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Heh, I've been modding so much that my gameplay isn't what it should be... well, at least it makes for more suspense in the AAR... :)
 
Twin triumph
While these events were taking place, Guderian's I. Panzergruppe rolled unopposed through Auxerre, reaching Dijon at noon on October 10th. In his rear, the symbolic German occupation forces in Paris, inadequate for dealing even with a civilian uprising, had still not been overrun and it was beginning to look as if Heeresgruppe A would be able to pull off a double rescue without attracting undue notice from the Führer. If Paris didn’t fall, the whole affair could be presented as a ruse to fool the French, rather than the OKW.

Wheeling north from Dijon, I. Panzergruppe set out to flank the French forces facing II. Panzergruppe and 6. Armee. Advancing throughout the night, Guderian’s panzers and panzer grenadiers struck at first light of dawn on October 11th, a day that would live in glory in the military history of the Greater German Reich.

Coordinating with this attack, Manstein’s re-supplied gruppe directed a heavy blow further north with support of 6. Armee artillery, quickly punching through the French lines and engaging Juin’s reserves, while Liebmann directed his forces in an all-out assault on a broad front. With these forces pinned, nothing prevented Guderian from rolling up the French front from the south and this soon proved too much for the French soldiers. As the front disintegrated and the Panzers roamed the battlefield at will, panic spread like wildfire among the routing French. Soon they were in full retreat towards the relative safety of the Maginot line. In addition to pushing the French forces back against the Maginot line, Guderian’s drive had left a French armoured Corps (estimated strength) pocketed in Troyes.

At Lille, von Bock organized 2. Armee for the final assault on Lille on the morning of October 11th. After a sharp artillery preparation in the hours before dawn, the defenders were subjected to lethal dive-bomber strikes, followed by the less precise but infinitely more brutal carpet bombing of the medium He-111 bombers. The infantry assault went in only minutes after the bombardment had ceased, and although isolated pockets of troops resisted the German forces with great bravery, on the whole the Allied knew they were defeated. At 5:00 hours, an envoy from Marshal Strydonck de Burkel approached the Germans under a white flag with a request for terms of surrender. A cease-fire was ordered within minutes, and at 11:00 hours of October 11th, the defenders of Lille marched out of the smouldering city to surrender. Von Bock’s forces awarded them full military honours and officers were even permitted to keep their personal weapons. Marshal Strydonck de Burkel was invited to have dinner with von Bock and von Paulus that evening, but icily declined. The brave Belgian commander would not eat at the same table as the men he considered responsible for the savage bomb attack on Antwerpen.

Battles of Reims and Troyes
While the Germans were busy celebrating their twin victories, the French armour at Troyes, apparently unaware of the fact that it lines of supply had been cut and that no German forces worthy of mention remained in Paris began an offensive on Reims and recaptured the undefended city at 13:00 hours, October 11th. Had Guderian still been at Paris and none of the events of October 10th and 11th taken place, it would have been a brilliant move, threatening to isolate German-held Paris. As it was, it made no sense whatsoever. I. Panzergruppe swung west and engaged some Belgian infantry in Troyes a few hours after sunset. The Belgian divisions were in full retreat by midnight and the area secured. Meanwhile Manstein was sent north to hold Metz in the face of possible further breakout attempts from the French forces isolated in the Maginot line. On the following day, October 12th, I. Panzergruppe repulsed two French attacks on Troyes before resuming its advance on Reims to liquidate the French armoured Corps surrounded there. 10. Armee was ordered to advance west from Chaumont against Reims and aid in the reduction of the French armour.

After exchanging one infantry regiment of each division with the battered units of 20. Armee (to restore some fighting capability to the latter) 2. Armee left Lille to march on Paris. While the French capital was still in German hands, it was hoped that no undue attention would fall upon the previous actions of HG A. OKW and Hitler were at this point informed that I. Panzergruppe had left Paris to deal with the French penetration at Reims, but that 2. Armee was well underway to relieve it. This attracted no comments and von Bock could breathe in relief. He was, it would seem, home free.

Panzer Battle
In the morning of October 13th the PzKpfw IVg was for the first time tested in combat against modern tanks of a major military power, and passed the test with flying colours. It was found that the 47mm main gun of the French Souma S-35, Hotchkiss H-39 and Char B1-bis tanks was simply not powerful enough to hurt the PzKpfw IV’s head on at other than point blank range, due to its well sloped armour. This was even more true for the hull-mounted short-barrelled 75mm gun of the Char B1-bis. The main armament of the PzKpfw-IVg, the Kwk 38* 75mmL43 (calibre lengths) on the other hand could pierce the front armour of even the heaviest French tanks at extreme range due to its high muzzle velocity of 740 m/sec. The Wehrmacht Panzer crews kept their distance while taking maximum advantage of terrain features. Longer German range forced the French tanks to try to close range at maximum speed, being destroyed by the hundreds by accurate German fire from both tanks and 75mm infantry anti-tank guns. The uneven battle was over by nightfall, when the French commander offered the surrender of his battered Corps.
*ahistorical name due to it being developed earlier than IRL, was actually called the Kwk 40

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The Char B-1 bis was impressive-looking but proved no match to the PzKpfw-IVg

Death rattle
Further south, another French counteroffensive was brewing. French forces recaptured Dijon on October 13th and strong Franco-Belgian forces entered Troyes in the evening of the same day (to late to save the French armour at Reims though). A night attack against Reims by French forces pushing on from Troyes was decisively defeated by I. Panzergruppe though, and when 2. Armee entered Paris and 10. Armee joined Guderian at Troyes, enough German forces for resuming the drive southwards were available.

War in the Far East
October 13th also saw the Japanese liberal-conservative Government of Premier Kisaburo Suzuki declare a state of war against the so called “People’s Republic of China”, the tiny area held by Communist insurgents under Mao Zedong. Given that the communist area was deep within Chinese territory and nowhere in contact with the Japanese occupied area in China, the move was believed to be nothing but preparation of an excuse for a war against Nationalist China. Out of a desire not to anger the Soviet Union, currently a friend if not outright ally of the Reich, German newspapers reported these events in an absolutely impartial tone, something German readers were at this point hardly accustomed to any more.

The final offensive
On October 14th, German forces initiated their final offensive. I. Panzergruppe expelled the remaining Belgian forces from Troyes and encircled the French troops falling back from Reims while 2. Armee advanced from Paris on Orleans and II. Panzergruppe moved on Dijon. In the west von Paulus’s weakened 20. Armee advanced along the coast and reached German- held Rouen while Liebmann’s 6. Armee marched north to relieve Manstein’s gruppe in the defence of Metz. Around midnight French troops recaptured Auxerre but later on the 15th, 2. Armee captured Orleans, easily repulsing a weak French counterattack, II. Panzergruppe recaptured Dijon after a brief struggle with defending French forces and 20. Armee crossed the Seine and advanced into Normandy, where Caen soon fell in German hands. On the same day Guderian forced the surrender of the French forces encircled on the previous day between Reims and Troyes. The French front was rapidly disintegrating under the heavy German blows.

Situation in the early morning of October 15th
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Annexation of Luxemburg
On October 15th, the Führer announced in a radio speech that an ultimatum had been sent to the tiny Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, demanding its incorporation into the Reich. Hitler justified these demands by saying that Luxemburg had a long history as part of Germany during the I. Reich (he was in this case referring to the Holy Roman Empire rather than to Charlemagne’s Empire), that German was the language spoken by most Luxemburgers and that only centuries of French aggression had separated Luxemburg from Germany. Now, with France on the verge of total defeat, it was time for Luxemburg and its people to resume their proper place as part of the Greater German Reich and full German citizens. In light of the ongoing disintegration of the French Army, Grand Duchess Charlotte realized she had little choice in the matter. After notifying Hitler by phone that Luxemburg accepted Germany’s demands, she ordered her diminutive armed forces not to offer any resistance to the Germans as they crossed the border. The Grand Duchy was under full German control by nightfall and was officially annexed to Germany during a ceremony in the Reichstag on October 21st.
 
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As of 24:00 at October 15th, no.

Wait for it... :)
 
Hel needa few more VP from France itself then he might get the Vichy Dan, seeing the that the event was changed 1.3b means it will show up slightly later, if not taking 1-2 weeks in Game time not (RL) lol well see :D
 
Once again...

For this past week, I have enjoyed reading this AAR on my lunch hour, and it has never disappointed. I have even moved some of my appointments around so that I don't miss any updates to the story. I hope more people enjoy this AAR.

Regards,

DR
 
Re: Once again...

Originally posted by Detroit Rock
For this past week, I have enjoyed reading this AAR on my lunch hour, and it has never disappointed. I have even moved some of my appointments around so that I don't miss any updates to the story. I hope more people enjoy this AAR.

Regards,

DR

This is high praise indeed. Thanks a bunch, Detroit Rock!
 
The Fall of France

France sues for peace
On October 15th, Field Marshal Pétain assumed the Presidency of the faltering III Republic with an agenda of peace with Germany. It was clear to the Field Marshal, victor at Verdun in the Great War, that it was now only a matter of time before all of France was occupied by the Germans. The French forces were suffering terrible casualties each day and badly needed an end to hostilities. There had been furious controversy between the French Government and the Army over the forms of the armistice. The Government wanted the Army to surrender, in order to be legally able to continue the war from the colonies. The Army on the other hand refused to have its honour tarnished by surrender after putting up such a valiant fight and demanded that the Government should surrender; France as a state would make peace. As General Weygand put it “The Government declared war – now the Government will have to assume the consequences”.

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Field Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain

Pétain was on the side of the Army in this matter – he intended to make peace with Hitler at almost any cost, as long as the honour of the French army remained unsullied. There was also a great deal of bitterness against the British, who it was felt, had left France to face the wrath of the Germans alone. Not a single British or Empire land unit had yet taken part in the French campaign (although one would soon be doing so, when it was too late by far).

On the very day he took office, Pétain contacted Germany through the Swiss ambassador, asking for terms. In Berlin, Hitler immediately agreed to a cease-fire and demanded that peace negotiations would be held in the same railway car in which the 1918 armistice had been signed, currently parked in a museum at Compiégne forest outside of Paris. The French agreed to these humiliating conditions and a provisional cease fire became effective immediately from 0:00 hours in the morning of October 16th 1939, pending the signature of the provisional peace to be held on October 18th in the aforementioned railway car.

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Journalists at work outside the Compiégne museum inside which the railway car from the 1918 armistice was kept

The French troops were told to stop fighting the invaders and the German forces received instructions to stop the advance. Despite of this, the last shots of the French Campaign were yet to be fired – there were French forces ready to carry on the fight regardless of the cease-fire order.

Giraud and the Free France movement
As Marshal Pétain announced the provisional cease-fire over the radio, there were French officers that refused to surrender. Many would have believed General Charles de Gaulle would become a prominent opponent to surrender, but he had been captured when his armoured division surrendered at Reims. He would eventually become the Vichy regime’s most trusted General.

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Situation at 6:00 after provisional armistice

Among the more illustrious names intending to continue the fight was General Henri Honoré Giraud, commander of the French forces recently repulsed from Orleans by 2. Armee. Upon receiving the provisional armistice orders, he declared them illegal and vowed to carry on the fight until the bitter end with his remaining forces, currently advancing on Orleans from Le Mans in preparation for another attempt at offensive against 2. Armee. The French forces facing 20. Armee in Normandy also refused to surrender and took possession of Cherbourg and the Contentin peninsula, hoping to be reinforced by the British. The one strong force left to France, the 3. Armée under Field Marshal Lattre de Tassigny deployed at the Maginot line in Alsace did however accept the orders from Pétain and ceased fighting.

There were also the first Commonwealth troops to arrive in France to deal with: A Canadian Army Corps had landed at Nantes and quickly seized control of the surrounding area from the surrendering French forces. The last Belgian forces, at the time surrounded between Troyes and Auxerre did also refuse to acknowledge Pétain’s orders and kept on fighting – briefly.

Resistance is futile
Upon hearing the news of General Giraud’s rebellion, Pétain was outraged and dismayed. It came as no great surprise when the Germans coldly informed him that since French forces were still fighting them, they considered the cease fire broken by France, and that now only the following conditions would satisfy them: all French forces were to surrender immediately to the nearest German unit. If no German unit was in the vicinity, French units would stay in place until approached by German forces, at which time they should surrender. German forces would advance wherever they saw fit and would destroy any resistance encountered without mercy. Any French troops captured while resisting the Germans would be considered criminals of war and not be accorded the normal rights and privileges of POW’s. Realising full well that any residual leverage for negotiations France might still posses would be lost with the surrender of the remaining French troops, Pétain still saw himself forced to agree to these conditions, and promptly issued new orders. The French began to lay down their arms by 19:00 hours of October 16th. Giraud’s forces fought valiantly against 2. Armee until well after the fall of darkness, but by 23:00 hours, it was all over and they surrendered with the exception of one Corps, including Giraud himself, that managed to slip out of the ring and escape towards the channel coast, hoping perhaps to escape to England. The Germans did not follow through with their threats and treated Giraud’s men as any other French prisoners.

End of the French campaign
The operations during the last days of the war in France can be summarized in few words. On the 17th, von Manstein forced the surrender of the last Belgian forces in Dijon province and von Paulus defeated the French remnants at Cherbourg, securing the strategic harbour before any British reinforcements could be brought in. Giraud’s surviving forces reached Normandy and briefly recaptured Caen in the rear of 20. Armee, but von Paulus soon returned from Cherbourg and defeated these forces on the 18th. Giraud himself was saved by a British submarine and taken to London, where he would eventually become leader of “Free France”. Meanwhile Guderian was rushing west, reaching Nantes on October 19th. The Canadian troops had little to oppose the gruppe with and surrendered on the 19th. With the notable exception of air operations (German and British fighters were regularly fighting it out over the Channel since the fall of Lille) the war in France was over.

Italy joins the war
Upon hearing the news of the French suing for peace on October 16th, Mussolini could be contained no longer and declared war on France, the British Empire, Holland and Belgium. He had been aching to do so for some time, but Hitler had believed (rightly or not) that the Italians would have a tough time defending Libya against both the French and British forces in Africa and advised against it. With France knocked out of the war, Italy would only have to fight the British on one front and it was hoped that this would suffice. As a part of the Alliance agreement, Germany agreed to deliver large amounts of coal and steel to Italy via rail transport through the Alp passes. (This is a New Order event, an overland convoy)
An industrial “exchange” program was also initiated, with German engineers arriving in northern Italy to help setting up an Italian synthetic oil and rubber production (Another New Order event). These aid programs followed the pattern of the previous German alliances with Hungary and Slovakia.

Armistice at Compiégne
The signing of the Armistice was delayed until October 20th, when Hitler arrived at Compiégne with the Chief of Staff of the OKW, Field Marshal Keitel. The conditions were read to the French delegates by Keitel, and they were told that the terms would not be discussed; they could only choose to accept or reject them.

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The armistice conference. General Keitel reads the German conditions with Hitler sitting on his right

The conditions were harsh: All of Elsass and Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) including Metz would be annexed to the German Reich. The German war reparations paid since the Versailles treaty were to be repaid, with interests, in raw materials. Northern France and a strip along the Atlantic coast would come under German occupation until such time as the hostilities between Germany and the British Empire had come to and end. The French fleet would remain under French control but French forces would have to cooperate with Germany in the defence of their territories against the British. Given the overall situation, the French delegates felt themselves to have little choice and signed. The treaty was triumphantly ratified by the Reichstag on the following day, in which Elsass, Lothringen and Luxemburg were officially annexed to the Greater German Reich.

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Situation after the Armistice at Compiégne of October 20th

The Japanese also profited from the French debacle. Already on the 16th, Japan presented France with an ultimatum demanding the surrender of French Indochina to Japan, and the French accepted.
 
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I got really lucky with the Vichy event. I thought it triggered kind of easy, but when I checked the conditions, I found that you have to have Paris, 25% of VPs and pass a 25% random check. With Paris and Caen I had 22 VPs wich was almost exactly 25% of France's VPs and I must've passed the first random check too...
 
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Aftermath of the French campaign, October 20th-30th 1939

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The Axis and Allies after the Compiégne Armistice

Lessons of the French campaign
The main lesson learnt from the French campaign was that the Luftwaffe, in spite of some great interventions had not really been up to the task. As soon as any significant enemy fighter cover had been present, the Luftwaffe had been thwarted. Goering blamed this on a lack of fighters, and consequently a great buildup of Luftwaffe strength was ordered. Three new Jabogeschwadren were ordered, along with one new Jagdgeschwader and no less than four new Zerstörergeschwadren. The latter were to include the brand new Bf-110C-4/B, a twin engine fighter-bomber and escort fighter that was supposed to act as a long range escort to the He-111 tactical bombers. Hopes were very high for this powerful machine. Armed with 2x 20mm MG FF cannon and 4x 13mm MG131 machine guns all mounted together in the nose, it had unrivalled firepower. Speed and climb rate were on par or better than most contemporary fighters and while less manoeuvrable, improved tactics (derived from the new Combat Team and Air-Land Battle doctrines recently adopted by the Luftwaffe) would allow these planes to support each other in such a fashion that this would not represent a major handicap.

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The Luftwaffe's projected heavy fighter, the Bf-110C

The Panzerwaffe couldn’t be more satisfied with its machines – the PzKpfw IVg was clearly the best tank in the world, and no immediate need for a replacement was seen as necessary. Its numbers, with 8 Panzer-Divisions and 2 Panzergrenadier-Divisions was also deemed adequate, at least for dealing with the British. Further ahead in time, a substantial increase in the numbers of Panzer Divisions might become necessary, since the Abwehr were producing fantastic and scarcely believable reports on the numerical strength of the Soviet armoured forces.

The Kriegsmarine had performed admirably, winning even a major Fleet engagement. The U-boot wolfpacks continued to strangle the British war industry so effectively that it was thought that it might collapse entirely in the near future.

Finally, the air defence forces were in good shape, and the Ruhr, Berlin and Bohemia enjoyed the protection of an extensive Flak network that was thought to be entirely adequate for repulsing any RAF attempts at a strategic air campaign.

Strategic planning against Britain
With winter approaching it was decided to postpone any attempt at defeating Great Britain until spring when the new Luftwaffe effectives would be deployed. This might also give time to increase the numbers of the transport fleet and allow the training of the two new Fallschirmjäger-Divisions to be completed. It might also be possible to increase the number of destroyers in the Kriegsmarine, since even if the Luftwaffe was able to neutralize the surface ships of the Royal Navy, enemy submarines would be a deadly threat to any invasion force and its lines of supply. By the same token, the Luftwaffe would need new planes for specialized anti-shipping units. For this task six new Küstenfliegergruppen of He-115 naval bombers would be formed. A preliminary date for the start of operations leading to an invasion of Britain was set for April 15th, 1940.

In the meantime, the Kriegsmarine would continue to strangle Britain and the Luftwaffe would conduct limited attacks when the weather so permitted to probe the British aerial defences. It didn’t take long to discover that the numbers of the RAF were impressive, but the equipment very dated – the Gloster Gladiator still seemed to be the main fighter for example.

Yugoslavia joins the Axis – and leaves
On October 20th Yugoslavia finally signed an Alliance with Germany and Italy. The acting head of State, Prince Regent Pavel was a well-known Axis sympathizer, but he had been unable to convince his Government to ally with Germany. The fall of France gave him just the leverage he needed, and the Prince Regent went himself to sign the treaty in Berlin. He was however quite isolated in his appreciation for German grandeur, in fact the dominant Serbs hated and despised Germany and Austria, their mortal foes in the Great War. In Croatia Germany had some friends, mainly in the Fascist Croatian-Nationalist Ustasha party, but The Serbian sympathies were with Russia.

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Prince Regent Pavel of Yugoslavia

It should therefore have come as no surprise to Prince Pavel when violent protests erupted in Belgrade over the announcement of Yugoslavia’s alliance with Germany and Italy. What did surprise him considerably was the coup launched on October 21st by Air Force General Dusjan Simovic against the Prince Regent, who was deposed in absentia (he was still in Berlin). Simovic’s new Government quickly had young King Petar II Crowned and declared Yugoslavia’s signature of the Alliance with Germany as null and void. Furthermore, a treaty of Non-Agression was signed with the USSR. (The Anti-German coup in Yugoslavia is a New Order event)

Hitler cancels his vacations
Having signed the Armistice with France in Compiégne, Hitler was taking a few days off and had even made a visit to see the sights and monuments of Paris. This vacation was however brusquely terminated by the news from the Balkans.

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Hitler the tourist

The Führer flew into one of his more impressive rages, screaming out curses at Yugoslavia in general and heaping abuse on Simovic in particular for more than two hours. When he finally collected himself, it was to give the Wehrmach something to do during the wait for “Seelöwe” (the codename chosen for the invasion of Britain) – the destruction of Yugoslavia. Commander of the operation would be Field Marshal von Reichenau, commander of HG SUD, which at the moment included only 17. Armee deployed on the Yugoslav-German border. It would soon receive General Salmuth’s 9. Armee and General von Weich’s 12. Armee, both of which had so far been sitting out the war guarding the Siegfried line. Also attached to HG SUD was Manstein’s II Panzergruppe. The forces in question immediately began their redeployment to the Yugoslav border in preparation for the upcoming invasion, code-named “Marita”.

Battle of Öresund
After the surrender of France the Hochseeflotte, now almost fully repaired after the battles of the previous month, was withdrawn to the Baltic to ensure its safety from British bombers until the coming spring. To the surprise of Grand Admiral Raeder, personally on the bridge of the flagship Scharnhorst for this short voyage, a French task force of two battleships and two cruisers was encountered in Öresund. The French commander was apparently taking orders from London rather than Vichy, because the French ships opened fire on the Germans with guns and torpedoes. The Kriegsmarine ships responded in kind, and the French ships soon beat a hasty retreat, smoke pouring from multiple hits to their superstructures. Raeder let them go, worried that there might be more allied ships in the Baltic, the German Mare Nostrum. German ships would patrol the Baltic extensively in the coming weeks but no more allied raiders were encountered.

The war in Africa
After waiting so long to enter the war, Italy was surprisingly sluggish in beginning operations against the British forces in Egypt, but by October 28th they had advanced against non-existant British opposition as far as Mersa Matruh and continued straight for Alexandria. A second force was being assembled in Ethiopia that was intended to advance north along the Nile. Operations were also in progress to conquer British Somaliland and invade British East Africa.

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The Italian advance in Egypt by October 28th

Mussolini declares war on Greece
On October 27th the Italian Duce, Benito Mussolini vented his frustration over having missed the war in France by declaring war on Greece. Bearing in mind that “Marita” was only days away from being launched, it is understandable if Hitler was not perfectly happy about this, but he still responded by advancing the date of “Marita” to October 28th, when at least II. Panzergruppe would be in position, together with 17. Armee.
 
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Monthly summary, October 1939

Battle of the Atlantic, October 1939
On November 3rd, the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (OKM) reported to OKW that during the month of October, U-boats and surface raiders had sunk a grand total of 871 Allied merchant ships, a reduction by nearly 17% compared to the tally of the previous month. This reduction was attributed to the withdrawal of the Hochseeflotte from merchant raider activities during early October, but the number was still considered highly satisfactory. It was noted with satisfaction that the Royal Navy seemed to be all out of convoy escort destroyers, since the U-boot wolfpacks had attacked essentially unopposed during the entire month.

Armaments Office Report October
On November 3rd, the Armaments Office presented its monthly report on the progress of the German war production. During the month of October, the 1., 2. & 3. Marine-Infanterie divisions had completed their training and formation and were deployed in Rostock, attached to the Baltic Fleet. Five new infantry divisions with attached heavy artillery brigade, the 94., 143.,163., 164. and 167. Infanterie divisions had also been completely trained and equipped.
 
Unchanged since last State of the Wehrmacht report except from two captured Polish transports, that is:

2 Pre-war Dreadnaughts
2 Battlecruisers
3 Pocket Battleships
6 Cruisers
1 Destroyer flottilla
17 MR U-boot flottillas
5 Transports

BTW, thanks for the hint about subs. I consider subs overpowered in HOI, so for balance I only use them for commerce raiding and attacks against troop transport convoys (without capital ships) etc. If a sub force encounters an enemy battle fleet, I have it withdraw immediatly.
 
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