A First Attempt – Germany on very hard.

[Encicia]

Oh Stalin, what have you done attacking the Finns again...
And nice job knocking France out.

Thanks! The Russians always seem to have a problem at first, but the Fins never seem to be able to hold on for very long. Still, every kill the Fins make is one I won't have to.

Hopefully the Fins will drive into Moscow, oh wait, Ski into Moscow

That land is mine!! :angry: :rofl:

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 12 16 December 1939 – 1 January 1940

Chapter 12
16 December 1939 – 1 January 1940

Supllies from Paris start arriving in Berlin. I haven’t been producing supllies since September, instead using the captured supplies from Warschau, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Bruxelles and Paris.

We conquer Luxembourg on the 19th. I skipped Luxembourg earlier because it formed a nice buffer. With the French gone, that buffer is no longer needed.
We win the battle for Slagelse on the 23rd and shortly after, the battle for Copenhagen begins. Only two weak divisions are what remains of the British invasion in this part of Denmark.

At the beginning of the new year my troops start arriving at the Swiss border. I’m thinking of puppeting them and completing that victory condition.

 

[Belgiumruler]

don't puppet them... I WANT A GREY WORLD! WITH TANNEBAUMEN!

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 13 2 January 1940 – 31 january 1940

Chapter 13
2 January 1940 – 31 january 1940

We launch Tannenbaum on the 8th. The Swiss have left some provinces without defenders and I plan to make good use of that. We make some quick gaines and after 4 days we are on the edges of Zürich and Bern. It’s only a matter of hours before Switzerland will join the Axis and we can add another goal to the “completed” list.

The British take another loss in Denmark on the 14th. Two divisions and two HQ’s are captured

With Bern controlled by us on the 15th and troops arriving just before midnight in Zürich, Switzerland will fallen in only seven days.

We arrive at Frederikshavn on the 20th and the final battle for Denmark begins. The British are weak, only one division. They have managed to dig in, but it won’t matter. They stand no chance against five marine divisions and they surrender on the 25th. There’s a British fleet still in port, but as my troops won’t arrive before the second week of February, there is no naval combat yet. The Bismarck is laying in wait, hoping to sink a few ships. God knows Britain has a lot of them.

Meanwhile, the US embargoes us on the 21st and the Japanese take Sydney on the 22nd. We have completed 6 of our goals: Tannenbaum, Paris, Malta, Sydney, Batavia and Shanghai.

 

[Encicia]

don't puppet them... I WANT A GREY WORLD! WITH TANNEBAUMEN!

I don't want those extra rebels. Poland and Scandinavia are tough enough to keep under control.

 

[sebas379]

Jay, updates. And your photobucket is overloaded
Free tip: you might want to try www.imgur.com. It's even easier to use IMO and doesn't have bandwith issues as far as I am aware.

 

[Belgiumruler]

Jay, updates. And your photobucket is overloaded
Free tip: you might want to try www.imgur.com. It's even easier to use IMO and doesn't have bandwith issues as far as I am aware.

Imgur is the best

 

[Encicia]

Jay, updates. And your photobucket is overloaded
Free tip: you might want to try www.imgur.com. It's even easier to use IMO and doesn't have bandwith issues as far as I am aware.

Thanks, I'll look into that. Update will follow in the next few days.

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 14 1 Februari 1940 – 31 March 1940

Chapter 14
1 Februari 1940 – 31 March 1940

The Fins start losing the initiative in the Winter War. Guess they gave the Bear a run for its money.

We attack Sweden on the 8th of March. I have two full corps of marines for this conflict. First task is crossing from Copenhagen to Malmö.

The fight takes a few days, but on the 14th the first marine division reaches the shores of Malmö and starts ocuppying the city. We quickly set up a perimiter. The 2nd marine corps arrives at Malmö and starts its route to the north to capture Göteborg and the other western VP. The first corps attacks along to coast to Stockholm. This will also push out their fleets, which will be some nice target practice for the Bismarck and CAGs from the Peter Strasser. We also take control of the Öresund.

Meanwhile, in the Far East, Japan is trying to capture Singapore. The Brits have retaken one of two ports on the peninsula (excluding Singapore itself) and the empire might soon run into some supply issues. Lets hope they get their act together.

The Italians are making progress towards the Suez Channel. With France gone, they can finally use all those border troops somewhere they are actually needed. The British, probably strapped for units, don’t have much resistance to offer.

The United States declares a unlimited national emergency and, according to my spies, decides to build some more industry. They’ll probably have an insane amount of IC once they enter the war.

We win another battle forcing a Swedish fleet out into the open. They take a lot of casualties on land as well and the only thing hindering me at the moment is the time it takes my units to reorganize before they are able to attack again.

Our carrier catches a small Swedish fleet, consisting of a cruiser and a few destroyers. Nothing my carrier can’t handle.

 

[Belgiumruler]

Are you going for Sealoin before Barbarossa or not? Since it can save you allot of allied bombings

 

[Encicia]

Are you going for Sealoin before Barbarossa or not? Since it can save you allot of allied bombings

I'm not sure yet. I don't think so because I don't really have the troops or the navy to make that landing right now. I'll also need a lot more garrison troops once I conquer the islands. I'm a bit ahead in game already and I've managed to get the bombings under control. I've also been bombing Dover, where the bombers are stationed, so they won't get much done when it comes to repairs.

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 15 1 Apil 1940 – 31 May 1940

Chapter 15
1 Apil 1940 – 31 May 1940

The damaged Swedish fleet finds the Bismarck again. The Swedes lose two ships, we only take some damage.

The front is still moving, but we encounter some fierce resistance in Eksjö. It takes prolonged bombing and a flanking move for them to call off the attack. The marines take a few more casualties than expected, but the overal plan still stands. We will approach Stockholm from two sides, encircling the city. The defenders, mainly weakened and retreating divisions shouldn’t stand a chance.

On the 19th the Bismarck catches another 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers. She takes some hits though, and will need to spend some time in port for repairs.

Italy is finally making progres in Africa. After months of going back and forth over 3 or 4 provinces, they’ve finally made a push towards the Suez Channel and managed to cross it. Lets hope they can hold that ground. I’m planning on taking Gibraltar, which should then lock the Med.

The Fins have lost any and all innitiative they may have had in the Winter War. The Japanese have troops in Australia, but they’ve lost Sydney and thus their supply route. I’m curious as to how that will end.

We start the assault on Stockholm on May 4th. The fighting is rather easy and we lose only 94 men to the Swedes 1784. We take the city on the 6th and the country on the 7th. Next up: Norway.

In other news: the Japanese lose Sydney and now have two marine division stuck in Australia. I hope they soon fix that and conquer the place. I need them to put the pressure on India and the USSR when that war starts.

 

[Belgiumruler]

Norway next?

 

[SKOTy]

Norway next?

[Silly pun]Norway? No(r)way![/Silly pun]

 

[Encicia]

Norway next?

[Silly pun]Norway? No(r)way![/Silly pun]

Yes!

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 16 1 June 1940 – 31 August 1940

Chapter 16
1 June 1940 – 31 August 1940

We complete the garrison of France and the Low Countries. The garrison of Denmark and Sweden is still being build, but it’s nearing completion.

We start the attack on Norway and it’s only a matter of hours before we reach the suburbs of Oslo. There is some fighting, but after a mere three days Norway surrenders and becomes a puppet.

The Italians declare war on Greece while the bulk of their army is in... France. The AI is weird sometimes. It’s almost as if they are planning to do a Sealion of their own.

The battle for Greece will prove to be a hard one, with the Greeks offering some fierce resistance.

Japan retakes Sydney and lands in New Zealand. It won’t be long before the guns go silent on the Southern Pacific. Singapore is a whole different story though, as it’s still under British control and the Japanese still haven’t taken back the second port on the peninsula.

Meanwhile in Ethiopia, the French are making some progres. It has become a giant mess with Ethiopian, Italian, Japanese forces fighting British, French and Iraqi divisions. We’ll have to conquer this region eventually though, as it’s one of our goals for this campaign.

The Iraqis won’t be much trouble though as they are swiftly conquered by the Italians on August 9th. Apart from the gigantic army in France, the Italian AI is functioning pretty well. I could’ve been a whole lot worse.

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 17 1 September 1940 – 31 December 1940

Chapter 17
1 September 1940 – 31 December 1940

We start September by winning a small naval battle against the British. My navy isn’t very powerful, but it still manages to hold its own in a fight. I’m guessing the brunt of the Brits are in the Far East, hopefully Japan is sinking a bunch of them.

And just as I wrote that, the Brits attack in force. 3 battleships and one carrier catch the Bismarck of guard. A quick retreat to Bordeaux prevents further damage, but it will take a few weeks to get that fleet back into fighting condition.

The Italian navy also arrives in France. It seems like something serious is about to happen.
I have no ships in that port. That’s all Italians!

A small uprising needs to be crushed in Poland, but for the remainder of the year things quiet down a bit. The Italians take a break in Greece at the riverline although I don’t understand why. Those stacks should have enough strength to brush aside a few Greek divisions. Nevertheless, I don’t have the navy, or the troops, or the will to help. They’ll figure it out for themselves.

The year ends with Finland and Bulgaria joining the Axis. Japan conquers Australia. Lets hope they can now concentrate on taking Singapore. We get involved in another naval battle and we both lose a destroyer flottila, but I manage to severely damage two British battleships as the Bismarck only takes on some minor damage.

As January 1st rolls around the US takes control of Iceland and Greenland and start their Lend-Lease. More ships for me to sink!

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 18 1 January 1941 – 28 February 1941

Chapter 18
1 January 1941 – 28 February 1941

Italy conquers Greece on the 5th of January. It seems they got some help from Bulgaria conquering the mighty Greek nation..

I’m bombing Dover in an attempt to ground the strategic bombers. If they can’t repair, the damage done by my interceptors might actually have an effect. Bombing over the Netherlands and Western Germany has decreased over the last few weeks so I’m guessing it’s working.

We catch a remnant of the French fleet of the coast of Portugal. They’re quickly destroyed though.

February is marked by the war with Spain. As Italy conquered Gibraltar, the only way to get the Gibraltar-effect is by owning Tánger. I plan on annexing Morocco and puppeting the rest because of the rebel issues plus the extra ports I will have to defend. I’m hoping the Spanish can take care of themselves for the most part. If they are attacked and they don’t manage to contain the attack I’ll try to hold the British at the Pyrenees. To accomplish this, I will try to pocket no Spanish troops in order to keep as many of them in the field as possible.
First strike will be at Tanger/Ceuta and Barcelona. Once Morocco is secured those marines will move to Valencia to capture another port and to relieve supply issues.

Morocco has only a small garrison and it is quickly conquered. The marines move on to Valencia and land after a quick fight.

There’s an uprising in Poland which is quickly spreading and will have to be dealt with. I’m sending in the SS and some infantry for now, but I’m contemplating building a dedicated unit to crush revolts in this area.

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 19 1 March 1941 – 30 April 1941

Chapter 19
1 March 1941 – 30 April 1941

The Italians start breaking out of Gibraltar. In the end they would manage to almost conquer half of Spain before I managed to take out the last VP, the one in Galicia.

We engage in some heavy fighting in order to join the fronts of Barcelona and Valencia. After conquering Valencia, the Spanish fleet decides to attack the Bismarck. Two battleships and 7 screens attack my flagship. The Bismarck manages to hold her own though and after a few hours of battle the Spanish pride lays on the bottom of the Gulf of Valencia. She is quickly joined by the other battleship: the España. In the end the Bismarck takes heavy damage and will be in port for a few weeks. It probably would’ve been better to leave the Spanish fleet alone and let them add to the Axis navy once they become our puppet, but I couldn’t have both my fleets stuck in port while the Allies attack my convoys en route to Spain.

Fighting in the South is heavy at first. The Northern front manages to quickly join up with the attack from the Pyrenees. The 1st Mountain Corps and 2nd SS push through the mountains and into the plains of Northern Spain. As the Spanish have exceptionally high NU, I will have to capture all VPs. I expected the resistance in the North to be stronger, but the marines managed to cover a lot of ground very fast. Convoy raiding caused some supply issues in the South but as the fronts joined up that was quickly solved.

April rolls around and I prepare to launch 3 new battleships. I now have 4 battleships and one carrier at my disposal plus a whole bunch of screens. Meanwhile, Japan takes Hong Kong, but loses the territory surrounding the city.

We start the attack on Madrid on the 7th of April. Madrid and the one in Galicia are the only VPs remaining. The SS is racing towards that last VP, trying to prevent the Italians from pocketing too many troops. Each division the Spanish can keep is one they can use to defend against the British.

Madrid falls on the 9th after only a short battle. We capture some 3000 supplies and 3500 fuel with it, which is always nice to have.

 

[Encicia]

Chapter 20 1 May 1941 – 31 May 1941

Chapter 20
1 May 1941 – 31 May 1941

May starts with another naval battle of the coast of Portugal. We lose a destroyer, but the British lose the Rodney and the Cornwall. Another battleship gone. Then, on the 9th, Spain surrenders. We take Morocco and the rest becomes our puppet.

Now that I have 4 battleships, I feel secure enough to venture out into the Channel. We immediately sink the HMS London, which was all by itself. A few more battles and some naval bombings leave us with a damaged fleet, with one destroyer apparently taking the beating. It limps back to port with 0% strength.

Bombing over Dover continues and as the airfield gets destroyed, so does the surrounding industry.

I check out the intelligence reports from time to time. The US is still building IC, the UK is building ships, ships, ships and planes. The Russians are also building IC, but then I notice something else: They are under 500 MP. Guess there is a very big army waiting for me.. Or the intel is wrong..

On the 26th the British lose another battleship, the Royal Sovereign, to the Bismarck and Friedrich der Grobe.
The Japanese start invading Sri Lanka and they’re trying to establish a foothold on the western Indian coast. I wonder how that will end.