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Fall 1942 through Winter 1943 – Tie Me Kangaroo Down[/size]
Welcome back. Things aren’t looking as good for the Zogists at the moment as might have been hoped. After defeating the Guangxi Clique, we scored a great victory over the United States in Hong Kong that eliminated many of their divisions. However, Nationalist China is still proving more than a match for the Axis forces and I am stalemated in Canton. The USA has also been handing over troops to the Chinese as you can see.
The only way I can then defeat these troops are with numbers, numbers which I don’t have right now. After a lot of soul-searching I’ve decided to retreat back into Vietnam so I can protect my lands down there as well as start to build up to make a renewed attack in greater strength. I also need to get more troops produced... much, much more. As can be seen I have plenty of manpower to go around. I am thinking of lowering my conscription laws so that I can go back to queuing up cheap reserves. I need to get more divisions on the map. I’ve also learned a lot since I started this game and have come to realize that I should have been relying more on production licenses than I have been. If I had even made Infantry through license, then I could have started out with some at good quality while I continue to develop my Albanian Infantry techs.
In the meantime, warfare is becoming a larger part of the Albanian way of life. Zog’s only wish is for Albanian children, and indeed children everywhere, to live in a world of peace.
”What about the children? Won’t somebody please think of the children?” – Helen Lovejoy
3 October: I’ve bought enough licenses from Germany and Japan to field one corps of 3x INF + ART. My Conscription Laws are at One-Year Draft to keep the IC costs of these brigades low.
6 October: I complete research on Mountain Infantry. China liberates the Guangxi Clique. That comes as a bit of a blow…
7 October: …but then, I enforce “Conquer” on Guangxi Clique… strange, strange. Looking around I count at least 5 USA divisions in China’s hands.
16 October: Guangxi Clique is liberated again.
18 October: USA wins Battle of Empress Augusta Bay over somebody.
20 October: My retreat has been nice and orderly; no divisions have been lost. There are two provinces I have to guard in the east to keep the Chinese out of Vietnam, bad infrastructure covers the rest.
26 October: Another Light Cruiser finished.
28 October: With my men reorganized, I will now focus on SE Asia and clean out Dutch ports. In the meantime I will continue to try and build up more divisions of my own.
30 October: I’ve arrived at Sumatra. Zog and his ministers are crowded around the maps in the War Room in Tirane anxiously awaiting further developments. Convoy raids from the United States are proving to be a problem, but in the short-term we can handle the losses.
1 November: The initial assault into Indonesia is going well.
4 November: A lone Dutch Infantry division resists me in Sumatra. In Java, I see only HQs.
8 November: Another native Albanian Infantry division is finished, so it goes off to Asia.
15 November: A Parliamentary scandal takes out Hasan Begolli. Luckily for me, I can actually replace him. It’s time for the Intelligence Ministry to get the golden Zog touch! I also notice that the Chinese don’t appear keen on booting me off the coast, so I can take a minute to redirect some of the men I was leaving behind on guard duty.
24 November: I license a division of Mountain troops from Japan.
4 December: I have Java purged of the Dutch. Time to reload the men for a tougher mission.
”These facile victories only leave me hungry for more conquest” – The Master
13 December: I complete research of Marines and take Hollandia from the Dutch. Hollandia is a very large port compared to the others in the SE Asia archipelago, and it will prove invaluable in my further campaign down here.
17 December: Albanian fleets have maneuvered into position for the attack on New Zealand. I plan to puppet them since it won’t be worth it to have to keep coming back here to fight partisans. Also, I can then use Wellington as a supply port for troops heading to Australia without having to maintain a Convoy route here.
19 December: Auckland quickly folds, but Wellington won’t go without a fight.
28 December: I finish Census Tabulation Machine.
31 December: Wellington is mine. This is nearly the end for the Kiwis.
8 January: New Zealand is a puppet.
13 January: The Albanian fleet has arrived to attack Australia. The main blow will fall at Sydney, and then drive right to Canberra.
15 January: The Australian Navy fleeing Sydney catches an Albanian fleet and a massacre results. Sadly, the Albanians are the ones massacred… the worst naval disaster since my losses off Cyprus.
17 January: I possess Sydney.
20 January: Attack on Canberra begins.
22 January: I take Guadalcanal. I’ve learned it best to get some of these islands before you take up too much of the mainland and these areas fill up with fleeing Australians.
25 January: Canberra falls.
5 February: I finish a Light Cruiser and license another from Japan. The Albanian breakout in Australia is going well. Up in New Guinea, I have Port Moresby and will also take Lae.
9 February: A USA fleet catches me off the coast of New Guinea, but I retreat before taking any loss.
18 February: I have Melbourne, which was the new Aussie capital. It has now relocated to Adelaide.
28 February: Japan still getting hammered in the north of Asia. Now that I left southern China, they have lost Beijing again. Australia is at 79% surrender.
1 March: My corps of reserve Infantry bought from Germany is finished. Now my Officer Ratio is down to 101% so I need to change my laws for a bit to get that back up.
24 March: Nearly a month gone and I am still making but slow progress here in Australia. Zog is not pleased. Perhaps a shakeup of the War Office is in order?
”Off with their heads!” – The Queen of Hearts
I hope to have the Aussies out of action soon, but that will have to wait for another update.