*Is playing world of warhips*
*Sees enemy i disance. Gets into Range. Enemy ships are DEAD.*
As it turns out, when you stupidly decide to cap your BB's at 24 knots, it becomes a bit difficult to get into a effective range.
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*Sees enemy i disance. Gets into Range. Enemy ships are DEAD.*
As it turns out, when you stupidly decide to cap your BB's at 24 knots, it becomes a bit difficult to get into a effective range.
Especially early on, MP is a problem. That's why you shouldn't build a lot of high-MP units before the war. The US pre-war can't handle that.
Why am I not surprised that you follow the historical build-up?
I hear what you way about the short repair times, and I tend to agree. Then again, there is the case of USS Yorktown getting ready for the battle of Midway in record time.
In the mod HPP, you can increase the speed of your ships by decreasing the armor and gun calibres. That allows you to build BB that are just as fast as carriers. Enterprise had several BBs that acted as glorified screens.
True but the damaged she sustained during the 'Coral Sea Battle' were light : only one bomb and despite a hole in the flightdeck, no major "organs" were hit. Nevertheless, it would have required 3 months of work in the shipyards...!
The 72h patchwork repairs made at Pearl Harbour were just good to ensure 3 weeks of operations (in game, that would be rather org regain).
Edit : As a comparison, when she was hit by a kamikaze on April 11th, 1945, the USS Enterprise was again combat-ready in August only...
Well, how quickly was Yorktown made seaworthy in the real world, prior to Midway? 72 hours?
The Japanese thought she'd sunk 3 times. Once at the battle of Coral Sea and twice at Midway. Took 'em 3 goes to get it right. All hail US Navy damage control teams!
Chapter 24: Previously, in Germany... (part 1)
In this chapter, I’m going to focus on what Germany has been doing before the war. I will try to be brief, and focus on the changes between this game and Take Two.
In TFH, the devs have changed the way Industrial Policy Laws work. Consumer Goods now takes a lot more time to finish production. Practicals are the key here. We want to get our important Practicals up as fast as possible, because we have a lot of stuff to build.
By using strategic redeployment, we can have 2 divisions on the border with France by the evening of January, 1st. This way, the Reoccupation of the Rhineland decision becomes available on day 1, giving us enough money to change laws immediately.
Mixed Industry requires a lot more IC in CG needs, so it is counterintuitive, but I have tested it. I have build the same units, composition and numbers twice. Once in CGO, once under MI. You get more done under MI, as Germany.
They are, AFAIK, the only nation that can fully take advantage of this. The democratic and communist nations lack the requirements to enable them, while countries like Italy and Japan can’t afford to spend so much IC on CG.
In other words, we are doing the exact opposite of what we did in Take Two, where we went from Mixed Industry to Consumer Goods orientation.
We build the usual things, such as forts and militia, but I have added one other thing. You can ask Japan for a Production License for Landing Crafts, with a very likely positive answer.
Instead of building a long line of 12 transport ships, I now build 12 LC in parallel.
One other major difference is that, this time, I am going to focus my navy into cruisers. Battlecruisers, Heavy Cruisers and Light Cruisers will be the mainstay of the Kriegsmarine. There is no particular reason for this, other than showing you that you always have alternatives. A pure cruiser fleet is very fast, both in and out of combat. In other words, they will be able to close to firing distance easier in combat, or escape a losing battle easier. Just remember that they are a lot more fragile than Battleships, and not quite capable of intercepting Carriers. If you go into combat with them, you will need more time in drydock to repair and you will probably lose more ships.
The plus side, is that they require far less ICdays to build, leaving more available for the Luftwaffe and the army, and that is what is important for Germany.
The Spanish Civil War started on the 20th of January, 1936.
Just like before, I am getting rid of all HQs to save IC. I am also assigning every German province to the OKH, which allows me to delete the Oberkommando West Theater HQ. When playing manually, Germany only needs the one HQ anyway.
I send all planes and divisions to Berlin, where I make some changes.
The three Larm divisions. I split off one of their Larm brigades and delete the engineers. I will use the cavalry in East Prussia and the Waffen-SS, along with some motorised brigades I will build to turn the lone Larm brigades into additional divisions. This way, we save some IC and end up with 6 Larm divisions, who will (eventually) be turned into Arm divisions instead (Arm/Mot/Mot/Spart).
The Gebirgsbrigade will receive an additional Mountaineer brigade and be renamed “1. Gebirgsjäger-Division”.
The infantry. I strip 1 brigade from each division and use these to build additional divisions. Instead of 36 triangular divisions (inf/inf/inf), I end up with 54 binary divisions (inf/inf). This means I don’t have to build any full infantry divisions until we are getting ready to attack France in 1940. I just have to build 1 Art and 1 AT for each infantry division. In other words, each division will end up looking like this: inf/inf/art/AT.
The rest if fairly standard.
Manual trade to maximize our resource pools as much as possible.
Build Interceptors, CAS and TAC. I will end up with 12 CAS, 12 TAC and 21 Int. These will all be grouped into squadrons of 3 each, so that I can cover more ground.
Land Production focuses on art, AT, Spart, TD, plus additional Motorised divisions (Mot/Mot/TD/Spart) and Armour Divisions.
Send spies to Austria (Support Our Party), France (Counterespionage 1 and Disrupt National Unity 3) and UK and Soviet Union (Counterespionage 1 and Increase Threat 3). Home Spies set to Counterespionage 3 and Raise National Unity 1.
I assigned Schacht as Minister of Industry, getting an additional 10% IC in favor of a resource minister. Getting my resources pre-war is very easy and, once the war has started, we will live off the pools we steal from the countries we conquer.
Anschluss happens in May, 1937, with Italy joining the Axis that same day.
From July that year, I will influence Belgium and Netherlands until after Poland has been conquered, because in TFH, they have a higher tendency of joining the Allies before we are ready to deal with them. That means that I am going to have to keep at least 4 LS in Diplomacy at all times. Again, this is no problem, since Germany is swimming in Leadership. The influence on Switzerland is their own doing. Neutral countries, such as Sweden or Turkey, will switch their influence periodically to try to stay in the middle of the triangle.
Another difference between FTM and TFH. Now the end date of your research projects is calculated according to current standards. In other words, the projected end date for Operational Level Organisation 1940 is shown here as March, 1940. This is not true. The game will update this end date over time. It will be finished in 1939, in time for war.
The war between Japan and China begins in october, 1937. The next day, Japan becomes a member of the Axis. They will enforce their wargoal to seize the Chinese Coast in July, 1938.
Republican Spain wins the civil war in November 1937. They will give UK military Access in 1939, but the only real threat that can come from this, is the fact that UK planes and ships can now be stationed in Spain, but I don’t think that the British AI takes advantage of that.
After the annexation of the Czechs, and the puppeting of Slovakia, Hungary asks for Axis membership in October 1938.
The Soviets sign the M/R pact in April, 1939.
Here’s another cool feature of TFH that is a real timesaver. When selecting your commanding officers, you can now filter them according to their traits. In this case, I want generals with Defensive Doctrine and/or Fortress Busters to guard the French border.
This is one of three identical combat squadrons, each containing 1 BC, 3 CA and 5 CL, or a total of 3 C, 9 CA and 15 CL. Apart from that, there is the Baltische Flotte, with the old ships, and the Transportflotte, with 12 LC. I have deleted the submarines I already had at the start of the game.
The Luftwaffe consists of 7 Jagdgruppen, 4 Kampfgruppen and 3 Sturzgruppen, with plans for another 3 CAS to form Sturzgruppe 4 if I ever find the time/IC for it.
1 Theater, and 1 Army Group to control the entire Heer (the port guards – 4 mil each – are directly attached to the theater HQ).
In the West, 1. Armee, general Von Leeb commanding, consists of 20 infantry divisions.
2. Armee, under the command of Paulus, has 8 infantry divisions to guard the Northwestern coastline of Germany and the border with Denmark.
East Prussia is defended by 3. Armee, Von Brauchitsch commanding. This army has 8 infantry and 1 Arm.
The 4. Armee, commanded by Von Kluge, has 2 panzerkorps (I think a total of 5 Arm and 3 Mot) and 15 infantry.
Finally, we have 5. Armee, Von Manstein commanding. He will be tasked with grabbing Krakow.
My production screen. These Mot will not get finished in time for war, but they will be ready for action against France and the Low Countries.
I will end this chapter now. Next time I will show you my research up to this point and begin the Second World War. See you then!
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I never noticed that filter screen before. I always learn something new when I read your tutorials.
I never noticed that filter screen before. I always learn something new when I read your tutorials.
Really? Learn something from a tutorial? Have you ever heard of something so silly?
I've been playing a Germany game that sort of got out of control. I took Poland in a week or so, Denmark on the fly, and somehow steamrolled through the Low Countries before the end of '39. France fell quickly, and then I sort of lost track of time while I built the perfect army.
Come November '42...yeah, I know. Russia decides it's time. I slap them down and through the mud, snow and mud again, have come to Smolensk and beyond by mid-March '43. With good weather ahead and dozens of Soviet divisions lost to encirclement, my delay is actually playing well, plus, I get to pretend I'm not the aggressor...
Japan is running amok in the Pacific, deep into Australia and New Zealand now. Italy just conquered Iraq and the British have one division left in the Levant.
America seems focused on Japan, so I should be able to wrap things up and hopefully get enough LCs built to invade Britain before the USA comes a'callin'.
Fun game, and tense. Fighting Barbarossa in bad weather for months is rough, though.
Come November '42...yeah, I know. Russia decides it's time. I slap them down and through the mud, snow and mud again, have come to Smolensk and beyond by mid-March '43. With good weather ahead and dozens of Soviet divisions lost to encirclement, my delay is actually playing well, plus, I get to pretend I'm not the aggressor...
Japan is running amok in the Pacific, deep into Australia and New Zealand now. Italy just conquered Iraq and the British have one division left in the Levant.
America seems focused on Japan, so I should be able to wrap things up and hopefully get enough LCs built to invade Britain before the USA comes a'callin'.
Fun game, and tense. Fighting Barbarossa in bad weather for months is rough, though.
I should add I like your idea of having just OKH. I'll probably run with that next time.
Sounds like a fun game indeed. Have you ever done it the other way around? Soviets first after Poland and Denmark, with France and Low Countries in late '41? Those French really know how to fight if you give 'em time to build up properly.
About the Theater, the theory is like this.
Theater HQ: 2000 km range
Army Group: 600 km range
Army 400 km range
corps: 200 km range
So a Theater can cover easily 25 armies (or 625 divisions) in a 3200 km radius circle. Unless you're playing the Soviets or the US, you rarely need a second theater in Europe. Remember, there's no limit to the number of units you attach to the theater HQ. That includes Army Groups.
About the Theater, the theory is like this.
Theater HQ: 2000 km range
Army Group: 600 km range
Army 400 km range
corps: 200 km range
So a Theater can cover easily 25 armies (or 625 divisions) in a 3200 km radius circle. Unless you're playing the Soviets or the US, you rarely need a second theater in Europe. Remember, there's no limit to the number of units you attach to the theater HQ. That includes Army Groups.
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Perfect army?? OOB please?
excellent tutorial misterbean, still learning things even though i consider myself an 'advanced amateur'. was hoping you'd do the UK setup before Germany, though. looking for some tips.
I'm sorry, but I'd like to keep things organised as much as possible. Switching from one game to another one mid-campaign might be a bit too confusing for really new players. But if you have questions, ask. If I have the answer, I don't mind giving them.
Nicely done. I like the way you point out the major differences of TFH. Very useful !!!
For what it's worth, I'd rather put the arm./mot. units as second echelon.
The AI, as well as most human players, react to what it "sees". In the early years of war, it's very unlikely that your opponent's technology can match your radio encryption. Better to let him "in the dark"...
I usually bring my arm./mot. units to their starting positions (my chosen "schwerpunkt") the day before the assault. Against an opponent relying mostly on infantry, there's no way he can readjust his defenses on time.
The same goes when defending : It's usually better to take an attacker off-guards by quickly bringing some reserves (hidden as second echelon) instead of letting him having a good picture of your defenses from the very begining.
For what it's worth, I'd rather put the arm./mot. units as second echelon.
The AI, as well as most human players, react to what it "sees". In the early years of war, it's very unlikely that your opponent's technology can match your radio encryption. Better to let him "in the dark"...
I usually bring my arm./mot. units to their starting positions (my chosen "schwerpunkt") the day before the assault. Against an opponent relying mostly on infantry, there's no way he can readjust his defenses on time.
The same goes when defending : It's usually better to take an attacker off-guards by quickly bringing some reserves (hidden as second echelon) instead of letting him having a good picture of your defenses from the very begining.
True points, but I was being lazy in my deployments.
edited to add: I touched upon this in detail in Take Two, though, prior to the start of Fall Weiss.
edited to add: I touched upon this in detail in Take Two, though, prior to the start of Fall Weiss.
I'm tempted to do an East-First game, as we used to call it in my boardgaming days. Probably at some point.
Good point on the Theater. Who do you have in command of it?
OOB is roughly this:
In the west, I have one army of three corps/4xdiv (2xINF/1xART/1xAT) in northern France/Low Countries. In Vichy, around the ports, I have another army with two corps of 4xINF as described above (the Brits landed when I wasn't paying attention, so I had to slap them down hard).
Heeresgruppe Nord:
1 Panzerarmee - two corps, each with 3 ARM and 1 HARM division. ARM is 1xARM/2xMOT/1xSPART. HARM is 1xHARM/2xMOT/1xSPART. Also two corps of 4xMOT divisions (2xMOT/1xTD/1xSPART)
1 Armee: 5 Corps, each with 4xINF as above.
Heeresgruppe Mitte:
2 Panzerarmees as above. 2 Armees as above.
Heeresgruppe Sud:-
1 Panzerarmee as above, 1 Armee as above.
Also, 7 INT units (3xINT), 4 TAC units (3xTAC), 3 CAS units (3xCAS), 3xMR units (3xMR). 2xNAV units (2xNAV) as well.
Just a few more subs, a couple surface ships, including an escort carrier and a fleet carrier. And a TON of construction, which is what slowed me down. Every single province of Germany, proper, has been upgraded to level 10 infra. Extra airfields abound - I had a level 10 in East Prussia on the Lithuanian border ready for the war, and a smattering of airfields in post-invasion Poland (and one level 6 west of Poland before the invasion).
Level 10 radars: Halle (next to Liepzig), Amsterdam, Brest, a couple on flight-paths the British bombers tend to take, one in southern Poland, one in East Prussia with the airfield. Two more sets are ready to be dropped, one in Leningrad, one in between Moscow and Dniepropetrovsk.
The troops don't seem like much, but they're all current and I'm actually upgrading a year ahead of time, so my IC is heavily being used for just reinforcements, supplies and upgrades at the moment. I fluctuate between 30-50 points in upgrades depending on reinforcement needs. Sitting on around 1300 manpower currently. I've leased some LCs from Japan to prep for Seelowe, so we'll see how that goes, if it ever does. It's mid-March of '43 and I see Moscow falling shortly, as I am two provinces away and there's not much in front of me other than a tank division and some HQs. At that point, it's all-out for Stalingrad. I'll probably shift a Panzerarmee over to AGS (Sud) along with an infantry armee from AGC (Mitte).
Oh, and bunches of 4xMIL units for garrison duties, a number of 2xCAV for partisan bashing, and some 1xMIL/3xMP units to keep revoltrisk down.