Hearts of Iron 3 (Their Finest Hour AAR): ‘The March of the Machines’
Chapter Forty-Four : October to December,1941
Well, this is a interesting chapter. A large part of our ground forces are wiped out BUT the war heats up around the world. Let us focus on the overview first.
First off, our units are in poor supply. All of them. And I am making supplies. But the Army has been cut off from it and the Naval units need ports big enough to handle all the ships. Not going well.
Europe is showing those tiny fists symbols of resistance but none of them are ready to rebel yet.
On the 12th of November is when things really start to heat up when Japan declares war on the USA. I don’t know why. The Axis was pretty much winning. Now the USA is in the fight and the USSR is in danger of joining any second now.
On the 3rd of December Portugal gave Japan Military Access. I don’t know why.
Canada requested permission to produce a Potez 633. I accepted.
On the 19th of December the UK imposed an embargo on Japan and Japan, on the 22nd, declared war on the UK. In doing so Japan gave the USA a reason to join the Allies.
On the 27th of December Finland and Hungary joined Germany in their war with...everybody.
Now, for our Navy. One Total Defeat and one Victory. The French Navy sunk one transport and we lost one transport to Japan in December.
Can’t delay it any more. Let us talk about...
The African Fronts(?)
By the 15th of October what is left in the pocket in the last true African Front is a bunch of starving Divisions huddling together as they are being pushed by advancing German and Italian units. On the Bengasi Front, which is more of a British Front, our two French Divisions are holding on with their fingernails.
By the 1st of November the last Air unit is assigned to Beirut HQ.
15th of November shows the still struggling units being shoved together. I am somewhat surprised they have lasted so long but I assume the units and provinces all have some supplies left. Now it is time for the French soldiers to sleep in rusting trucks and eat bugs. Also, the Tunis HQ is shattered and reforms in Hanoi? On the Bengasi Front the Iraqi are causing the Italians some problems.
On the 29th the pocket of French troops on the Africa Front is wiped out. And the Tunis HQ is now just a worthless unit which I can't seem to disband.
On the 6th of December the Beirut HQ, now in charge of our two remaining French Army Divisions, is asked to try to retake Bengasi. Stop laughing.
By the 16th we see little has changed in the Bengasi region.
During this time the Italians launched four Ground Attacks killing over 404 French soldiers.
There were also twenty-nine Battles, all French Defeats, which cost the Germans and the Italians 673 soldiers while the French have lost 465 soldiers plus thousands of my best men now in Axis POW camps.
So the total for the whole war is now:
Germans/Italians: 84,097
French: 206,680 (plus tens of thousands captured)
Now on to the other Fronts.
The Greek Front
They just stare at each other. Now much happening here.
Looks kind of like the Greek Front but I notice that the Germans have gained and then lost provinces. Seems to be a lot of going back and forth.
So not good all around for me and the European Allies. YET the US is now in the game. And, for example, can easily use French provinces in Africa to hit German holdings in Northern Africa. Or can land troops in Spain.
On the other hand I noticed Japanese units invading Philippines. Which means the Americans may be focused on Japan for the next few years. *Le sigh*
And the Japanese took a province from me but I was clicking and did not notice where this lost province was. I assume it was a island because the Indochina provinces are still untouched. Unless they started to invade Africa and I failed to notice?
Join us next Chapter! Will the Americans do anything? Will the Italians and Greek exchange New Year's gifts? Will Spain hold out against the Axis? Will the Soviet Union invade Europe and make it Red? Will the UK be forced to call biscuits cookies when the Germans win the war? I don't know.