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

I'm enlisting as a private in the First CFC Infantry Division.

iamwlrs4 said:

I'm enlisting as a private in the First CFC Infantry Division.

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Great! Here is your pack, and supplies, and we are going to send you off to Italy. Or the Balkans. Or Indochina. Or Antarctica. We haven't quite decided. The current plan is sit and wait.

aronnax said:

Great! Here is your pack, and supplies, and we are going to send you off to Italy. Or the Balkans. Or Indochina. Or Antarctica. We haven't quite decided. The current plan is sit and wait.

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I'm Hoping France is somewhere on that list?

iamwlrs4 said:

I'm enlisting as a private in the First CFC Infantry Division.

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Welcome aboard old boy!

aronnax said:

Great! Here is your pack, and supplies, and we are going to send you off to Italy. Or the Balkans. Or Indochina. Or Antarctica. We haven't quite decided. The current plan is sit and wait.

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Yes, the empire has commitment here, there & everywhere... im sure you will be kept busy in the CFC iamwlrs

Sadly I am afraid that Antarctica is not on the map in HoI2.

I demand to know what state our national physics is at

I mean, I could probably develop alloy tubes on my own but I've got to fit that inbetween uni....(whats our research like?).

Karmic Knight said:

I'm Hoping France is somewhere on that list?

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I hope Germany and Japan are on that list.

I hope Moscow will one day be on that list.

Now now, you don't make friends by putting names on lists



I know, I've tried it

No worries, we want to make enemies.

potatokiosk said:

I hope Moscow will one day be on that list.

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Why would we ever attempt to attack the Soviets? Don't we have enough on our plate liberating Europe and defending against the Empire of the Rising Sun?

Karmic Knight said:

Why would we ever attempt to attack the Soviets? Don't we have enough on our plate liberating Europe and defending against the Empire of the Rising Sun?

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Because we can .

Karmic Knight said:

Why would we ever attempt to attack the Soviets? Don't we have enough on our plate liberating Europe and defending against the Empire of the Rising Sun?

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Because they're Commies!

Because I am so envious of the moustache Stalin has.

But Hitler is even more envious of Stalin's mustache.

Abaddon said:

Continued awesomness!

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iamwlrs4 said:

I'm enlisting as a private in the First CFC Infantry Division.

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Thanks Sloz, and consider both of you shipped off to Africa as replacements for those lost in the 1st CFC.

Jos Ballenbak said:

Kan, could you show some pics of the situation in the far east?

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Kal'thzar said:

I demand to know what state our national physics is at

I mean, I could probably develop alloy tubes on my own but I've got to fit that inbetween uni....(whats our research like?).

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Remind me later in the week, if you could?

sheep21 said:

Maybe 3 Squadrons of Swordfish torpedo bombers could be sent, 2 based in Singapore, the other in Kuching with an additional 3 squadrons of fighters, maybe the older Hurricanes as more spitfires come into service (the same split as before). Oh and 1 Divebomber squadron at singapore too...
Out of those 7 squadrons I have suggested 6 are of older types which I would hope were are replacing in frontline service in the near future or at least backed up by more modern craft. Not to great a cost to bear, paticuarly as there aren't many ships left to torpedo in Europe (the Italian Fleet-in-being an exception)!

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I am certainly partial to our plans to use aircraft as the chief proponent of a naval war against Japan. Certainly I am considering upgrading and expanding the air fleet in the near future.

Consider your own recommendations as noted.

sheep21 said:

Regarding troops to the east, they I assume will still be sent once the Norway campaign is resolved as per planned I assume?

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Most certainly.

sheep21 said:

Edit: I agree with the PM that the majority of our capital units should continue to vigorously patrol the Mediterranean, North Atlantic & North Sea whilst the Italian fleet is still a danger to our shipping, the Red Route must not be cut! The Royal Navy Far East fleet will have to make do for the time being, soon she will be equipped with four modern fleet carriers and (at least) two state of the art KGV Class Battleships. The Japanese will be made to pay if they think we will surrender our Asian Empire to them willingly!

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We've destroyed the German Navy in 1940, we will destroy the Italian navy in 1941. After that, the bulk of our fleet may be deployed to the Far East if need be.

aronnax said:

Prime Minister Kan, Aronnax MBE reporting for duty. My pet pigeon, Flufflers got shot by in a careless freak accident regarding a drunken Chinese aide and a slipper. I was mourning for his lost.
(Some real life stuff got in the way and I was out of action)

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My deepest condolences for Flufflers. I am sure you shall be receiving a telegram conveying similar sympathies from the King soon.

aronnax said:

I approve the Superbeaver's plan, but there is a teeny thing I have to bring up. In 1928, I trekked through the jungles of Indochina on my to Monk Gyatso's sacred hut. Those mountains and jungles are an attacking army's nightmare. It is very important that we take out the Northern Provinces, Haiphong, Luan Prang. If the Japanese and Thai armies get held up there, we will never dislodge them, unless we invest in a long term envoy sinking or an armada of planes.

Also, while I favour the Germany First plan, we should not delay our attention until after Germany falls.

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I quite agree. My current intention is for a fast, though limited when compared to what a Far East campaign will entail, offensive into Indochina while we fight the main war in Europe.

iamwlrs4 said:

But Hitler is even more envious of Stalin's mustache.

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And both are intimidated by my own, so I'm sure this war was inevitable.


Update Tuesday. Apologies for the delay.

*cough <Itstuesday> cough

Chapter Six: The Long Game
1st - 16th September 1940

There was a very strong feeling in the Cabinet that Hitler was rather annoyed at the news of the loss of Africa. Having to evacuate to the bomb shelters several dozen times a day did have that effect. Clearly the Luftwaffe had been ordered to step up their bombing campaign against Britain.

Not that it had much affect, and by the end of the first week of September most air-raid warnings were being ignored by the Cabinet. More often than not e350tb’s fighter wings managed to intercept Axis planes before they reached the English coast, and the Air Force chief enjoyed a period of popularity similar to that which Cleric and PrinceScamp were experiencing. Probably more - the Admiral and General were both out of the country.

It was not undeserved praise however, the RAF were truly rising up to the challenge of defending Britain, and through their defence the air-war was truly shifting to the allied favour. The first week of September alone saw the destruction of one Heinkell and two Stuka bomber wings over the Channel. Intelligence quickly confirmed that these losses meant Britain now bested Germany in aircraft numbers for the first time in five years.


Aircraft numbers comparison.

Germany still had the power of the Axis behind it however, and Hungarian, Romanian and Italian planes continued to do their part. Or attempt to. While German forces constantly put up a fight, even managing to break through and hit their targets on occasion, the rest of the Axis forces never made it across the Channel. As such, most RAF pilots found these enemies little more than an annoyance.

Perhaps it was the fear of having weaker allies that made Hitler decide to support the dismemberment of Romania on the 8th September. Sensing Romanian weakness after its surrendering of Bessarabia to Stalin, both Bulgaria and Hungary put pressure on Romania to cede former territories. Fearing that destabilisation in the Balkans would encourage Britain to launch an invasion there, Hitler threw his weight behind the claims, and Romania had no choice but to accept the loss of Transylvania and Bulgaria to its Axis partners.


The new Romanian borders, 8th September

The situation for British allies was similarly changing. In Africa, as the troops of PrinceScamp and Riptide were being reorganised, the Indian and New Zealand expeditionary forces that had been a part of the campaign were paid a visit by the Prime Minister. Awarding the four divisions each a specially created battle honour, he announced that each would proceed to Alexandria for final transport to their homelands. The Far East was to be reinforced, and far better to do it with the veteran battle-hardened divisions of their respective countries than with newly commissioned units.


Heinkel bombers move across the Channel

Prime Minister Kan’s return to Britain on the 14th coincided with some less happy news. Once again German bombers had broken through, but this time they had struck the city of Norwich - a clear shift away from the purely military targets of before. It was presumed that the bombers had been aiming for aircraft factories near the city, but that did little to weaken the Cabinet’s resolve for a retaliatory strike. Two days later, e350tb authorised his strategic bombers to attack Germany for the first time.

Flying across the North Sea and through north-west Germany, the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers avoided the heavy concentration of flak cannons along the Rhine and struck Berlin at midnight of the 16th. They achieved minimal physical damage, though the morale boost and the safe return of virtually all the planes meant the raid was considered a victory.

The bombing of Berlin was considered to be the first act of the British air offensive over Europe. Though the ultimate victor was still far from decided, it was certain fact that the Allies now held the initiative…

Did I say already build moar carriers and CAGs? If yes, then send moar rum. I am dying of boredom now that their fleet is mostly obliterated. I want to bomb stuff.

This is Radio Britain over and out!