Hearts of Iron 3 (Their Finest Hour AAR): ‘The March of the Machines’
Chapter One: Prologue
The French government had a wonderful idea, called 'The Uriah Project' in which very advanced data processing machines would assist each Theatre Commander in handling incoming information and help the officers and commanding generals in the proper tactics to counter act the enemy or carry out military operations.
Sadly, due to cuts in the military's finances in the time between the wars, the machines designed looked, suspiciously, like magic 8-Balls. Still, they were issued to all the branches of the French military and was in use by all the Theatre level Headquarters by 1936.
Welcome to the March of the Machines. This is my new Hearts of Iron 3 (Their Finest Hour) AAR where I play France and, as an experiment, allow all the military to be controlled by Theatre level AI. ALL of the military.
Oh no, you say, surely not the airborne. Yes, I say, even the airborne. I once saw a German AI use the paratroops as a kind of wave of reinforcements delivered by air to Great Britain - so I know it knows how to load the transports and use them.
Surely, you point out, you will keep control of the naval transports. No, I say, the AI will control it all. I have seen Theatre HQs use them to transport reinforcements and launch invasions.
Why, oh why, you cry out in horror, would you do such a thing? And my reply is, for the kicks man.
Also, I want to see just how the AI controlled Theatre Level HQs handle it. Having played Germany where I won using AI but kept control of the special forces (see my sig.) I wanted to see what would happen if I gave it full control to the military to try to reach whatever goals I set without my help. So I will run the government and let the Theatres run the military (just the reverse of my last AAR - see sig.).
Why France? Well, it is a Major power but does have a lot of problems at the start to over come, including a spread out Empire with a pitiful military and sad economic foundation. So I can’t just flood the military with a billion divisions. I will have to carefully pick and choose which region will get what unit. While trying to build up my finances and technology at the same time.
Will I survive long enough to contain the threat the Nazis pose to the world or be buried by the advancing tanks of the German Reich? Likely the latter - but it will be fun to try!
My Goals will be:
1. Military Units: To prepare the military as best I can with proper equipment suited to their environments. No mountain divisions in North Africa for example.
2. Manpower and Resources: To try to increase available manpower by selecting Tech. that decreases the demands of men (and women) in the labor force. I will also do my best to keep fuel and supply demands as low as I can - why make tanks when cavalry would likely work better in Africa? So on.
3. Technology: Pick Tech. that helps on multi-levels. Get the best bang for my buck, as it were.
4. Foreign Policy: Try to get the USA into the Allies BEFORE France is attacked by the Germans.
These will be my four main goals and EVERYTHING done must be done to fulfill these four goals.
Yes, I will be using hindsight - in that I know that Germany will sooner or later attack me.
And the AAR will take the form of a basic AAR - no story - more of a series of reports and observations of the performance of the military as it struggles to do the best it can under the limits I have placed on it. Therefore the AAR will sometimes focus with great detail on a certain subject or go over the passing years with nothing but a few paragraphs. In other words, I will write what is needed to explore the experiment - no more, no less.
Any questions will be answered and any feedback welcome - but please remember like other AAR I will likely be playing weeks or months ahead of any posted chapter - so most advice about events will likely already be ‘unusable‘.
Chapter Two should be up soon!
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