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

[rabidveggie]

Oh thats right Belgium. Well if I didn`t think of it Germany certainly won`t.

 

[potatokiosk]

Why not invade Belgium before the Germans can, and then push on into western Germany? They have a lot of industry there. The combined size of the French and British armies is larger than the German army, and they'll be busy in Poland.

Of course I have no experience whatsoever with this game so my idea is probably terrible.

 

[rabidveggie]

Britain's a democracy so declaring war is basically out of the question. If he had the democracies can declare wars check marked it still wouldn't work to well since the dissent hit would be significant. Britains army is also too spread out to beat the Germans before they overwhelm Poland and come back, and when you declare war on strange countries even stranger things can happen. Finally since Kan seems to be taking a historical approach I doubt he would consider it even if it could work.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Actually I have considered it, though in a more peaceful manner. Invading is out of the question, but convincing Belgium to join the alliance is not.

However, as noted, we don't have enough troops to launch a large-scale invasion of Germany at the moment. Time to give the ANZAC's a call, I think.

 

[rabidveggie]

Isn't Belgium's slider full isolationist?

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

That's pretty much true (they're one short of full isolationist), and we can't invade anyway as their belligerence is too low. So it was a decent suggestion either way, but impossible to carry out.

British Forces in Britain

Ground Forces​

The British Expeditionary Force



x1 Army HQ ('39 Type)
British Army HQ
x1 Light Armoured (Stuart Mark V.)
2nd Armoured Division
x6 Infantry ('39 Type)
1st Infantry Division (with Artillery Brigade)
2nd Infantry Division (with Anti-Tank Brigade)
44th 'Home Counties Division (with Anti-Air Brigade)
47th 'London' Division (With Heavy-Tank Brigade)
1st CFC Division
2nd CFC 'Thunderfall' Division

A field marshal is currently unassigned. The B.E.F. will be deployed to northern France immediately, probably based at Lille and surrounding regions.


British Home Defences
All '39 Type Infantry, shows name of division and where they are based

45th Infantry Division - Plymouth
3rd Infantry Division - Portsmouth
46th 'North Midlands' Division - Dover
5th Infantry Division - Edinburgh

Air Forces​

Shows air groups, commander and where based

British Fighter Command (Dowding) - Norwich
x4 Spitfighter Groups

No.1 British Fighter Wing (Hill) - Portsmouth
x2 Spitfighter Groups

No.2 British Fighter Wing (Cunningham) - Sheffield
x2 Spitfighter Groups

1st British Interceptor Wing (Leigh-Mallory) - Sheffield
x1 Hurricane Groups

RAF Strategic Bomber Command (Tedder) - Norwich
x3 Armstrong-Whitworth Whitely Groups

1st Tactical Wing (Boyd)
x1 Wellington III Groups

Navy Forces​

Shows Name of Fleet, Commander and where based

Grand Armada (Cleric) - Sheffield
First Support Fleet (Dreyer) - Portsmouth
First ASDIC Fleet (Horton) - Liverpool
Second ASDIC Fleet (D'Oyly Lyon) - Scapa Flow

And here we have the entire French border, with as accurate data as we can manage:

 

[e350tb]

Shame on those Jerries! Lets bomb them to hell!

 

[Kozmos]

I really need to catch up on this...

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Effectively the same as actual history, except we seem to have a stronger presence in the Mediterranean. You've still got command of the Grand Armada, and I'm sending them into the North Sea in the hopes of destroying the German fleet!

 

[Maniacal]

So, Kan, you've seemed to have put all your AARs on hold

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

So, Kan, you've seemed to have put all your AARs on hold

Which ones? I've got a couple I will get back to, and this one wont die, simply due to it being an AAR of one of the main HoI2 nations.

And as for this one, interest in this seems to have died down a bit, which gave me a good excuse to take a break for some annoying real-life commitments. I'm about two months ahead in this, game-time, and I'm not missing the Battle of Britain for the world.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

Sorry, I've been a bit distracted for most of April, haven't really kept up with this.

BTW Kan, if your going to revive an AAR, make it the Silent Hunter III one!

 

[Volum]

The teaboy has returned! Now that we appear on the brink of war, i think 2 priorities are clear.

1. Keep open the sea lines so enough tea can be brought in. VITAL!
2. Send the BEF to France, put the Royal Navy to sea. And wait, i honesty can not see how that could ever fail

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

BTW Kan, if your going to revive an AAR, make it the Silent Hunter III one!

I have plans for another HoI2 AAR after this, maybe make it my last one of the game, then will see. I do want to go back to SH3 and Rome, though.

The teaboy has returned! Now that we appear on the brink of war, i think 2 priorities are clear.

1. Keep open the sea lines so enough tea can be brought in. VITAL!
2. Send the BEF to France, put the Royal Navy to sea. And wait, i honesty can not see how that could ever fail

I'm sure that post is slightly in jest, but it's effectively what we've done

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

The Sound of Drums - A British Hearts of Iron AAR
Part Eighteen​

1st September - 14th September

It was almost remarkable how smoothly the British Empire switched from peacetime to war, even if she wasn’t to bear the brunt of the initial fights. Besides a brief skirmish with the luftwaffe attempting to bomb the First Support Fleet as it departed Portsmouth, the entire British armed forces remained on alert, though never actually engaging in battle. Which was preferable, as it gave British High Command good time to position all available troops.

First to move was the Royal Navy. Grand Admiral Cleric, delighted with the prospect of open-seas battle, was overjoyed to be given overall command of all naval forces in the North Sea. His objective was simple: prevent a breakout of the German navy into the Atlantic, and in particular watch for submarines. He was supported by the First and Second ASDIC destroyer fleets, while the First Support Fleet and Third Fleet patrolled the English Channel and Celtic Sea respectively.


HMS Furious, flagship of the Grand Armada, goes to war

Quick to follow was the Royal Air Force. The attack on Portsmouth was a sharp shock to Air Command, but it resulted in a fast-action defence doctrine that saw England, southern Scotland and the English Channel under permanent patrol by fighter and interceptor forces. It was also agreed, in negotiations with France, that the next wing of Spitfires would be sent to help govern the airspace in northern France.

Sadly, this would take some time - the next wave of Spitfires were not due for another month, and Hurricane wings had only just begun production to provide additional support. For now, France was to be assisted directly by the British Expeditionary Force.

A full eight divisions were to be sent to northern France, including a full armoured division and several specialist brigades. They began deployment, under the command of Field Marshall Alan Brooke, on the outbreak of war. They arrived in France on the 3rd September, and by the 10th all divisions were deployed in their appointed positions. It was a remarkable achievement of speed, a result of the past two years of war preparations. The main objective of the BEF was to prevent a German breakthrough in Belgium, supported by French troops to the south-east.


Initial Allied lines and the expected German attack

Unlike the great initial German offensive of the Great War however, there was no movement from the enemy on the French lines. It seemed that German command either had no idea of what to do in the event of a new war against France and Britain, or they fully intended to take on Poland before switching to the west, in some sort of reversal of the 1914 campaigns. Perhaps it was a combination of both. Poland suffered a full-scale invasion across its entire western borders the very hour war was declared, and its first defeats shortly after. Neither Britain nor France could hope to assist in these early days - their own mobilisations would not be complete for at least two weeks.

It would be those two weeks that would see the destruction of Poland’s ability to fight. The first week saw the loss of all border provinces, with the ironic exception of Danzig. Despite this, the Polish army threw itself into a counter-attack at Poznan, surprising the German army into retreat and achieving a minor victory there. It was short lived, German forces under Field Marshall von Rundstedt simply regrouping and attacking once again, this time making sure to cut off any lines of escape for the Poznan defenders.


The German invasion and failed Polish counterattack

By the 12th September Poland’s forces were in full flight, withdrawing to better positions in the south or at Warsaw itself. Germany pressed on, sweeping from East Prussia towards the Polish capital. They reached the outskirts on the 14th, and it was there they hoped to deliver the final crushing blow…

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

Good update.

Looks like the Krauts won't get a chance to attack before the winter's out. Shall I put have Volum put the kettle on?

 

[e350tb]

I still say we should bomb them to high heaven.

 

[nodikus]

Do rivers give a defensive advantage?
If they don't then we might have a hole through Luxemburg and Arlon into Rheims.
Also what are the soviets up to?

 

[Volum]

Rivers give a defensive bonus, quite a nice one also actually.

Someone be a darling and give the exact number for me.

 

[rabidveggie]

I have no idea on the number. I'm thinking 25 per cent but that could just be for Civ IV.
Whats with no offensives against the German swine? I could even go so far as to call this a phony war... I think Rhiem is the key to a northern attack. From their the Germans would flank the Maginot Line, effectively cut France in half with the amount of travel time it adds and would allow them to strike anywhere. However to deploy soldiers their would put them further from transports if a major German breakthrough were to take place.
I personally believe we should roll the dice and deploy at least 1/3 of our forces to Rhiems due to 3 attacking angles making it a key area for a german offensive. Another 1/3 to Valencia with two non river provinces on its border, 3/4 of our remaining force to Mons and 3-4 divisions in Dunkirk. Unless you only plan on sending only eight divisions to France in which case I've just wasted text.