I must say I prefer chronological, as has been done so far.
It allows a better understanding of global context for individual events and actions.
It allows a better understanding of global context for individual events and actions.
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So far, in my opinion, you've conducted no campaigns that need explaining on a tactical sense. So far it has been smaller invasions, so the current format works fine.
However, once you get into a larger campaign, with more drawn out objectives, I would be interested in you treating those with more detail, which might mean covering certain aspects at once, instead of chronological.
Maybe going over the big operation, then detail what went in on the rest of the world.
However, once you get into a larger campaign, with more drawn out objectives, I would be interested in you treating those with more detail, which might mean covering certain aspects at once, instead of chronological.
Maybe going over the big operation, then detail what went in on the rest of the world.
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I don't know how much work it is for you, but I would prefer several updates over a not too short, not too long period, each mainly focusing on a single theater.
So let's say January - March.
One post for Asia, one for Africa, one for politics in the rest of the world, 1 for internal developments (trade, technology, espionage, etc).
Combines the best of both worlds.
This in contrast to one post for January, covering everything, then one for February etc, and also in contrast to one post for Asia from January to June, Africa from January to June, etc.
Choose the cut-off points as you like.
So let's say January - March.
One post for Asia, one for Africa, one for politics in the rest of the world, 1 for internal developments (trade, technology, espionage, etc).
Combines the best of both worlds.
This in contrast to one post for January, covering everything, then one for February etc, and also in contrast to one post for Asia from January to June, Africa from January to June, etc.
Choose the cut-off points as you like.
I apologize for the long, long delay! I’ve got all kinds of things hopping right now, and it’s only going to build. I’ll definitely try to keep this on a reasonable schedule, but I cannot promise. I can only try…
I'll also try to give feedback soon, for those many of you who've left it recently!
This one is sort of a problem-solving update. Two theatres, in fact, start to arrive at some degree of solution, and my specific tactics are worth noting...
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Nigeria and the Gold Coast hung in the balance in the 2nd week of October. Seemingly, everything had changed – the British and French had held all the ports and the land, and suddenly Portugal had captured them all, over the course of just one month.
But danger still lurked. Not only was there a mixed motorised division in the Kumasi region, but another British infantry division was moving through the jungle west of Lagos, Nigeria. Unless properly coordinated against, these had the potential to cause a lot of trouble.
In fact, the British under Gen. Gott mounted an operation to dislodge the Portuguese position at Accra, and it looked as if this venture might succeed…
Things remained desperate in Kuching, as well. Portugal’s naval bombers were assisting against the enemy, but the local commander was drawing upon every resource, the Focke Wulfs not the least. He brought in a headquarters brigade from Hong Kong to help balance the sides and try to hold on to the vital Bornean port.
However, in the Central African front, Portuguese cavalry was proving very useful in cutting off the French mountaineers from supply, and planned to continue on into the Belgian Congo to cut their coastal troops off, as well. The Belgian operative capital was deep in the Congolese rainforest, and so their supply had to get out, rather than to be shipped in. Once these local colonial divisions were isolated, they could be picked apart, hopefully.
From the jungles north of Accra, the French light armoured division aided the attack of Gen. Gott against our defenses there. This was a desperate fight to free the British division from entrapment, but with French tanks to the north, and only two garrison brigades to hold the line it was not a feeble attempt! Our tac bombers tried to lessen the impact of their armour, but it was not enough. We retreated, but a fresh division stripped from Abidjan fell into place within hours to keep the French and British at bay. That was a near-run thing!
In West Africa, our cavalry has finally reached the sea again, sealing a cordon around Dakar so that no one may approach without crossing the buffer zone.
Meanwhile, the desperate fight in Kuching continued. One infantry division had suffered since the beginning, and there was danger they would need to be evacuated to avoid danger of breaking. Then, there was some question whether the other division would be able to hold off the British, who still didn’t seem to be suffering from lack of supplies.
An HQ brigade was brought in to help, but that would surely be of little consequence on its own… Perhaps, though, it would provide the edge that was needed to survive!
Back to W. Africa… Remember, in order to keep the British surrounded, and to keep from losing Accra to reoccupation, we had to borrow our garrison division from Abidjan. And, remember, our cavalry just completed its mission north of Dakar. Keep in mind, also, that the garrison division – even the new, fresh one, even with air cover – isn’t going to be able to hold out long against a full-strength British motorised division (even if surrounded) and a French light tank division.
So… the 3rd Cavalry then embarks from north of Dakar, and speeds as quickly as possible to Abidjan, to replace the missing division and keep that from becoming a possible avenue of escape.
This is where our occupation of the British and French bases – almost all of them along the African coast – shows its worth. My destroyers would probably not fare too well against a British cruiser, or two, or three (or the French subs, which used to lurk in these waters, but who now have no base south of Casablanca!). But because I’ve ridded the Royal Navy of its nearby bases, there’s far less to worry about. Remember, also, that the British still have Freetown, as well as St. Helena and Ascension Island, but except for Freetown (where you can see they have ships in port), these bases make the AI less able to intercept me because they use different predetermined routes.
We’re still facing off against the British in Hong Kong. With a garrison division there, the British probably do not have the ability to take me before I could react (except for the small point that I can’t react AND keep Kuching, but the less they know about that, the better off we are – confusion to the enemy!!!). At the same time, we have found we cannot do anything against Hong Kong – they’re too strong there with their own garrison division. Stalemate. They have French ships in port, but they won’t have time to react when a transport from home arrives with reinforcements. Ideally, these reinforcements would stay at Hong Kong, but realistically they’ll be dispatched to Kuching to save our bacon.
In fact… Realistically, I’m going to need both garrison divisions from Hong Kong. Again, what they don’t know… And so both of my garrison divisions head south (the French ships, btw, are just transports, so no threat). Because we’re about to lose at least one division to low organisation, and since I need my transports free to roam and pick up reinforcements, I’ll take one province behind my current position in order to have someplace to retreat to. This will prevent any surrenders of my forces, due to not having a line of retreat. Now, to find something truly useful for my garrisons – a way of tipping the balance in Kuching, permanently…
The Support Weapons tech advance is welcome, even though it means we need to shift more IC into urgent upgrades. The Defensiveness value is what we really want to improve. Whereas before the war, I spent a lot of tech time improving my garrison stats, that job is pretty much over now, and I’m shifting to improving my infantry, starting with defensive values, and moving into offensive (ignoring hard attack for the time being – I’m not going to try to go against any tanks, the French in Africa being an unwelcome quirk in that plan).
Now, back to France for an update…
You’ll notice that the Italians are starting to make some serious progress in the south. They’ve got the French on the run. Up north, the Germans continue to make steady advances… Except right around Paris, where the French are making a very respectable stand! The Germans are rolling up the Maginot Line from behind. They’re advancing along the coast.
I’m still conflicted, at this point, as to whether I want France to fall or not. In some ways, the release of pressure would be welcome. At the same time, there are more lands that I’d prefer to have in my hands, and not kept by a postwar French puppet government.
I'll also try to give feedback soon, for those many of you who've left it recently!
This one is sort of a problem-solving update. Two theatres, in fact, start to arrive at some degree of solution, and my specific tactics are worth noting...
___________________________
Nigeria and the Gold Coast hung in the balance in the 2nd week of October. Seemingly, everything had changed – the British and French had held all the ports and the land, and suddenly Portugal had captured them all, over the course of just one month.
But danger still lurked. Not only was there a mixed motorised division in the Kumasi region, but another British infantry division was moving through the jungle west of Lagos, Nigeria. Unless properly coordinated against, these had the potential to cause a lot of trouble.
In fact, the British under Gen. Gott mounted an operation to dislodge the Portuguese position at Accra, and it looked as if this venture might succeed…
Things remained desperate in Kuching, as well. Portugal’s naval bombers were assisting against the enemy, but the local commander was drawing upon every resource, the Focke Wulfs not the least. He brought in a headquarters brigade from Hong Kong to help balance the sides and try to hold on to the vital Bornean port.
However, in the Central African front, Portuguese cavalry was proving very useful in cutting off the French mountaineers from supply, and planned to continue on into the Belgian Congo to cut their coastal troops off, as well. The Belgian operative capital was deep in the Congolese rainforest, and so their supply had to get out, rather than to be shipped in. Once these local colonial divisions were isolated, they could be picked apart, hopefully.
From the jungles north of Accra, the French light armoured division aided the attack of Gen. Gott against our defenses there. This was a desperate fight to free the British division from entrapment, but with French tanks to the north, and only two garrison brigades to hold the line it was not a feeble attempt! Our tac bombers tried to lessen the impact of their armour, but it was not enough. We retreated, but a fresh division stripped from Abidjan fell into place within hours to keep the French and British at bay. That was a near-run thing!
In West Africa, our cavalry has finally reached the sea again, sealing a cordon around Dakar so that no one may approach without crossing the buffer zone.
Meanwhile, the desperate fight in Kuching continued. One infantry division had suffered since the beginning, and there was danger they would need to be evacuated to avoid danger of breaking. Then, there was some question whether the other division would be able to hold off the British, who still didn’t seem to be suffering from lack of supplies.
An HQ brigade was brought in to help, but that would surely be of little consequence on its own… Perhaps, though, it would provide the edge that was needed to survive!
Back to W. Africa… Remember, in order to keep the British surrounded, and to keep from losing Accra to reoccupation, we had to borrow our garrison division from Abidjan. And, remember, our cavalry just completed its mission north of Dakar. Keep in mind, also, that the garrison division – even the new, fresh one, even with air cover – isn’t going to be able to hold out long against a full-strength British motorised division (even if surrounded) and a French light tank division.
So… the 3rd Cavalry then embarks from north of Dakar, and speeds as quickly as possible to Abidjan, to replace the missing division and keep that from becoming a possible avenue of escape.
This is where our occupation of the British and French bases – almost all of them along the African coast – shows its worth. My destroyers would probably not fare too well against a British cruiser, or two, or three (or the French subs, which used to lurk in these waters, but who now have no base south of Casablanca!). But because I’ve ridded the Royal Navy of its nearby bases, there’s far less to worry about. Remember, also, that the British still have Freetown, as well as St. Helena and Ascension Island, but except for Freetown (where you can see they have ships in port), these bases make the AI less able to intercept me because they use different predetermined routes.
We’re still facing off against the British in Hong Kong. With a garrison division there, the British probably do not have the ability to take me before I could react (except for the small point that I can’t react AND keep Kuching, but the less they know about that, the better off we are – confusion to the enemy!!!). At the same time, we have found we cannot do anything against Hong Kong – they’re too strong there with their own garrison division. Stalemate. They have French ships in port, but they won’t have time to react when a transport from home arrives with reinforcements. Ideally, these reinforcements would stay at Hong Kong, but realistically they’ll be dispatched to Kuching to save our bacon.
In fact… Realistically, I’m going to need both garrison divisions from Hong Kong. Again, what they don’t know… And so both of my garrison divisions head south (the French ships, btw, are just transports, so no threat). Because we’re about to lose at least one division to low organisation, and since I need my transports free to roam and pick up reinforcements, I’ll take one province behind my current position in order to have someplace to retreat to. This will prevent any surrenders of my forces, due to not having a line of retreat. Now, to find something truly useful for my garrisons – a way of tipping the balance in Kuching, permanently…
The Support Weapons tech advance is welcome, even though it means we need to shift more IC into urgent upgrades. The Defensiveness value is what we really want to improve. Whereas before the war, I spent a lot of tech time improving my garrison stats, that job is pretty much over now, and I’m shifting to improving my infantry, starting with defensive values, and moving into offensive (ignoring hard attack for the time being – I’m not going to try to go against any tanks, the French in Africa being an unwelcome quirk in that plan).
Now, back to France for an update…
You’ll notice that the Italians are starting to make some serious progress in the south. They’ve got the French on the run. Up north, the Germans continue to make steady advances… Except right around Paris, where the French are making a very respectable stand! The Germans are rolling up the Maginot Line from behind. They’re advancing along the coast.
I’m still conflicted, at this point, as to whether I want France to fall or not. In some ways, the release of pressure would be welcome. At the same time, there are more lands that I’d prefer to have in my hands, and not kept by a postwar French puppet government.
Your tactics in West Africa continues to require you to "rob Peter to pay Paul." Let's hope you don't get caught short at the end of the month! 
The french issue is such a conundrum... I actually did a similar port denial plan in Africa in my current Nationalist Spain game (I'm working on an AAR finally! still in the works). But France fell before I could claim anything against them so it was mostly me against the British (as well as a harrowing near-disaster in South Africa). However I do have plans for Vichy eventually .
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Still good progress in Africa, though to secure a quicker capture of territory, you may need to draw down strength from Portugal itself.
France is showing signs of collapse. Perhaps abandoning the fight in Borneo to take all of French Indo-China might be a better use of your divisions, with Macoa a tempting morselfor the British to attack and a Portuguese destroyer squadron to show up as the British try to retreat. I'm assuming you've finished level 2 sea defense in Macao (or is it still coastal fort?).
What are your build and production priorities at the moment?
France is showing signs of collapse. Perhaps abandoning the fight in Borneo to take all of French Indo-China might be a better use of your divisions, with Macoa a tempting morselfor the British to attack and a Portuguese destroyer squadron to show up as the British try to retreat. I'm assuming you've finished level 2 sea defense in Macao (or is it still coastal fort?).
What are your build and production priorities at the moment?
Those running battles (in West Africa and Kuching) really interfere with your ability to outpace your enemies. If you can prevail in those battles, it might release some forces for other actions. On the other hand, the longer those battles rage, the bigger the chance that some spare British or French unit shows up somewhere else, where you don't have any opposing forces. And that's without the recent withdrawals/redeployments to furnish extra manpower for those two battles...
Still, it's fun to see you spinning all those plates and trying to keep the whole thing from crashing down. No drama without high stakes, right?
Still, it's fun to see you spinning all those plates and trying to keep the whole thing from crashing down. No drama without high stakes, right?
Spinning those plates can get tedious after a while... I'm in the process of taking over India with 7 divisions (3 are Para), and it's tedious work. It's mostly unopposed, but every now an then a stray british unit shows up that I have to surround and destroy. I don't know how many more the UK has in the interior... they don't have any ports left! I've stolen every port of theirs in Africa/Asia/India/Oceania except Hong Kong and Kuching, and Japan is about to take HK anyway. At least now I don't have to worry anymore about British BBs and Carriers showing up to zap my transport groups .
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Maybe you should go for Paris?
But too bad that the freaking game won't accept annexations if the nation belongs to some alliance.
You wouldn't gain that much anyway from the French colonies.
But too bad that the freaking game won't accept annexations if the nation belongs to some alliance.
You wouldn't gain that much anyway from the French colonies.
You are still doing fine, but I think it looks like the Allies have started to push you harder now, so maybe it would be for the best that France falls. I can understand that you want to grab more land in Africa from them, but then again neutralizing all the French divisions around will make it easier to focus on the British and at the moment they seem like the most dangerous and hostile enemy…
Maybe you should go for Paris?
But too bad that the freaking game won't accept annexations if the nation belongs to some alliance.
You wouldn't gain that much anyway from the French colonies.
Faction members don't always go GiE, sometimes they surrender.
I get the feeling that after France falls, the British are going to come knocking on your front door.
Assuming they managed to pull a Dunkerque and didn't lose all their ground troops on the continent.
Anyway, thanks for the great update. Keep it up !
Assuming they managed to pull a Dunkerque and didn't lose all their ground troops on the continent.
Anyway, thanks for the great update. Keep it up !
Alot going on in that update. Things seem to be going reasonably well. Too bad about losing a division though.
Hopefully France can hold out a bit longer.
Hopefully France can hold out a bit longer.
new to the aar scene, old hand at several paradox games. i love this story, and i've worked most of the way through sforza--excellent job on both! now i have to decide if i have the time to read fire warms...
new to the aar scene, old hand at several paradox games. i love this story, and i've worked most of the way through sforza--excellent job on both! now i have to decide if i have the time to read fire warms...
Hi and welcome! As an aside, I've been traversing the AAR fora for almost seven years and I still haven't worked up the courage to tackle the behemoth that is 'Fire Warms'...
So, more power to you if you can take it on. It's quite good, I hear. 
Awesome update. Nice to see you holding down the line. Portugal fighting the British, the French, The Belgians and even South Africans... this is so bizarre. London must've been caught unaware with their former allies springing up a colonial war in their holdings.
What are you going to do if you win in Africa? Take over India? Any plans for a Brazilian Expedition in the future?
What are you going to do if you win in Africa? Take over India? Any plans for a Brazilian Expedition in the future?
