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

Maybe we should send some MI6 operatives tp train and arm people in Afghanistan if the russians invade? Afghanistan has soem very rocky areas that make it difficult for conventional wars, guerilla tacitcs would work well.
 
At this stage, I doubt the Soviets would be able to mount a large scale offensive such as one against the British Empire. They're military is still in shambles after the Great War. I bet they would have trouble defeating the Finns.
 
Prince, that plan might blow up in our faces at some point.
 
I go to bed, and when I wake up the Cabinet is discussing the possibility of invading Afghanistan? Good heavens.

Anyway, question to anyone who knows - are there any good WW2 books solely about Britain's actions during the war? I bought Blood, Sweat and Arrogance today, but it's going to be fairly biased against Britain. Any others?
 
All I did was bring up the possiblity that the Soviets could attack India through Afghanistan if they wanted to. Somehow PrinceScamp turned that into us invading Afghanistan. :crazyeye:
 
No! I was saying that if they did we could fund, arm and train the locals in uncenventional warfare and then we could sit back and wait in northern india and face a weakened Soviet army. In a purely hypothetical situation fo course.

We don't need nor want to invade Afghanistan, and I don't see why the soviets would bother.
 
There is a book I'm reading now called Collisions of Empire, it deals with british British political, ecomonic and strategic activities during the Napoleonic wars, WWI and WWII. Its a good read but i'm not sure its quite what you want.

I was just suggesting some potential dangers of a hypothetical intervention in Afganistan.
 
Well, at the moment the fleet is just assembling at Scapa Flow so that we can divide it up and distrubute it around the globe. And Scapa Flow is still a viable naval base. From there we can reach the German coast and should be able to reach the Baltic sea ports. If the Germans were to get uppity and attempt to block access to the Baltic by capturing Copenhagen, then there is not much we could do unless we wanted to confront them directly on the continent and take back Denmark.

And would there really be a point in keeping any sizable naval force in the Caribbean? What we already have there (2 Cruisers and a few destroyers IIRC) is more than sufficient. After all, there are no direct threats to our bases in the region at the moment.

Oh, and by the way, its Graf Spee, not Graff Spree. ;)

Heh sorry, didn't think.

I didn't suggest that ships be moved to the Caribbean, I'm saying that it would probably be best to draw ships away from those areas due to the lack of threats.

And you make mention to the Baltic, unless the British High Command is willing to dispatch the BEF to sizable air assets to the region, then Denmark will ultimately fall. The Germans won't need sea power to do it.

At present the only instances where a large fleet in Scapa Flow is needed is when either A) the Germans fail to invade Denmark, allowing the British Home fleet to go and ravage Germany's northern flank or B) if they end up taking Denmark and Norway and it's required to disrupt their supply lines. The Germans will attack by building submarines to go forth and harrass Britains own supply lines, and they will find that incredibly easy if the bulk of the British fleet is sitting at anchor in the Orkneys waiting for the breakout of a phantom German fleet. The range required between the east coast of Britain and the Jutland area means that airpower alone could handle the German fleet, but there is no suitable bases for the RAF in the mid atlantic, unless you try to annex Iceland or befriend the Portuguese to allow use of the Arzores.
 
From a fellow player I just wanted to comment on something I did when I was playing as the Germans once which helped me to no end.

Pre-war (i.e. few weeks before Poland) I sent 3 transports past the UK (cause we were all still friends after all) and once I declared on Poland, I also promptly declared on Denmark, which allowed me to send those 3 transports filled with infantry to occupy Iceland. Once they were under my control I then used it as the main base for my uboat and naval bomber forces. This in turn pulls the British fleet further west to try to defend their convoys and in the end I actually was able to put a sizable dent in the power of the Royal Navy.

At it's peak I had 3 'task forces' of 'IV' and 1 of 'III' uboats operating out of the main port on Iceland, each with the maximum amoutn of boats the commander could have without penalty (between 8-12) and I had 3 airwings of 4 naval bombers and in all that time I only had 1 potential invasion from Britain, which was beaten back with no loss (with that many planes in the air you'll notice anything coming, to ease your mind it's always possible to shove in some fighters for cover as well)

The only issue I had was the occasional one of supply. That was a bit of a pain.

Anyone else tried this? or something similar. I actually wanted the Arzores, but I couldn't reach it pre-war using the bases I had.
 
Speaking as a member of the rabble who wishes to head-up the as-yet nonexistent Imperial Defense Council (or just make me an MP if nuttin' else, guv'nah), I must insist that we take any reasonable means to get our friends the Republicans on the Iberian Penninsula on-side. I've heard some dangerous rumors circulating that they're in deep sh-- ... er, that they're in trouble!

If we could convince them of the wisdom of joining the Alliance we'd not only get the most powerful Iberian nation working for the continued peace on the Continent and in Africa, we'd be able to strip our garrison from Gibraltar and the French would be able to ignore their Southern border entirely in the event of any Continental troubles which might arise from the twin scourges of Fascism and Communism--two faces of the same coin of human oppression and tyrrany that must be contained, if not completely eradicated.

Long live the King! Long live the Empire!
 
Pre-war (i.e. few weeks before Poland) I sent 3 transports past the UK (cause we were all still friends after all) and once I declared on Poland, I also promptly declared on Denmark, which allowed me to send those 3 transports filled with infantry to occupy Iceland. Once they were under my control I then used it as the main base for my uboat and naval bomber forces. This in turn pulls the British fleet further west to try to defend their convoys and in the end I actually was able to put a sizable dent in the power of the Royal Navy.

I was about to say I would consider that too 'gamey,' but on reflection it makes perfect sense in real-life as well. As Germany though, I've rarely had a problem with the Royal Navy, as I rarely build up a naval force until the Barbarossa campaign.

At it's peak I had 3 'task forces' of 'IV' and 1 of 'III' uboats operating out of the main port on Iceland, each with the maximum amoutn of boats the commander could have without penalty (between 8-12) and I had 3 airwings of 4 naval bombers and in all that time I only had 1 potential invasion from Britain, which was beaten back with no loss (with that many planes in the air you'll notice anything coming, to ease your mind it's always possible to shove in some fighters for cover as well)

How well did the U-Boat fleets perform? Most of the time mine simply get sunk by some damned British taskforce.

Speaking as a member of the rabble who wishes to head-up the as-yet nonexistent Imperial Defense Council (or just make me an MP if nuttin' else, guv'nah),

Depends what you would want the Imperial Defence Council to do; I would define it as a group that which provides information and requests on behalf of the British overseas colonies and possessions :)

I must insist that we take any reasonable means to get our friends the Republicans on the Iberian Penninsula on-side. I've heard some dangerous rumors circulating that they're in deep sh-- ... er, that they're in trouble!

It should be noted that the Popular Front was recently voted into power in Spain, which is triggering some, shall we say, aggressive reactions among several opposing groups.

If we could convince them of the wisdom of joining the Alliance we'd not only get the most powerful Iberian nation working for the continued peace on the Continent and in Africa, we'd be able to strip our garrison from Gibraltar and the French would be able to ignore their Southern border entirely in the event of any Continental troubles which might arise from the twin scourges of Fascism and Communism--two faces of the same coin of human oppression and tyrrany that must be contained, if not completely eradicated.

A full blown alliance may be unwise, given the potentially dangerous situation there. I also doubt that the Cabinet wishes to be so closely aligned to what is, for all intents and purposes, a communist party.

Long live the King! Long live the Empire!

As you were :salute:


Next update will be tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on which of those is my day off. Yesterday would have seen one, but I had to cover two shifts at work, meaning I had no time at home. Blasted part-timers will pay!

I would suggest the Cabinet gives thought to the situation in Spain and the recent reoccupation of the Rhineland. Does our Chief of the Navy have any opinions as to fleet distribution? Does Steviejey want a specific role, or am I to continue thinking of him as a critical newsreporter intent on discrediting the government? It is Britain, after all ;)
 
Heh, I'll take whatever position the King deems fit ;)

The uboats were incredibly successful. two of the IV's and one III got huge amount of experience, although they didn't sink much in the way of capital ships, concentrating on convoys. If you want your uboats to survive, it be best to avoid the might of the British Navy. No matter how powerful or experienced your uboats are, against carriers they'll be eaten up. After almost a year of warfare at sea I had sunk a great deal but had lost some boats to enemy action, in that instance all I did was remove a taskforce from active duty and use that to plug any holes that appeared due to loss.

The best thing you can do is get your uboats to operate mid atlantic and force the British to send some ships out, at which point get naval bombers to strike.

The III squadren I moved almost exclusively into the Bay of Biscay region, attacking the med convoys, they probably sunk the most, but also had the highest loss% due to the proximity of not only the British fleet, but the RAF also.
 
Kan' Sharuminar said:
Depends what you would want the Imperial Defence Council to do; I would define it as a group that which provides information and requests on behalf of the British overseas colonies and possessions :)

I had more in mind a group which provides general strategic advice for The Crown and All Her Dominions, including the home Isles. Kind of nebulous, of questionable influence and even more questionable accountability. Mostly the IDC would generally set certain guidelines of economic and military importance but wouldn't be involved in their tactical execution.

It should be noted that the Popular Front was recently voted into power in Spain, which is triggering some, shall we say, aggressive reactions among several opposing groups.

Quite right! And I believe it would be in the British interest to see that more, shall we say, reasonable heads prevail in the Spanish crisis.

A full blown alliance may be unwise, given the potentially dangerous situation there. I also doubt that the Cabinet wishes to be so closely aligned to what is, for all intents and purposes, a communist party.

On the other hand, if we had them as part of the Alliance we could keep a close watch on them. What do you think will happen in the event that the heretofore-mentioned aggression spilled over into bloody conflict? The Soviets will no doubt get involved. I don't trust that Stalin with his "Socialism in one country" malarkey. And if the Soviets intercede in domestic Spanish politics in any way, we could have a full-blown, and declared, Communist menace in the Atlantic itself. Any future, let's say...disagreements...with the Soviets could prove a corporeal threat to The Rock of Gibraltar, which is of vital importance to our lines of supply in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

And just think if--by God--the damned Spaniards overthrew the Republicans? Look at Portugal. Look at Italy. Look at Germany most of all. These nations have shown little more than contempt and hostility toward their own people and ourselves, and I do fear that our complacency could come back to haunt us if these forces of Fascism were to throw their weight behind a charismatic would-be dictator.

With our influence, however, the Republicans could be made to see reason. If we were to offer more overt support, they could see their sun rising on London instead of on Moscow or Berlin. It is the IDC's firm belief that the benefits of such an endeavor are incalculable, and that a decision must be made while the time is right. If we waver, if we dally and wring our hands, the decision will be made for us.

I rest my case. The rest is up to you and the Council of Doom.
 
I'd declare loudly (So as to give my opinion a facade of importance) "Why support this anarchist rabble?" On the basis that neither faction of the Spanish Civil War is an especially desirable candidate to rob us of our supplies, volunteers, or exploit our diplomatic support.

Facists and Communists?!

I say we let them be permanently at each other's throats, who knows- if we're lucky, neither of them will win! (I don't know how likely that is, but it's certainly happened to me a couple of times, where the Spanish Civil War never concluded... until I, er, "intervened")

(Now I'm really getting into character- I'm not really this gung-ho in real life... whatever that is)
 
I'd declare loudly (So as to give my opinion a facade of importance) "Why support this anarchist rabble?" On the basis that neither faction of the Spanish Civil War is an especially desirable candidate to rob us of our supplies, volunteers, or exploit our diplomatic support.

Facists and Communists?!

I say we let them be permanently at each other's throats, who knows- if we're lucky, neither of them will win! (I don't know how likely that is, but it's certainly happened to me a couple of times, where the Spanish Civil War never concluded... until I, er, "intervened")

(Now I'm really getting into character- I'm not really this gung-ho in real life... whatever that is)

I must agree with Sir Peck. In the event that the current atmosphere in Spain turns into a full blown conflict, we should just let both sides go at it and hope that it turns into a bloody stalemate.
 
I had more in mind a group which provides general strategic advice for The Crown and All Her Dominions, including the home Isles. Kind of nebulous, of questionable influence and even more questionable accountability. Mostly the IDC would generally set certain guidelines of economic and military importance but wouldn't be involved in their tactical execution.

Given it's advisory nature, I've placed all unassigned posters into this group unless they wish another position. I like this idea better than having them as anonymous back-benchers :)
 
When are we going to get another update? :hammer:
 
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