Império Novo - An Axis Portugal AAR

[Rensslaer]

subscribing, and really nice to see you use your forces so economically. You really seem to get a nice amount of mileage with very little.

Thanks, Quift! Welcome!

A Portugal storybackingthe allies would not afford such opportunities for a fine offensive waged by a minnow. Rare to see an Italian backstab actaully succeed. There will be gnashing of teeth and carpet chewing at German headquarters.

I seem to recall you abandoned French Indochina -De Gaulle in Hanoi doesn't seem quite so menacing as the Free French. More of the Sahel you take, the less there'll be for left the free french. The fall of France is inevitable.

And whose bright idea was it to use cavalry in Angola?

I quite agree, Chief, on relative opportunities! Yes, I'd love to take as much of French Africa as I can before France falls. But, as you say, I am but a minnow! The cavalry in Angola was me "re-fighting the last wargame!" I had a BLAST with cavalry in Angola/S.Africa in Victoria I, but you're right HOI 3 doesn't seem to translate the same advantages in those arid plains as I'd had before. My idea was to be able to wander around more quickly, but that has failed.

Sadly I don't think you can upgrade to any version that preserves game compatibility (At least PI won't guarantee it), Uriahs Rank and File has made 4 or 5 updates to newer versions but each time he either had to replay or hack the safe file.

Yeah, I figured. Oh well. It's still an interesting story/gameplay even from the earlier version, and I presume much of this could be replicated in newer versions.

Could this mean more gameplay action to follow? Always fun to read about Portugal's fledgling air corps!

YES! In fact once I finish this I think I may try to start editing screenshots for the next update. Glad you enjoy Chita!

I would love to see this story come back to life but I could never play old versions of games. For all it faults, SF introduced some much needed improvements, as has the latest patch. But I don't want to disuade Resslaer from continuing this exiting story. The detailed narrative and somewhat crazy tactics are an inspiration to us all!

lol Somewhat crazy, indeed! Hopefully crazy like a fox!

The rock, a place for two hundred British divisions.

Yeah, it's valuable, all right. And maybe vulnerable to the right enemy. But still hard to attack.

Though I frown on bombing Gibraltar p), I have to say that was a very well-written narrative. Very exciting and a lot of interesting detail (such as Ari's false recollection and the antiquated British planes). I could vividly imagine coming up on the Rock at wave height, hopping over the Rock itself and then buzzing the harbor. Very enjoyable.

Thanks! I was actually starting to think it was a sort of throwaway scene without much point except to say that, "Hey, Gibraltar is practically undefended!" But I'm glad the writing had value of its own to someone! I had fun writing it, in any case. Chita gets around! With so few air units, it's always a value judgment of where to use airpower. That was more a reconnaissance mission than anything.

Good to see Chita and her crew in action and hopefully home safely! Lets hope this visit doesnt stir up the Brits to provide Gibralter with some better defences!

I guess in the heat of the moment the observers can be forgiven for mistaking the turreted fighter for a Fairy Battle,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fairey_Battle.jpg
instead of the Bouton Paul Defiant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mk1_Defiant.jpg

Do you hope to distract the attention of Britain and her commonwealth allies back to the Med and away from Africa?

Nice, exciting update, and looking forward to the next.

Thanks, Palmyrene!

Gah! You're absolutely right. I did some cursory research the day I posted that scene, trying to confirm that my memory was correct about the Fairey Battle. I found an image, and it didn't have the turret, but otherwise looked like it might have been an earlier non-turreted version, so I went ahead since I couldn't think of any other name for the craft. But... When I look at the Battle and the Defiant side-by-side, doesn't that look like the very same airframe? Anyway -- one aircraft buff to another -- thanks for catching that!

Thanks, everybody, for your readership! Anyone come in new to this story, since it's been dormant long enough that some may not have known it was here? Even if you're only partway through reading, I'd love to hear from any new readers.

As I mentioned to WhisperingDeath, I'll try to get a new gameplay update prepared for early November (right after the election -- I'm pretty well committed until then).

Rensslaer

 

[Pier]

This is back? Cool.
I see you are running in some stiff resistance. Hopefully the establishment of the Vichy regime will relieve some pressure of you in Africa and Indochina.

 

[unmerged(156435)]

This is back? Cool.
I see you are running in some stiff resistance. Hopefully the establishment of the Vichy regime will relieve some pressure of you in Africa and Indochina.

Establishment of Vichy regime will help seizing vast lands of regime: Africa. Just imagine british struggle against mosquito fleet to get to ranky areas or hopefully out of them. Every historian will comment british commitment to Africa:

Sic transit gloria mundi.

An opportunity not to be missed, sénior Rensslaer. Not to be...for "truth, justice and Portugal way".

 

[Phelan]

So you're back again! Nice, narrative you brought us. Thanks. Hope for more.

 

[Rensslaer]

This is back? Cool.
I see you are running in some stiff resistance. Hopefully the establishment of the Vichy regime will relieve some pressure of you in Africa and Indochina.

Yeah, I'm torn between the fact that Vichy will make my war easier and that Vichy will make French territory thereafter unconquerable...

Establishment of Vichy regime will help seizing vast lands of regime: Africa. Just imagine british struggle against mosquito fleet to get to ranky areas or hopefully out of them. Every historian will comment british commitment to Africa:

Sic transit gloria mundi.

An opportunity not to be missed, sénior Rensslaer. Not to be...for "truth, justice and Portugal way".

The fall of France will definitely make things harder on the Brits, though -- so true!

So you're back again! Nice, narrative you brought us. Thanks. Hope for more.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! It's been mostly written for a while, but recently updated and finished. More to come about Chita down the road.

Sorry for the terribly interrupted update schedule, folks! I hope to do another update for this within the month of November! I cannot guarantee better than that for sure, but we'll try. My V2 AAR has been updating too, on a better schedule than this one.

I appreciate your readership! And comments! Anybody new?

Until next update -- thanks!

Rensslaer

 

[Alex Borhild]

Go Portugal!

I've only played HOI2 and Victoria, and I remember trying to play Portugal in each game, but those attempts never lasted long. I think it's interesting to see the new features in HOI3, though - the 'laws' seem less abstract somehow than HOI2's system of sliders.

I really enjoy the fiction updates, as well. Keep up the good work!

 

[Rensslaer]

Portugal is a challenging country. Easy to defeat if it becomes a target, which it will if it involves itself on either side, or sometimes even if it tries to remain neutral. Very difficult to do anything with, if one tries. Challenging, indeed!

There was someone -- forgive me, as I don't remember who -- had an HOI 2 AAR where Portugal joined the Allies and invaded Ireland, or something. Then I think he got crushed by the Axis not long after. It was actually a fascinating AAR, though!

Glad you're enjoying the fiction too! Welcome to the story, Alex!

Rensslaer

 

[poloport]

Great AAR! It's awesome what you did with a country with so many limitations, and the way you write is very understandable, and makes it easy for the reader to want to try it out (though when i tried to play the demo i could barely understand what all the options and tabs mean... Its really a very diferent game compared to EU3)

 

[Jape]

Have you abandoned this Mr. Ren? I do hope not, its rather nice and I'd like it awfully if you could continue

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Rensslaer: ...Manoel, Paulo, have you seen all you need? .. Answers to the affirmative ...

most excellent ! !

Jape: Have you abandoned this Mr. Ren?

tsk, tsk ! you know better than that ! !

 

[Rensslaer]

Great AAR! It's awesome what you did with a country with so many limitations, and the way you write is very understandable, and makes it easy for the reader to want to try it out (though when i tried to play the demo i could barely understand what all the options and tabs mean... Its really a very diferent game compared to EU3)

Thank you, Poloport, and Welcome! I'm glad you like the style, and glad I'm encouraging you to play! Yeah, HOI 3 is very technical by comparison to EU 3, though I find major attractiveness from both, for different reasons. Also great to have another Portuguese reader -- it helps me to know I'm not slaughtering this too badly.

Have you abandoned this Mr. Ren? I do hope not, its rather nice and I'd like it awfully if you could continue

Thanks for your interest, Jape! No, not abandoned at all. Just slow. I'm hoping to get an update this week. For some reason Imperio Novo takes more effort to produce an update than my other AARs (which are still updating -- Sforza and I Am Siam anyway). I think it has something to do with how many intricate operations are underway at once, and how I therefore have to combine multiple screenshots into one, and then repeat that process a number of times. But I'm determined to try to do it this week.

Rensslaer: ...Manoel, Paulo, have you seen all you need? .. Answers to the affirmative ...

most excellent ! !

Jape: Have you abandoned this Mr. Ren?

tsk, tsk ! you know better than that ! !

Yeah, Ghostwriter knows that I tend to take LOOONG breaks in between updates. Like the one-year break I had in Sforza, while I was writing various strategy guides. But I'm definitely not dropping this -- it's WAY too fun to tell you about!

Thanks again, everybody! Any new readers since the last update?

Rensslaer

 

[Hallongren]

well I wouldnt say new reader, but haven't written anything here

Looking forward to the update.. Keep up the good work

 

[Rensslaer]

In November to December, 1939, doors began to close in the mismatched battle between Axis Portugal and her behemoth enemies.

Such could have been forseen in principle, but hardly in result. Portugal was not the side that lost.

On 23 November, the Portuguese 3rd Cavalry successfully cut off the escape of Gen. Gott's motorised infantry, who were trying to escape north from Ghana. The advance columns, hoping for freedom, instead ran into blockades and skirmish lines of dismounted Portuguese horsemen.

The French armoured brigade loomed in the background, but was as mindful of escape herself as attack, and so was furtive and ineffective in what small harrassment she offered.

Once the gate was closed, Portuguese soldiers pushed against the envelope from all directions, and eventually smothered the British defenders, who surrendered in the first week of that sweltering December.

Meanwhile, on the 28th, Portuguese forces operating in the jungles of Borneo, succeeded in linking up south of the British pocket, blocking all communication with the Dutch. Other skirmishes in the area determined with certainty that the British had no chance of escape overland, and little hope was held out that they would be rescued by sea -- not because the Royal Navy couldn't defeat the Portuguese, but because they had other more pressing matters to attend to elsewhere.

France continued to hold out at home, but only just. Paris was surrounded, and only a small finger of communication lines remained between the isolated Maginot Line and western France. The Germans pressed from the north, and the Italians from the south, and Mussolini's armies had even succeeded in reaching Bordeaux, on the Biscay coast.

Meanwhile, the active invasion of Sweden had finally gotten underway, and real progress was finally being made. The Axis juggernaut in Europe was closing doors, just as the Axis Portuguese were winning in their minor theatres.

Most of them, anyway...

In Southeast Asia -- French Indochina -- Portugal had suffered her most serious reverses (and in southern Africa, where we will turn in a moment). The loss of pockets of control along the Indochine coast had been taken back by the French, and only in the last few days of November was any real attempt made to recover them by the Portuguese.

A small signal-corps detachment was making their way up the coast from Saigon at the end of November, retaking a path toward Haiphong and Hanoi, in the north. Unfortunately, they ran into signs of stiff resistance ahead -- a French infantry brigade -- and immediately turned around, aiming to capture some inland mines instead, thinking they might outrun the slower enemy.

There was, most people knew, a sort of race on at the time. The sustainability of the French in terms of remaining in the war was low, and dwindling quickly as the Germans and Italians conquered more territory at home. It was likely that whoever held the major cities and resource points when the armistice was signed would get to claim them in the settlement.

By the end of December's first week, the British had surrendered in Ghana (they still held out in Nigeria), and mop-up operations were underway in west Africa.

More good news came from south Africa, where such was unexpected -- close ground support from Portuguese bomber squadrons had finally stopped the advance of South African units into Mozambique.

By the second week of December, the only place where bad news was coming was Indochina, where the French infantry had caught up with Portuguese forces and harrying them as they retreated toward Saigon, their expedition into the mountains abandoned as impractical.

Air support was brought in from Portugal itself, the limited number of air units requiring that they be moved constantly to "fight fires".

There was talk among the Portuguese staff of deploying a garrison brigade into Saigon to aid in its defense. But more creative minds prevailed, suggesting that this unit could be used more effectively in Borneo, where they could shut down all possibility of British movement through a two-stage strategy.

Landed to the east of the enemy, to completely surround them with strong forces, this unit fenced with the enemy until the British strength was spent. Then they were employed in a more inventive strategy of mobile conquest.

OOC: Here I'll break from Historybook style to explain what I'm doing. I believe I described this strategy in one of my Strategy Guide Supplements (I did one for the main release, and another for the v1.3 upgrade).

Basically, with one occupation unit and one naval transport unit, you can land along a coast and take territory by simply touching ground and then re-boarding the ships. This is a manual process, requiring some degree of attention and time, but certainly less time than it would take to advance to capture the same provinces overland.

I've numbered the "slides" in the screenshot in order of appearance. I land the garrison to capture an oilfield, thus denying its use to the enemy and capturing the stockpiles (which are massive, having not had a port to ship out of!) for myself.

In slide 2, I also find a British HQ unit nearby, now cut off from supply and generally immobile.

In slide 3, you can see that I've re-boarded the transport, and I'm landing in other provinces closer to my controlled territory. What I'm doing is building a land route to the oilfield so that I can access the supplies there and can begin shipping this important commodity out through Kuching. I land in each province along the coast, capturing each one, creating a contiguous path.

This unit, once I was certain the British HQ couldn't move anywhere, eventually made it back over to Saigon to help with its defense, having not lost out on that opportunity because this strategy I implemented didn't actually take that long.

 

[Enewald]

Do you think you can update again this year?
Soon Japan will get Indochina.

 

[unmerged(53911)]

Nice update! Your tactics are living proof of the smart use of resources at the correct point leading to local victory. Schwerpunkt! As long as your Axis brothers keep the major enemies otherwise occupied then this strategy could go on indefinitely. KUTGW!

 

[Stuyvesant]

Nice job grabbing that oil. You still have to physically ship out the resources to make them available to your forces, correct?

So that's at least one full British division removed from the rolls, while other forces in Borneo are threatened with destruction. It's hardly Kiev 1941, but it's still very impressive that you can inflict such significant casualties with your modest forces.

 

[loki100]

your approach to all this remains refreshingly original, its a real master class in the merits of deciding what you want and then maximising everyone of your assets

 

[unmerged(24320)]

Rensslaer: ...Portugal was not the side that lost.

slick ! !

Rensslaer: ...On 23 November, the Portuguese 3rd Cavalry successfully cut off the escape of Gen. Gott's motorised infantry...

good ! !

Rensslaer: ...France continued to hold out at home, but only just.

GO France ! ! hold out til ya lose Saigon ! !

Rensslaer: ...mop-up operations were underway in west Africa.

excellent ! !

Rensslaer: ...Then they were employed in a more inventive strategy of mobile conquest. .. creating a contiguous path.

awesome ! !

magnificent update ! !

 

[Rensslaer]

well I wouldnt say new reader, but haven't written anything here

Looking forward to the update.. Keep up the good work

Thanks, Hallongren! Hope you aren't disappointed by the last update. Welcome! Thanks for stopping in to say hi!

Do you think you can update again this year?
Soon Japan will get Indochina.

For you, Enewald, I will make a special effort to update again this year!

Nice update! Your tactics are living proof of the smart use of resources at the correct point leading to local victory. Schwerpunkt! As long as your Axis brothers keep the major enemies otherwise occupied then this strategy could go on indefinitely. KUTGW!

Thanks, WhisperingDeath -- I appreciate that! I'm having great fun, if you couldn't tell!

Nice job grabbing that oil. You still have to physically ship out the resources to make them available to your forces, correct?

So that's at least one full British division removed from the rolls, while other forces in Borneo are threatened with destruction. It's hardly Kiev 1941, but it's still very impressive that you can inflict such significant casualties with your modest forces.

Yes, the oil will need to be shipped out still -- shipped home for refining, and then shipped out to the units who need it. But my factories have been turning out non-stop transport freighters (practically), so I should have the ability to do this. This is, however, my most vulnerable convoy route (very long), and so I've been losing a lot of traffic along it.

And yeah, I'm happy to see some of my opponents' potential mass disappeared from the playing field forever. Hoping to get more, one of these days.

your approach to all this remains refreshingly original, its a real master class in the merits of deciding what you want and then maximising everyone of your assets

Thanks, Loki! I don't know if you or anyone would be interested, but I've actually started off a new HOI 1 AAR (yes, HOI 1... as in 1 ) where I do kind of the same thing as Argentina. My thinking on this point has always been to not admit limits that don't really exist -- see what I can do to maximize my own power using what I have.

GO France ! ! hold out til ya lose Saigon ! !

I'm really hoping to be able to hold onto some of the territory I'd once grabbed in Indochina. If I can't hold what I have, I'm hoping to grab more. We'll see!

Hey, thanks again to everybody who's commenting, and to those who are reading this kind of dated AAR!

I'll try to get another update up in a week or two.

Rensslaer

 

[Rensslaer]

During the last half of December, things had begun to look up in the eyes of the Portuguese General Staff. Those theatres which were unsettled – besides South Africa – had begun to settle, which allowed them to begin to take the initiative once more.

Ascension Island was one of those possible opportunities. Portuguese submarines had been plying the waters of the south and central Atlantic, sinking occasional British, French or Dutch merchant vessels. But an order was given to check out this Royal Navy base, to see if it could be captured.

Alas, it was defended. And with the resources currently at Portugal’s disposal, defended meant, in most cases, invincible.

Great news came, though, on the 17th of December! Paris was taken, the Republic of France surrendered, to be replaced by an Axis-inclined Vichy French regime. Those territories which were, at the time of the surrender, in German or Portuguese hands became the property of that country. Portugal, by right of conquest, surged in total size!

These territorial acquisitions included a stretch of central Africa, encompassing Cameroun down to the Congo River, encompassing the Vichy French enclave of Gabon. Also, much of west Africa – Senegal, Guinea and Cote D’Ivoire mostly became the possessions of Portugal. The rest of French West Africa remained to the Vichy.

Some senior planners crowed and cried, their visions of further conquest against the French stolen away from them. But most were glad enough to have those fronts resolved, so they could concentrate their attention on winning the war against the British.

It was in Indochina where the Portuguese felt cheated, as they had controlled significant holdings there, in the first weeks of war, and had gradually lost them so that at the time of the Armistice, only Saigon remained. It could be pointed out that, had the war continued, even this might have been lost.

At this time, priorities for production were focused on a variety of needs. Continued reinforcements to expand the Merchant Marine and replace occasional losses were being prepared in the yards, as were more troop transports. But also two more army units, and even a long-range project to protect the Homeland with licensed Messerschmitt fighter planes.

Logisticians were mindful of the need to recoup military supplies, which had been drawn down in the initial days, so that the war could be sustained across its global field. Upgrades were being provided gradually, and that only because attempts at reinforcement were temporarily on hold – those units in the field were either accomplishing what they needed to with what they had at hand, or else they would be incapable of doing so in any case. Reinforcements would be caught up on later.

One long-term project, whose preparation had been furthered by the reconnaissance flight of a Condor long-range patrol bomber not long before, was coming to fruition. Three full-strength infantry brigades, once used as a failsafe against Spanish invasion and a reserve against the British, were committed to sea for Operation Avalanche – an attack upon the peninsular fortress of Gibraltar. It was believed, now, that the British had far more critical things to concern themselves with than an invasion of Lisbon. Perhaps use could be made of the distraction caused by the Fall of France.

As the earlier reconnaissance had indicated, only one garrison brigade held the fortress, and so it was believed 3:1 odds might give a chance of success, provided there were sufficient aerial support.

The unfortunate presence of a British cruiser squadron, however, put a stop to the operation. This had been forseen as possible, but – as with most of Portugal’s other chancy moves during the war so far – the risk had been felt justified by the opportunity.

The Portuguese landing fleet was able to escape into a storm, and no great harm befell them – a cause of much relief among the naval planners who had counted so heavily on this operation.

But, if nothing else, this setback reminded government experts of Portugal’s lamentable staying-power in naval strength – something which would have to be remedied, on the long term, if she were to expect to retain the conquests she had just won.

The fighter planes were de-emphasized in favor of a new light cruiser’s keel being laid down. Upgrades were prioritized, and reinforcements prepared, at the cost of some of the previous projects.

Research was focused on heavier cruisers, along with the typical heavy industry and economic technologies.

Gibraltar forgotten, for now, other plans moved ahead. With the removal of the French from calculations, enough troops were freed up to pressure Freetown, in British-held Sierra Leone. The Portuguese would reduce British enclaves, one-by-one, if necessary, starting here.

And troops that had been intended to focus on Indochina were re-tasked toward Kota Bharu and the Malay Peninsula, with some rich deposits of critical war resources as the target.

One division would seize two birds with one stone, so to speak, and capture more of Britain’s vulnerable Asian wealth.