Awaking from the Nightmare Years - USA '45 AAR

[unmerged(62397)]

Give your Operations Names Rich like you did with Honeypot! Great Job, might I suggest a token force landing in Italy with the sole purpose of keeping 1/3 of the Whermacht Bogged Down. Or you could go for the Campaign. One Brisk Operation to Grab as much of Italy as possible is now a necessity in my humble opinion. Yet the Whermacht won't come rolling in until Addis Abada, Tripoli, Tunis, and Tobruk are in Allied Hands. So take advantage of that, and Make Mass Landings all across the Boot. When you take Tripoli/Addis Abada etc, you want to have the Northern Mountains as a barrier. Look forward to your next AAR, hopefully another Reversal.

 

[rich-love]

Tribolute, Prufrock451: I think it is likely that there is a large French presence in the US - both a government in exile and a host of refugees. The UK might host refugees as well, but was pretty torn up from the invasion, occupation, and counter-invasion. The US makes the decisions with respect to the French colonies. I think setting up a gov't in exile in Algeria / Tunisia is feasable. In game terms, France would remain a puppet of the US, would have its capital in Algers, and would get its French provinces back by event. It remains to be seen if I'll play the game long enough to worry about it.

Prufrock451: Thank you. I've had no luck with dissent missions; out of maybe 30 attempts only one worked (despite 10% odds). I've had a lot more luck w/ assassinations, so I've been running those more frequently (with entertaining results). Regarding wasting my money, I'm ok with that as long as it extends the story.

FlorisDeVijfde: Thank you. I think the Axis lost about 100-150 divisions in total. 20 or so in the Barcelona pocket, 20 or so from repeated airstrikes, 10 or so during the push through Aux, and another 60 or so in the big encirclements.

rhynoclemmis, Prufrock451: From a game perspective, the US won't be releasing any puppets other than France (Algeria + Tunisia), Ethopia, maybe Morocco, and maybe South Africa. I can't see the US investing a ton of money into the continent with Europe in ruins (and presumably Asia, once I get around to there).

Vann the Red: Shore bombardment is my new best friend. 3 marine divisions took out 30 or so Germans on an Atlantic island with almost no casualties.

HJ Tulp: Thank you! It's been a really fun game, and I encourage you to load it up.

jjman007: That's what I'm trying to convey. I took a look at the italian surrender event, and I could modify it to fire. What do people think about that?

Screaming-Eagle: Welcome to the story.

HJ Tulp, Faeelin, Screaming-Eagle: Let's end all discussion of ethnic cleansing before a moderator gets mad.

GeneralHannibal: Thank you.

lifeless, ColossusCrusher: They might just run out at this rate! I have no idea what happens if they have no ministers available. I'd bet the game would CTD.

Strategos' Risk: Good question. The origin AAR had a coup; Hitler was killed, and Goebbels took over. I assassinated Goebbels, and Hindenburg popped up.

WhisperingDeath: Stay tuned - your questions will be answered.

Myrmidon, WinterFox: You'll see in my next update what the Germans are doing w/ their army, and what I'm doing w/ mine.

 

[unmerged(58852)]

Rich: They might just run out at this rate! I have no idea what happens if they have no ministers available. I'd bet the game would CTD.

I think I remember reading some place that the last available minister has 'plot immunity' and can't be assassinated.

 

[dannyboy2016]

The last minister can't be killed. Even with "acceptall." You'll get a pop up saying you killed the minister, but he will stay around. BTW, you should knock off Ernst Kaltenbrunner when you get the chance for RP reasons.

 

[rich-love]

SHAFE HQ with the 87th Infantry Division, Saint-Etienne, Occupied France
19 December 1947
0900Z

"This isn't supposed to be complicated."

"Sir, ..."

"Brad - Ike, please."

"Sir. I don't understand what you're saying. I need to be able to manouver - occasionally backwards - if the Germans counterattack!"

"Brad, I know. I'm just communicating a concern from the President regarding morale at home. Frankly, I don't think people realize how much further we have to go."

General Bradley gritted his teeth and stared at General Eisenhower. General Buckner, of SHAFA, watched as Bradley exhaled.

"I understand. If, in the unlikely event that the Germans counterattack, and if I consider responding to any perceived threat, I will consider home-front morale as a factor into my calculations."

"Brad, do you really need to put it like that?"

"Yes sir."

"Fine. Let's get down to business. Show me your reconaissance."

"The south of France."

"France / BeNeLux."

"Italy."

 

[rich-love]

SHAFE HQ with the 87th Infantry Division, Saint-Etienne, Occupied France
19 December 1947
0901Z

"I had no idea we were almost to the Rhine."

"Neither do the Germans, I think. There's been no resistance since the breakout. F-80s have spotted major troop concentrations in the Munster / Kassel area. 40 divisions, all told."

"Can your forces in the area handle that?"

"If they spread out, yes. If they concentrate, they may break through, but we may want to let them and cut them off."

Buckner smiled. "The old Oran treatment, SHAFE-style?"

"Oran was different. You landed in their rear. Besides, they were Italians."

"I have information for you. Naval intelligence intercepted radio messages from Rome; Mussolini ordered his army to fire on protestors in front of the Piazza Venezia. One of the regiments at the scene refused, and the troops ended up fighting each other. Lots of civilians caught in the crossfire."

"Ugly."

"Yeah. CIA thinks that Italy's government might collapse."

"Doesn't CIA realize that Italy's government is essentially Mussolini?"

"And the King. And Prince Umberto, with whom we're in contact."

"Now that's interesting! Can we take advantage of this?"

"Well, nothing's guaranteed, but CIA thinks American troops on the boot itself would tip the scales."

Buckner shook his head. "Distraction. The threat is the Italian buildup in the south of France, plus any German forces moving towards the Rhine."

"What if those Italians just ... melted away?"

"Come on. Certainly some of them would fight, even if there were a palace revolt."

"Think about it. I'll be here for a day or so with General Marshall. He has some money to spend."

 

[rich-love]

Forgot to mention this in my last post: my German build AI tweaks were successful. There are two strategic bombers in their build queue... and the Germans still have two nukes. React accordingly.

 

[unmerged(62397)]

Forgot to mention this in my last post: my German build AI tweaks were successful. There are two strategic bombers in their build queue... and the Germans still have two nukes. React accordingly.

Throw everything at Berlin now, Charge straight across the Rhine, and stop this Nuke before it does Damage. Shut Down the Bombers when they come for you!

Realistically the American Troops would not know about this secret weapon, as they don't want the men scared. Sabotage Production Rich, charge across the Rhine.

 

[Prufrock451]

SHAFE wouldn't know about the production queue, but Italian High Command would. And you can bet they'd be hysterical over the possibility that Rome would become Ground Zero.

If I were negotiating with the Americans, I'd make a raid on Berlin and taking out the German nukes a condition of switching sides.

 

[unmerged(58852)]

Step one... find wine celler to hide form atomic Blast.
Step two... start drinking.
Step three... tries to remember old french folk song about being buried in a wine celler.

OK I would say you need to reach out to the subversive eliments of the Italian goverment. A raid on Berlin might not be posible but masive fighter sweeps over Nothern and Central Italy. These could help two ways...

1) elimiate any Italian air force that is still around.
2) demonstates that you can protect them from German Uber bombs.

You can also go back on the historic Paratoopers in Rome plan that was rejected by the USA.

 

[Myrmidon]

Italy is not the place you want to fight the German Army in the winter. Prehaps a lure to the south with a suprise paradrop in the north to cut off the boot. Bring in transports with a army group or two. Go down the boot if you must, not up. Destroy as many Germans as you can cause the counterattack from southern germany may be ferice.

I would also reccomend non stop, around the clock bombing of germany. IC/INFRA all the way at this point. You can put a serious crimp into their ability to reinforce and supply troops that way, as well as stop some production.

Aside from that the hour is apon you; Kill the Hun.

 

[noobermenschen]

SHAFE wouldn't know about the production queue, but Italian High Command would.

I would submit that it would be the other way around. Even when Mussolini was in power Berlin and Rome kept a lot of secrets from each other.

I sense an epic and very bloody Gotterdammerung approaching.

 

[Derek Pullem]

Forgot to mention this in my last post: my German build AI tweaks were successful. There are two strategic bombers in their build queue... and the Germans still have two nukes. React accordingly.

Broad front = no repeat of the Pyraneean stalemate. Use maneuver to limit nuke targets especially if you can raid German IC centres and retreat. Will the AI nuke its own province? Don't get drawn into a sitzkreig on the Rhine

Force an italian surrender asap - the redeployment of the Wehrmacht will kill the Tc of the remaining troops and you can help this by switching to strat bombing

It's only two nukes - keep 20 or so divisions spread out on the UK south coast with transports to plug the gap if they get through - try to avoid stacking more than 10-15 divsions in a province

 

[unmerged(55467)]

Italy is not the place you want to fight the German Army in the winter.

Don't see why not, considering the fact that winter has no negative effects on Italy except for one lone mountain province. Infact, this is probably the ideal place to face them.

 

[4th Dimension]

Don't see why not, considering the fact that winter has no negative effects on Italy except for one lone mountain province. Infact, this is probably the ideal place to face them.

But front in Italiy os not broad. It's usualy 3 provinces max, so it would be eas for Germans to intrench themselfs. And add to hills the negativ effect of winter and superior numbers of Germans with no manuverable space, it would get tricky.

 

[unmerged(47162)]

woo almost there! lets hope you get to berlin before those bombers get completed!

 

[unmerged(60155)]

I may have missed this, but when did you breakout in France? The last update I remember was you fighting in the Bordeaux/Dax region.

 

[TC Pilot]

The total annihalation of Germany's front line army changed that.

 

[Eams]

The last minister can't be killed. Even with "acceptall." You'll get a pop up saying you killed the minister, but he will stay around. BTW, you should knock off Ernst Kaltenbrunner when you get the chance for RP reasons.

I beg to differ... I killed the leader of one of those pesky little British puppets a while back (the kind where the HoS is also Chief of Staff, Chief of Army and Minister of Security, and all the other ministers are related to the HoS, or undistinguished British officers) with "acceptall".
He was replaced by a black silhouette named Peter (IIRC) who lacked traits.
I was playing the US in GC, the year was 1938, and I was bored

I agree that Kaltenbrunner should be wacked by the OSS, as a part of "Operation Nürnberg"

Edit: rich-love, your portrayal of Bradley is most excellent, but I think I've mentioned that like three times by now...

 

[unmerged(53911)]

Rich - I am always "tuned" (quite the fan of your AARs )! Oh, BTW, when did the OSS become the CIA in this time-line? I don't remember reading that is this AAR or in the preceding one.