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Appeasement..."Peace for our time"

Nothing but words.

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Seyss-Inquart and Hitler in Vienna, March 1938

In 1938 Austria was annexed by the Nazis as England and the rest of the world ignored them.

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From left to right: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano pictured before signing the Munich Agreement.

Later in 1938 an even more shameful event occurred, the Munich Agreement. Here the allied powers abandoned the Czechs in their time of need. We agreed to let the Nazis have their prized "Sudetenland". Germany would out-right invade Czechoslovakia another six months later, as Britain and the French were content to sit back and watch the Third Reich expand.

It was not until the Germans attacked Poland in 1939 that we decided to take a stand...But it was too late. Poland was no match for the might of the Wehrmacht. Several months after the fall of Poland Denmark and Norway fell under the ugly shadow of fascism. Not even the French, who constructed a defense-oriented technological terror known as "The Maginot Line", could stand up to power of a restored Germany. France was conquered and it soon capitulated to the Nazis. A new French state "Vichy France" was created in the south of France.

It is today that the Soviets have learned that Fascism is the enemy of mankind, for the Third Reich has just declared war on the so-called "workers paradise".

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Appeasement has left Europe in this state. The world has been torn asunder. Fascism's cold grip clutches Europe as the strength of the allies wanes. Will the British Empire be able to recapture its glory? Or will the sun set on the empire, on democracy, and rise on the Third Reich and Fascism?

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Read and find out!



1941
June 1941: Mediterranean Theater
June 1941: Home Front
July 1941: Mediterranean Theater
July 1941: Home Front
August 1941: Mediterranean Theater
---No September Sorry!---
October 1941: Mediterranean Theater
October 1941: Home Front
November 1941: Mediterranean Theater
November 1941: Home Front
November 1941: "Dissecting Fortress Europe"
December 1941: "The World at War"
January 1942: "The State of the Empire"

February 1942: "Seizing the Fortress Walls"
March 1942: "Britskrieg of Iberia"
April 1942: "At the Fringe of the Reich"
May 1942: "The Stalemate Continues"
June 1942: "Courage and Endurance"
July 1942: "The Counterattack"
August 1942: "Daybreak"
September 1942: "No Rest for the Weary"
October 1942: "Resurgence"
November 1942: "Breakthrough"
December 1942: "Miller, the Hero"

January 1943: "A New Year, A New War"
February 1943: "Entering the Endgame"
March 1943: "Details of Operation Overlord"
March 1943: "The Heart of the Reich"
April 1943: "April Showers"
May 1943: "Without Removing a Nail"
June 1943: "The Fate of Europe"
June 1943: "Disillusionment"
July 1943: "The Ten Year Reich"
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10836375&postcount=215August 1943: "The European Fire Burns Out"
September 1943: "Operation Downfall"
October 1943: "X-Day"
November 1943: "Shattered Jade"
"A Fitting End"



The Historian's Summary

June and July 1941
August and September 1941
October and November 1941
December 1941-February 1942
March-May 1942
June-August 1942
September-November 1942
December 1942-February 1943
March-May 1943
June-August 1943
September-December 1943



Epilogue:​

Chapter I: The Beginnings of British Weakness
Chapter II: The First Crisis
Chapter III: France, a Geographical Expression
Chapter IV: Of Little Consequence
[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11415235&postcount=284"]Chapter V: Where Are My Son's Ashes?

Chapter VI: The End of History
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Finale

September 1941: The Passage of Time


 
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Yes, I have returned to the AAR scene after about a 3-month hiatus/abandoning my first AAR. I am playing now with the AI improvement pack v1.3.1 so hopefully I won't run into any glitches that break the game. Hopefully I can deliver a good AAR experience with this one and have as many good readers as before. Thanks!

-Evilfishtank.
 
Mediterranean Theater, June 1941.

The events that transpired during the last days of June did nothing to calm the fears of axis victory.

At the moment, The Mediterranean theater was the only one that had a substantial amount of Englishmen fighting. At the beginning of the war nobody would have thought that the Italians would have been much of a problem. They would have been incorrect. Currently the Italians outnumber British/commonwealth forces by a vast margin. Any and all forces in the area have been ordered to redeploy to the front in order to stop the Italian advance.


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The front as of 22 June, 1941

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An Australian division and 2 HQs are ordered to the front. The addition of such a slight force will most likely have little effect on the Italians.

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This force will have a much larger impact than the former. 2 motorized divisions, and 2 regular divisions will have enough firepower to block any corridor of Italian advance. Unfortunately they are traveling from Syria, so their arrival at the front will be some time away.

Command had hoped that the "bumbling, foolish" Italians ineptitude would render them unable to see their numerical advantage. Command was about as foolish as they thought the Italians were. The Italians attacked almost immediately after the orders were given to all British units to deploy to the front.

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A column of Italian AB 41s pass through a once UK controlled village.

They swiftly overwhelmed the British defenders and a retreat was ordered. Defending those areas was a needless loss of life. Reinforcements would be arriving eventually, so a defensive line could be formed deeper into Egypt upon their arrival.

After their initial advance into Egypt the Italians turned their attention to Tobruk, an area of vast importance. The scant garrison was overrun and retreated onto transport ships which had arrived just in time. Tobruk was almost a second Dunkirk. Although the size of the retreating force was much smaller, the shame of it was doubled, after all it was the Italians...

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The Tobruk garrison was sent to Malta to reorganize, they'll have an important role to play in the Mediterranean.

Just as the transports made it to Malta a large naval engagement between the Regia Marina and Royal Navy took place off the coast of Tobruk.

The two fleets were comprised mainly of battleships, with the British fleet having the only carrier, the HMS Eagle. The Italian fleet was the aggressor. They thought they had taken the British fleet unaware but British radar had spotted the Italians. Not knowing that the British were ready the Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Da Zara, came full speed toward the British vessels. They were met by a barrage of shells fired from the 15 ships. The Italians lost 2 battleships(the RM Giulio Cesare and the RM Conte Di Cavour) and two light cruisers (the RM Bande Nere and the RM Muzio Attendolo). While the British lost only a destroyer flotilla.

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After his initial success, the British commanding officer, Admiral Tovey decided to pursue the retreating Italian fleet. His overconfidence proved to be deadly to many British sailors for Tovey fell right into a trap. His ships were damaged, their crews unorganized while the Italian ships waiting for him were in better condition and their crews were more than ready for a prolonged engagement.

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The two fleets battled back and forth. Salvos were fired from all ships. A salvo from the RM Vittorio Veneto smashed through the HMS Eagle, splitting it in two and sending it to the depths of the Mediterranean. The only major loss on the Italian side was of the heavy cruiser, the RM Gorizia. Several smaller ships were lost on both sides. While the Italian navy was hurt more because of their inability to swiftly replace what they have lost, this battle has still hurt the British. The Italian navy is far from toothless and if the Japanese get involved in the war then the Royal Navy will be stretched to thin and all hell will break loose. That is why Command will soon be organizing a new battle plan for the Mediterranean. They will be sending A large amount of motorized divisions and ships. Once the motorized divisions arrive the plan is to be enacted. This top secret map has been issued to all commanders in the Mediterranean:

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The yellow zones represent ares of amphibious landings. It is thought that a diversionary invasion of Sardinia(carried out by the former defenders of Tobruk) will draw Mussolini's gaze away from Libya for long enough to land several motorized divisions behind Italian lines. Once there these divisions will swiftly advance and cut Italian supply lines. While this is taking place the motorized divisions in Egypt will proceed with very carefully planned advances, only attacking when victory is a near certainty. Ideally, this will push the Italians into an easily manageable zone of containment where they will eventually be driven into their vaunted "mare nostrum". Of course, this plan relies on reinforcements from the mainland. If these reinforcements are somehow lost in-transit than the fate of the Empire is grim, and the axis powers might very will win the war...




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Next update will cover some home front stuff(production, research etc.) and probably some more N.Africa stuff, not sure yet. Thanks for reading!
 
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The Home Front, June 1941

The home front has been relatively quiet. Let us hope it stays this way.

The most important matter is the re-deployment of the forces that will be used in the top secret "Plan for Africa". The bulk of the British army has been sent to the area around Liverpool. Here they will be organized under a new command structure and then shipped to Africa to enact the plan. A small amount of divisions have been sent to undefended British ports to keep them out of German hands.

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Almost the entire Royal Navy now rests in Scapa Flow. Soon they shall be re-organized into smaller fleets and then dispatched to each theater according to the needs of that theater and the capabilities of the respective fleets and their commanding officers.

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A large amount of ships to be sure. It will most likely be split into two main battle fleets, a CTF and a SAG. The rest of the ships will be either used as reserve vessels or as ASW groups.

All other happenings on the home front fall into the sphere of Armaments Minister Sir Kingsley Wood.

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One late night the spectacled man was reviewing last months numbers of merchant shipping losses while examining the current production queues for all the factories in Britain. He noticed that not enough was being done to combat the problem of losing so many resource convoys, but at the same time all factories were building something important to the war effort. He had a difficult decision to make but ultimately decided that what the UK needed least was submarines. The next day he issued a nation wide order that all factories currently producing submarines must stop immediately and switch to building convoy transports or convoy escorts. He is quoted as saying "A submarine is bloody useless when you can't even ship in fuel to run the thing, and ship in food to feed the crew who runs the thing!". So it was that 49 groups of convoy transports were ordered to be built(7 parallel builds 7 times). This would total 149 transports. Also 5 groups of escorts were ordered.

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A near finished Submarine being worked on in Norfolk Naval Yard. This Submarine, although almost completed would eventually be scrapped for metal to produce convoy transports and escorts.

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Sir Kinglsey Wood also assigned the nations top minds to various research projects. The most important being the research of a proper marine division, and various land doctrines that had not been updated since the great war!

There is nothing else major to report on the home front, there is a coal deficit that Churchill has Minister Wood to keep an eye on.

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Not even a trade deal made with America for 50 units of coal a day has put a dent in the deficit. Churchill is upset that Sir Kingsley Wood, a resource industrialist, has not been able to identify the source of the problem.

Hopefully the armies and navies will be organized soon enough to stop the Italians before they totally overrun Egypt and take the Suez canal. For if this happens than "The Plan for Africa" will be rendered useless and The Italians will be one step closer to the jewel in the crown, India.
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Next update goes back to N.Africa and possibly will cover the departure of the soldiers to the Mediterranean theater. Will most likely be done sometime between tuesday-friday pending on how much HW I have and how fast i can finish it. Thanks for reading!
 
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A nice AAR you have going here, very interesting to watch how you play out this game. The fighting in North Africa is going to be the main focus (outside of East Asia) for you and is an area that I'm sure the Brits will be able to hold against their Italian Counterparts and their smaller more experienced German foes.

Looking forward for more! ;)
 
A nice AAR you have going here, very interesting to watch how you play out this game. The fighting in North Africa is going to be the main focus (outside of East Asia) for you and is an area that I'm sure the Brits will be able to hold against their Italian Counterparts and their smaller more experienced German foes.

Looking forward for more! ;)

Thanks! I chose the Brits in this scenario because there are several interesting options on the table once N.Africa is cleared.

Oooh a 1941-er!

Yeah I really like the '41 scenario because the game isn't decided yet. It can go either way. I chose the Barbarossa one because the USA wasn't involved yet. I wanted to give the Japanese a chance to not screw the axis, we'll see how that turns out I guess. Also I don't have a good enough processor and enough patience to do a '36 AAR. Hell even the '41 speed is crazy slow.

Thanks a lot for reading/commenting. N.Africa update hopefully tomorrow night after I get home from school.
 
Mediterranean Theater, July 1941

The month of July was another month marked by failures.

On the 1st of the month the Italians(lead by the units of the German "Afrika Korps") stormed the El Dab'a province. The defenders were vastly outnumbered and they were forced to retreat.

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German armored units were the most feared sight in N.Africa

Hours after the retreat was ordered Siwa was soon overrun by Italians. Again, the defenders had no choice but to retreat.

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When Churchill heard of two overwhelming defeats occurring in so short a time frame he sent a new man to take control of the middle east command. Enter Field Marshal Adam:

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This man was of a different generation. Having fought in the first world war he was no stranger to bloodshed. He also had a innate ability to maximize the use of every crate of materiel. Some criticized the mans tactics and stratagems, saying they were "outdated" but Churchill sensed that the man a cavalier spirit that the British officer had somehow lost. It was almost as if the man was encouraged by the events of the Great War, rather than disillusioned by them. Churchill had the utmost confidence in this man to get the job done.

The first order the new Field Marshal issued was for the divisions currently defending occupied Eritrea to move to the front.

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Adam requested that the Head of Intelligence Robert Menzies assemble a brief report on Sardinia and the size of the garrison currently defending it. The next morning a small letter appeared on his desk.

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When Adam said a "brief" report he didn't mean this brief...

To defeat four Italian brigades and take Sardinia it would take at least four British brigades. Sardinia was not valuable enough to waste four motorized brigades on. The "Plan for Africa" would have to be altered. Adam's new plan was this: instead of a small force invading Sardinia, a small force would invade Tripoli. The large force that originally was to land at Tripoli would now invade Tobruk and would assist in crushing the Italian army in Libya. Of course all of this could only happen once the much awaited reinforcements arrived, which Home Command said would not be until August. At the moment more pressing matters were at hand.

After the retreating division from Siwa arrived at friendly territory it was almost immediately assaulted by several Italian divisions. No rest for the weary. With not enough men to counter attack or to hold the position the only decision was obvious: retreat.

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The third retreat in a month, Churchill would not be pleased if Adam could not turn things around soon.

By the middle of July the Italians had captured several kilometers of British territory. Luckily, the divisions sent from Syria would arrive at the front any day now. Hopefully they would be enough to hold the line until the reinforcements from the mainland arrived.

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Towards the end of July the Italians organized an attack on the Qara province. If this province was lost it could potentially shatter the front and would put the Italians in an excellent position to march on Alexandria, and then the Suez canal!

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The divisions from Syria soon arrived in Qara to meet the attackers. Luckily the Italians only committed 2 divisions to the assault, a tank division and a militia division. Under these circumstances the British were able to hold and the British won their first victory in N.Africa that had occurred in recent memory.

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It was a relatively bloodless battle, but its significance cannot be understated. The victory was a huge morale boost for the British soldiers and people alike. Most importantly it Legitimized Field Marshal Adam, who had been under heavy criticism by many.

This was the last major occurrence in July. Admiral Toveys fleet was far too battered to undergo any sort of naval operations and the newly created fleets had not yet arrived.

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Tovey's fleet was in no condition to do anything.


Although July saw the loss of several provinces to the Axis powers, the feeling at the end of the month was of optimism. The Italian onslaught had stopped and soon fresh troops would arrive at the front. Maybe August wouldn't be so bad...







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Thanks for reading/commenting everybody. Next update will probably be some more home front stuff. Maybe I can get that up tomorrow, if not then probably thursday/friday.
 
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Very enjoyable EvilFishtank: subscribed!

You were definitely going to overstretch yourself going for both N Africa and Sardinia, so good decision not to do the latter.

Thanks! I was hoping that Sardinia was going to be undefended but it turns out that they had a division there. With that being the case I would have to send at least 2 divisions to have a good chance of winning. It wasn't really worth it because I could just send guys after Libya was over. Thanks for commenting/reading.
 
Looks like the Italians have made minor gains in Egypt, but it looks like you've stemmed the tide for now. The Italians still don't have an chance to take the Mediterranean Sea unless the Suez falls into Axis hands.

I would guess then, the race for the Suez is on!
 
Looks like the Italians have made minor gains in Egypt, but it looks like you've stemmed the tide for now. The Italians still don't have an chance to take the Mediterranean Sea unless the Suez falls into Axis hands.

I would guess then, the race for the Suez is on!

Yeah the bullets/shells are going to fly in August. Thanks for commenting!

Sorry I couldn't get the home front update up tonight everybody, had to much reading. I had to finish William Herrick's Hermanos! and had to start reading Robert Graves' Good-Bye to All That in addition to a bunch of other stuff. I'll have it up tomorrow night when I get back from school.
 
The Home Front, July 1941

The home front was busy with the usual nuisances of running a war.

The first order of business that had to be addressed was the organizing the units that would be shipped to Africa under a coherent, logical command structure. Army brass accomplished this task with surprising haste. 2 army corps were created, the "1st African Motorized Corps" and the "2nd African Motorized Corps". The divisions were attached to these two army corps. These two corps were then attached to an army HQ, the "1st Motorized African Army" which was then attached directly to Field Marshall Adam's unit, "Middle East Command".

The organizational structure and naming convention seen above would be saved as a reference and, if successful in Africa, would be used again in other theaters.

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Another matter of organization: the mighty Royal Navy.

A CTF was created and put under the command of Admiral Burrogh, noted throughout war college as quite a tactician. The three carriers in his fleet were the HMS Formidable, HMS Victorious, HMS Illustrious. The three carriers were accompanied by two battlecruisers, the HMS Repulse and the HMS Renown, and several smaller ships.

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The HMS Formidable

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The HMS Victorious

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The HMS Illustrious

A SAG was also assembled, commanded by the brilliant Admiral Sommerville. The main ships of this force were the battleships HMS Rodney, HMS King George V, HMS Nelson the escort carrier the HMS Argus two heavy cruisers and a few screening vessels.

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Both of these fleets were immediately dispatched to Alexandria, along with the transport fleet which carried several of the newly organized divisions. They would have to stop at Gibraltar to refuel, and then again at Malta, but they would eventually make it to Alexandria in August. Once there the war would most certainly shift in our favor, or at least, thats the plan...

There were other, non-military, events that happened that were of importance.

Sir Robert Menzies had a very busy July.
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Head of Intelligence Robert Menzies.

All of Britain asked why their troops were being defeated so badly in Africa. As the Head of Intelligence, Menzies decided to use all resources available to him to find out why. What he found was startling.

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SEVEN nations were accessing Britain's jealously guarded military secrets. Perhaps even the "Plan for Africa" had been compromised! Is that why Sardinia had such a large garrison? These thoughts ran through Menzies' head. In truth it was chance that the Italians had a force defending Sardinia.

Unfortunately Menzies was a bit of a ne'er-do-well. He had let a large axis spy network build up right under his nose. He waited until Churchill was rather inebriated to let him know. Churchill angrily dismissed him. The following day a "brief" letter was on Menzies' desk.

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Now Menzies knew how it felt. At least he had kept his job. This was a large wake up call for the man. He must get results or else his career would be over. Churchill would definitely be as drunk next month, but not as merciful.

Diplomacy is another area with significant occurrences.

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Foreign Minister Eden

Foreign Minister Anthony Eden stared at what he believes was a stroke of brilliance. He had devised a system to calculate a nations proximity towards one of the worlds major alliances and plot it on a triangular map. He had been working as this system, known as the "Eden Triangle" since 1937! Now, in 1941, it was finally finished and all of the worlds nations had been meticulously placed on the map. Eden considered it a work of art.

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Behold! Eden's Triangle

As Eden carefully inspected the triangle on a hot July night he received an angry phone call from Churchill. Churchill, while impressed with the triangle, was infuriated that Eden had not increased the size of the diplomatic corps and, more importantly, did not at any point in 1941 strive to recruit new nations into the allies. Eden regretfully apologized and he drearily hung up the phone. He sat depressed staring at the triangle. He carefully decided what nations he should attempt to bring into the fold. He logically decided on two nations, but it was very difficult for Eden, a tried and true ideologue, to recruit these two nations with good conscience. After all, they weren't at the apex of democracy. However they both had supreme strategic importance. One for its large oil production, one for its strategic location. After much internal conflict Eden decided that getting them to join the war against Fascism was more important than his ideological caveats. He sent his emissaries to the two nations the following morning.

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And so it is that July ends. The home front has been busy and fortunately there were no major setbacks other than Menzies missing and entire spy network. August will no doubt be a better month. Hopefully the Turks and the Venezuelans will respond favorably to Eden's diplomatic blitzing or else his vaunted triangle will be for not and the Allies will stand isolated like islands in a sea of fascism...









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Tried something a little different with this update, let me know what you thought. I might make the home front updates more like this because if I just tell you what happens the update will be really short. Next update will be fir-sat-sun sometime. Depends on work/HW. Thanks a lot for reading and commenting guys.
 
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Getting the big boys on board eh :D
 
Getting the big boys on board eh :D

Haha. Not exactly two powerhouses to be sure. But Venezuela has oil and the Turks are at a really nice spot to be a thorn in the axis' side. Besides, I feel it's gamey to try and get the USA in the alliance before the japanese attack. Thanks a lot for commenting/reading.
 
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The Home Front is perhaps the most crucial for your success as the German Sea Raiders can hamper your abilities overseas tremendously. It's amazing to note the historical abilities of the Royal Navy while using smaller carriers than her American and Japanese counterparts and using biplanes to the fullest effects.

It's also interesting to look at Eden's moves to align Turkey and Venezuela towards the British Alliance, and you pointed out the reasons why above me. Great stuff!
 
The Home Front is perhaps the most crucial for your success as the German Sea Raiders can hamper your abilities overseas tremendously. It's amazing to note the historical abilities of the Royal Navy while using smaller carriers than her American and Japanese counterparts and using biplanes to the fullest effects.

It's also interesting to look at Eden's moves to align Turkey and Venezuela towards the British Alliance, and you pointed out the reasons why above me. Great stuff!

Indeed. Perhaps I will cover ASW efforts in a home front update sometime soon. Thanks so much for the comments!

Mediterranean Theater update will be tomorrow night. I wanted to do it tonight but I am working until very late and then working early tomorrow morning. I will post the update after work sometime. Thanks for reading and commenting everybody!
 
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The Mediterranean Theater, August 1941

In August it seemed that the tide had finally turned against the fascists. However at the beginning of the month the situation seemed as though it had gotten out of hand. The Italians had advanced many kilometers into Egypt and were threatening to overwhelm British forces in the area and capture Alexandria, and then the Suez canal! Luckily the Italian advance was stopped during late July in the battle of Qara, Britain's first major victory of the war. Still, when looking at a map of Africa it looked as though the British were in dire straits...

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North Africa on August 1st 1941. An Italian victory looks imminent.

Fortunately, August was the month in which the first group of much needed motorized divisions would arrive. The Italians, thanks to the axis spy network and the incompetence of Robert Menzies, must have known the transports were on their way. Italian naval patrols were doubled in an effort to try and stop the reinforcements. The transports were ordered to stay at Malta while all of the Mediterranean battle fleets searched for any axis vessel capable of harming the transport fleet. Within hours both Sommerville's SAG and Burrogh's CTF were engaged with the enemy.

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In the Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea the battle was a peculiar one because the Italians had been the agents of their own demise. The CAG of the HMS Argus was sent on one last patrol before the weather declined even further. The Italians spotted this patrol and wrongfully assumed that if they followed it they would be lead to the British carriers which would be useless in such weather conditions. They would be sitting ducks for the guns of the RM Vittorio Veneto and the RM Caio Duilio. Instead the Italians followed the CAG back to the Argus, we're picked up on the radar of the British battleships and were promptly engaged. Once Iachino realized his mistake he called for all Italian patrols in the area for help. The nearest patrol consisted of 3 CAs, a CL and 3 destroyer flotilla. These reinforcements were merely cannon fodder and were quickly sent to the bottom of the sea along with Iachino himself.

This was a massive naval victory for the British. The most modern of Italy's warships and an additional battleship were swiftly destroyed due to the foolishness of one of Italy's own Admirals and to the skill and mettle of British naval personnel. Huzzah!

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The naval skirmish in the Gulf of Bomba was of less significance. Burrogh's fleet found an Italian patrol and swiftly destroyed all traces of it. The Italian cruisers had very little in terms of anti-air, so the CAGs could strafe unopposed while the carriers themselves were out of harms way. The RM Trento and RM Giuseppe Garibaldi were sunk.

With the Italian navy severely wounded it was now safe for the transports to inflict their cargo on the Italians. On the 6th of August the reinforcements finally arrived. They stormed an undefended Tobruk and quickly swept through the surrounding area. This caught the Italian's attention, they began to hastily move divisions from Egypt back to Libya. During the confusion of the Italian redeployment Field Marshall Adam ordered attacks across the board. The transport fleet was sent to return with more men. Fascism would be driven from Africa!

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Upon the capture of Tobruk a small motorized division, commanded by General Watson, was ordered to advance on Benghazi.Perhaps the newly Promoted Field Marshall had been overconfident with his orders.

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The division had been ambushed and pinned down by Italian infantry. Another Italian division was advancing upwards to complete an encirclement. Watson's was ordered to break off all combat as soon as possible and return to a more defensible position.

While this was happening the Australian division that had captured Tobruk earlier in the year and had been forced to retreat was ready to return to Africa. Two transport flotillas were sent along with Tovey's fleet to Tripoli. Tripoli was unguarded and easily taken. There was also an added bonus. An Italian fleet was hiding in Tobruk. They attempted to try and run the blockade, but Tovey's skills were too sharp.

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2 more Italian battleships were sunk, bringing the total for August to 4! The Italian navy was certainly crippled now. This was a massive victory. The Italians could no longer project their power across the Mediterranean. It was now Britain's "Mare Nostrum".


The situation swiftly declined from this high point.

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Tobruk was left empty because, when observing the map, it appeared as though all Italian units that could advance on Tobruk were currently being attacked. This was only a carefully fabricated illusion. The Italians only committed part of their army for defense, while the other part stealthily recaptured Tobruk. Field Marshal Adam was furious.

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Watson was now encircled as were several other British divisions. The units at Knightsbridge launched an attack to reclaim Tobruk, an Italian counter attack came from the south and was made swift progress. Days later they captured Knightsbridge. Luckily an army lead by Field Marshall Adam himself was about to break the encirclement.

Towards the end of August the transport fleet came back with the second wave of reinforcements. They could not have come at a more crucial time. They were ordered to commence an amphibious assault on Tobruk in coordination with a massive ground assault. By August 31st the operation had commenced and the second invasion of Tobruk appeared it would be successful.

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Once Tobruk was taken the British forces would be in a much stronger position and would be able to bottle the Italians up in the harsh, unforgiving Libyan deserts. At the end of August, although the map doesn't exactly suggest this, it can be said that North Africa is won. The British army is now as large, if not larger, than the Italian army. Also the British army has better leaders, better doctrines, better weapons and is better supplied. Field Marshall Adam boasted "The Italian Army in North Africa will cease to exist by the end of November.". A bold prediction from a bold man.











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Thanks for reading and commenting everybody. Don't know when I'll get the home front for August 1941 update posted. If not tomorrow sometime than probably tuesday night. If not tuesday than thursday night definitely. Sorry for that but I have a lot of papers due this week so I'll be reading/researching/writing until thursday(which is when last of papers are due). Thanks again everybody, hope your enjoying the AAR.
 
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This is a seldom shown theatre, makes a good change.