The end of the war, it seems. In the spirit of those who have reversed defeat, and turned it into victory, with the United States against an Axis world, I've decided to take it one step further. Can I reverse an ailing Australia, with only one ally remaining, and bring about victory in the war to come? Without the mammoth resources of the United States, this will be hard, to say the very least. (Which is why recovering said resouces will be my primary concern)
Of course, there's going to be a number of custom events improving IC and manpower to some small degree when other countries fall, and, furthermore, the AI won't be getting nukes, as I feel it'd just ruin me.
And lastly, and certainly not least, I'll be playing this AAR as Germany up to the defeat of all other Allied countries.
- - - - - - -
"Sir, more bad news. The Japs sunk the Canberra near Darwin. Our relief force was decimated"
Menzies's eyes flickered down with defeat. Politically, it was important. Very much so. Curtin had been pushing for his resignation, ever since the fall of Britain. Since the fall of Tobruk. And then, since the fall of Port Moresby. But even Curtin had stopped, as the peril grew nearer. Menzies knew he had made a mistake.
A large one. The war had been marked by mistakes, idiotic mistakes from all Allies, and very few from the Axis. Indeed, there had been much that, in hindsight, was madness, and, considering their situation.. he considered surrender. What was there left but surrender?
Since the fall of Darwin, several relief forces had been sent, but superior Japanese naval force - over fifteen carriers, at last report, all more modern than the single carrier the RAN had, the HMAS Matilda, and with admirals who had no compunction in annihilating his fleets where they were.
The war had gone poorly, he reflected. Very poorly. But nevertheless, surrender was as poor an option as losing, now. And the Japanese did not respect surrender.
The door swung open with a mighty bang, revealing two men, and a third walking in behind them. One was quiet, and the other swore as the door swung back at him, and kicked it out of the way, his foot tearing at the flyscreen. The third, was overshadowed by the first as well.
"General Patton. General Montgomery. Admiral Royle. Good of you to come."
Patton chuckled. "Good of you to have us, Prime Minister. The slit-eyed bastards couldn't stop me coming to this meeting, not for anything."
"Well, that's at least good to hear."
Menzies spoke. "This, gentlemen, seems to be a dark hour. The only fleet carrier we have, the Matilda, is unfit for service, and taking repairs in Adelaide. With the fall of Darwin, things are looking exceptionally grim. The Japanese have ten fighters and ten bombers in the air for every active fighter we have, and our latest intelligence report tells us that there's now over twenty-five divisions in Darwin, preparing to conquer mainland Australia. Patton, I haven't heard from the Americas in some time. How is it going?"
Patton's eyes squeezed shut with pain, and he spoke. "Those.. the United States of America has fallen. They got Roosevelt. That's what I'm here to tell you. The USN, or what's left of it, will be cutting its losses, and heading down to Sydney. There's nothing more it can do on the mainland. Although the Atlantic Fleet was captured almost wholesale. Hitler must've had someone on the inside."
Menzies winced. "Canada?"
"The Japs landed their main invasion force there. With Germany in the east, and those little bastards in the west, the Canadians never stood a .. a fucking chance. The Americas are gone."
Montgomery spoke up. "Delhi fell last week, and along with it, Britain's last holdout."
The door swung open again, and another man rushed into the room. Freyberg, the representative of New Zealand. The other nation still in the war. New Zealand had been invaded twice now by Japanese forces, but the RAN had managed to facilitate the destruction of the Japanese forces both times, although suffering heavy losses.
"General Freyberg.".
They'd all been granted the ranks of General when they arrived, four days ago. Generals in the Australian Army, of course. Freyberg still retained his rank within the New Zealand Army, but the ranks of Montgomery and Patton at this time were meaningless. There were no Americans or British soldiers for them to command.
Royle, the Admiral of the Royal Australian Navy, was the only man among them who did not command on the land. Menzies valued his advice among them most of all - six Japanese and German carriers sunk by a mere three cruisers and a carrier, and a single wing of torpedo bombers had forestalled the invasion of Darwin for some time, now.
Menzies took a breath, and spoke. "Royle. Patton. Freyburg. Montgomery. We're losing this war."
Montgomery nodded. "Well, of course we are. We can see that."
"We can't beat the Germans, and the Japs, I appreciate that. We can't succeed where the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union combined failed. But we can damn well drive them off our continent! Now, there's something most of us didn't know. Ever since early January, 1936, the United States has had an exceptionally well-placed intelligence service within Germany."
He smiled. "In fact, they've been so deeply planted into the German hierarchy that only recently they were rooted out. However, they have a file that reports on German actions, and German military, almost completely. A few brave souls, upon the capture of FBI offices, managed to sneak this file out, all-but-intact. If nothing else, we have the oppurtunity to study our enemy."
He turned to the man he had been speaking to before. "Mr. Greene, would you care to put on the first slide?"
"Ah, here we are.."
Greene fiddled with the slide for a moment, and flicked on the projector. "It all began in early January, 1936.."
Of course, there's going to be a number of custom events improving IC and manpower to some small degree when other countries fall, and, furthermore, the AI won't be getting nukes, as I feel it'd just ruin me.
And lastly, and certainly not least, I'll be playing this AAR as Germany up to the defeat of all other Allied countries.
- - - - - - -
"Sir, more bad news. The Japs sunk the Canberra near Darwin. Our relief force was decimated"
Menzies's eyes flickered down with defeat. Politically, it was important. Very much so. Curtin had been pushing for his resignation, ever since the fall of Britain. Since the fall of Tobruk. And then, since the fall of Port Moresby. But even Curtin had stopped, as the peril grew nearer. Menzies knew he had made a mistake.
A large one. The war had been marked by mistakes, idiotic mistakes from all Allies, and very few from the Axis. Indeed, there had been much that, in hindsight, was madness, and, considering their situation.. he considered surrender. What was there left but surrender?
Since the fall of Darwin, several relief forces had been sent, but superior Japanese naval force - over fifteen carriers, at last report, all more modern than the single carrier the RAN had, the HMAS Matilda, and with admirals who had no compunction in annihilating his fleets where they were.
The war had gone poorly, he reflected. Very poorly. But nevertheless, surrender was as poor an option as losing, now. And the Japanese did not respect surrender.
The door swung open with a mighty bang, revealing two men, and a third walking in behind them. One was quiet, and the other swore as the door swung back at him, and kicked it out of the way, his foot tearing at the flyscreen. The third, was overshadowed by the first as well.
"General Patton. General Montgomery. Admiral Royle. Good of you to come."
Patton chuckled. "Good of you to have us, Prime Minister. The slit-eyed bastards couldn't stop me coming to this meeting, not for anything."
"Well, that's at least good to hear."
Menzies spoke. "This, gentlemen, seems to be a dark hour. The only fleet carrier we have, the Matilda, is unfit for service, and taking repairs in Adelaide. With the fall of Darwin, things are looking exceptionally grim. The Japanese have ten fighters and ten bombers in the air for every active fighter we have, and our latest intelligence report tells us that there's now over twenty-five divisions in Darwin, preparing to conquer mainland Australia. Patton, I haven't heard from the Americas in some time. How is it going?"
Patton's eyes squeezed shut with pain, and he spoke. "Those.. the United States of America has fallen. They got Roosevelt. That's what I'm here to tell you. The USN, or what's left of it, will be cutting its losses, and heading down to Sydney. There's nothing more it can do on the mainland. Although the Atlantic Fleet was captured almost wholesale. Hitler must've had someone on the inside."
Menzies winced. "Canada?"
"The Japs landed their main invasion force there. With Germany in the east, and those little bastards in the west, the Canadians never stood a .. a fucking chance. The Americas are gone."
Montgomery spoke up. "Delhi fell last week, and along with it, Britain's last holdout."
The door swung open again, and another man rushed into the room. Freyberg, the representative of New Zealand. The other nation still in the war. New Zealand had been invaded twice now by Japanese forces, but the RAN had managed to facilitate the destruction of the Japanese forces both times, although suffering heavy losses.
"General Freyberg.".
They'd all been granted the ranks of General when they arrived, four days ago. Generals in the Australian Army, of course. Freyberg still retained his rank within the New Zealand Army, but the ranks of Montgomery and Patton at this time were meaningless. There were no Americans or British soldiers for them to command.
Royle, the Admiral of the Royal Australian Navy, was the only man among them who did not command on the land. Menzies valued his advice among them most of all - six Japanese and German carriers sunk by a mere three cruisers and a carrier, and a single wing of torpedo bombers had forestalled the invasion of Darwin for some time, now.
Menzies took a breath, and spoke. "Royle. Patton. Freyburg. Montgomery. We're losing this war."
Montgomery nodded. "Well, of course we are. We can see that."
"We can't beat the Germans, and the Japs, I appreciate that. We can't succeed where the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union combined failed. But we can damn well drive them off our continent! Now, there's something most of us didn't know. Ever since early January, 1936, the United States has had an exceptionally well-placed intelligence service within Germany."
He smiled. "In fact, they've been so deeply planted into the German hierarchy that only recently they were rooted out. However, they have a file that reports on German actions, and German military, almost completely. A few brave souls, upon the capture of FBI offices, managed to sneak this file out, all-but-intact. If nothing else, we have the oppurtunity to study our enemy."
He turned to the man he had been speaking to before. "Mr. Greene, would you care to put on the first slide?"
"Ah, here we are.."
Greene fiddled with the slide for a moment, and flicked on the projector. "It all began in early January, 1936.."