Black Crusaders - HPP mod Germany 1936 AAR

[Cybvep]

Western Front in 1942

The Royal Navy is broken, but it does not mean that the British cannot rebuild their forces. Therefore, the Luftwaffe continued to bomb British ports in spring 1942.

From time to time the British try to move their forces from or to southern English ports. The results are usually disastrous, as the bulk of German navy is involved in patrols of that region.

As usual, any attempt at engaging our CTF by the enemy SAG is bound to fail. Our sailors actually started to feel safe in hostile sea zones. Kriegsmarine dominance is unquestioned, although it should be noted that our navy partially relies on aircraft support.

In early May our CTF intercepted a small enemy patrol with two carriers. We lost a light cruiser in the battle that followed. Our doctrine does not allow us to ignore such losses - the enemy simply had to suffer greater casualties on its own.

A retaliatory attack performed by our light and medium bombers was devastating. In spite of the fact that we lost many planes in the attack, the Royal Navy lost at least one carrier and a heavy cruiser. Therefore, its potential got even lower.


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The Far East

The Japanese managed to break a very long stalemate that characterised the situation in China for more than a year and is now pushing hard into the Chinese interior regions. From our perspective it is not good at all, because it means that neither side will achieve total victory in the near future. The chances for opening up a second front in the Axis war with the Comintern are now minimal.

 

[TheBromgrev]

Oh &#$%, I forgot you gave the AI some buffs. On the bright side (I guess) they mostly have infantry, which will fall prey to your tanks.

 

[Cybvep]

Oh &#$%, I forgot you gave the AI some buffs. On the bright side (I guess) they mostly have infantry, which will fall prey to your tanks.

Yeah, although they have more tanks than I have. Also, they have many AT brigades...

 

[SSmith]

The war with the Soviets seems to be going very well indeed? Somewhat surprised at how easily you managed to execute those major encirclements - I thought the vast Soviet numbers would make life much more difficult.

About the British - any idea why the RAF didn't intercept you when you were hammering those ports?

 

[Cybvep]

The war with the Soviets seems to be going very well indeed? Somewhat surprised at how easily you managed to execute those major encirclements - I thought the vast Soviet numbers would make life much more difficult.

About the British - any idea why the RAF didn't intercept you when you were hammering those ports?

British planes intercepted my bombers multiple times. They were fighting with my fighters, too. However, I was disregarding the losses, because the Royal Navy simply must be reduced in size if I want to keep naval supremacy with my current naval forces, as I will mostly expand land and air aspects of my military in the near future.

Easiness is misleading. It should be noted that I can only achieve good results when I concentrate my forces. I cannot, unfortunately, perform multiple big operations at the same time without suffering big losses. Also, I'm still fighting mostly in Polish territory.

 

[Slan]

Then your Ministry of Propaganda is working good

 

[Cybvep]

Then your Ministry of Propaganda is working good

That's for sure However, IMO the recent updates are filled with less propaganda than the previous ones .

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Cybvep: ...Remember that they get a 40% IC and resources bonus and a 50% MP bonus .

CptEasy: ...Won't matter when Germany is creating pockets like that. USSR won't be able to produce troops fast enough to cover the losses.

IIRC, with that boost, the SOV will be able to produce units equal to the German Army each year ! !

Cybvep: ...The Japanese managed to break a very long stalemate ... and is now pushing hard into the Chinese interior regions. From our perspective.. ..The chances for opening up a second front in the Axis war with the Comintern are now minimal.

that may not be important, but time will tell. to me, a neutral Japan is worth it if you have a neutral USA...

magnificent AAR ! !

 

[Cybvep]

Thanks, GhostWriter.

Yes, Soviet numbers and MP potential are frightening, but they cannot simply send everything to one province, because they will get severe stacking penalties. Therefore, my only chance is to make concentrated attacks and form encirclements.

I'm very happy that the USA is neutral and I hope that they will not join the Allies for at least another year. However, I hoped to form an alliance with China and create a second front in the war against USSR.

 

[Cybvep]

US Neutrality Questioned

Worrying news from America. The US government passed the Lend Lease Act, which will strengthen our enemies. Therefore, neutrality of the USA is now questioned in Germany. We will see how it will affect our relations, but the future seems uncertain.

Moreover, Americans sent some planes to China in order to assist Chinese forces fighting with the Japanese. It will most likely prolong the conflict and as it was stated before - it is not beneficial for our interests.

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Northern Encirclement


=

We managed to isolate Soviet defenders in northern Poland, therefore completing the RED phase of our operational plans for 1942. Unfortunately, our success was short-lived...

... as the Soviets managed to open a small corridor and relieve their forces. There were some problems with coordination with Polish government and our troops could not move freely in some regions, which hampered our efforts. German leadership was furious.

[I couldn't "withdraw" my units into Polish territory because it was considered to be "foreign"!]

In order to reduce the scale of the problem, we (finally) managed to get formal transit rights in Polish territory. It should improve coordination with our "allies" in the future.

A smaller encirclement was made in order to encircle ~80 Soviet brigades. It is less ambitious than the previous one, but also more realistic and easier to hold.


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The Pripet Marshes

Our armoured and motorised forces were approaching Minsk on 22th of September 1942. It was expected that mobile forces from northern Poland would be used in the operation, but because of heavy fighting in that region we had to attack only with the forces we had at our disposal in eastern Poland.

In early October the encirclement of the enemy forces in the Pripet Marshes was complete. However, fighting in the region was long and fierce. As it is already October, attack on Moscow is out of question. Therefore, our plans for 1942 are now narrowed down to pocket-sweeping.

It should be noted that the southern part of the encirclement was formed by light tanks and motorised divisions, with no support of medium tanks. We simply do not have enough mobile forces to execute many operations at once.

After the encircled Soviet forces are defeated, we will reorganise and regroup our forces and build-up our army and airforce during winter. Many things have been learned in 1942 and we will be sure to take them into account in operational planning for 1943.


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Other fronts

Situation in Persia is messy. Soviet forces have almost overrun the country, but now they have to face both the Italians (although their forces in Iraq are small) and forces of British Raj.

The Japanese have conquered more than one-third of China. If they continue to advance at the current pace, China can fall somewhere in 1943. We will see whether American assistance will affect the outcome.

 

[SSmith]

OK, I take your point - things do seem to be looking a bit tougher!

Not sure whether Japan will be able to complete the conquest of China or not. They are doing well but it may depend how your difficulty modifications affect things.

And its very interesting to see the 3-way war developing through Persia. I doubt anyone will be able to push the Soviets back, but the question is whether they can they expand into Africa and India and, indeed, just how much Soviet strength is being diverted to that theatre.

 

[Slan]

Not sure whether Japan will be able to complete the conquest of China or not. They are doing well but it may depend how your difficulty modifications affect things.

Just thought I might mention that the Japanese decision to start the Pacific campaign relies on them performing relatively well in China (which they do), and them having Indochina (which they don't, and won't, unless they are accepted into the Axis). Without their direct aggression, it is very hard for the USA to get involved, even if they want to. On the other hand, they use the time they are at peace to build up their industrial strength to infinity and beyond...

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Cybvep: ...Worrying news from America. The US government passed the Lend Lease Act...

that is a scripted event - what effect does it have on your relations?

Cybvep: ...[I couldn't "withdraw" my units into Polish territory because it was considered to be "foreign"!] .. In order to reduce the scale of the problem, we (finally) managed to get formal transit rights in Polish territory. It should improve coordination with our "allies" in the future.

i suspect that the best option to coordinate your efforts with Poland would be to arrange a temporary union. specifically, you would need to agree with Poland to 'inherit' them for the duration of the war.

their gains could/would be multi-fold. when released, they would gain your tech levels (massive benefit), they would obtain their cores on Soviet territory (and, more?, perhaps even to the Black Sea?), they would remain free both during the war as well as much stronger after the war. one of your benefits is that (afterwards) you would have a much stronger ally than possible any other way. jointly, you could improve both current Polish provinces as well as more Eastern provinces (both infra and IC) [very useful to the war effort]. this would enhance Poland's gains even more. not to mention that you both gain if the Soviets are beat.

i really don't see you winning without taking this step. but, i support your decision - no matter what you do ! !

Cybvep: ...A smaller encirclement was made in order to encircle ~80 Soviet brigades. It is less ambitious than the previous one, but also more realistic and easier to hold. .. Therefore, our plans for 1942 are now narrowed down to pocket-sweeping.

this may be the best of options ! !

Cybvep: ...The Japanese have conquered more than one-third of China. .. China can fall somewhere in 1943.

this seems to be a Catch-22: if you ally with Japan, they gain what they need to invoke war with America - which you don't want; if you don't ally with Japan (and they take down China,) then you don't have an ally to the east of Russia. very interesting ! !

excellent AAR ! !

 

[TheBromgrev]

Cybvep: ...Worrying news from America. The US government passed the Lend Lease Act...

that is a scripted event - what effect does it have on your relations?

Nothing really, aside from the fact the USA is helping China (resources, supplies, interceptors), the UK (resources and supplies), and the Soviets (supplies and 3 IC). And that's per shipment, although China only gets the interceptors once.

Cybvep: ...[I couldn't "withdraw" my units into Polish territory because it was considered to be "foreign"!] .. In order to reduce the scale of the problem, we (finally) managed to get formal transit rights in Polish territory. It should improve coordination with our "allies" in the future.

i suspect that the best option to coordinate your efforts with Poland would be to arrange a temporary union. specifically, you would need to agree with Poland to 'inherit' them for the duration of the war.

[...snip...]

i really don't see you winning without taking this step. but, i support your decision - no matter what you do ! !

You realize that if he declared war on Poland, his entire army would be trapped? Also, where do the Polish cores on the Soviet Union come from? AFAIK, vanilla has nothing of the sort, and the HPP didn't implement it (although we discussed doing so as part of a possible Polish/German Alliance, which would fit the current situation perfectly; it was never implemented, maybe we should do so?).

Cybvep: ...The Japanese have conquered more than one-third of China. .. China can fall somewhere in 1943.

this seems to be a Catch-22: if you ally with Japan, they gain what they need to invoke war with America - which you don't want; if you don't ally with Japan (and they take down China,) then you don't have an ally to the east of Russia. very interesting ! !

You're right. IMO, Cybvep's best option would be to continue what he's doing until Japan wins, then bring Japan into the war. Of course, with China receiving Lend-Lease Aid now, the war might be prolonged long enough that neither side can make significant progress quickly enough to be useful. There's a very good chance that Japan will run out of manpower within the next few years (that's w/o Cybvep's AI buffs, not sure what the MP situation would be with the buffs).

Regardless, bringing either China or Japan into the Axis now would result in the new ally being steamrolled. Actually, if Cybvep really doesn't care about the outcome in Asia (and wants to be a little evil ), he can go ahead and bring China in anyway, so it gets overrun by both Japan & the Soviets, while drawing Soviets troops away from his front. That way he still gets his distraction, while not allowing Japan to bring in the US. I don't really recommend doing so, but it's also an option.

excellent AAR ! !

Agreed!

 

[Cybvep]

I cannot DOW Poland when my units are stationed in their territory. Therefore, any "inheritance" would have to be achieved by cheats (savegame editing). About Polish cores - I think that GhostWriter wanted to say that Poland would gain all their "core" territory upon release as a puppet.

I cannot invite Japan, because no country is threatening enough to them . However, both Japan and China (except the communists) are in my sphere of influence in the diplomatic triangle. I think that staying neutral is the best option.

China gets the help of both UK and USA - from "Burma Road" and "Lend Lease". I don't think that Lend Lease help for UK is threatening, as it won't be enough to turn the tide in itself. I sunk tons of British convoys and I'm still doing so. I reduced the Royal Navy to rubble. It's not just empty talk. See for yourself:

State of the Allied navies on AUGUST 1942

The French now have the most powerful navy (but it's obsolete) and they are reduced to their African and Asian holdings with sth like ~18 IC, so I do not consider them a threat. UK has just 1 TP and just 28 naval units in total. In August the Allied had TWO carriers remaining (including one light carrier!).

The Kriegsmarine is clearly victorious.

Unless the USA joins the war, the Allies are not a threat....

... however, if they invent the nuclear bomb...

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On the other hand, any help the Soviets get can be threatening, because it means that they can produce even more units... Americans, just wait till I'm done with the Soviets - you will be next! ;]

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EDIT: BTW Poland is still embargoing me... The situation is really strange. I've been wondering about it and I thought about the following:

How about loading as Poland, revoking the embargo with Germany, manually starting the infra projects and reloading as Germany again? AI is too stupid to do it.

 

[TheBromgrev]

If you load up as Poland to make the manual changes, when you load up as Germany again the AI will have taken over everything. That isn't THAT bad, unless you move time forward, which will make the AI rape your OOB and reshuffle your HQs around, creating dozens of useless army groups etc. As long as you don't advance time, you'll only have to turn off AI control and cancel any moving units, as the real damage hasn't been dealt yet.

 

[Slan]

If I were you, I would probably remove the Embargo from the save instead...

What is the actual relation between you two anyway? Are you able to fight on their land simply because you fight the same enemy? Or is there an actual alliance? Were they pushed into the Axis when the SU DoWed them? What happened? In game terms...

 

[Cybvep]

If I were you, I would probably remove the Embargo from the save instead...

What is the actual relation between you two anyway? Are you able to fight on their land simply because you fight the same enemy? Or is there an actual alliance? Were they pushed into the Axis when the SU DoWed them? What happened? In game terms...

Yes, we are "allied in a war". Moreover, we both gave each other military access. There is no "formal" alliance or NAP. Poland is not in the Axis.

I've done what TheBromgrev suggested and didn't even unpause the game. Things seem to work fine ATM and I still have the older save, so...

 

[TheBromgrev]

You should be fine then. The key is to keep the game paused, so all you have to deal with when loading back up as Germany are units moving where you don't want them.

 

[Cybvep]

Busy Fall of 1942

Things are not looking good. Our tanks were trapped behind the enemy lines and we had to perform a tactical withdrawal in several locations. As northern encirclements had been cleared, our infantry from the north was ordered to support our forces in the east. Our main goal is to stabilise the frontline before winter, reorganise and reinforce our armies.

Our battered light and medium tanks supported our infantry in a two-way attack on the Soviet positions. We also managed to concentrate most of functional aircraft and fortunately, it worked. Our tanks were safe...

... but fighting was still not over. We wanted to inflict as many casualties as possible and encircle some Soviet divisions fighting in the region.

It was a minor success. We managed to create two pockets in the western part of Pripet Marshes. Unforuntately, the bigger encirclement in the south was impossible to hold - the Soviets were simply pushing too hard and our forces were too tired and disorganised.

It's November 1942. Winter is approaching. The situation in the north is stabilised and secured. Basic reorganisation has started. However, in southern Poland our brave soldiers are still fighting with numerically superior Soviet forces. Our infantry has problems with Soviet tanks, which are hard to destroy without heavy support. Since most of our tanks are positioned in the north, we will have to redeploy some of them in order to fight off the Red Menace. It is expected that the front will stabilise in December at the lattest. Winter will do the rest.

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Other fronts

Soviets have conquered Persia and are now fighting with British and Indian forces there. Our Italian friends are rather passive, but it was to be expected. Formally, the Kingdom of Italy and the Soviet Union are not at war. While relations are rather tense, so far they are not unmanageable.

In November 1942 China has fallen and the Japanese became the Asian superpower. Their current plans for the near future are unknown. We maintain friendly relations, but neither side feels confident enough to form an alliance. From our perspective, Japan would be a powerful ally, but we do not want to provoke the USA. A neutral USA means that we can use more troops on the Eastern Front, as Allied threat is currently minimal. We do not want to awake the giant.

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Time to prepare for the Summer Offensive...

Suggestions are welcome . I will post a general report in the next week.