AI Experiments In HoI3
Chapter Three : East Army Theater
Sadly, That Poster Looks Like My Army
Now to the East Coast where the East Army Theater is waiting for war to start. The Army Theater is almost a mirror of the Marine Theater as it has already been assigned its Transport and Escort Fleets. After all, how can it plan for the invasion of enemy territories if it did not take into account the naval assets?
Otherwise they would be complaining, "We need boats, we need boats, we need boats. We can't walk on water. BOATS! BOATS! BOATS!"
Also the top two commanders, Field Marshal Somervell of the East Army Theater was a Logistics Wizard and Field Marshal Bowley of the 1st Army Group who was of the Old Guard and great at Defensive Doctrine, were picked for just those traits.
Under them are TWO Armies. Let us look at the largest first.
The one in charge of the 1st Army is General Thomas Holcomb. His structure is the oldest of the two Armies and has been given the goal of freeing Europe. His objectives are Amsterdam, Bruxelles, and Paris. As all these are now deep in German occupied Europe he has a long and hard road ahead.
He seems to think he can handle it. As he was a member of the US Marine Corps who achieved the rank of General during World War Two I feel at least he is fit to be in charge of such operations.
First let us explore his Infantry Corps. The 1st Corps is commanded by Lt. General Drum who has four Infantry Divisions. Each is made up of four Infantry Brigades.
The 2nd Corps is commanded by Lt. General Bolte who also has four Infantry Divisions. These Divisions are ALSO made up of four Infantry Brigades. For some reason it is stationed in Chicago. No doubt watching over the troublesome territory of Ohio.(1)
The 3rd Corps is commanded by Lt. General Lear who had four Infantry Divisions which are also made up of four Infantry Brigades. Like the 1st Corps it is on the East Coast.
The 4th Corps is commanded by Lt. General McNair and breaks out of the pattern as it has three Infantry Divisions and a Cavalry Division.
The Infantry Divisions have four Infantry Brigades while the Cavalry Division has only TWO Cavalry Brigades. I am not too sure WHY but I plan to leave it alone for now.
The 5th Corps is commanded by Lt. General Haskell and only has two Infantry Divisions. This is a Corps that is still being built but added anyway to bring the numbers of the 1st Army up. Additional Divisions would be added later. I hope.
While the 27th Division has four Infantry Brigades the 2nd Division only had three. *sigh*
Now to the 1st Army’s naval assets. The 1st Army Transport, which seems to be already moving troops, is made up of four Destroyer Divisions, of Farragut-Class Destroyers, guarding four Transport Flotillas.
The next Fleet was designed to hunt down enemy ships and protect American waters. The 1st Army Escort Fleet’s core is made of up the Vincennes, the Pittsburgh, the Quincy, and the Wichita which are all Pensacola-Class H. Cruisers.
They are escorted by four Destroyer Divisions made up of Farragut-Class Destroyers.
THEN there is the 1st Carrier Fleet (Army). Oh yes, the Army Theater was given Carriers. In fact there core of the Fleet is the Independence and the Princeton both of which are the first of our Long Island-Class Escort Carriers. Not to be confused with the Iced Teas. Each Escort Carrier can only hold one Wing - half of what the bigger Carriers can carry. Right now they each carry a Wing of Boeing F4Bs.
They are accompanied by the Helena, the San Diego, the Savannah, and the Nashville which are all Brooklyn-Class L. Cruisers. It was ALSO designed to hunt down enemy ships and protect American waters.
The 1st Army was also assigned a few Air “Groups”. The 4th USAAF Tactical Bombing Wing is made up of three Wings of Douglas B-23 Dragons.
They also have the 1st USAAF Strategic Bombing Wing made up of three Wings of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. As you can see while both groups are assigned to the 1st Army they are not yet complete.
The 1st Army was also given the gift of having TWO Fighter “Groups”. The 11th and 84th USAAF Fighting Wings. Both are made up of four Wings of P-36s.
Now to the little brother - the 2nd Army. Commanded by General Allen R.R., who is a Battle Master, was in charge of the 2nd Army which is still being formed. Mostly from old leftovers and whatever brand new equipment I can toss its way. I can’t find a General Allen R.R. - there is a Terry de la Mesa Allen Jr. but that name is so far off, once again, I am not going to even pretend this makes any sense. The photo kind of looks like him but its so small it can look like anybody. Papa Smurf for example.
His only objective is Guatemala which was set when that nation joined the Axis. With access via Mexico I figure he could march down there. Maybe. The problem is the 2nd Army have no Aircraft and no Ships and are somewhat outdated. Not that it seems to bother the 2nd Army but then he thinks he is stationed in Washington and that’s not Washington.
First there is only one Corps, the 6th Corps commanded by Lt. Allen T. - HEY! There is Terry de la Mesa Allen Jr. Well, what do you know? The Corps is made up of four Divisions. Each Division had three Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigade fresh from the Great War. No, really, look at them.
On the other hand how hard can it be to take over Guatemala? Well, don’t worry by the time the war starts and everything starts to happen they will be getting more Corps.
As you can see both Armies need a lot of equipment.
And the 1st Army needs more ships if it plans to get involved with the events in Europe. And maybe some Armored Divisions. And Support Brigades. At first, to be honest, I thought of having it go after Africa but that would not help the Allies very much.
As for the 2nd Army it might be able to carry out the capturing of Guatemala once it has a few more Corps and gets into gear.
Now, in the next chapter, FIRST BLOOD! And we enter war somewhat later than I thought we would.
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Author's Note:
1. Did you know when Ohio became a state? Many of you would say March 1, 1803. But in FACT the paperwork was not officially signed to make it a state until March 7, 1953 by President Dwight Eisenhower. Congress had to retroactively admit Ohio into the Union on March 1, 1803 OTHERWISE many of our Presidents were not Americans! As Ohio is also known as the "Mother of Modern Presidents" including, but not limited to, Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield, and William H. Taft, this makes them a bunch of foreigners! *GASP*
Also Ulysses S. Grant’s real birth name was Hiram Ulysses Grant but he didn’t want to be called HUG at West Point so changed it. True story! But this is a Hearts of Iron 3 AAR and not a Victoria 2 AAR so enough of that.