The Sound of Drums - A British Hearts of Iron II AAR

Cleric said:

Well I can definitively see that...just after you shag a girl you take out a notebook and a pen and start writing. She if possessing an IQ above that of a plush toy, will ask you what the hell are you doing? You will respond annoyed "Writing an after action report of course." with a 'duh' look on your face like she should have known that.

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I've said far worse.

PrinceScamp said:

Yet another reason to despise sports.

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Actually it would be a reason to despise strategy games. I got into Football Manager well before I had any interest in football, let alone sport in general

Darth_Pugwash said:

I didn't mean to be a pest, really I just wanted an excuse to post that picture.

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I did laugh at it

swed14 said:

can i get in on this, or is it too late at this point?

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Of course. Standard position in the Imperial Defence Council (you're essentially in an advisory role). If you want a proper position simply say what you would like

sheep21 said:

what are our relations with greece currently, the same goes for the Turkish republic?

is it possible to find out there military strengths?

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I'm not sure about Turkey, but relations with Greece are excellent. We have in place with them a guarantee of independence, as well as the 'Dourala Doctrine.' In essence it means that we will send troops immediately to Greece if any nation declares war on them. Think of them as the Mediterranean version of Norway.


I will do something with the AAR tomorrow (and give proper answers to your questions), as I've got a day off. In a week's time I'm off for about a fortnight, so will be updating again then.

I've been acting as the Sec. of Cocktails (inc. Tiffin Advisory Dpt) for a while now on spec. Rather hoping to have the position formalised old bean.

Also hoping someone could clear up what exactly tiffin is.

2nd April - 2nd May 1940

Operation Hammer was the name given to the naval operations for the Norwegian campaign. The plans for the land operation was named Operation Anvil. It was hardly an original pairing of names, but it was apt for this occasion. British forces along the coast would simply form a barrier to prevent Axis forces from breaking through, while the Royal Navy would launch devastating strokes against any attacking force - in particular the transport and supply craft.


Operation Anvil: British troop positions in Norway

Throughout April, it turned out that sending ground troops to Norway may have been rather hasty, for at no point did they come near to repulsing a German landing. All the necessary battles were carried out by the Grand Armada, which tirelessly hit the Kriegsmarine transport fleets, submarines and First Flotte no less than four times during April. All the German attempts at leaving their bases were repulsed for the loss of one cruiser, the HMS London.

Relatively speaking, such losses were a small price to pay for keeping the German fleet from escaping to the Atlantic. It was, however, fairly apparent that the reason for such vessels being lost was due to their age - the three most recent victims were decade-old County-class cruisers against the newest battleship, the Bismarck’s. As such, it was finally decided that the proposed Fourth Fleet would finally begin construction in the very near future. Proposals were also put forward to construct additional carriers and cruisers for existing fleets as well as officially disbanding the First Support Fleet, its ships to be redeployed to other fleets.

At present however, British industries could not cope with a new shipbuilding programme. The major shipyards across Britain and Ireland were still being upgraded to cope with the expected stress of building the new, larger, war vessels. Funding was also a concern - most of it was currently going into upgrading existing divisions and the airforce, as well as new forces for the European and African fronts. Something would need to be sacrificed if a new fleet was to be built.


The new Hawker Typhoon

Luckily, several military projects were coming to an end. The home defence stations - the radar and fixed AA batteries were completed in April, as was the construction of new Crusader tank divisions. This would be enough to begin the construction of new aircraft carriers - including the brand new Illustrious-class - in the near future.

For now, High Command had to be content with what they had. The new Hawker interceptors came into service on the 22nd April, with existing divisions promised the new aircraft by the end of the year. Motorised and standard infantry divisions were made ready for France, and they were slowly deployed in the last week of April. With the dominance of the Grand Armada in the North Sea, it seemed there was little need to worry about German actions in the near future.


Hitler moves west!

Germany surprised many in the Cabinet of Doom with their declaration of war on the 2nd May. With the exception of Lord Pugwash, who had predicted such an early move, most had hoped for Hitler to concentrate on the Norwegian campaign for a few more months before focusing his forces into France. It was possible then, that the Royal Navy’s victories in the North Sea had spurred the German dictator to return to his most elite weapon - the infantry and armoured forces that made up the wehrmacht.

Hitler now hoped to achieve dominance against his enemies in an outright confrontation. Allied and Axis forces would now take on one another directly, rather than through mere sideshows in Poland and Norway. The War in the West had begun…

Right then, not my greatest update but one that brings us (finally) to the part of the AAR I’ve been waiting to get to for some months now. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are at war! Time to agree on the future conduct:

We Need to Have a Plan for the Battle of France

At present, we have two major plans, and both I wish to discuss.. The first is proposed by Mr. Raisin Bran:

Plan A

This obviously involves a lot of risk, but certainly a massive payoff should we succeed. Essentially he is proposing we draw the Germans into France before launching a massive counterattack and encirclement of the enemy. High-risk, high gain.

The second is by Mr. Rapidveggie

Plan B


A fairly standard defence - hold the Germans back at strategic points and continue to strengthen our position. This is the safe option, it is more likely to succeed, but it will draw the war out a lot longer than we may wish.

I invite both members of parliament to explain their plans in more detail, as well as every member of the Cabinet to comment on the plans. We will be holding a vote at some point in the future.

First Lord of the Admiralty, Pugwash - the Fourth Fleet?

I am assuming that you still wish for a carrier-heavy fleet? What about battleships or battle cruisers? What would be your preferences for a top-of-the-line fleet, if resources were not an issue?

Field Marshall PrinceScamp:

It is very likely that, should the war in France result in a stalemate or worse, Italy will join the war against us. You will receive a dossier regarding the resources available to you, as well as intelligence regarding the Italian strength in Libya, but do you have any preferences as to how to run a potential war in Africa?

Plan B sounds like the best option to me. I don't think we will have the manpower to pull off Plan A unless we could get someone like the US to join the war.

I'll support plan A as I hate stalemates.

If we move to quickly achieve victory to avoid casualties we may be dealt a defeat we cannot recover from. We lost an entire generation during the great war for battles that looked to go for the juggler of our enemy, such as the battle of the Somme which saw hundreds of thousands of sons, fathers, brothers, cousins, and friends, and above all else country men die for nothing but a few kilometers of worthless land.
Make no mistake Germany is an enemy to be reckoned with, they are not the defeated power they were at the end of the great war. Their units have experience with full scale warfare, and their generals are professional and intelligent. We cannot count on the French, their troops are poorly trained and their generals are inexperienced in all things offensive. They are set up to defend their nation, not to attack another. Italy is ready to join in on the fighting and a sudden loss of French land, even if its to draw our enemy in may be seen as a weakness by the Italians.
The more land we take the further we stretch ourselves out as well. We can only defend so much with the current RAF and the Royal Navy. I say let Germany tire itself out on a united France, Belgium, Netherlands, Britain, and all its common wealth friends. We shall see how well German bomber, fighters, and tanks fair when they have wasted every drop of oil, and every bomb, and shell in an attempt to shatter our unbreakable determination and strength, and let them beg us for the peace to return that should never been broken. Let the most powerful airforce in the world do its work on German industry, the most powerful fleet keep our troops fed and the enemy inside their bunkers.
We will come out the victors of this conflict even stronger then before!

For France, I believe we should attempt Raisin Bran's plan.

For Egypt, I would like to see again the positioning of all troops in Egypt. I beleive we should attack the Italian forces in the west as soon as war starts, encircling them with the tanks and attacking with however many forces will be needed against the front line Italian troops. After that hopefully we will be able to advance towards Tunisia. As for Ethiopea, holding the sotuhern border of Egypt is the priotirty, although depending on the Italian forces there, taking Ethiopia (and releasing it if possible) would neutralize it as a threat.

I support plan A. The Germans are so strong that I don't think France can be safe without a decisive victory. Defensive warfare simply is not as effective as it was during the great war.

plan B i feel is the best for the job, plan A offers much in reward but at a huge risk of failure if it does not go absolutely like clockwork.

plan b will be a longer war but one that will be easier for us to control if anything goes wrong.

I cannot underestimate the need for air superiority and a strong mobile reserve.

Im sure the Libyan desert will make for a great maneuvering field for our new crusader tank squadrons.

Afew questions:
what is the italian airforces strength in the eastern mediteranean?
What are the numbers on the western front for france, uk and germany?
the french navy, where is it and whats its strength?

Some troops should be left in British Somaliland because of its commanding position overlooking the gulf of aden, the entrance to the red sea and subsequently, transit through the suez canal. Perhaps a small detatchment from the mediteranean fleet could be detatched to watch for any italian naval units operating out of italian somaliland?

Also, could you perhaps post a save file? This is a pretty important moment, so it would be nice to get a good look at the situation.

My proposal for Plan B



A line of defense will be formed along the French border, incorporating the Maginot Line. French forces will man the forts in the south, with British forces in the north. British and Belgian forces will be stationed in the forested regions along the Franco-Belgian border. The wooded area should prove disadvantageous to German Panzers, giving us a better chance at repelling. Of course we will also need to keep control of the port city of Ghent, as it will provide us a strategic link to the ocean. The Ministry of Silly Walks has dubbed this line the "Cleese Line". Also, if we could somehow get our hands on Liege, that would prove a fanstastic addition. The bulge created by this territory would force the Germans to hold back some of their forces to defend against it. And if any Dutch forces can make it out of the Netherlands, it would be great if they could join our defensive line, although I suspect they will be too far away and become trapped by the German army.

In the event the Germans are able to breach our defenses, I recommend a retreat to the southwest. The next best defensible area is along the River Seine. Given that central France is rather flat, this will be a last resort. Paris must be protected at all costs. This defensive line has been named the "Palin Line"

I'll do Egypt tomorrow, but this seemed important for the western front talk:

sheep21 said:

What are the numbers on the western front for france, uk and germany?
the french navy, where is it and whats its strength?

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This is a rough guide.



British and Commonwealth forces are spread between Lille and Reims along the Belgian border. The motorised divisions are several miles behind, and will provide support in the event of an attack. All armoured divisions are currently based at Lille along with Equuleus' Headquarters.

Infantry Divisions: 14
Motorised Divisions: 3
Armoured Divisions: 2
HQ Divisions: 1

Fighter Squadrons: 3
Tactical Bombing Squadrons: 2
Strategic Bomber Squadrons: 3

The French have deployed only infantry and militia along the same border, with some cavalry divisions to support. Their main armoured force is in Mulhouse at the southernmost point of the Maginot Line - they are clearly hoping to launch an attack of opportunity into southern Germany at some point. It should be noted - France is deploying divisions into Belgium itself.

Infantry Divisions (between Dunkirk and Metz): 37

Fighter Squadrons: 1
Tactical Bomber Squadrons: 6

Naturally due to our own rather weak intelligence divisions (this is being looked into) we have very little information on German strength and numbers. It is known that they, along with Slovakia and Hungary, have deployed a force between 25 and 60 divisions strong along the French, Belgian and Dutch borders. It is believed this is primarily an infantry force, with motorised and armoured divisions acting as support.


The French fleet's numbers are below. They are entirely deployed in the Mediterranean, with bases at Marseilles and Algiers.




Subi: I'll get a save up for you tomorrow

X-Post with you as well: Will read it properly, but have to say your naming of the Cleese and Palin Lines is inspired.

Kan' Sharuminar said:

X-Post with you as well: Will read it properly, but have to say your naming of the Cleese and Palin Lines is inspired.

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Cleese and Palin are two very important fellows down at the Ministry of Silly Walks.

Which plan would require us to depend the most on the French doing what we want them to?

I'm under the impression that both plans are equal in how much the French will be involved, and that both simply regard French forces as a bonus, not a factor, in their plans.

That said, I believe Mr. Raisin Bran has called for French forces to be put under our control (in order to maximise his plans effects), so it's possible he depends more on the French factor.

My proposal: Modified Superbeave Plan B

I love the plan, however afew modifications i feel:


modified Palin Line
the channel ports should be held, with calais anchoring our line and causing the germans the worry of a deep salient into there lines, perhaps drawing troops off'f the push to paris.

Bringing the Palin line forward in the south means the french armies will have less distance to retreat and hopefully less of a blow to moral than retreating past the seine.
Also, this plan leave room for the german armies to reach paris in a two province wide salient, with Paris as the anvil with a strong garrison and Dieppe\Le Havre & Troyes as the hammers we may be able to deal a deadly blow to german ambitions and imobilize the "lighting war" they are so found of.

This plan also has the added benfit of the vast majority of British & Imperial troops being located in provinces with modern port facilities, facilitating the movement of our heavy equipment into and, if the worst should happen, out off france.

EDIT:
I may even point out that the retreat from the southern maginot line i not needed, i belive that like the last war th german forces will advance through northern france and the low countries.

I put my support behind plan B.

also, I am worried about our inferioity in Naval matters, look at the size of the italian navy, they nearly match us in Destroyers and they have one sea to fight for, not the oceans of the world to defend.

I love the sound of the new illustrious class CV but i must insist that there lordships at the Admiralty are forced to include at least two of the new fast Battleships of the King George V class in there plans for the fourth fleet. the Battleship may be on its way out but it still has a bite and they make formidable anti-air platforms.

The numbers of Axis forces would suggest a certain, if possibly slower defeat in France in using plan b, plan a however presents an ability to capture 200,000 Germans and perhaps more.

I vote for plan A.