Fatherland - Deutschland über alles

[Kanitatlan]

21:00 December 6th 1939

The scattergun intelligence policy is starting to bear fruit. I am now up to 9/10 spies in Canada as well as the USA and UK. This tech may not be one that I want but getting it from Canada will prevent a blueprint theft from USA/UK being wasted on it. It is likely that quite a few allied nations have technologies that I don’t and can therefore fulfil this role of eliminating them from the possible thefts from the countries that have real technologies that I want.

The build up of spies has been quite good except that the more totalitarian countries – Italy, Japan, Soviet Union – have proven highly resistant to penetration (currently 4/4/6 spies in place).

 

[Kanitatlan]

08:00 December 7th 1939

This is culmination of several days bombing of Gibraltar. This started with 3 days installation strike to eliminate the AA and then 3 days logistical strike to eliminate the infrastructure. Finally a massive land attack with comprehensive air and naval support. The air operations started in good weather and I wondered whether to cancel when it started raining but considering the time of year this could just have left me waiting for weeks and weeks. In the end the battle only lasted 4 hours so losses where quite modest. I made one real error in this attack and that was not waiting for Seville to be back to high infrastructure (hence the –20% ESE combat modifier for units in Seville). The units in Malaga had full infrastructure (still only 60%) and a modifier of –10% for ESE. I didn’t fancy wasting a whole months attack supply for one 4-hour battle. I am assuming the militia II is the French unit in the stack as they are the only country with 1943 infantry tech. I hate militia II, militia I is rubbish and a waste of resources creating no more than a speed bump in my advance but militia II is a nightmare and by a large margin the best defensive unit in the game.

 

[Kanitatlan]

15:00 December 7th 1939

Naval operations continue in the seas outside Gibraltar. The naval units encountered are still minor but the whole lot will be forced out soon.

09:00 December 8th 1939

While my ground units advance into Gibraltar I have set my air units to bomb the fleet to inflict a little damage before they leave harbour. Unfortunately one of those little game glitches has occurred. I have 4 squadrons attacking the real fleet but the other 12 are attacking 3 “dummy” fleets with zero units assigned to them. You would think they could tell the difference between an Admiral sitting in an office and a fleet of ships in the harbour.

00:00 December 9th 1939

If the British were sensible they would all come out at once and enter the sea zone exactly at nightfall to maximise their chance of getting away. This force appears to be an attempted reinforcement although they have no chance of landing enough units to cause my armies any problems. The combination of rain and night makes my carriers almost totally ineffective so the enemy is quite safe but they will have to retreat from the battle.

 

[Kanitatlan]

04:00 December 10th 1939

More (ineffective) bombing in the Eastern med with a good view of the situation on the African coast. The Italian force is clearly completely inadequate for progressing against the British but may be successful depending on the success of the Italian forces further east.

 

[Kanitatlan]

22:00 December 12th 1939

Gibraltar has now been occupied – let the naval action commence.

05:00 December 13th 1939

Finally the main British fleet has turned up but before dawn. Days are short at the moment and the fleet escapes with loss from the main battle but I have immediately brought 16 CAS forward to Seville and Gibraltar and started naval bombing. The British fleet will be constantly harassed in daylight until they can escape from the area. The role of air power is critical here as they can track the enemy fleet as well as inflict losses.

13:00 December 14th 1939

I incorrectly assumed the British retreat was out to sea rather than along the coast. You can only see little triangles indicating the direction of retreat and it is often ambiguous where they are going. Air attack has successfully located the fleet and I am going after them. My fleet speed of 28 knots is extremely useful in this situation. They have a type I battleship with a maximum speed of only 15 knots. This means I can move almost twice as fast so I can move to intercept even if I have gone the wrong way.

16:00 December 14th 1939

At the start of this battle they are down 1 CV and at least 2 battleships compared with their previous strength. The CAS are really taking a toll. At the end of this battle they have lost another battleship to my navy and are still subject to further air attack.

12:00 December 15th 1939

I assumed they were retreating south but only a few light forces went this way. I have eliminated this small fleet and most go back north looking for their remaining forces. This is turning into a bit of a cat and mouse situation except that whilst they remain within air range I keep finding them and bombing them.

 

[Kanitatlan]

13:00 December 15th 1939

As soon as I start moving north the Luftwaffe finds the main fleet again, now located off the coast of Gibraltar. This looks like a near fatal mistake, they have already lost 9 ships and are back were they started.

15:00 December 16th 1939

My fleet is able to rush north and intercept before they can even leave this sea zone let alone escape the sea area and all the bombing. The CAS have already taken out another battleship and the Kriegsmarine grabs a couple of major units for themselves. Despite very similar positioning values the Kriegsmarine still appears to have no problem maintaining their distance.

08:00 December 17th 1939

This time they are chased in the right direction and there is another engagement immediately to the south. This fleet is now approaching the point of complete destruction. It has lost all its capital ships plus a few screens. There is a certain amount of damage to the remaining ships and they are still under constant attack. After they have evaded my fleet (losing 2 more cruisers) they are still under attack from hundreds of CAS.

11:00 December 18th 1939

For some reason they retreat north again and I have followed them. More mayhem follows and they retreat south. With the shortage of enemy targets my carriers begin making mistakes but to little effect.

17:00 December 18th 1939

This is the last sighting of the British fleet. I’m fairly sure that their disappearance was due to being sunk rather than escaping. The entire allied fleet at Gibraltar has been completely eliminated.

 

[Kanitatlan]

December 21st a

December 21st b

Two images to show total naval losses since 24th November. Elsewhere Italy have taken their first naval losses losing a transport flotilla and a submarine flotilla.

My intelligence estimates for the allied fleets are as follows

UK: 1 BB, 2 BC, 63 other
France: 7 other
Canada: 24 other
Australia: 36 other
Belgium: 1 other
Netherlands: 10 other
New Zealand: 6 other
Portugal: 12 other
South Africa: 18 other

The message is quite clear-cut, the allied navies have been reduced to light forces only. On the other hand my spies are not known for their reliability, they are constantly telling me there is no such thing as the British air force despite the fact I have on occasion actually been in combat with more squadrons than they will admit exist (currently they claim the UK has no aircraft)

December 21st c

This is report of the naval battles dating back to the pursuit of the home fleet from Scapa Flow towards Iceland. The biggest success for the fleet was during the long sequence of minor battles off Gibraltar before we captured it. After the capture most of the losses are credited to the Luftwaffe.

 

[unmerged(47162)]

excellent! the Rock has fallen and it is yours! look at all those ships sent to the bottom of the sea by one carrier..

 

[Kanitatlan]

December 21st x Japan’s war

Japan appears to be having modest success against China. They have taken a number of key areas and could easily be heading for real victory. My spies suggest that there are 222 Chinese infantry divisions against 239 Japanese but what do they know. I have no information on the Chinese warlords and no info on what is meant by “infantry divisions”. My spies suggest there is virtually no Japanese air force (1 bomber squadron – are they insane?) but I don’t believe a word of it. I would not be surprised if Japan goes on to complete victory in 1940 but, conversely, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t. Perhaps we have a Sino-Japanese expert who can analyse this position better and estimate what the situation is likely to be in 1 year’s time.

 

[Kanitatlan]

December 21st y

Italy’s position is looking interesting. They have now completely lost Ethiopia, which is not surprise, but are doing well with their amphibious attack. Breaking into Iraq and Egypt is a clear indication of Italian success and I suspect we will see the Italians taking the whole of Iraq and Egypt by next spring and then advancing southwards into Africa. I suspect the British are well able to reverse this if they develop the will to do so as they still have a large army. Once the Italian fleet is operating in the Indian Ocean they could be in deep trouble. Our intelligence is that the Italians have 3 BB and 83 smaller ships (that is about as believable as the Japanese air force). If they can gain control of the Indian Ocean then they can disrupt the British supply system but I have never seen the AI do this so I don’t think it is going to happen.

 

[Kanitatlan]

December 21st z

My position is as expected with total control of Europe except for Vichy, Italy and the Soviet buffer states. I am now moving to a low activity mode with naval and air patrols. Troops will build up in the east ready for the spring offensive. The objective of all naval related operations to maximise security for summer 1940 and minimise resource commitments for summer 1940. Currently I can see no desirable operations related to long-term positioning.

Now that winter is here there appears to attrition on the occupation divisions in the UK. The typical rate is 0.02% per week but I have replaced all the commanders in the UK with winter specialists (as far as they are available) which has reduced the rate to 0.01% per week. I don’t know exactly how much loss they will really take but I am taking them out of the reinforcement cycle since it won’t affect their suppression rating anyway. By spring we should have some idea of the actual losses - current rate is 100 weeks for 1 point strength deficit. This gives a predicted loss of about 0.1 manpower for a 20-week winter period for the whole garrison force. Note exactly significant.

 

[unmerged(58104)]

Funny that the Japanese AI is taking an interest in your adventures around Gibralter and decides to send an armada of two minor vessels. :rofl:

About those Italians; I still think it's most likely that some sort of stalemate developes, even with their present advantages. :wacko:
Perhaps if you take the last British islands in the Med they'll send more of their fleet into the Indian/Atlantic Oceans (read into harm's way).

When are you going to attack the British in the Indian subcontinent? With their capital there (lots of MP) and their (still) huge IC I wouldn't wait too long. Any chance of attacking them before Barbarossa?
Seeing that you're destroying the RN, that does have the disadvantage that the British won't be able to spread their (newly built) forces around their remaining posessions. I wouldn't want to invade India while every beach is covered by stacks of troops.

 

[Kanitatlan]

I can't see any practical way to be attacking India before Barbarossa. If I had jumped in a little earlier in the Middle east so that I had a good base there then this might be practical. In fact, I could still take Iraq through Syria and operate out of Basra. The real problem is that I want a land connection and Turkey and Persia are out of bounds because of the Soviet guarantees.

After Barbarossa I will be attacking India from the land side so large forces on the beaches aren't a major issue. I will take Persia and Afghanistan to keep the front wide open.

 

[unmerged(53911)]

It seems the Kriegsmarine has created a new reef system off the coast of Gibralter! At least the fish will get a benefit from this. :rofl: I was wondering what the practical effect of experience for the carrier might be? Also, what's happening with the Finns?

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Kanitatlan: ...Two images to show total naval losses since 24th November. Elsewhere Italy have taken their first naval losses losing a transport flotilla and a submarine flotilla.

magnificent success against those naval assets! !

it appears that we still have Crete! !

what is the latest info on the Baltic States? ? are we gonna take them before the Soviets? ?

also, how does the Winter War with Finland effect the Soviet takeover of the Baltic States? ?


and, i second the request for how the Finns are doing! !

 

[Profane]

About the italians ... they will never leave the med, there simply isnt any ai file for it. Sucky but true. And with an aggressiveness of 0 they will most likely stop advancing in africa once they have egypt unless there is no opposition.

 

[dublish]

Good luck against Russia. It seems like after the Great Wall, those stacks of Soviet infantry should be the only things visible from space. I wouldn't attack that wall unless I had at least 500 manpower for reinforcements.

 

[Kanitatlan]

GoforitPanzer The japanese appear to be wandering all over the place. I see the odd ship around Gibraltar, the Azores, mid Atlantic (where the U-boats are) and various points in the mediterranean. They are only fighting the Chinese at the moment so really they are just wandering.

WhisperingDeath Hopefully the new reefs will increase fish numbers and the local fish provinces will have an increased tax yield. I am assuming that the experience for ships simple increases their combat strength like land units. This is quite beneficial as defence ratings are more important for ships than on land making them harder to sink as well as more effective in attack.

GhostWriter I've not been watching the Finns and didn't really follow the winter war. They will be beaten (sneak look ahead) but the consequences are fairly mild for them after all. I don't know how this affectsw the Baltics but I expect Soviet 'aggression' against them in the spring as that is normal behaviour.

Profane I don't know if that is good news or bad news about the Italians. Either way they get in the way and will have to be 'shifted' at some point.

dublish All I can say is that the Soviets are bound to be "interesting".


ALL: Please be aware I have started a discussion thread here

 

[unmerged(24320)]

...GhostWriter I've not been watching the Finns and didn't really follow the winter war. They will be beaten (sneak look ahead) but the consequences are fairly mild for them after all. I don't know how this affects the Baltics but I expect Soviet 'aggression' against them in the spring as that is normal behaviour.

...ALL: Please be aware I have started a discussion thread here

i keep forgetting that Finland only loses two provinces no matter how bad the Soviets trash them... o

so, are ya gonna beat the Soviets to the spring 'aggression' ? ?

(might be a good use of airbourne there, yes? ? )

there is some excellent info in that thread ! !

 

[Kanitatlan]

We now come to a period with sparse reporting as little happens except waiting for spring.

December 27th 1939

Over a few weeks constant patrols by 12 U-boat flotillas sink 24 Portuguese convoys and then it all goes quite. The lack of further sinkings is a good confirmation that the Portuguese supply network is broken. No more convoys are running.