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Well, no, I can't. If you don't build the entire run of Sovetsky Soyuz-class SHBBs, are you even playing Soviet Russia? :D

I am waiting for the screenshot of you doing that now ok? :)

so, are you really winning? hahaha niceeeee

Weeeeelll...actuallysuprisingly yes i am ..but then again paradox ai is paradox ai...the problem is trying to figure out how to process the story now that i am actually WINNING! :p

At that rate the Vittorio Veneto will be declared the Pride of the British Fleet! :p

Honestly right now Vittorio Veneto is the best performing British ship of the war... :(

Also how fast do you respond?i post,go to the toilet and when i come back you have an reply already :D
 
Also how fast do you respond?i post,go to the toilet and when i come back you have an reply already :D
Haha you happened to post that one as I was checking my morning messages!
 
“Are you sure our officers will be able to command so many ships effectively?”


“Doesn't matter just sent more big guns and we will win!”
Finally, a human player with tactical acumen on par with that of the AI! :p

But the 2nd fleet was slowly recovering in Taranto and preparing for the upcoming operation Seadog


The invasion of Corsica.
Ah, perfect. Italy can offer up the island to build Mediterranean vacation homes for the elite Wehrmacht generals who are carrying the war. That is the plan, right? Surely Italy would never take any territory for herself...

I am waiting for the screenshot of you doing that now ok?
That might take me a while to get around to...but I do remember seeing a forummer some years back who built the entire ambitious Soviet naval plan, including 34 BBs and 12 CVs, while somehow still winning the war against Germany. I dug it up here.
 


Land war January 1940


YOU get an encirclement,YOU get an encirclement EVERYONE GETS AN ENCIRCLEMENT!



The advance in France was going swimmingly.


Having broken broken the defensive line my italian light tanks were spreading to the French countryside throughout an area know fittingly as “The Gap”


Unfortunately that were we made first contact with the French armored forces


DZTS9F9bCmOZmXq_wpFPePFdXC1-_jQpT3X4wbnoy0TFVeXg5yJ7hy1kkZy3GLd5PKrOHUCVhadJ7I7a0uNrU5UsFtY7IfuWXcYnUu5dFCHWwsdVjCMfWtdJN1xzWbTZnMLBJwwM



In the short skirmish our tanks managed to destroy a S35 medium tank of the french killing 4 men.


U1R2hVDPRw1fZK9tT0bX6wdqnu2-UmcsKxJMQTb9D-QujO76TEtFTOGPXd3CWSd3JZSvtPSsaergmvR52a1Du5AIavCgycom_5-tPtBdqK29pQWR-mUKm1lqZi1hLyNpcqyqbc8p



UNFORTUNATELY as we gave chase the Italian crews became a bit overeager .Resulting in a very….. interesting result.


AU_GZo1io1_SMH7Q54l4R7cl6lu_7610tEyZzhLwG3lp4Ng-F_dqbN6kPIuSq7pm3ghaswXWPgSw-OjkBHBA0UwOUxUyfPY_eZzS0GGVKIiMTU8K36xeYoyVcOg4tAQknkn0Ktlr


Which also cost the lives of 2 men

Believe me they fucking deserved it.




“....You know PASTA i can imagine many ways to lose your first tank in a war..but this?This takes the cake”


“Oh oh cake cake! I want some cake”


“We don't have cake we had to go to rations already! And for the last time STOP GESTURING WILDLY!”

Innapropriate positioning of tanks aside the news were good in the Ethiopian front as well.


The Brits together with the last surviving French forces in the area made their last stand in Berbera.


But it would do them little good.


pRAXsydXL5ODMxkJtTzihjq1OHtUBzzg4euKb4Q2bUHJMM6xOPAWI-jIahmEKyrfCqwrVDC_C5Kq0XJmw8UgPHw5x28IFs2F9fhjhv-zZ8Uo7_O3wdc8m6ZpmlAIw8g3e9_nqu24



After losing their last supply route the remaining 9000 allied troops would surrender before the end of the month


A glorious victory for the Wehrmacht...wait…never mind.



And speaking of victories that should belong to the Germans….Egypt..


G297RtscIVgkz1Si-dfWeiOWF56hAXiIcN6rNtNuXKpR4T5IjQFB6aEhgTpLFvYhTFrQiKkBPyvETRJiDJ0XVlfTDNwBcyxFSaBN442qoq-hhmwS2ChQsnMt_3qvNhAUyaWwNIk0



The surrounding movements I was expecting never materialized.


And soon our troops were getting to cross the Nile.


“Boss Mussolini wants to bring a white horse to march through Alexandria”


“He wants that huh?Shoot every single white horse in the country and tell him he can SWIM to Egypt!”


“Hmm boss people would say you don't like Mussoliny”


“No comment”


In France the first armored counter attack happened in the south targeting the 1st Italian Armored Division.


Thankfully the 3rd Armored and the 15th Infanty Divisions arrived soon after in support.


JhNlEkvI9_3m93BaBkKjdbwDyqJgEUlv7St4iIVwDW3hxXbKAI1XvRDT3qWQ6X72jCpbkyf6QVvX4KiIR_LK1vc56CN3Qn61AxPVwodIrR_w5OYPuKksmUIUAP95GJN3xgppVtyL


“Order the forces coming from Toulon to go around!And sent the 1st Armored to try to cut them off from the north!”


“Hmmm no can do boss..it seems like the British arrived.Its their marines no less!”


And that was how I met one of the annoying things to face in combat..British Marines.


-tHcFAwUhLRdAu-RiR7h1xIZfdFJ1fYwYx79wZlLAvun4w6u10KZtMZo7jSY5Mq9aHwSqb66G1zM3Vfro5YJNIC-ZHPE3kkLWGdV4lP6IWF03Z5h9CJLjM5O1PWv90uzF5r-pN2d



And the thrice damn Marines also made an appearance in egypt!



je9mA8NFTOfdDzV544PCtjDqR2K-Rk4hlsNW64KR9QiduRgrygPhmS5sS6HqxPa8w0mC_Xwxy3d31NnHbgHAZBphyCVjc7dmM2YdSVxy4bf0RKO5IlFPoo39keS6SDjrfUtN7osf



“What the hell, how did we lose THAT bad?”


“Well the boys down there were exhausted from their walk through the desert..something about not having any kind of desert equipment i believe?”


“Ah probably one of the things dropped to get people in the Heavy tank program.Acceptable casualties carry on.”


In France meanwhile we had solved the problem of the annoying British marines by GOING AROUND


Damn Guderian would be proud..


PoCCVdGefYjDRs-G16xx-AIn6vGcF4tP3IMIu3LS_-CJKdmqVT7qGkX95N4P2oHK7Iza06VTkPKDE1DbxIoVsnaL309ZRgGDSUGmUwcgBfot03IbPJp3oB-A94HzU5HE-HREk0Ta

Where are your little ships now Brits?


The Marignane pocket would continue resistance for quite a while repulsing multiple assaults but with no forces available to relieve them it would all be futile.


The last forces would surrender at the 26th of February with more than 20.000 men and dozens of armored vehicles falling in the hands of the Italian army.


Kzs2EIaskxpRXIBtpdS5XWoJY6p0jd52TmnzVRVuUzfF170nIlI8XMJgcsyWojjiNuMxa1cdsu41CtNHM3FVkL9CxWMrHlJuDN9wZfuQZ8P08nqqmdwttcyv6P_1FGYixIOQJa4k



While all those battles were going on, some combat was also seen in an almost forgotten front of the war,the Tunisian front.


3s3oskkhzlsFAN31wp7GBCBDu5OA-K0DaNxw3YaOMPI_BvrS2joSL6C9K8t0lv1pC6dHRHKXLiv-vgpK2u8Dj0it5JwN31UbNunE0pw59qtbk5JqwrdAxlak55sv2VorMrRGLKsd



The forces inside the City of Tunis repulsed the initial assault upon which the Italian forces surrounded the city.


The fighting was brutal and often hand to hand but the city fell during the after 4 days of hard fighting.


8Sdn2CRpgUMXJDX0r_XdaSotcfVpRbBLgAEIxNcClZTkOc6VhBcYpp0XUtTHSrdLH92TcI2AQvoDpOiDaPZYkSo4krvf5l9vGFK2BPgUQLGuQUbZP7l-Trd9bj-bdNaQh1MkKpLf

Italian soldiers during the Siege of Tunis


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The front there would remain quiet for the rest of the month with the Italian forces there pushing eastwards towards Algiers.


But I wasn't done with the French just yet! No, No sir!


I had another masterful plan in mind..


Around the Alps 2 Electric Boogaloo!


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A good start was made but further forces would be required so the attack stalls momentarily until the forces closing the Marignane pocket could be relocated north.


In the meantime since the “go around them” strategy had worked so well against the Marines in France I decided to try it again in Egypt.


At the same time in the same front the proud Italian fallschirmjäger’s held the port of Bur Sa’id under massive British and Iraqish attacks and suffering constant air attacks


And yet they held.


I was so proud of my boys I sent a request to make them official Germans!


uAbYPvZyyTEnsScFG8HkNmrDQu0Jensk9Vr1-SYGNFMbdsqSwz4tbJp24tiHEnl14ws7dfi6AMYr-97VNIMc1fe355e_2FRzTXrm0eb1iykkKCUhzYbBuEwoRUAjEIAO4Zd1NmNN


Just as i was proud and happy...

And even though the 1st and the 3rd Marine Divisions had been destroyed..

The Marines just WOULD .NOT. STOP .ANNOYING ME!


qRRDshK6cxI7qqlJScOlMzMcRE1HaAe-jQGAzb4RpLH0SMxZliJdB5CzjfSadLvG5CuJEHJkFe7rr1hmw17LGCkdwKe_wTkf8QidBKt0rcWfhhEoyR7RWidqv1LXvEaSNyOG5waI



Landing behind my line and going around my frontlines?


UNACCEPTABLE!


WHAT HAPPENED TO HONOR?


“So PASTA why the hell are they holding so well against our forces?”


“Well boss no mountain there...thus no rock meatballs.And it was you that ordered all our regulars in the front to hunt the fleeing French”


“Look it was for the greater good okay?Stop pointing out minor oopsies and order some troops back there before more Brits flood in!”


But at last by the end of the month my masterpiece was complete and 5 french division,2 of which we armored had been encircled in the Alps.


Daa7Acs5YoR37iOzKXgA8amnmtf12zuK7rQYxzbKViGPkI9Ur5S1UrRJUY-cTwLcYT2wdUeRcvc8yTILZwv5NnZCCuvUv5Pw62ut5ny8BFp-uSPCJnw_95miZHw-YKtZWd5Z4xmc



And I did all that with the Italian army!


I was so proud of myself! The Werchmacht had taught me well!!


But as I was sitting there drinking some good German Beer I realized something weird..


Why wasnt Germany doing...ANYTHING??

 
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Right, then. Clearly, this is far too much competence to be displayed by an Italian army. I recommend we declare war on Russia and send an army over there to give 'em what for, perhaps numbering it the 8th Army just to sound impressive and strike fear in the hearts of our enemies as they wonder where the other seven armies will come from!

The last forces would surrender at the 26th of February with more than 20.000 men and dozens of armored vehicles falling in the hands of the Italian army.
And some of those armored vehicles were even enemy ones! :p

I was so proud of my boys I sent a request to make them official Germans!
What, you want to demote them to ass-sitting morons who do nothing and munch bratwurst all day? Bah! :(
 
“What the hell, how did we lose THAT bad?”
Well, you attacked across the Nile, with neither Marines, nor Engineers, against superior numbers, in the Desert, without Desert equipment. What did you expect? They're Italian regulars, not elite German troops...
 
The Italian army did alright there. Better than those indolent, bratwurst munching Krauts and their discount pseudo-Italian army in northern France, by the sounds of it (you should give us a shot of their front). Sounds like all their panzers were designed with one forward and five reverse gears! ;)

As for this ...
AU_GZo1io1_SMH7Q54l4R7cl6lu_7610tEyZzhLwG3lp4Ng-F_dqbN6kPIuSq7pm3ghaswXWPgSw-OjkBHBA0UwOUxUyfPY_eZzS0GGVKIiMTU8K36xeYoyVcOg4tAQknkn0Ktlr


Which also cost the lives of 2 men

Believe me they fucking deserved it
Didn’t realise Gap was in range of the Vittorio Veneto’s guns! They can add one crappy Italian tank to their list of kills as well. :D
 
perhaps numbering it the 8th Army just to sound impressive and strike fear in the hearts of our enemies as they wonder where the other seven armies will come from!

That actually hurts cause my biggest problem right now is my lack of filler units..i sunk so much ic in the naval stuff and the tanks that i dont actually have enought infantry to fight on a wide front :D

Well, you attacked across the Nile, with neither Marines, nor Engineers, against superior numbers, in the Desert, without Desert equipment

shhh dont let the weihraboo hear about pesky little details like that :p

Didn’t realise Gap was in range of the Vittorio Veneto’s guns! They can add one crappy Italian tank to their list of kills as well. :D

No help from Mr Friendly Fire this time they just managed to flipped it all on their own.

The driver were apparently from Milan..and let me tell you there is a reason half the cars there have bumps on their sides :D


Also i played 2 months ahead and things have realy heated up...or stayed frozen over if you are Germany.

Here is how our little Baby is doing

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That actually hurts cause my biggest problem right now is my lack of filler units..i sunk so much ic in the naval stuff and the tanks that i dont actually have enought infantry to fight on a wide front
Sounds exactly like what a Wehraboo in charge would do! :p
 
Sounds exactly like what a Wehraboo in charge would do! :p
Indeed. It just needs a bit more contempt for logistics and some more impractical super-projects that will never work.
 
Indeed. It just needs a bit more contempt for logistics and some more impractical super-projects that will never work.
Time for a rocket testing facility :D
 

NAVAL WAR FEBRUARY-7TH OF APRIL


When Convoys become an endangered Species.


The war to maintain the flow of pasta to Africa so our boys could hold the line was continuing.


A great victory came when after forcing a British fleet to withdraw from battle outside Tunisia harbor we managed to hunt it down.


Yj6y-T95rooEVeBW7KdE3foZyNlm7zquXzeGa9UXA_840AHmnNwSLDn-4yfMX2MxwZlqvYS-UbuqqYUycDztXBRg2X_eHkweZkAHZu2uScAv8i3MJWtAOdeIv09Oc2TfcFgIGP2i


Managing to corner the British fleet against the coast we managed to send all the ships to the bottom of the ocean scoring a crushing victory for the Axis!


Ic4kgug2By5Wtrekt6UWp-ridnYwoWk9CB-fsrCRySTirZHbwiJabArBNHzPRV_QaP2YqJc4_uBrTWiTT11XML2zxiQVkro5ud3XW_SKenJ3CCurBx0J_uuD6QSlYAIJYuLwhBVZ



But while the war to protect our convoys continued with great success by the 1st and the Home fleets convoys were still being sunk left and right


By the middle of February there were only 23 functioning convoys in all of Italy and 0 in reserve.


“PASTA what the hell,why doesn't Italy have any more convoys?”


“Well we could have more but someone decided we didn't need any more that we already had!”


“Well how was I supposed to know that Italians need some comfort to fight a war?? Proper German troops would be just fine without supplies!”


“Do you want to talk about Stal//”


“OH LOOK MORE VICTORIES!”



u002rDM_zKHANaSLnfv_jalyWZh1AkBgM7EZVR0HlYvE8DXq-DIAwPvkUn9B1oVvVHz0qfGPgRgfteiT2KO1iFbr_Ncav4RoNtn7LxQ7ubbU01QCcC9aNnBTl94ltXsSAO-KWccp

Even the venerable Warspite was sent in the depths of the Mediterranean!


But with constant attacks on my fleet from the air and with a complete inability to take down the British aircraft carriers my fleets had to go back to port until the end of the month.


But the British were also worn down..And so it was time for operation SEADOG!


“So umm boss why do we even bother about Corsica in the first place?”


“Because PASTA heavy bombers have been observed taking off from there”


“Oh god THEY ARE GOING AFTER THE PASTA FACTORIES??DEATH TO CORSICA I SAY!”


“No they are bombing Germ...you know what nvm… Yes we have to save the Italian Heavy Pasta Industry.”


lqAt6xFqdocwY2-05eHZFr8HHIbxzrmIXRrJ9UurDaPPWQPxW9SXujtu3SXuTXmJUTRIp-Lo-uoCf-YMVQXuspVRa0uSB46dX1EedhQAwfTd4Q2UzgV7dY9Dsak--nROnDt21wcq

The fierce air war around Sicily as the invasion of Corsica Begins.


The French Navy desperate to protect their last airport and port in the Northern Medditerenean sortie to stop the Italian fleet.


Unfortunately even though the 2nd Fleet was antiquated it was still bigger and more experience than the French fleet.


The battles around Corsica marked the end of the French fleet as a major force in the Medditerenean.


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The naval campaign around COrsica



“And not a single friendly fire incident!Hey maybe even the Italians can learn!”


“Well yeah boss they didn't have to command 100 ships this time!”


“Good point we will give them more next time”


I thought I heard a sigh...nah just my idea surely.


Unfortunately with the other 2 fleet too damaged to fight and our 2 patrol grous now merged into one due to some ships starting a new career as non moving submarines we were losing a lot of convoys


And we would have no new convoys until the beginning of June


Thus a massive effort by all three fleets was undertaken resulting in some success as the end of the month approached.


And the naval bombers now had a new mission.


BOMB MALTA FLAT


Some success was achieved but at a cost


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All the naval bomber and fighter cover required extensive repair after the mission.


And at the same time…


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“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MAIN FLEET DOING THERE??”


“Ah yes the Duce ordered them to do a pass through the Ethiopian front to raise Morale”


“GET THEM BACK IN THE MEDDITERENEAN IMMEDIATELY!!”


I would have to take steps to deal with the Duce...soon..


But without air cover and with the most modern ships missing the fight around italy changed


And not necessarily to Italy's favor..


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THOSE GOD DAMN SWORDFISH!

Thankfully the Main fleet returned soon after and with renewed air cover scored a new victory.

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But in the time that took more convoys were lost.


“So...how many convoys have we left PASTA?”


He raised his hand and did a rude gesture in my direction


“Hey how dare you”


“Oops sorry wrong finger” he said not even bothering make his words believable


JRg9ekTMk9QHoVcra2OGglSU3qYisXEBlf5uhyxKKo7q33u2ASCCDauZg70UFTaN4bjKhdSDZIFyXW2213mo9n6IW7p0RcqmhK7CZckh3wl3TVg3cV-sDYIfdCe73CpmCWiIxEAm



“So we have 1 convoy left in all of Italy..Great.....Hmm okay maybe some more convoys are important to build.. Now what should I cancel to make room...”



====================================================
 
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we managed to send all the ships to the bottom of the ocean scoring a crushing victory for the Axis!
Impressive, as were those following.

“Well how was I supposed to know that Italians need some comfort to fight a war?? Proper German troops would be just fine without supplies!”
Yes, not much fun in Stalingrad in OTL, was there? It’s OK, Goering will look after the supply situation ... o_O

But with constant attacks on my fleet from the air and with a complete inability to take down the British aircraft carriers my fleets had to go back to port until the end of the month.
Hmm, more trouble than their old battleships, it seems. ;)

some ships starting a new career as non moving submarines
:D

THOSE GOD DAMN SWORDFISH!
Achtung! Taranto! Taranto! Bismarck! Tirpitz! :eek:
 
Air power is still air power... Bombs > Battleships
 
Air power is still air power... Bombs > Battleships
Well torpedoes > battleships certainly.

All the deck armour a battleship carries to stop plunging fire means it's quite hard to put a bomb through a battleship at this point - dive bombers can't carry a big enough bomb, level bombers can but can't hit the target. Carriers, and indeed cruisers and all smaller ships, are a different matter. ;)

Then again HOI doesn't really do naval warfare very well so it is important not to over think these things. Basically whatever you build will win, because the player will use their fleet (hopefully) competently and the AI... won't.
 
Who needs convoys when you have transport planes. Time for the great Libyan Airlift !

Basically whatever you build will win, because the player will use their fleet (hopefully) competently and the AI... won't.
Even if the 'player' is a Wheraboo?
 
Even if the 'player' is a Wheraboo?
Given that huge chunks of the RN and MN have been sunk for basically no important Italian losses (convoys are, in the scheme of things, cheap to replace), the evidence suggests that even an inept fanboy is able to easily beat the AI. ;)
 
Wasnt the Tirpitz sunk by Lancasters? :confused:
Yes indeed, more just the general threat of British air power: CAGs and NAV. :) Given, as others have said, you seem to be sinking all their other (non-CV) major ships.
 
And if you had properly invested in interceptors, or multirole fighters, they would be tearing those CAGs to shreds. CAGs are one of the few units in the game which are far easier to eliminate completely.