Palestinian troops have entered Baghdad, seizing the city and the country's rebellious leadership in one fell swoop.

On the afternoon of the 8th, British and Palestinian troops stormed the city of Baghdad, breaking the poorly-organized garrison troops and surrounding it to prevent escape from the capital. Shellshocked Iraqi officers surrendered almost immediately, placing blame for the war declaration directly on Prime Minister Rashid Ali. The Prime Minsiter and most of the civilian government were captured in the evening.

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Just before midnight, an official document of surrender was signed by the Iraqi government, reinstating the Anglo-Iraqi treaty and subjecting Rashid Ali and his loyalist cabinet to the legal prosecution of the British Empire. Local British administrators were placed in charge of the country and Iraq was now little more than a British puppet. Her military forces would be used to secure Africa and Asia from Italian and German threat - this suited Britain, who was desperately short of manpower.

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Finally, some good news from Britain hit the airwaves. ANZAC troops had forced the German defenders out of Doncaster and had retaken the city, driving them southeast towards Lincolnshire. The Germans had suffered heavy casualties thanks to the support of Australian close air support and heavy barrages of artillery.

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9th of February, the Germans finally ceased their assault on Nottingham. Fresh ANZAC reinforcements had arrived in the city and the Wehrmacht was taking heavy casualties assaulting the city. Australian troops were making the Germans pay for every inch of soil with blood. In Liverpool, Field Marshal Sir Cyril Bingham-White was delighted at the news. Now was the time to put his plan into action. Fresh reinforcements had just arrived from Sardinia - experienced Australian infantry divisions who had fought hard across Italy and Africa. Now they would fight for England, the home of their ancestors.

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German forces have been driven out of the vicinity of Nottingham and Sheffield and Australian troops are slowly winning the Battle of Yorkshire.

As Germany continued to push into Midlands and broke through British defences time and again, the Australians were preparing a daring counterattack. Bingham-White believed that where the Germans had achieved great success by creating 'pockets' of enemy troops, so too could his men. He quietly consolidated as much of his artillery, trucks and armoured cars as he could in the area of Nottinghamshire and placed Major General Robertson in charge of spearheading an assault east. Bingham-White believed that if he could seize the town of Grimsby, they would be able to successfully cut off an entire corps of German troops in Yorkshire. Without access to their main supply dumps and with repeated bombing of Hull, he posited that the German troops would quickly run out of supply and could be crushed and defeated. Robertson was highly critical of the plan - he called it an impossible task, in fact, but High Command agreed that he was the best man in the area for the job and he was tasked with making it happen. When asked what he needed, Robertson said that the British would have to hold the southern lines without Australian support for another week or two at the bare minimum, and that he would need armoured units in order to punch through the German line and create a fast-moving spearhead the way that the Wehrmacht had. Britain promised him a week, but had no armour to lend, and insisted he make do with antiquated armoured cars dating as far back as the 20s.

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British intelligence had a good idea of what German war capacity was currently like.

If there was one good thing to the German invasion, it was that it had become increasingly easy to insert agents behind German lines and infiltrate the entire German administrative structure. British intelligence thanks to skilled agents and the ULTRA codebreakers had been able to decipher a great deal about Germany's war preparations. With the vast resources of France, Poland and the Low Countries at their disposal, Hitler's Reich was a force to be reckoned with that outstripped Britain's ability to produce fighting forces. It's greatest weakness was internal - relatively few people were true Nazis and most of the populace obeyed Hitler only because of patriotism or because of fear of the Gestapo. Allied leaders were beginning to wonder if the easiest defeat would not come in battle, but through less shady methods.

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Soviet war capacity looked even more impressive on paper, but following the Great Purges many did not believe the USSR had the capacity to fight a serious war on two fronts.

When investigating the Germans, it was equally important to investigate their chief remaining rival on the continent: Stalin. Stalin's Soviet Union was an enormous Empire stretching across the vastness of Eastern Europe and Asia. Having boldly annexed the Baltic States, Bessarabia and subjugated Finland, the Russians now seemed more than ready on papre to fight Hitler at a moment's notice. The truth of the matter was a little more disturbing - non-aggression pacts with Japan had allowed Stalin to secure his front and Hitler's army was experienced and now fuelled by loot from many different countries. Supported on land by Italy, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, once Greece and Yugoslavia fell the Soviets would face a united Axis front stretching across most of Europe. Hitler's dream of Fortress Europe, from which he would be safe against America and Britain's lackeys, was almost complete.

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Good news reaches Australian troops: shipments of the Owen Gun, the country's own home-designed submachine gun, have reached Asian forces and are on the way to Australian troops in Britain.

On the 10th of February, huge shipments of crates began to arrive from Phet Buri at the front lines in Thailand. ANZAC infantry were delighted to finally receive the new weapon they had needed for this war. The Lee-Enfield No. 4 Rifle was a good fighting weapon, but it had weaknesses in the jungle - its rate of fire and length were both limiting for the kind of close quarters combat that tropical warfare had been giving them. The Owen Gun was a design drawn up by a young gun enthusiast named Evelyn Owen, who resided in Wollongong, New South Wales. Although enlisted as a Private and serving with the Australian Army in Africa, he had been transferred to a command position to work with military engineers and design specialists in tweaking and perfecting the new weapon after showing his prototype to a General.

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Private Evelyn Owen posing with his new weapon, which had been adopted as the new official submachine gun of the Australian Army.

The Owen Gun would be the weapon that would help Australia turn the tide of the war and would make them a lethal fighting force in urban and jungle warfare. Not only was the .45 ACP round a powerful round caliber while retaining its light form, but the weapon's rate of fire was superior to the Allies' favourite submachine gun: the US Thompson or Tommy Gun. The Owen Gun was extremely reliable and difficult to jam and break even in the harshest weather conditions. Army trials had found that the gun could be submerged in mud, covered in sand and exposed to heavy salt water. It survived all of these treatments and could still be fired with ease by troops. What did go wrong was usually fixed by the gun's simple modularity which made it easy for any soldier to conduct field service on the gun. The only disadvantage of the weapon was its relatively bulky frame, although it was still smaller and lighter than the Lee-Enfield and easier to use in the close quarters of the jungle. Australia's first natively produced weapon would be one of the world's finest submachine guns.

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Frequently successful in his distinguished career, Morshead had been proposed by several of his peers as the ideal candidate to lead the AIF, but lost out due to politics and fears of his right-wing leanings.

Now, with over 10,000 produced and being shipped to Australian troops all over the world, demand for the weapon was heating up. Still, in spite of its successful trials, Australian General Leslie Morshead in charge of the Asian Theatre stated: "Reliable and fantastic as this weapon design is, it cannot overcome the great advantage of men and material that Germany has brought to bear. We only remain in Britain because of politics and Bingham-White's boasting - he speaks of an Australian victory in Europe, but everyone can see it is impossible. Those troops need to come home as quickly as possible, along with any other men that Britain can salvage. We should retreat from Britain immediately; we need those men here, to protect Australia and to save India."

February 6th-February 10th
Royal Australian Army:
1,891 Soldiers killed in action
3x Vickers MkV Light Tanks lost
Royal Australian Air Force:
40x Hawker Hurricane fighters lost
4x Supermarine Spitfire fighters lost
12x Short Sunderland patrol bombers lost
5x Fairey Battle dive bombers lost
German Wehrmacht:
2,872 Soldiers killed in action
German Luftwaffe:
72x Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters lost
85x Junkers Ju88 medium bombers lost
14x Junkers Ju87 dive bombers lost
German Kriegsmarine:
1 Merchant ship sunk
Royal Thai Army:
420 Soldiers killed in action
Indochinese Army:
641 Soldiers killed in action​
 
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Rargh! Blow Jerry out of the sky!

Mandalay, sounds so awesomely exotic.

Also, those are some very very skinny Aussies.
 
This is epic as always. :)

Too bad HPP doesn't add any event for the Irish to get involved. Nominally, we were still a Dominion. My Grandfather was in the Royal Artillery in WWII. I'm not sure the South would have been this quiet if Britain proper had been invaded. Not just from the point of view of the Nationalists, everyone here has family in the UK. I'd imagine it would be plausible to join of a guarantee of Irish total independence after the war along with maybe even civil strife in the north. :p

Where is his Majesties Navy in all of this? It's defying belief that the British Fleet hasn't set a blockade on the Channel.

I hope you keep fighting in the UK. Things are quiet in the Pacific but you have a big buffer zone still. Unless the organisation of your troops is getting low, hopefully you can pocket some Germans even if you need to pull out.
 
Talk about the darkest of hours for the Allies.

Some limited success in this update through holding the line in England, putting Thailand on the ropes and dealing with the Iraqi irritant but Japan and Germany look very scary long term. :eek:

It's high time the two gorillas got seriously involved, Russia and the Yanks. For all your tactical brilliance you need someone who can lock them down in a meatgrinder whilst you do your magic. :)
 
Japanese progress in the Pacific is disappointing, but then, it's hardly sth new. However, if you want more of a challenge, you can load as Japan as see whether they have enough troops and TPs to do amphibious invasions. If not, then you could create a custom event adding some units (especially marines) or edit the save game and do the same thing, so that Japan would do SOMETHING.
 
Rargh! Blow Jerry out of the sky!

Mandalay, sounds so awesomely exotic.

Also, those are some very very skinny Aussies.

You'd be skinny too after months of jungle fighting.

You forgot to add the latest chapter to the front-page post.

Fixed.

This is epic as always. :)

Too bad HPP doesn't add any event for the Irish to get involved. Nominally, we were still a Dominion. My Grandfather was in the Royal Artillery in WWII. I'm not sure the South would have been this quiet if Britain proper had been invaded. Not just from the point of view of the Nationalists, everyone here has family in the UK. I'd imagine it would be plausible to join of a guarantee of Irish total independence after the war along with maybe even civil strife in the north. :p

Where is his Majesties Navy in all of this? It's defying belief that the British Fleet hasn't set a blockade on the Channel.

I hope you keep fighting in the UK. Things are quiet in the Pacific but you have a big buffer zone still. Unless the organisation of your troops is getting low, hopefully you can pocket some Germans even if you need to pull out.

Thank you. Although HPP is fantastic when it comes to events for the majors and adds some really great stuff, I do think it falls down a little on the minors. There isn't even a representation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty as far as I'm aware - probably due to the fact that Slan etc. are often short of time and have been working hard to convert the mod to FTM for us. I'll probably write up some events of my own for this very reason in future games, but I doubt they want an outside modder sticking their nose into their mod on a formal basis. :x

In any case, the Royal Navy does have a Fleet in the area now, but it's not been hugely effective and more importantly it's failed to shut down the German supply convoys. This war could be ended if Britain threw its entire naval might into sinking every last German convoy before the North falls. I don't think they have very many left given the rate they've been sunk before. I will keep fighting in the UK for the time being as org is no problem. Since I've played a few games ahead to the end of the Battle of Britain, I took the time to load up various countries and assess their war readiness and tweak their build orders, etc. to try and give the AI a more intelligent fighting chance at victory. I can tell you right now that Australian infantry brigades are the most effective of their kind in the entire world even on open flat terrain - in spite of me only having one level of infantry firepower tech (which gives you larger and more powerful infantry units.) Our combat stats are only slightly below Germany's and our organization levels are higher than anywhere else - over 100 compared to just 70 from Britain/Germany and 50 from New Zealand. Aussie troops won't go down easily, even outnumbered.

Talk about the darkest of hours for the Allies.

Some limited success in this update through holding the line in England, putting Thailand on the ropes and dealing with the Iraqi irritant but Japan and Germany look very scary long term. :eek:

It's high time the two gorillas got seriously involved, Russia and the Yanks. For all your tactical brilliance you need someone who can lock them down in a meatgrinder whilst you do your magic. :)

Dark indeed - this will be the time of judgment, methinks. Every day I fight and delay the Axis is another day that Russia and America can gear up for war better. If Germany cannot win a quick and decisive war against the Russians, then it simply cannot win and will eventually be defeated. Australian precision strikes will only help with this at future dates.

Japanese progress in the Pacific is disappointing, but then, it's hardly sth new. However, if you want more of a challenge, you can load as Japan as see whether they have enough troops and TPs to do amphibious invasions. If not, then you could create a custom event adding some units (especially marines) or edit the save game and do the same thing, so that Japan would do SOMETHING.

As I mentioned in a previous post above, I've already taken the liberty of loading up most involved nations and checking their build queues and trying to put them back on an intelligent path to give myself more of a challenge (and also to stop Canada from buildling nothing but coastal forts along Lake Erie...)
 
It was this AAR that first gave me my taste of HPP Saithis. Although the new map in Vanilla is awesome, HPP just has that little more element of surprise and 'randomness'.

As for modding, I've been trying to learn how to use the modifiers in my bizarre mod. I've been trying to create some events... not historical but a start if it will teach me how to use them. WWII was a bizarre period for Ireland. Officially we were neutral but we actively assisted British intelligence, rescued + returned Allied pilots/seamen, provided weather reports and many went to fight in the British Army. The IRA was still around but their incompetence in the period combined with Allied double agents sort of removed their effectiveness.

The Treaty Ports, Anglo-Irish Trade war, Bunracht na hÉireann. So much I can try to mod at a later date. :wub:

I hope it's possible to save the UK but I can't wait for the next installment!
 
finally, some good news! the fight is still going strong. I can just imagine the raging führer somewhere in Germany, venting his frustration on anyone and everyone.
jolly good show!
 
Typical for the AI. First it surprises everybody and launches a good Sealion then it forgets to reinforce properly and doesn't manage to finish a greatly weakened UK off. In the end a huge amount of German troops will be sacked in Great Britain. Or am I too pessimistic about the capabilities of the AI?

My compliments on another beautiful update. One can always tell that you invest a lot of time in this AAR.
 
I had hoped that the Americans could've handled the Japanese for you, allowing you to reinforce in Europe, but apparently that's not the case here!
 
Well, it looks that the Aussies are holding or advancing in all fronts and that, besides England ( that apparently is still continuing to perform as badly as you can expect from the general level of performance it had so far ) and Yugoslavia/Greece ( where the Yugoslavians and the Greeks are actually outperforming all the expectations ), the Allies are not losing ground. It can be the darkest hour but it looks that atleast you are close of the bottom line :D

Now that you had your first blood trying to defend England by yourself, it looks far more achievable to hold against the Germans with a little of luck and if they simply do not bomb you to oblivion. Or am I being too optimistic ?
 
I am a total Newbie (playing my first game [FTM] as France) but I must say that this is an incredibly entertaining read. I have learned a whole lot from this AAR as well as many of the other AARs in this forum. Thank you again for taking the time to write this up.
 
It was this AAR that first gave me my taste of HPP Saithis. Although the new map in Vanilla is awesome, HPP just has that little more element of surprise and 'randomness'.

As for modding, I've been trying to learn how to use the modifiers in my bizarre mod. I've been trying to create some events... not historical but a start if it will teach me how to use them. WWII was a bizarre period for Ireland. Officially we were neutral but we actively assisted British intelligence, rescued + returned Allied pilots/seamen, provided weather reports and many went to fight in the British Army. The IRA was still around but their incompetence in the period combined with Allied double agents sort of removed their effectiveness.

The Treaty Ports, Anglo-Irish Trade war, Bunracht na hÉireann. So much I can try to mod at a later date. :wub:

I hope it's possible to save the UK but I can't wait for the next installment!

It's not too hard, once you know what you're doing. I look forward to seeing what you do with them. As for the UK...we'll have to see.

finally, some good news! the fight is still going strong. I can just imagine the raging führer somewhere in Germany, venting his frustration on anyone and everyone.
jolly good show!

He's raging now but how long can that last?

Typical for the AI. First it surprises everybody and launches a good Sealion then it forgets to reinforce properly and doesn't manage to finish a greatly weakened UK off. In the end a huge amount of German troops will be sacked in Great Britain. Or am I too pessimistic about the capabilities of the AI?

My compliments on another beautiful update. One can always tell that you invest a lot of time in this AAR.

I think it's a little early to be poo-pooing the German AI here. I've stalled them in Yorkshire but they're still advancing into the Midlands more or less unopposed by British troops. Even if I took out every unit in Yorkshire I'd still be outnumbered at least 2:1 counting British troops. Only time will tell who the winner is.

Thank you, I spend about two hours on sorting and editing screenshots per update.

I had hoped that the Americans could've handled the Japanese for you, allowing you to reinforce in Europe, but apparently that's not the case here!

Sooner or later the American Steamroller will probably overtake Japan, it's just a matter of when. If I can keep the Japanese tied up on the mainland, that'll do a lot for our eventual (hopeful) victory.

Well, it looks that the Aussies are holding or advancing in all fronts and that, besides England ( that apparently is still continuing to perform as badly as you can expect from the general level of performance it had so far ) and Yugoslavia/Greece ( where the Yugoslavians and the Greeks are actually outperforming all the expectations ), the Allies are not losing ground. It can be the darkest hour but it looks that atleast you are close of the bottom line :D

Now that you had your first blood trying to defend England by yourself, it looks far more achievable to hold against the Germans with a little of luck and if they simply do not bomb you to oblivion. Or am I being too optimistic ?

Some people are being too optimistic, some are being too pessimistic. I guess that should tell you how close this fight has been. If Australia can hold out against the Germans, well, that'll be determined once we get into the hills of Northern England, really. Everything south of Newcastle is more or less forfeit already due to the number and strength of German divisions.

I am a total Newbie (playing my first game [FTM] as France) but I must say that this is an incredibly entertaining read. I have learned a whole lot from this AAR as well as many of the other AARs in this forum. Thank you again for taking the time to write this up.

Glad to know I have entertained you and although this isn't a gameplay AAR I do hope it helps you with your personal play in the future. There are, of course, far better AARs to read for gameplay strategies as I play well below the 'optimal' path in order to keep a challenge for myself.