The Last Crusade: An Allied AAR

Dr. Gonzo said:

Sir Kenny: Well what was it Churchill said about the 'soft underbelly'? It could work you'll have to try and avoid the meat grinder the Allies had IRL. If you want to cause mischief why not organise a "commando" force to attack isolated shores in Norway, Iberia and Greece then get them the hell out of there when the Axis comes knocking in force? Seizing outlying islands like Sardinia, Corsica and Crete to act as bases is a good idea IMO.

Actually what's happened to Malta and Gibraltar?

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When I think of it, the hazards kind of outweights the benefits. If I put my boots on the ground in Italy, I have to establish a solid line quickly, else endure a meat grinder doing so. Not really a good idea. Norway however...

Malta is secure. Gibraltar however is under siege, but is holding out just fine.

September 21th, 1943

BBC News

"This is BBC News broadcasting directly from London."

"This evening we bring news of a resounding victory in the Mediterranean. Yesterday afternoon, a French fleet under the command of admiral Darlan intercepted a Italian fleet near the island of Sardinia. Initial scouting by planes revealed that this fleet contained none other than the proud battleships of the Regia Marina. The French did not hesistate to commence battle, and as soon as they were in range, they opened fire on the Italian battle line. After a few hours of battle, the very core of the Regia Marina had been decimated. The enemy lost three vital battleships, while our allies suffered next to no losses."


"We also bring news of a bombing raid on Rome. Just a few hours ago, American bombers blotted the skies of the Italian capital, rained bombs on the city, and destroyed vital industries. Raids on other industrially vital cities such as Neaples and Genoa were also carried out. The expected Axis sorties against these raids never came to fruition, and as a result, Allied losses are minimal."

Serpent said:

The Danish isles are extremely strategic, especially if you can ensure aerial superiority. You can easily bomb all of Germany from Copenhagen and newly built airfields in Fyn. Holding Copenhagen would also allow you to raid the entire baltic coast, distracting German defenses elsewhere and aiding the destruction of the German fleets by taking away their best safe haven.
Knocking Norway out of the war is pretty worthwhile if you can spare the mountaineers for a couple of months. Danish airfields would make that easier.

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The question is how. Copenhagen is under German control, and as a result, the straits (Belt) are closed. I can't land any troops there. There are two means to seize Copenhagen and Fyn, and neither of them seems to be a good option. One would be to have Sweden join the Allies, and attack from Scania into Copenhagen. But any German fleets in the Belt would make this impossible. Besides, if Sweden joins the Allies, Danish airfields are no longer that important anymore. STRs can easily reach Berlin from Scania.
The second option is to paradrop British troops (I haven't researched PARs, but AI UK have.) and seize Copenhagen. If Germany reinforces the garrison however, I'm screwed, as I can't neither evacuate or reinforce the paratroopers.

Norway seems to be a decent bet through. That's probably where I will be heading somewhere in 1944. Fortress Europe is tough nut to crack.

September 28th, 1943

BBC News

"This is BBC News broadcasting directly from London."

"I'm Bob Trout, and I'd like to say good morning to all of Britain, as well to all of those who are tuning into us from the continent."

"Three days ago, American carriers spotted and engaged a small number of German ships off the coast of Iberia. What initially seemed to be nothing more than a small German taskforce, turned out to be a huge German surface fleet. Further scouting revealed that the battleships Bismarck and Tripitz were present."

"Waves after waves of American planes descended on the German fleet and wrecked havoc. Within two hours, the twin battleships of Germany had been sunk. The remainder of the German fleet steamed east, towards the port of Brest in a desperate bid to escape the Americans."

"But the Home Fleet sallied forth and caught the Germans off the coast of Brest last night. What ensured was a battle in which the Royal Navy emerged victorious. The Home Fleet quickly closed the distance, and her formidable battleships shelled the Germans into submission."

"When daylight emerged, the full magnitude of the victory became apparant to the Admirality. The entire German fleet had either been vanquished, or had capitulated."

Mr. Santiago said:

Very interesting; surely looking forward to an island hopping of sorts in the Med.

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All valuable islands in the Med has been seized already. My attention is starting to linger on Norway...

Sakura_F said:

Love this. Subbed~

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Yeaaaaah!

Sakura_F said:

Interesting how you managed to wipe out the entire German fleet. Which nation are you heading as, the US or UK?

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Yup, really got lucky there. I was rebasing my CTFs from America to Britain when one of them stumbled upon the Germans. Playing as the US.

Ticket Cookie said:

By looking at the IC and the star on the screens, I assume USA, but with military control on all allied forces.

Suscribed!

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You're correct. As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, I retain military control of all Allied nations. :happy:

Dr. Gonzo said:

Awesome!

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You bet!

BeardedHoplite said:

Sorry to spam up your thread, but your inbox was full. The save doesn't seem to work. I plopped it down in the mods/DHFull/scenario/savegames folder, but I get a straight kick to the desktop when I try to load it, no error message or anything.

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The save game is still using 1.02, perhaps that is the problem?

WaffleTheBard said:

What graphics pack do you have,because your map looks cool.

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I'm using the DEC map mod.

November 5th, 1943

CBS World News

"I recently read a letter addressed to me from a young boy in Ohio. In this letter, he asked me why we are at war."

"Why are we at war? To be honest with you, I think that is a good question. Some might say that we are at war because the Japanese attacked us that fateful summer day two years ago. Some other people may say that it's because Germany sunk several of our convoys bound for the UK."

"I say they're wrong. Well, not really wrong, but there's much more to it than that. We are at war because we believe in idea of freedom.
Freedom for all of mankind. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. We are at war not just because we were attacked, but because we are fighting for something greater than ourselves. This is not just a war between nations and continents, not just a war between two different alliances.
This is a war between good and evil, between the free peoples of the world and those who wish to enslave them."

"In the past, nations would go to war because they wanted to expand their domains, or because they were bound by some alliance. Or simply because they liked killing. But we are here for something new, something that has rarely happened before in the history of the world. We are a nation fighting to set other men free! All of mankind shall be free! All of mankind must be free!"

"We cannot stand idle as millions of innocent civilians are being massacred in Europe, while countless more are forced into slavery. We are fighting this war because it is the only right thing to do."


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Truly horrible things are happening in Russia. The more I read about the nazis and their plans, the more I come to realise that evil does indeed exist.