• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

truth is life

General
89 Badges
Nov 29, 2007
1.905
101
  • Victoria 2: A House Divided
  • Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour
  • Heir to the Throne
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Arsenal of Democracy
  • Magicka
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Europa Universalis IV: Res Publica
  • Victoria: Revolutions
  • Europa Universalis: Rome
  • Semper Fi
  • Lost Empire - Immortals
  • Victoria 2: Heart of Darkness
  • Rome: Vae Victis
  • Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn
  • Stellaris
  • Europa Universalis IV: Pre-order
  • Stellaris - Path to Destruction bundle
  • Cities: Skylines - After Dark
  • Europa Universalis IV: Cossacks
  • Cities: Skylines - Snowfall
  • Europa Universalis IV: Mare Nostrum
  • Crusader Kings II: The Republic
  • Hearts of Iron II: Armageddon
  • Cities in Motion
  • Crusader Kings II
  • Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne
  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
  • Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods
  • Crusader Kings II: Rajas of India
  • Hearts of Iron III
  • Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham
  • Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion
  • For the Motherland
  • Deus Vult
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis IV: Call to arms event
  • Divine Wind
  • Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations
  • Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise
  • Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam
  • Europa Universalis IV: Art of War
  • Crusader Kings II: Way of Life
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • Mount & Blade: Warband
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Europa Universalis IV: El Dorado
  • 500k Club
US Joint Army and Navy Board War Plan RED briefing, October 1st, 1934:

Hello gentlemen, thank you all for coming today. As you may know, our war planners have recently come to the alarming conclusion that a general European war is in the making, and will come within the next 5 years. This, gentlemen, is a cause of serious concern. Our army is tiny, far too weak to play a major role in such a conflict, and the Army Air Corps is little better.
ScreenSave0-5.jpg

ScreenSave2-6.jpg

Furthermore, the amount of industry that can be devoted to war making is very small, partially because of the ongoing depression, partially because it is simply unprofitable to devote production to war making. There are, however, a few strong points in our situation. One, if fully mobilized, our industry would be the equivalent of most of Europe combined. Two, we have a decent, though slightly backwards Navy.
ScreenSave3-6.jpg

Since we are surrounded by ocean, we can afford to play a waiting game, and, in any event, require a powerful navy to do anything. Therefore, we have contracted North American to look into ways to increase our war-geared industrial output. In addition, we have a Hungarian mathematician, John von Neumann, researching mechanical computers, projected to speed our research several percent. Finally, a number of admirals and Naval College staff are looking into improved ways to use our fleet.
ScreenSave17-1.jpg

In the longer term, we hope to have a large, technically and doctrinally advanced fighting force by the time war breaks out. To do so will require increased industrial capacity, so we have funded a number of defense contractors near New York, paying them to expand or add capacity under the auspices of Roosevelt's "New Deal."
ScreenSave11-6.jpg

We plan to continue doing this until mid 1937, when we will shift funding to a massive naval buildup. All existing forces are to be filled out (details are in the supplement), while four new Carrier Task Forces and two new Cruiser Surface Action Groups are to be constructed. All told, Naval Plan STORM will require the construction of 21 new Yorktown-class carriers, 18 new heavy cruisers, 16 light carriers, 51 light cruisers, and 200 destroyers (organized into 40 five-ship flotillas). This is believed to be barely possible by 1940. The Army, meanwhile, will get its own buildup (projected to start in 1938). The goal here is the amphibious invasion of a hostile Europe. The target here is currently assumed to be Germany; furthermore, Britain is assumed to be friendly and willing to host American invasion forces. Current Army planning envisions an attack on three major corridors: the Low Countries, Greece, and Italy.
Goal.jpg

Overall planning goal; blue stripes indicate areas to be under American influence
The Low Countries will be the main attack corridor; current planning calls for an attack one year after entering the war (projected to be no earlier than 1941 for a war starting in 1939) using 12 marine divisions organized into 3 corps as the initial assault. This will be followed up by a planned 150 infantry divisions, 36 armored divisions, and 48 motorized infantry divisions. Each minor corridor will have 12 marine divisions and 50 infantry divisions assigned to it; War College staffers are looking into substituting specially trained mountain divisions for some of the infantry divisions, due to the rugged terrain in this area.
ProjectedCorridors.jpg

w-day indicates the day on which America joins a general European war; +1, 2, etc. indicate years afterward
ProjectedForceComposition.jpg

In the event of a simultaneous attack from Japan, US naval forces will attempt to defend the coast. One corps of garrison forces will be assigned to every vulnerable Pacific-facing province, requiring 60 total garrison divisions. Additional artillery support is planned to be available to each garrison to help defend against naval attack. The Philippines are not believed to be defensible and have not been assigned any US forces.
ScreenSave8-4.jpg

Gentlemen, War Plan RED is the best plan America's got. We will be able to knock any hostile European power out of the war in just a year or two, then focues on a hostile Japan. No other plan will be able to achieve such a quick resolution at such minimal casualties.

(meeting adjourned; recommendation of War Plan RED to the Secretaries of War and Navy approved)

(Notes on the game itself: Hard/Normal on mod-34 Armageddon. Obviously, the idea is to do a very early D-Day with overwhelming force, knocking Germany out of the war while merely holding the line in the Pacific. This strategy was successful in Normal/Normal vanilla Armageddon, let's see if it'll work here!)

Also: I'll be out of town a good chunk of this week and next week, so updates won't be regular until next Wednesday or Thursday.
 
interesting
 
Enewald said:
evil yankees... conquering the world.
Well, everyone wants that anyways. :p

Goodlucks!


Not me! Rule Britannia!
 
Emergency US Cabinet Meeting, 02.01.1935
(Summary follows)
PRESIDENT: What can the US do about the European situation?
ScreenSave17-2.jpg

ScreenSave18.jpg

ScreenSave19-1.jpg

SECRETARY OF STATE: Nothing; the US has little political capital--
SECRETARY OF WAR: And less of an army. Our current war plan envisioned a war in four or five years, not now! The US is simply incapable of fighting an overseas conflict currently--and will be for at least a few years.
SECRETARY OF STATE: Given the isolationism of the populace and the refusal of the Senate to join the League of Nations, there is nothing we can feasibly do about the war as it stands.
BCFLeague.jpg

VICE-PRESIDENT: Surely there must be something? Embargos, economic pressure?
SECRETARY OF COMMMERCE: Currently, we are dependent on foreign trade to maintain our military. Cutting off our trade would hurt us more than it would hurt any participant in the war. Besides, we have few deals with most of the belligerants. With our economic troubles, we need to focus on New Deal plans and revitalizing commerce. Getting us involved in a far-off European war with no potential benefit to the US is pointless.
ScreenSave20.jpg

Bad.jpg

PRESIDENT: So all we can do is nothing? And hope that we might be able to do something in five years?
SECRETARY OF WAR: Essentially, yes.
PRESIDENT: I don't like it, but if it's the only option...we'll just have to sit and wait.

(Notes: I found out that my first game was stuck on Normal/Weakling. :eek:o Naturally, I started a new one with the correct difficulty settings, keeping as close to what I had been doing as I could. I wasn't expecting the BCF, though...expect a new war plan post today or tomorrow.)

EDIT: And thanks to everyone who has commented!
 
Last edited:
comagoosie: I think so. And you're right, nobody has an army. Germany actually has the smallest army of any of the majors involved, so I expect they'll be dismembered by the French...eventually! (The French have been curiously passive. They have around 10-15 divisions near the German border which could be moved up reasonably fast. The Germans have about 3. Naturally, the only thing that the French can do is sit in the Maginot line!)

Enewald: Yes, a new plan would be a really good idea. I seriously doubt Germany will be around in 5 years.

trekaddict: Well, it looks like Britannia will rule...seeing how I can't do anything anytime soon.
 
US Joint Army Navy Board War Plan BLUE briefing, February 2nd, 1935
Thank you for coming today, gentlemen. Our war planners were not at all pleased in being proven right about a general European war. The unpreparedness of the US army means that we cannot hope to be involved in any war at this time, while simple facts indicate our previous plans are no longer sensible. Therefore, the staff down at the War College has been working on an updated plan that takes into account the march of history. This updated plan assumes that, instead of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, in conjunction with Japan, will be our primary target. Britain, France, and Australia are assumed to be friendly. The same Navy will be needed in either case, and the amphibious forces required for War Plan RED will still be useful here. The initial target has shifted though; no longer Europe, but Japan. Securing Japan will provide a base for an invasion of Siberia.
EasternCorridors.jpg

w indicates the date that war is declared; J the date that the Japanese surrender; +1, 2, etc. indicate years afterward.
At the same time that American marines are landing in Siberia, we will hit European Russia with amphibious landings in St. Petersburg/Leningrad and around the White Sea.
WesternCorridors.jpg

This attack should prevent them from concentrating their full force against either front. The forces planned for the invasion of Italy and Greece will instead be used against Japan, while the forces planned for the Low Countries will instead be used in the invasion of European Russia. The planned garrison forces will be used to defend Pacific outposts against attack until the Japanese fleet is neutralized and we can land forces in the Home Islands. Gentlemen, this plan is even better than RED; we will be able to secure our Pacific coast much faster, and will be able to choose our battles. I see no potential for a better plan.

(War Plan BLUE approved for recommendation to the Secretaries of War and Navy)
 
Best keep those plans flexible until the outcome of the BCF are known...

Vann
 
Well, all plans sound great on paper until you have to put them into operation. So with that in mind...

truth is life said:

Standard annexes Standard? :confused:
 
Nathan Madien: I don't know, its some weird thing that happens with the mod. Annoying enough that I'd disable annexation notification, except that that's kind of useful :)

Enewald: Yes, sir!

Vann the Red: Well, yeah, but these are sort of general plans.

comagoosie: That's why I plan on having 230 divisions there.
 
US State Department Internal Briefing, issued March 4th, 1935:
With the recent conclusion of a peace deal in the Yugoslavian-Hungarian affair, it appears that the Balkans, at least, have regained a modicum of peace (see appendix 37-D), though the acquiescence of Italy to a peace deal in which they kept none of the land which they had occupied, and furthermore claimed as Italian, is quite surprising to our analysts.
ScreenSave27.jpg

appendix 37-D
However, the war between Germany and the Franco-British alliance continues, triggered most probably by the alarming aggression of Germany in this recent conflict. While Germany provided no significant support to any side in the war, the French and British sharply remember the Great War (now becoming known as the 'First World War')
ScreenSave28.jpg

The overall picture is quite murky. While France and Britain together exceed German industrial and military capacity, no move has been forthcoming from either state. The resolution of this matter, then, is still in doubt, leading the State Department to believe that a policy of absolute neutrality is best for the US at this time. All State Department personnel are urged to keep this in mind when dealing with either side.
Finally, the recent deposition of Stalin in the Soviet Union has greatly complicated matters in relation to that state. Molotov is predicted to be more pragmatic than Stalin, likely to make deals with whichever power seems most ascendant at the time. However, it is far too soon to make accurate predictions relating to the new Soviet leadership.
ScreenSave25.jpg




US Joint Army Navy Board, Joint Planning Committee Report on the Effects of the Second London Naval Treaty, approved March 4th, 1935:
excerpts reproduced below
...The effects of the London Naval Treaty are simply catastrophic for War Plan BLUE. The restriction on naval construction will prevent us from building up our fleet until 1938 or 1939 at the earliest...
BadEvent.jpg

...The Committee recommends continuing our current plan of expanding our war industry, to be followed by a military buildup beginning in 1937, but suggests that a buildup focusing first on expanding the defenses of American Pacific-facing possessions makes more sense at this point. The current fleet is likely adequate to defend the Western coast, while the Army forces required for a ground defense are not limited by the Treaty...
 
Last edited: