America against the World!

[wafflecakes999]

State of the Empire: 6/5/1942

Ministerial Cabinet meeting minutes:
FDR: "Mr Hull, could you please tell me how we are travelling with our relations with the rest of the globe?"
Hull: " Ah, sir, Mr. President, you do remember that we are at war with every other nation on the globe?"
FDR: "Please, refer me to as the Emperor"
Hull: "Ahh, yes, Emperor sir, we are at war with everyone"
FDR: "That's unfortunate. How well are we advancing? Mr Craig?"
Craig: "Uh, Emperor sir, we are going well. We have conquered the entirety of North and South America, and all of Africa except for Egypt and Libya. We have also conquered Portugal and Spain, but have run into difficulties in the Pyrenees. Strong German formations are pushing across the border and we are struggling to hold them."
FDR: "Very well. How many troops do we have?"
Craig: "We have at current, 535 Brigades, 79 Squadrons and 130 Ships. Of the brigades, there are 279 Infantry, 65 Motorised, 50 Cavalry, 35 Marine, 25 Tank Destroyer, 12 Para, 10 Armoured Car, 10 Armoured, 4 Ranger, 4 Artillery, 4 Anti-tank, 1 Garrison and 36 HQ's Brigades, for a total manpower strength of 1,447,000 men sir. Most of these men are on anti-partisan and garrison duties in the occupied territories. Our frontline strength is closer to 500,000 men sir. This is why we are struggling in Europe. Of the Air Force, most of it is in Europe, and consists of: 18 CAG, 7 CAS, 8 V1, 10 INT, 10 MULTI, 2 NAV, 10 STRAT, 10 TAC, 4 TRANS. We have a further 10 STRAT in production. Of the Navy, our 130 ships include: 12 BB, 9 CV, 27 DD, 17 CA, 28 CL, 11 SS, 26 TT. We have a further 3 BB, 3 CV, 6 CA, 12 CL in production to fit out a new fleet."
FDR: "Very well. What do you suggest we do to free up more troops for the front line gentlemen?"
Hull: "Well, one option sir is that we create some puppet states out of the occupied territories, where they can police themselves and even send troops to the front for us."
Craig: "If we can't find enough loyal subjects to fulfil this, we can also raise some Military Police units to take over the garrisoning of the occupied territories."
FDR: "Interesting. Mr. Hull, do you think you can find enough loyal subjects?"
Hull: "I have so far, in Canada, Mexico and Brazil."
FDR: "Good, proceed with the puppet government plan. We will also proceed with the production of some MP units as well. You are all dismissed gentlemen."
Ministers: "The Emperor Protects".



Next update:
War in Africa, Fall of Vichy, Invasion of Spain, German doomstacks and puppets!

 

[sebas379]

Looking good in Africa. Japanese attacks are to be expected so as long as they struggle in the Phillipines its not too bad I guess. Time to raise extra garrison divisions to free up regulars for the frontline?

 

[SFSLovenought]

Loving this so far, please keep going.

 

[wafflecakes999]

Failed plans, diverted plans and difficulties: 20/10/1941-31/3/1942

The situation in North Africa changed rapidly after last update, with Italy counter-attacking the British and taking all of Libya, Egypt and Palestine/Jordan:

But as my advance from Sudan is blocked by poor infrastructure my original plan has to be scrapped. So a new two phase plan has been created, which will advance across North Africa from Morocco/Algeria/Tunisia (I can now invade Vichy):

But before I continue with North Africa, lets explore the conquest of Spain and Portugal:
As noted in the previous update also, was my initial plan for the Invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. This was modified as it would be too time consuming an advance. The new plan was as follows:

The plan entailed a landing at Lisbon, followed by a rapid advance north to Portugal's other mainland VP. Once captured, a rapid armoured advance on Madrid and Barcelona would be matched by another to the north. An amphibious assault was also launched to the northern coast VP's. In reality, further advances had to be made on Gibraltar, Seville and some of the other southern VP's.

The invasion of Portugal was launched on the 12th of February. The Royal Navy attempted to intervene but were repulsed with the loss of HMS Calcutta, HMS Renown BC, A Portuguese DD, and the Battleships Barnham, Warspite and Royal Sovereign. Total enemy losses across these vessels was 3500. Lisboa was taken on the 16th, with the loss of 802 US and 1252 Portuguese troops. We then landed at Portugals northern VP which we took on the 5th of March. Portugal surrendered the same day. The Yugoslavian navy attempted to retake Lisboa on the 12th, but were bloodily repulsed, losing 4219 men to our 117. On the 17th it was the turn of the Germans, who were repulsed at sea and on land. We sunk 8 German Transports and 3 destroyers, for the loss of 3000 men and on land we killed the surviving troops, of 997. We lost only 134 men in these engagements. We advanced into Spain on the 24th and fought the battle of Castelo Rodrigo, losing 343 men to Spains 1227.
Our advance by the end of March:

Our forces attacked Gibraltar on the 30th of March, occupying it on the 1st of April. Our losses were 163 men to the British 319. Over the next month our advance into Spain went reasonably well, with a couple of pyrrhic victories and one lost battle. Our losses for the last phase of the campaign were: 9,505. Spains were: 11,452 + 3,695 killed by the USAAF for a total of: 15,147. With the start of the campaign added the figures are: 11,064 US and 29,661 enemy: a 2.68 K/D.

A further update will be coming in the next few days. I'm not sure how much longer I will last as I've hit a brick wall with the Germans in the Pyrenees and am having massive supply troubles. In less the 6 months my entire convoy fleet has been destroyed -.-
And if I lose Spain and my army its GG.

Total US casualties: 97,883
Total enemy: 234,541
K/D: 2.4

 

[wafflecakes999]

Conquest of Spain, Vichy, difficulties in the Pyrenees and success: 01/4/1942-22/9/1942

The conquest of Spain continued at a reasonable pace throughout the rest of the March, April and May. After the fall of Gibraltar, a further 12 battles were fought against the Spanish army. This resulted in 15,146 Spanish casualties for a loss of 8,945 US. That's a 1.69 K/D. After the conquest things looked like this:

With the completion of the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, I was able to then launch an attack on Vichy France. This operation will be code named, Charles Martel, and will look like this:

A rapid push from Spanish Morocco to link up with its two halves. Rapid amphibious assaults on Algiers and Tunis, followed by an assault on Marseilles and the South of France. An armoured push would then advance along the coast to link up with the bridgehead before proceeding inland to take the inland VP's. A secondary armoured push would strike for Toulouse in the south west. With the capture of Vichy, a second operation, Operation Seif, will leapfrog across North Africa to the Suez Canal:

However, events were to overtake Seif so this operation was cancelled.

Shortly before and during the conquest of Vichy, a strong German attack was launched from their controlled section of France into Northern Spain. Intelligence estimates that a total of 218,000 Germans in 2 Mountain, 2 Motorised, 2 Light Armour, 4 Medium Armour, 2 Heavy Armour and 14 Infantry divisions, plus an undetermined number of allied Axis troops were involved in this push. Against this was a total force of 911,000 Americans, in 45 Infantry, 3 Ranger, 2 Airborne, 10 Motor, 7 Armoured and 23 Infantry divisions, not all of which were in Spain just yet. It was decided that once Vichy fell, to return to the Spanish border and dig in til reinforcements arrived.

Shortly after the fall of Spain a battle was fought at Inhambane Bay, where the USS Chicago was lost with all hands, after receiving a full broadside from HMS Malaya (BB). The Malaya was then sunk by the USS West Virginia (BB) with the loss of half her crew. The Chicago had a crew of 691 and Malaya's losses were 609. Over the next few weeks a number of battles were lost as attempts were made to stem the flow of German armour into Spain as troops were rushed from the Centre and South of the Country north, and other theatres. Our losses from the 16/6 to the fall of Vichy on the 22/6 were heavy at: 7,378 to the enemies: 8,864. The front in northern Spain eventually stablised as this picture illustrates:

The Green line shows the maximum advance of German forces into Spain. The red line is Operation Hammer, our eventual counter-attack.
For the period of 22/6-22/8 eight battles were fought to stabilise the front further. Our losses were: 2,672 to the enemies: 6,938.
Operation Hammer was launched on the 22nd of August 1942, with the general aim of pushing the Germans as far back as possible. An amphibious assault was tried against Bordeaux but this failed and the troops withdrawn. The offensive's first month was devastating, with 22,853 US soldiers and 43,573 Germans and Axis soldiers dying. A total of 37 battles were fought. The period 22/8/-22/9 entailed mopping up operations. A further 5 battles were fought for a loss of: 2,669 US and 5,814 Axis.
A major blow fell upon the Germans left, where a force of 60,000 Germans were surrounded at Orthez:

What made this all possible was the foundation of an allied Spanish and Portuguese government (puppet) to ease supply issues.

Total US casualties this update: 45,028
Total enemy this update: 82,944
US war to date: 142,911
Enemy to date: 317,485
K/D: 2.22

 

[sebas379]

Spain knocked out and a vast US force rolling into France, its time for Germany to respond in force.

 

[wafflecakes999]

War of Attrition: 18/9/1942-10/10/1942

In this time period not much has occurred except attempting to hold the new line following the last offensive whilst a new army is built in America to open a new front in northern France. A number of engagements have been fought all along the line, with a Axis breakthrough at Limoux leading to four provinces being lost and a gap appearing in the line. However two have been retaken and troops have re-linked up but the situation is still unstable. Our losses and the enemies losses have been terrible in this three week period.
Including this:

However the USAAF has been bombarding the enemy hard, making up for some of our losses.
US Losses this update: 25,906
War to date: 168,817
Enemy losses this update: 43,351
War to date: 360,836
K/D: 2.14

 

[Rabbit Burgher]

Would a naval invasion behind the German lines work to break the line in the Pyrenees?

 

[SFSLovenought]

Has Molotov-Ribbentrop been signed?

This would be an actual reasonable time to sign the Unholy Alliance. Too bad the AI isn't that smart.

 

[sebas379]

Ouch, that hurts. Be careful with the terrain you deploy that mobile army of yours, it doesnt lime mountains etc. Luckily you have a huge mp pool, but still.

 

[wafflecakes999]

Would a naval invasion behind the German lines work to break the line in the Pyrenees?

Yeah, I'm planning one, just waiting for new troops to be built. Unsure of exact location still.

Has Molotov-Ribbentrop been signed?

This would be an actual reasonable time to sign the Unholy Alliance. Too bad the AI isn't that smart.

I have no idea, I think it might be because Germany still hasn't declared war on Russia, and is purely just fighting the Allies and the USA.

Ouch, that hurts. Be careful with the terrain you deploy that mobile army of yours, it doesnt lime mountains etc. Luckily you have a huge mp pool, but still.

Fortunately, I'm out of the main mountainous area, but you are correct. I need something better to wear down the German armour, cause at present they're mincing my divisions. I'm thinking stacks of independent Artillery and Anti-tank brigades to stiffen the infantry and allow the armour to be pulled out, re-constituted and used in a breakout.

 

[wafflecakes999]

Second front failure, stabilisation and stagnation: 10/10-13/12/1942

For the period of the 10th of October until the 27th of November, not alot happened on the frontline, other than a continuation of the War of Attrition. This continuation resulted in US casualties of: 10,227 and Enemy: 20,137, including USAAF bombing victims. During this time it was realised that the French had managed to take/retain an Island of Newfoundland (St. Pierre et Miquelon):

Which was retaken for the loss of 800 US dead and 2000 French.

As the front continued to stagnate in the South of France, recon was undertaken of the German coast line and it was decided (in hindsight, foolishly) to attack the German coast between Emden and Bremerhaven on the 27th of November:

60,000 Marines and 50,000 Infantry went ashore in the first wave (60,000 Marines at Bremerhaven and 50,000 Infantry at Emden). They had an objective of seizing a bridgehead like so:

Once this had been secured, two Armoured Corps (100,000 Men in 2 Armoured and 8 Motorised Divisions) would come ashore for a rapid drive into the interior of Germany. Intelligence has picked up a weakening of German resolve to fight, if significant losses of important towns were to occur (After nearly 5 years of unrestricted submarine warfare and strategic bombing at the hands of the British, German national unity was below 50%). However, the German response was quicker than expected and reinforcements were delayed due to the distances involved, and Emden has been lost, with the rest of the bridgehead seeming close to collapse. In an attempt to distract the enemy a front wide offensive was launched in the south but has met stiff resistance, only succeeding at Carcassonne. Losses for this period (27/11-3/12) so far have been: 10,245 US and 14,855. This gives a total of: 34,992 Enemy dead and 20,472 US.
Included in the enemy casualty figures are the crew killed on four British destroyers sunk (two in the Mozambique Channel and two off the coast of Galicia) and the crews of the Soviet Battleships October Revolution and Marat which were sunk in the Heligoland Bight.

Elsewhere, our offensive in North Africa has met little resistance:

By the 3rd of December we had reached Misrata and beyond. The reason for the lack of resistance is this:

Italy has conquered all of Iraq, Syria and Jordan. For some reason they've ignored Lebanon completely even though they are my puppet.
Total US dead this update: 20,472
Total US dead: 189,289
Total enemy dead this update: 34,992
Total enemy dead: 395,828
K/D: 2.10
Historical note: During the entire 3 year period of the historical War of Attrition, the Arabs lost between 4,988 and 12,150 dead and Israel lost between 694-1424 dead. In our 3 month war of attrition the US has lost 46,378 to the enemies 78,343, or about ten times more, in a tenth of the time.

 

[sebas379]

Invading wilhelmshafen. I have bad memories of landing there on several occasions, the German response has always been swift and massive.

Since you have a front in southern france, i would probwbly go for Bretagne or Normandy. More ports, defensible and it draws off enemy troops from the pyrenee front.

Still it looks good in the west and i am sure you will break the germans soon

 

[wafflecakes999]

Success! Diplomatic Coups, stagnation, new plans - December 1942.

December 1942 saw that biggest diplomatic coup over the past six years. The allies came to the sudden realisation that signing a TAU with the United States wouldn't be such a bad thing, and that it was in their best interest to join with the United State and crush the Axis and Communists!

So, it shall be interesting to see what effect this has on the enemy. In the meantime, I will be switching my attention from Europe to Australasia and North Africa.
I've decided to fortify my European front line (once it stabilises) and to hold until I've conquered the East. All CONUS East troops who were on Garrison duty have been ordered to San Francisco to await embarkation. Initial target will be Hawaii, then probably somewhere in the region of PNG.

In the meantime, the advance in North Africa is going well:

However, the offensive in support of the Wilhemshaven operation has failed and been called off. The bridgehead was subsequently lost but some of the troops there were able to be evacuated.

Over the course of December (13th-30th to be exact) our losses were 16,993 to the enemies 27,859. In the withdrawal from Germany the Soviet cruiser Kirov was sunk along with two destroyers for the loss of a further 600 dead, bringing the total to 28,459 dead.

Total US dead war to date: 206,282
Total enemy dead war to date: 424,287
K/D: 2.06

 

[SFSLovenought]

Invading wilhelmshafen. I have bad memories of landing there on several occasions, the German response has always been swift and massive.

Never done it myself, but I've seen the allies invade in a front from northern Netherlands to Wilhelmshaven a few times, and they ALWAYS failed.

 

[wafflecakes999]

German Breakouts and struggles in Brega - January 1943:

After the last update, all hell broke loose in Southern France. After my failed offensive the Axis launched their own. It was stopped on the northern front, after briefly losing Roquefort. However, as usual, the southern front broke open.

The Green line shows the maximum Axis advance, with the red lines showing the current front line (the northern red line also shows the pre-offensive front line as well).
I've managed to encircle at least 5 divisions, 4 German and 1 Hungarian in the pocket.

Elsewhere, on the North African front, I've reached Brega on the Gulf of Sidra. Much like the Libyan Civil War, a number of battles have raged here as my forces have taken and then lost the city a number of times. Thankfully, the remnants of the Wilhelmshaven sortie have arrived, and the Italians have left Benghazi undefended, which I subsequently took:

Things should move smoothly now.
Despite the Axis offensive, our casualties were rather alot less than theirs. This is in part due to the stellar efforts of the USAAF.
Our losses this update: 9,205
Enemy losses this update: 75,876!
US losses war to date: 215,487
Enemy losses war to date: 500,163
K/D: 2.32!

 

[sebas379]

A bloody stalemate in France. Not exactly what you were looking for with the "1 continent a year" timetable. But maybe taking Libya will free up enough troops to start something else and split German troops.

 

[The Ebola Wizard]

I believe the Germans will see the Imperial Truth. Carry on.

 

[weresloth]

Crazy. I love it. Subbed af.

 

[wafflecakes999]

A bloody stalemate in France. Not exactly what you were looking for with the "1 continent a year" timetable. But maybe taking Libya will free up enough troops to start something else and split German troops.

Yeah, that timetable is out the window now. Troops are slowly congregating in San Francisco for my Pacific/Asian journey - they're taking forever though as they have to move from as far as Alaska and Argentina....

Cheers The Ebola Wizard and weresloth.