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I've gotta ask, Kan. Are those French tac squadrons being led by Father Guido Sarducci? Can't imagine who else it could be from the picture.

Vann
 
Vann the Red Seems to be a Lt. General Laurens, skill 2, max skill 3. Not a brilliant choice of leader.

ClinOps That's National Socialist chaos space marines curtesy of Sturmbannführer Duhrn [5 points to the first person to explain this reference] and I suspect the HA can be classified as "enough". I guess thats "V" points for identifying a Mark V Defiler. Now which chapter does it belong to.

Profane I'm going for the classic division + non-divisional troop count of 20,000 and hence an estimate of 800 divisions - currently.

Lifeless I'm not entirely sure of the scale but I would guess the Defiler is about 15' high and I wouldn't want to be ducking under its legs.

Tribolute Sorry but we seem to be moving on from the "vespene" gas references. Now all I need to do is find a relic to occupy along with all the strategic points.
 
23w4cvr.jpg


06:00 June 22nd 1939

Encounters with small allied fleets continue. Our main fleet has been on a trip to Amsterdam to take on the full set of 12 carriers and restore its full combat strength. A few damaged ships remain in port and the ones deployed are not all at completely full strength but all damage is minor. The main fleet arrives quite quickly and is then responsible for destroying 3 transports (can’t tell what Jag-Stang’s aircraft achieved).
 
23w4fpt.jpg


12:00 June 22nd 1939

At the other end of the channel the remaining naval bombing patrols under Stumpff are continuing their destruction of the French fleet. This once mighty fleet is but a shadow of its former glory all because they appear incapable of moving away from this location.
 
23w4j9s.jpg


19:00 June 22nd 1939

Yet more allied transports blunder into our main fleet. These transports are all carrying units so not only is the British transport capability being destroyed but actual divisions are being sunk as well.
 
23w4own.jpg


01:00 June 23rd 1939

For a change a British bomber group has turned up but their already low org and losses is slightly confusing. They have appeared at night, come from an unsupplied location and appear to be heading for England. Obviously this intercept will do them some harm but I fail to spot where they return to.

23w4p60.jpg


01:00 June 23rd 1939 b

The hopelessly obsolete Polish air force has come to help the British. Seems like a bit of a forlorn hope but the Poles don’t know what to do. These fighters would do a lot better trying to give some air defence to the Polish divisions being bombed to destruction in eastern Poland.
 
23w5dzm.jpg


05:00 June 23rd 1939

As my forces spread into Spain the Republicans and Nationalists make peace. The Nationalist capital is returned to them and the remainder of Spain and all their colonies are transferred to republican control. It is now time form me to DOW the nationalists and continue my invasion taking no notice of this diplomatic move.
 
23w4rqt.jpg


14:00 June 23rd 1939

More air battles over England and the channel. Those tactical bombers are slightly less numerous now and obviously trying the same move. The Spanish operations are just as inexplicable and unfortunately a waste of effort on my part. It is only a matter of time (and not too much time) before Spain is annexed and these air units are eliminated without a fight.
 
23w5ele.jpg


19:00 June 23rd 1939

The position in Spain has now developed into a clear separation between the main Spanish forces and Madrid, their source of supply. The next step is to actually isolate the forces in northeast Spain and then to crush them whilst minor forces occupy the rest of the country. For some reason there are currently large numbers of allied aircraft in Spain (21 squadrons in Madrid alone). This seems slightly odd with the Spanish air force currently in England.
 
23w5fdk.jpg


04:00 June 24th 1939

Tidying up continues on the Polish front. I need to reoccupy these provinces and get the Poles moving before those damn bombers will bother to deal with them. The division in Prezmysl is about to disappear but we must make sure none of them advance any further.
 
23w5hzt.jpg


06:00 June 24th 1939

The time has finally come for the official landing in the UK. This time the mountain troops are going in under the command of General Zauberfloete [lw,od,ws,tr,fb,co], a leader with just the right traits even if his skill is a mere 5 (I only get to say that in this game so I’m making the most of it). The fortress buster trait should be important but has only reduced the penalty to 45% (was 60% in Plymouth). Both provinces are level 6 coastal forts. This looks like a minor reduction in fortification effect but the real benefit is proportional to the ratio 55/40 which is a benefit of about 37%, i.e. a better improvement than any other leader characteristic in these circumstances.

The overall combat multiplier puts my 16 SA mountain-artillery divisions in the position of 5 SA making a total of 30 SA against 2 defending divisions with SA of 25 x 78% = 19 SA (2 x 12 plus 1 for the AA). I have more firepower than the defenders and a lot more staying power so this invasion will succeed easily unless major reinforcements turn up.

My coastal bombardment is also up on the previous attack and the location is a LOT more convenient for air support. As ever the aircraft cannot be ordered to even take off before the landing commences (London is the current preferred target in this area).
 
23w5hch.jpg


07:00 June 24th 1939

An hour after the invasion begins the home fleet arrives for battle, they are not strong but their intervention immediately cancels the shore bombardment that is, of itself, a major benefit to the defenders.
 
23w5kbo.jpg


08:00 June 24th 1939

Two hours in we can see the effect of that loss of the shore bombardment modifier. The loss of that element has made the defenders a lot stronger with their firepower probably now around 32 SA to my 30 SA. I still have 3 times as many targets and this is therefore an easy victory but how quick?

23w5kj9.jpg


11:00 June 24th 1939

Slightly later and the air war has heated up a little. It has shown on any previous images but I have had several tactical bomber groups flying installation strike in eastern England for the last few days. These bombers seem to be avoiding Dover, which is a good thing. Over Dover there are a full set of CAS on interdiction and their effect on the defenders org is already visible.
 
23w5l03.jpg


12:00 June 24th 1939

One additional hour of CAS bombing shows a visible loss of org suggesting that victory is close and likely to occur before nightfall. Meanwhile the British fleet has been driven off with losses they can ill afford. This leaves the home fleet without capital ships. Hopefully this is sufficient damage to persuade them to go away.
 
23w5lq0.jpg


13:00 June 24th 1939

Another stray fleet disrupts the coastal bombardment. This is rather annoying as it is unrealistic that my fleet would be actually distracted by a large convoy running away from them.
 
23w5nd3.jpg


14:00 June 24th 1939

However it doesn’t matter as the battle is now over. It will be some time before the mountain divisions are ashore but things may turn out simpler than that.
 
23w5o2w.jpg


17:00 June 24th 1939

The successful landing has drawn a major reaction from the Canadian air force but their air groups are looking very badly depleted. Note that they are all 1 step obsolete compared to my aircraft types. This is a very useful advantage to have at this time but may be difficult to sustain into next year.
 
23w5ow3.jpg


20:00 June 24th 1939

In the east the Poles in Prezymsl are on the edge of destruction and the eastern front appears completely secure again. This campaign is proving extremely useful to the air force with a number of CAS bombers now over 60% experience.
 
23w5qo3.jpg


21:00 June 24th 1939

As night falls Kasakka’s Fallschirmjägers begin to fall from the sky all around the port facilities at Dover and the nearby airfields. All allied aircraft are soon eliminated and the waiting transports head for harbour. All Kasakka needs to do is hold the port through the night until reinforcements can land.

23w5r20.jpg


23:00 June 24th 1939

A massive allied force counter-attacks our brave troops but their efficiency at night attacks is extremely poor and they seem barely a threat despite their numbers. As long as night lasts Kasakka looks like he can win the battle on his own.