The Beginning of the End, for Britain - Summer 1942

    With the Singapore campaign coming to a close, the time was approaching to prepare for the next major expedition.  The Americans are piled up so thickly around San Diego that an offensive there is out of the question for the time being.  Thus, I am left with four reasonable choices: South Africa, Turkey, Spain, or Great Britain.  I rule out South Africa; they have little of value, and the occupation of that country and the neighboring Allied colonies will be time consuming.  Turkey is somewhat more appealing; with the distribution of their victory points, they can be conquered quickly.  However, they likewise have little of value, and the bulk of my army would not be needed for the operation.  Spain is a more tempting option, but its rough terrain and high level of unity promises a lengthy war.  Great Britain, then seems the most appealing option.  Large amounts of energy and metals, a large number of factories, and, most promisingly, a large number of victory points within striking distance.  Besides, after all the trouble we went through for Singapore, I am ready for a bit of payback.

Clearing the Deck

    Obviously enough, the biggest problem for would-be invaders of Great Britain is the Royal Navy.  After steadily driving them out of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, British warships become increasingly scarce.  Unlike the naval war against the Americans (and the French, and the Dutch, etc), I can’t really identify any particular battles where I really walloped the Royal Navy.  Consequently, from the summer of 1941 until the summer of 1942, I operated under the assumption that the British had retreated the remainder of their fleet, which I estimated at around five capital ships and a dozen escorts, to Scapa Flow for a last ditch defense of the home island.  Starting in the spring of 1941, I deployed three gunship and two carrier fleets to German-occupied France.

    As it turns out, I was being needlessly cautious.  I started by launching convoy raiding missions in the Eastern Atlantic.  This was intended as a trap; I assumed that once we sunk a few convoys, the British Navy would sally out in force, and I could concentrate on them and destroy them quickly.  Yet they didn’t take the bait.  I gradually moved my raiding closer and closer to Britain, and in wider areas of operation.  For months I had five fleets ripping apart the Allied merchant marine, and not a single warship came out to challenge us.  In June I finally got bored (or curious) enough to begin reconnaissance of the major ports.  After cycling through every port on the island, I found only a single battleship, the Conqueror.  This, then, was the last remaining holdout of the much vaunted Royal Navy.

    I began port strikes with the venerable 10 Kaigun.  This turned out to be the final hurrah of the Royal Navy, and they participated only as bait.  While the navy may have been nearly annihilated, the Royal Air Force was still quite vigorous.  Within a matter of hours I was given such a horrific drubbing by countless interceptors that one squadron returned to fleet with 1% strength.  Not organization, strength.  With a newfound appreciation of British capability and determination, I sent 10 Kaigun off to Kiel to recover, and let the remainder of my fleet relax and enjoy low-risk convoy raiding for the next few months.

Plymouth, Rocked

    Having invaded Britain from many directions, I’ve found two basic approaches that work well.  If I am playing as Germany or USSR, I like to attack in either the Hull-Grimsby area, or around Newcastle.  The former option allows for greater port facilities and is closer to London, while the latter option allows me to cut the country in two by occupying only three provinces.  When my base is to the west (namely, if I’m playing the USA), I like to attack around Bristol.  Here, there are a large number of suitable nearby ports, and I can pick which ones I occupy first based on convenience.

    Invading Britain from Japan, however, is a new experience for me.  My main concern is the length of the convoy route.  By the summer of 1942, I have over 150 convoys (an impressive increase over the nine I had three years ago).  Even still, all of these are taken up shuttling supplies to the far reaches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Accordingly, I modify the “American” invasion route slightly.  Instead of landing near Bristol, I will land along the Southern Coast, at Taunton.  From here, I can immediately attack westward and occupy Plymouth, then head north to take Bristol.  This route has fewer options available once I land, but allows for more efficient air supply from France, if needed.

    In early August the operation is set into motion.  VIII, IX, and LI Gun are at the staging area in Brest, while VI and VII Gun will be transferred over as soon as they complete their missions on the Malay Peninsula.  VIII Gun takes the lead role.  My normal procedure for a landing like this is to land across a wide area; in this case, I would normally land two divisions at each of Exeter, Taunton, and Weymouth.  Plymouth and Bournemouth both have naval forts, and are likely defended.  It is likely the Brits will send troops in to block the landings, but by landing in three places, it makes it more likely that the center landing (at Taunton) will be unopposed.  For some reason, I believe for the sake of simplicity, I did not do that this time.  This is mistake #53, in case you’re counting.

The landing operation.  British forces are in red; my failed landing is in yellow, while the successful landing on August 20 is in green.

    As predicted, British troops start to move in from all directions.  These troops, noticeably, are regular infantry, not garrison units, and they quickly reach Taunton and settle in to a long defensive battle.  Here is where the wider landing would have helped (possibly).  Troops from Bristol arrive quickly, but I am able to chase them off during a multi-day long battle.  However, by this time, troops begin to arrive from Bournemouth, Plymouth, and possibly farther away.  The fight drags on, day after day, with no indication I will ever establish a foothold.  Eventually, I give up the “simple” route; I leave three divisions on the offensive here, and send the remaining three to Exeter and Plymouth.  Fortunately, these two provinces are now empty, and the attack at Taunton prevents the British from occupying them.  My troops finally make landfall on August 20^th.  I break off the landing at Taunton, and bring the remaining divisions ashore via the ports at Plymouth.

The Fall of Singapore - Mid 1942

    From the beginning of April until the end of September 1942, all of my attention is focused on the Malay Peninsula.  VIII, IX and LI Gun are marching to nearby ports for redeployment, and are largely irrelevant during this time.  Likewise, in North America my forces and those of the Allies merely stare at each other across the lines, with only the occasional air battle to liven things up.  The debacle off Singapore, then, takes up nearly half of my army and all of my concentration for fully half of the year.

Blunting the British Spearhead

    The first order of business was to prevent the British armored column from capturing Phet Buri.  Phet Buri is my supply center on the Asian mainland, and facilities there contain over 30,000 units each of supplies and fuel, which I really want to keep.  The spearhead of the invasion had just entered Chaiya as our transports began unloading VII Gun in front of them.  I landed 3 divisions at Kapee, which prevented any further advance, and the remainder at Kapoe.  While the British armored division certainly travelled faster than other units, their combat abilities were significantly reduced by the dense jungles.  This helped ameliorate the lack of armor, or even anti-tank guns, attached to VII Gun.  The British division launched a brief attack against Kapee, but broke it off quickly, and inexplicably settled into a defensive posture.  This marked the turning point in the campaign; the British would not launch a substantive attack throughout the remainder of the campaign, and further compounded their dilemma through indecisiveness and an unwillingness to either advance, retreat, or evacuate.

    I gradually spread my divisions into a semi-circle around Chaiya, fully enveloping the armored division within a week.  As is usually the case with the AI, they failed to recognize the peril until it was far too late.  Once the encirclement was complete, they initiated a break out attack towards Sichon.  We responded by attacking with the remainder of the Gun.  Threatened with the multiple-combat penalty, they decided to accept the lesser of two evils and fought strictly on the defensive, until finally surrendering a few days later.

The Petani Pocket

    Even with the British offensive turned back, the remainder of our troops on the peninsula were in a tenuous position.  Back in February, I had intended to reach a stalemate by mounting a stout defense at Kuala Lampur.  Once this failed, LXI Gun began a leapfrog retreat northward; in danger of being overrun or surrounded by the British armored and motorized divisions, we had to fall back to Kota Bharu, leaving the British offensive to continue to the west.  Only I Gun was immediately available to come to LXI Gun’s aid, and of them, only 2 Shidan (armored) was near enough a port to be immediately transferable.  LXI Gun was able to make it to Kota just barely ahead of the advancing Brits.  2 Shidan alone stood on the front line, confronted by no less than six divisions on all sides.  Yet the sight of our armor was enough to dissuade any attack.  For more than a month LXI Gun was able to recuperate while VI Gun was brought in to help.  By June, with VI Gun fully arrived, LXI fully recovered, and VII Gun beginning to arrive from Nakhon Si Thammarat, 2 Shidan was put aboard a transport and sent to Los Angeles to rejoin the remainder of I Gun already there.  This division single-handedly saved an entire corps of Rikusentai from certain annihilation, without even firing a shot.  This campaign highlights the importance of armor on the battlefield and the strategic map.  While I have been fortunate enough up until now to have mostly avoided enemy tanks, I am reminded that I will see many in the upcoming campaigns in Britain, America and the Soviet Union; and if I don’t go prepared, I had better not go at all.

    VI Gun, arriving first at Kota, makes the first effort to widen our zone of control.  We strike first to the southeast, at Jertih.  With the offensive turned back, and their supply lines cut, I expect the Brits to start falling back headlong towards Singapore, in an attempt to overrun our Rikusentai at Johore.  While I am able to push the Brits out of Jertih, and even continue pushing them southward along the coast, westward of Kota they refuse to retreat.  This is a similar situation to that which took place during my second offensive down the peninsula back in 1939; for some reason, the British insist on fighting to the death over every inch of ground on this peninsula, despite a reasonable chance of concentrating their forces farther south.

    Accordingly, in June I carry out maneuvers to surround the northernmost group of British troops.  This group, dubbed the Petani Pocket, consists of three divisions: one armored, one motorized, one infantry, distributed in Sungei Petani, Kelian Intan, and George Town, respectively.  VI Gun, while continuing a southward advance, strikes west to separate the forces here from the remaining British force farther south; meanwhile, the recovered LXI Gun forms up the northern flank, while the newly arrived VII Gun holds the center.  Thus, the Petani Pocket faces five marine divisions, three divisions from VI Gun and six divisions from VII Gun, making them outnumbered by roughly three-to-one.

The encirclement of the Petani Pocket, marking the beginning of the end for the British on the peninsula.

    In the first fight at Kelian Intan, the Brits put up a stout defense, but fall back on July 9^th.  Casualties here amount to 2,544 KIA for us, 1,414 suffered by the Brits.  A second offensive drives the troops from George Town with modest losses on either side.  By the end of July the British make a last stand at Sungei Petani; they eventually surrender on the 29^th.  Casualties in this final fight remain disproportionately high.  We suffer 1,774 KIA, while then British lose 1,288 killed and 22,164 captured.

The Bandar Pocket

    With the British now reduced to a single group in the southern part of the peninsula, I begin to go in for the kill.  Regrettably, with the dense jungles, poor infrastructure and bad weather, we spend all of August simply bringing the front up.  By early September we have retaken Kuala Lampur, allowing us to surround and capture a British infantry division at Gunung Tapis.  This done, I press the attack farther south.  After LXII Gun was deployed in Johore, the British sent two divisions to pin it in; one at Eundau and one at Bandar Penggaram.  By September 12^th these were the only two divisions remaining on the mainland, and were surrounded at Bandar.  VI Gun, on the most immediate front, began the final attack.  This battle, oddly, is the only one of the campaign in which we suffer fewer casualties than the British: we take 764 casualties, while the Brits suffer 771, with the remaining 16,823 men captured.  This brings an end to the peninsula campaign, so VI and VII Gun travel to Teluk Anson for redeployment elsewhere.  LXI and LXII Gun, however, have one last score to settle.

Last Stand at Singapore

    One of the primary reasons for bringing LXII Gun back from North America was to use them in the final assault at Singapore.  Any attack against that city will have to overcome the amphibious assault penalty and the naval forts.  In all honesty, three divisions stationed there can hold off five assaulting divisions, even marines, quite well.  The solution, then, is to assault with ten divisions.  The attack is commenced on September 12^th, the same day as the destruction of the Bandar Pocket.  LXII Gun takes the lead, assaulting with the full corps.  The battle ran bloodily for over two weeks, but the British finally surrendered on the 28^th.  The final toll for us was 4,423 KIA, not including those lost in scattered air attacks.  We inflicted a mild 1,376 deaths, and captured the remaining 13,618.  We occupy the city immediately, and, hopefully, indefinitely.

    Thus I say good-bye to the persistent thorn in my side at the tip of the Malay Peninsula.  This campaign was a baffling and destructive setback.  Running from January 1^st to September 28^th, it occupied ten full months, during which 22 divisions, at least two warship fleets, numerous aircraft and troop transports were tied up and prevented from much more profitable missions elsewhere.  The human toll was also far out of proportion to the strategic value; I suffered over 15,000 combat casualties in the land battles of the campaign, and likely an equal amount from bombing raids.  While my manpower reserve is not yet a problem, I would much rather have spent those troops anywhere else.

    And these numbers only include the final botched campaign.  My original plan called for the occupation of the city within the first few months of the war, in early 1939.  However, I squandered at least two good opportunities, and I grow to regret it deeply over the next four years.  Offensives and counteroffensives dragged my troops up and down the entire Malay Peninsula three times.  Calculating the total losses suffered, from combat, bombings and attrition, is beyond my ability, but certainly tops 75,000.  I won’t recover these losses from the meager manpower provided by the city.  But, its occupation was a strategic necessity.  For now, I can brush off the campaign and begin on bigger and more enticing endeavors, but the bitter aftertaste of the Singapore campaigns will rankle throughout the remainder of the game, in particular if my final push against the Soviets winds up nine months short.

I Come to Despise Singapore - Winter 1942

    As I begin the fourth year of the war against the Allies, I take some time to reflect on the purpose of this blog.  The main purpose is entertainment – that is, I am attempting to write an interesting, occasionally amusing narrative of a game.  The secondary purpose is advisory – that is, I consider myself to be somewhat good at playing the game, and hopefully Hearts of Iron 3 players can learn some tips and techniques from this blog.  My prioritization of entertainment over advice is most obvious in my handling of the Singapore situation.  Do not do what I have done, and will do, in Singapore.  For the love of god, don’t do it.

An Inauspicious Beginning

    After LXI Gun’s failed attack against Singapore in December, I decide the situation calls for a decisive and final solution.  My plan throughout late 1941 was to attempt to starve the troops there by intercepting convoys.  This seemed like an easy enough plan, as there is only one obvious convoy approach to Singapore, and that is through the Straits of Malacca.  With the full might of my impressive navy at my disposal, it should have been easy enough to starve the defenders away within a month or two.  In this, I was wrong.  My fleets intercepted a few convoys, but by late December there was no indication of any shortages in Singapore whatsoever.  I placed an order to build a squadron of strategic bombers, but that was due to take nearly a year to complete, and was not guaranteed to help resolve the situation anyway.

    So, I thought to myself, “What is the main thing preventing an invasion of the island?”  Answer: “They have too many land troops, possibly ten divisions or so.”  So, since starving them out doesn’t seem likely to work, I resort to the tactics that have worked well in the past.  I decide to abandon Johore and allow them to send a few divisions across the strait.  Then I can close the strait behind them with my warships, and counter-attack.  I have carried this out before, and it worked well; the only thing preventing its ultimate success before was the intrusion of the British Navy.  Since the British Navy is no longer able to do much interfering, I should be able to destroy the Allied land forces piecemeal in Johore, then press the attack against the reduced defenders on the island itself, and bring an end to the situation.

    So, in early January I begin moving LXI Gun northward, and by the 15^th they have completely abandoned Johore.  It is promptly filled with Allied troops (who began attacking even during our retreat), and I subsequently send in a gunship fleet to close off the strait.  I begin the counterattack, and quickly realize that I have made a horrible mistake.  Due to a combination of bad timing on my part and aggressive tactics by the Allies, they have sent virtually their entire land force across the strait simultaneously.  I press the counter-attack until the 20^th, in hopes I can make the most out of their stacking penalty.  But they simply have far too many divisions, about 10, including at least two armored divisions, so my Rikusentai have no hope of destroying them all.  We drive two divisions into the sea, destroying them, but ultimately I break off the attack, with most of my troops already nearly spent.  Only one division, 355 Rikusentai, which had been deployed northward to put down some partisans, remains in good shape.

    The Allies immediately begin counterattacks.  Most of their divisions are still at full strength, and my hardened veterans are quickly forced back by a rapid and unrelenting series of attacks.  We begin retreating back up the peninsula, a la June 1939.  We retreat rapidly with a few divisions while stalling with others, in order to make a stand at Kuala Lampur.  A heavy battle ensues here from February 17^th to the 21^st.  Despite our maneuvers, we wind up the loser, and suffer 2,225 dead, and inflict only 1,766 casualties on the Allies.  We are forced back into a now-desperate retreat northward towards Kota Bharu.

    At this point, I am badly pressed.  I ship 2 Shidan (one of my few armored units) to help defend Kota Bharu.  With their help, LXI Gun is able to take a breath.  However, the situation has only progressed from “urgent crisis” to “regular crisis”.  Allied armored and motorized divisions steer up the peninsula, capturing Nakhon Si Thammarat, and threatening Phet Buri, while a large number of infantry divisions surround Kota Bharu preventing an easy break out attempt.

    At this point, my only option is to resolve the situation.  With extreme prejudice.  With matters in the Middle East fully control, I can bring VI and VII Gun in to help contain the situation.  Likewise, I Gun is at my disposal, but they are long overdue to be deployed to Los Angeles.  I make a gamble and ship them (excluding 2 Shidan) across the Pacific, and pick up LXII Gun and bring them back to the Malay Peninsula.  These forces, once arrived, reverse the number disparity.  Whereas I was outnumbered 10 divisions to 5, once fully deployed I will have 22 divisions on the scene.

    Yet the situation is still highly fluid, and will take weeks (even months) before I can recover the lost ground in a methodical manner.  My first step, as the winter closes out, is to land LXII Gun at Johore.  This doubles down on my original gamble of taking the extra time to ship them in.  By deploying them at Johore, they cut off the direct supply route for the Allies; thus, the main Allied force must rely on modest supplies brought in via the meager ports at Teluk Anson and Nakhon Si Thammarat.  Likewise, intercepting convoys bringing supplies into these ports will have a much larger effect.  On the flip side, LXII Gun itself will have very limited resupply ability.  They land with 20 days or so of supplies; from there I must air drop supplies from Kuching; this may be insufficient itself, and is further complicated by Allied fighter cover in Singapore.  The most unsettling, although unlikely, possibility is that the Allies could simply send a large number of divisions back, and overwhelm LXII Gun at Johore, where they have no possibility of retreat.

    Shortly after landing, I order LXII Gun to make a reconnaissance attack at Singapore.  There they find three divisions: two infantry and one armored.  I break off the attack and dig in to preserve supplies and organizational strength.  With VI and VII still arriving, and the supply situation at Kota Bharu deteriorating, the situation remains tenuous at the end of the winter.

The Finishing Touches in the Middle East

    Elsewhere in the world, the only decisive events this winter occurred in the Middle East.  The Italians have captured Cyprus, Malta and all other Allied strongholds in the region, leaving only Crete to stand alone.  Even before the end of 1941 I began the mission to occupy this final refuge.  LI Gun, my mountain corps, was wasting time in Karachi, so by virtue of convenience they were selected for the operation.  My customary plan for the invasion of Crete is to land troops at Rethymno, and then attack all of the other provinces simultaneously.  I did this, sending my idle cargo aircraft to Alexandria in case they might be needed.  They weren’t.  The invasion proceeded smoothly, and by January 6^th the island was cleared of Allied forces and Iraklieo was occupied.  The Greek government, long since driven from the mainland, gave up any remaining hope and formally surrendered.

    By early February, I had already resolved to send troops to the Malay Peninsula.  However, that still left me with three idle corps, namely VIII, IX, and LI Gun.  These were not sufficient to began an invasion of Britain or Spain, and I am not interested in taking up the burden of occupying Africa at the moment, so by process of elimination Persia winds up on the chopping block.  VIII Gun is sent to the Northern Iraq, to occupy Tabriz.  IX Gun is deployed to Central Iraq, and is tasked with taking Tehran.  LI Gun, freshly shipped in from Crete, is sent to Basra, and will occupy the key ports along the coast.

    The conquest of Persia has, occasionally, given me modest difficulty.  Not so this time.  I think they may have put virtually all of their efforts into diplomacy, with an eye towards joining the Axis.  Well, I can’t have that.  War is declared on February 4^th.  My initial advances do not encounter the slightest resistance.  VIII Gun occupies Tabriz within a few days, and LI Gun makes impressive headway in the south.  However, due to the mountainous terrain, IX Gun makes slow progress, even with no enemies in sight.  Accordingly, I decide to split LI Gun in two, and send the left flank northward to take Tehran.  South of Tehran, at Kashan, we encounter the only fighting of the war.  A small fight ensues against a single division, but we are able to drive them back through Tehran, and occupy the city itself with few casualties.  I forgot to record the date of the surrender, but I am fairly certain it was before the end of March.

    Aside from these minor events, the beginning of 1942 offered little of importance.  In Europe, the front fluctuated by a few provinces, first westward, then eastward.  On February 12^th the only significant event of the theater occurs, as the Germans occupy Leningrad.  Farther north, the Soviets continue to advance aggressively against the Fins; they eventually capture Helsinki and force the government’s surrender on April 3^rd.  That event occurs a bit outside the time frame of this post, but mentioning it now saves me the trouble of shoe-horning into my next post.  In fact, I feel safe giving away a bit of a spoiler here, and can say that literally nothing of strategic significance will happen along the German-Soviet border for the remainder of the year.  While undoubtedly scores of high casualty battles rage all along the front, the front itself barely moves an inch.  This is indicative of an impending collapse of the German war effort.  They cannot possibly win a war of attrition against the Soviets; with the war almost immediately turning into a stalemate, the Germans have effectively already lost.

The Eastern Front. This screenshot is actually from May, but is representative of the entire year.

Peace in the Middle East - Autumn 1941

    After a rather manic summer which involved shipping my entire army to diverse spots around the globe and fighting one huge land battle, the remainder of the year is comparatively quiet.  This is not necessarily a good thing, because the reason for the quiet is a combination of supply shortages and partisan eruptions on the home front.

They Fight Us Over Here, So They Don’t Have To Fight Us Over There

    Prior to the “Their Finest Hour” expansion, partisans (or rebels) were a trivial nuisance.  They popped up sporadically, and dealing with them generally involved just sending a cavalry division to knock them out and retake the lost provinces.  TFH allows nations to create underground resistance bases, and when these bases are combined, they can cause half a dozen or more partisan divisions to pop up every few months.  Putting the partisans down becomes an almost constant issue.  This is where playing Japan becomes a problem.  Their conquests occupy an enormous area of the globe, including some of the most difficult to traverse and least profitable areas (the Himalayas, Burma, the Australian Outback).  I’ve had to spend quite a bit of my industrial capacity building new cavalry, garrison and MP brigades to contain these outbreaks.  Even more significant, I’ve had to hold I Gun in the Dutch East Indies to put down the constant partisan eruptions there.  Consequently, LXII Gun must remain in defense at Los Angeles, meaning the Panama Canal offensive is on hold.  The only upside to this situation is that it gives me plenty of time to build up facilities in the area, and the Americans are content to stand by and watch us do it.

Reversals in the Middle East

    The bright side of the autumn of 1941 is the successful completion of the Middle East Campaign.  At first, however, I have no reason to be optimistic.  Implicit in my original plan was the idea that the capture of Baghdad would give me enough fuel and supplies to finish the campaign, at least when combined with the ports of Kuwait and Basra.  For whatever reason, the Iraqis had absolutely no supplies stockpiled in their capital.  This was a big setback, especially when I found that the Iraqi forces had retreated into French Syria, thereby evading the surrender order.  Even after transferring LI Gun back to India, we were still consuming more supplies than we could ship in.  A minor change in the plan was in order.

    Being farthest from the supply base, VII Gun was receiving top priority for supplies, as was the left flank of VIII Gun.  The right flank of VIII Gun and IX Gun were closer to the base of supplies, and therefore had their operational abilities limited.  The Suez Canal was still top priority, so the left flank of VII Gun kept on a direct route there, in accordance to the original mission.  In order to bring in a greater amount of supplies, we switched the right flank of VII Gun to occupy Tel Aviv (originally VIII Gun’s mission), while the left flank of VIII Gun steered towards Beirut (originally IX Gun’s responsibility).  The remainder of the force would simply stay put and keep the Allies hemmed in.

The revised plan for the occupation of Syria and Palestine.  Note the sad red corner on IX Gun.

    The plan proceeds reasonably well, despite increasing strategic bombings from the British.  VII Gun in particular encounters no defenders; VIII Gun, however, finds a French division in Beirut.  An attack there is broken off after a day with no result.  However, VII Gun makes the big strategic gain by occupying Tel Aviv on October 14^th.  Despite the fact the ports there are no larger than in Kuwait, the game moves my supply base to Tel Aviv.  Fortunately, the Italians captured Gibraltar some time earlier this year, so I can immediately start shipping supplies via the long route around Africa and through the Mediterranean.

    The increased supplies cause a dramatic turnaround, in more ways than one.  Not only can we now resume the offensive all along the line, the offensive itself switches from a generally westward movement to a generally eastward movement.  The French and Iraqi forces moved out towards the Iraqi-Syrian border to meet the stalled elements of VIII and IX Gun; once we captured Tel Aviv, we quickly pushed north to capture Beirut a week later, pinching the Allied ground troops in between the two flanks of VIII Gun.  Well supplied, we began a hard V-shaped offensive to dispose of the remaining enemies.  They eventually retreated to Aleppo, on the border with Turkey, where we finally forced their surrender.  The entire final push brought about the destruction of around six divisions, numbering around 35,000 men.

    Elsewhere in the theater we benefitted from a lack of defenders.  VI Gun reunited east of Yemen and made rather short work of the troops there, forcing that country’s surrender on October 24^th.  With the immediate area completely under my control, I shuttle VI Gun to the Bahrain area, and declare war on Saudi Arabia on November 23^rd.  This war mainly amounts to simply marching into their capital, which falls on December 7^th.

    The occupation of Beirut results in the only significant naval action of the season.  The French aircraft carrier Bearn, which they’ve held in reserve throughout the game, was stationed there, and briefly attempted to intercept my convoys.  I anticipated this, and sailed 14 Kaigun all the way into the Mediterranean, rebasing it in Tel Aviv.  It quickly found the Bearn and gave it a good drubbing in an open sea battle, sending it back to the shelter of Beirut.  We promptly launched port strikes, but when the city was occupied the Bearn was forced to flee into our waiting arms.  It was sunk after three days off running battles, with our CAGs nearly exhausted.  Thus ends the French navy.

    On November 1^st 35 Shidan performs the ceremonial crossing of the Suez Canal from Romani to Bur Said.  This is followed within the week by the occupation of the remainder of the Canal Zone.  We have yet to meet significant British land forces; one division has been chased across the Sinai Peninsula, and did not attempt to defend the Canal itself.  As VI Gun approaches the Nile, however, we start to see accumulated land forces.  We fight minor engagements in Cairo and Alexandria, but the Brits put up little resistance and retreat westward.  I’m not sure what the point of this is; it seems they would be better off concentrating a defense at Alexandria, which provides decent defensive terrain and a theoretical possibility of resupply.  However, with the Allies now prevented from shipping supplies into the Mediterranean via either Gibraltar or the Suez Canal, I guess the final defensive position is moot.  Regardless, they concentrate at El Alamein, where the Italians are attacking from the west, and we are closing in from the east.  A few infantry divisions are overrun en route, but a single armor division remains there and puts up a good last ditch effort, holding out through several days of fighting.  Eventually they, too surrender, and on December 1^st we occupy El Alamein and link up with the Italians.  Although we still need to occupy southern Egypt, and the conquests of Persia and Turkey are still on the to-do list, the Suez Canal Campaign is brought to a successful conclusion in less than six months.

The Battle of Singapore, Part . . . I Lost Count

    By December I have the partisans subdued well enough to restart operations against Singapore.  At this point it is mainly a matter of pride.  The British navy have a few submarines based here that they send out occasionally, but for the most part it has no significant military value remaining.  I come up with a brilliant plan: attack them, and kill as many as I can.  LXI Gun is still responsible for the operation, and they pitch in with gusto.  The battle lasts for several days, but it becomes obvious that an unreasonably large chunk of the British army is holding the island, and I have no chance of ultimate success.  We force one division, the 4th Highlands Division, to retreat; in light of the fact that they have nowhere to retreat to, they are destroyed.  To me this seems like a flaw in the game; they should just turn into a reserve division, and be allowed to recover after the battle.  But who am I to complain?  We abort the attack shortly thereafter, having suffered 2500 KIA, and inflicted 3500 KIA and about 5000 captured.

The Europe Situation

    At the end of the summer, the Germans were busy proving they were completely inadequate to beat the Soviets by themselves.  So, they decide to mount an offensive in an area where they tend to be more successful: diplomacy.  Romania joins the Axis on October 4^th; this doesn’t have any immediate consequences, but they do mobilize soon after joining, so the next step is rather predictable.  With Italy already in the mix, Germany issues a call-to-arms to its remaining European allies on December 5^th.  Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Finland jump to the call, and quickly prove they aren’t really any better than the Germans.  Finland and Romania in particular immediately begin losing ground to the Soviets, and by the year’s end the Soviets have occupied one-to-two province wide swathes of each country.  I have to admit I find it rather amusing, albeit a bit foreboding.

The World War Becomes Even Worldier - Summer 1941

    With my strategic plans well developed, I initiate the dual Canal Offensives in late June, 1941.  While the simultaneous beginnings of these offensives makes for a nice narrative, it greatly complicates my transportation situation.  My troop transports, about 20 in number, have spent the bulk of their existence collecting barnacles in Tokyo harbor.  They are now thrown into two widely separated regions of the globe, and are instructed to ferry a total of 500,000 men and comparable equipment over huge distances in a short period of time.  The total transfer time ends up taking months, especially for the Panama Canal Operation.  That operation, however, is the first to show results.

Landing in North America

    LXII Gun is first off the transports on June 22^nd.  They land at Oceanside, in Southern California, and prepare to launch attacks against the major cities in the area, Los Angeles and San Diego.  These two cities are defended by small garrison units.  When notified of the landing in progress, they attempt to move to Oceanside to intercept.  This is a bad idea; garrison troops are to slow to have any practical chance of blocking the landing, and by even attempting to do so they lose their dig-in bonus.  I doubt it would have done any good anyway.  My Rikusentai troops are some of the most experienced veterans in the game right now, and they easily drive the garrison units out of their cities on the 30^th.  Los Angeles is occupied by 356 Rikusentai and San Diego by 359 and 360 Rikusentai, while 357 and 358 Rikusentai stay in Oceanside.

    For the next month and a half, my transports are in constant motion carrying the far-flung troops from Australia, New Zealand, Indochina and Japan to North America.  II and III Gun are first, taking over defense of Oceanside and San Diego, respectively, while LXII Gun consolidates in Los Angeles.  Upon the arrival of IV and V Gun in mid August, we launch an operation to occupy Mexicali.  This is the first land combat since the port cities were taken, and it initially goes well.  IV Gun drives a couple divisions out of the province, and occupies it in late August.  However, immediately upon our arrival, the Americans, who have been steadily amassing forces in the area, launch an enormous counterattack against the province.

    The Battle of Mexicali turns out to be the biggest of the war so far, and may hold that distinction until the end of the game.  I did not record the numerous American divisions thrown at me, but there were rarely fewer than three attacking at once, and frequently as many as six.  The battle raged for two full weeks, with the Americans constantly rotating fresh divisions in.  IV Gun headquarters was the first to arrive in Mexicali (by one hour), and bears the brunt of the offensive at first.  They hold up reasonably well under heavy fire for days, but eventually retreat to Tijuana as the other divisions come up to the front.  Gradually the remaining divisions of IV Gun start to wither under the relentless assault, and likewise retreat.  After the retreat of IV Gun headquarters, I send V Gun headquarters in from San Diego as a replacement, but as the other divisions of IV Gun collapse, I end up sending all of V Gun into the battle.

    The bulk of the attack was staged from El Centro, east of San Diego.  Under the circumstances, I could have launched a counterattack with III Gun from San Diego to relieve pressure on IV and V Gun.  This is what both I and the AI do to guard a weak spot on a front.  In this case, however, I decided against it.  Had I done so, it would have invited an American attack against San Diego from Coachella; of course, I could have followed with a counterattack there from Oceanside, which would have been countered with an attack from Riverside.  At the north end of the line, the chain of counter-attacks would naturally have ended, with Los Angeles hit from three sides.  With my entire force under attack, the situation would have turned desperate.  Tijuana did not have a port facility yet, so with San Diego and Los Angeles under attack, my entire force would have been at risk of complete destruction.  Thus, I left the troops at Mexicali to fend for themselves, and remained on a conservative defense in the region.

    The battle finally draws to a close on September 13^th, as the last fresh divisions from V Gun arrive on the battlefield and the Americans give up hope for winning the battle.  The final tally is staggering.  We lose 7,787 dead, nearly an entire division, while the Americans lose 12,836 dead.  While a number of battles have had large death tolls before, in particular around Singapore, this is the first where both sides have suffered such a large amount.  Ultimately, with control over the most heavily populated areas of the Earth, I have a much greater ability to withstand such losses than the Americans.  That, and the fact that I retain control of Mexicali, makes the battle a victory for me.  Considering the cost, and the stakes involved, I think I am going to try to avoid such victories in the future.

    Naval operations off the coast of California are worth a brief mention.  Part of my reasoning for invading here was the ability to send adequate warship support with the troop transports.  It turns out I may have been being overly-cautious.  We encounter no ships at all during the initial landing operation.  Once in control of the ports, we send 1 and 13 Kaigun out to patrol the immediate area.  1 Kaigun immediately begins tearing into convoys heading to and from San Francisco, while 13 Kaigun begins port strikes against that city.  These are quickly called off, however, due to the lack of important targets (mostly transports) and the need to use the CAGs to launch ground attacks in support of IV Gun at Mexicali.  The only naval battles to speak of involve a number of individual Canadian destroyers inexplicably sent to intercept 1 Kaigun.  They are quickly sunk, bringing back fond memories of my first battles against the Australian navy off Guam.

Entering the Middle East

    Despite having a much shorter route, the Middle-East So-Gun progresses at a much slower pace.  I am beginning to think that maybe their pants are just too tight.  Oh well.  On July 12^th we make our first landfall at Musqat.  VI Gun attacks the city directly, as there is no easy place to land nearby.  With their capital occupied, Oman surrenders the next day, yielding large amounts of supplies and fuel to support the remainder of our operations on the peninsula.

    Next, the troops then divide up according to plan.  The northern fork of the offensive is able to break up the British fairly quickly, and, after occupying the British provinces in the area, turns about-face and moves to join the southern fork.  The southern fork has encountered more resistance than expected east of Yemen, and by the end of the summer has halted in order to await the reinforcements to complete the conquest.

    With a small change in plans, it is VIII Gun that is designated to make landfall at Kuwait.  They do so with little trouble on July 20^th, and the remainder of the force is quickly shipped in during the next couple weeks.  Then, however, the supply situation goes from bad to worse.  Kuwait and Basra combined turn out to be inadequate to support the supply needs for the entire operation.  The advance quickly bogs down as lack of adequate supplies causes marches to be halted and reversed.  I consider sending IX or LI Gun back to India to help alleviate the situation, but we gradually progress to the outskirts of Baghdad.  Here, I expect to capture a large cache of supplies, like I managed to do in Musqat, which will satisfy my future needs.  IX Gun occupies the city after a brief fight in late August, and we are immediately disappointed.  We capture only a few days worth of supplies.  Consequently, I’m forced to march LI Gun back to Kuwait for return to Karachi.  This is a minor setback, and hopefully we can complete the operation without them.

    Even without the hungry mouths of our mountain troops, the supply network is barely adequate to keep our troops moving, and occasional strategic bombing runs from the British cause our advances to proceed in fits and starts.  We are able to capture Tikrit on the 19^th, and the Iraqi government subsequently surrenders.  However, by now most of their troops have retreated into Syria, and consequently do not disband.  When combined with the French forces there and the British forces in Palestine, we start to encounter significant resistance at the end of the summer.  Only VII Gun, fortunately the most important corps, is able to proceed well-supplied and with little opposition.  By the end of the summer they close on the Jordan River with no enemy forces in sight.

    As expected, the British navy still possesses a large number of ships, and the Middle East naval theater turns out to be much more active than that of North America.  With continental Asia lost, the British turn to the Maldives as their new base of operations in the area.  11 Kaigun begins offensive operations against the isolated and inadequate port in mid June.  However, they quickly take up the old technique of interrupting our port strikes by sailing out to engage us in open sea battles.  I quickly put a stop to this by reinforcing 11 Kaigun with 2 Kaigun.  Faced with our gunships, the British slink back to port and accept their fate.  The escort carrier Argus is sunk on the 22^nd, followed by the full carrier Glorious on the 29^th.  We launch a quick land invasion of the archipelago, and combined with an uneventful invasion of Sri Lanka, we have pushed the British navy out of the central Indian Ocean.

    Even before the beginning of land operations in the Middle East, our navy began offensive missions in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.  The British are desperately dependant on oil imports from the region, so it was not surprising that I was quickly inundated with a flood of successful convoy raiding reports.  I was able to sit back and enjoy an almost uninterrupted symphony of sunk-convoy sound effects.  The British, of course, were less happy about the situation, and began to launch desperate efforts to reverse the situation.  In the Red Sea our gunship fleets begin intercepting an almost endless series of escort ships attempting, and failing, to drive us off.  They eventually throw a few more substantial ships at us, including a pair of heavy cruisers sunk by 2 Kaigun in mid July.  12 Kaigun runs across a fleet based around the escort carrier Eagle and chases them all the way to South Africa before sinking the carrier and most of its escorts.  The situation continues to deteriorate for the British until they attempt a final last-ditch effort by sending four unescorted battleships to strike us.  Rather amusingly, I was not even aware of the battle between this group and 2 Kaigun until it was over, and I received word that we had sunk all four of them.  To their credit, 2 Kaigun was battered enough to send back to Tokyo, but that likely marks the last significant naval effort the British will mount until we approach their home shores.

Operation Barbarossa

    Attempting to carry out two major invasions and their accompanying naval operations, and dealing with increasingly aggravating partisan forces, occupies most of my attention.  However, in June of 1941 we see an event that clearly deserves notice: the German invasion of the Soviet Union.  I have long predicted the Germans will have a harder time of it than they normally do due to heavy fighting in Western Europe.  Yet even this pessimistic outlook was surpassed during the first few months of the war.  Historically, the Germans sent the Soviets reeling during this period, capturing hundreds of thousands of troops and occupying many major cities, eventually coming near to Moscow itself.  In most cases, Hearts of Iron 3 follows this pattern fairly well, with the Germans usually taking over a large chunk of the Western USSR.  Yet this time around, the Germans fair much worse.  It takes until the end of July to even take Vilnius, and progress in the southern portion of the front is entirely nonexistent.  While I am hoping for the Soviets to beat the Germans handily, so they will be an entertaining challenge at the end of the game, I’d rather not see them destroy the Germans effortlessly and become an insurmountable challenge for me.

Revising the Grand Plan - Summer 1941

    At the close of spring 1941, I find myself in a unique strategic position.  Namely, virtually my entire military – army, navy, and air forces – have successfully (and simultaneously) completed their missions, and are awaiting further orders.  I am at a significant crossroads in the war, and have several different paths to choose from.  The actions I take now will decide the course, and consequently duration, of the war, and ultimately will determine whether or not I can win the game.

Revisiting My Old Plan

    When I began this play-through, my first step was to plan out my final objective (world domination, of course) and my path to get there.  My plan was to conquer everything in my general neighborhood, starting with the Chinese states, then Australia and New Zealand (if they are unaligned), then the British/French/Dutch colonies.  Then I would shift my focus to the Middle East, via India, and eventually North Africa.  I would use North Africa as a launching point for an invasion of Great Britain.  I hoped to have all of this done by mid 1942, at which point I would turn to the Western Hemisphere.

    Obviously, large parts of this plan went awry quickly.  This is due largely to the fact that I have little experience playing Japan.  I simply had no idea how quickly the Allied coalition would build up due to my successes in China.  Australia, New Zealand, and in particular the United States joined the Allies long before I anticipated, and consequently my “Phase 1” plan was off the rails before it even started.

    So, in light of the fact that my earlier strategic assumptions no longer hold true, it is a good time to re-evaluate my plan.  At this point in the plan, I am due to invade the Middle East, including Persia and Saudi Arabia.  While an invasion of the Middle East is necessary at this point, I am loath to carry it out.  If I proceed through Persia, I expect to advance at the same rate I did through India – namely, a snail’s pace.  Likewise, I have two full armies (about 400,000 men) to use.  This is far more than I need for the operation, and far more than my supply lines can support.  Yet in order to invade Great Britain, I need to take the Suez Canal.  If I don’t, my convoys will have to travel around the entirety of Africa, and would be exposed to raiders from innumerable ports the entire way.

    Another objective also comes to mind.  The only major strategic bonus I do not have yet is the Panama Canal bonus which would give me +10% supply throughput and +10% resource production.  The additional supply throughput is nice, but the extra resources are desperately needed.  My industrial capacity is severely stunted due to lack of resources, metal in particular.  At my current rate of production, I don’t see how I can build up an army large enough to take on the Soviets.  I did not plan on having the American navy decimated this quickly, and that leaves an opening for an offensive against the American powers much sooner than I expected.

    So, considering my current capabilities and my future needs, I decide to launch a two-pronged offensive, aimed at capturing the two major global canals.  This will be accompanied by a long-overdue re-organization of my land forces.

The Suez Offensive

    My forces in India, previously designated 2 Homen-Gun, are to be placed in the newly created Middle-East So-Gun.  This will be commanded by Field Marshall Matsuda (skill 5, Logistics Wizard, Battle Master).  Below that will be the Iraq Haken-Gun, commanded by Field Marshall Dohihara (skill 4, Logistics Wizard), who previously commanded Kwantung So-Gun with some success.  Due to the large area and lack of useful officers (those with the Logistics Wizard trait), I will dispense with the Homen-Gun organization level, and have the five Gun report to either the Haken-Gun or So-Gun directly, depending on their location.  These Gun are: VI Gun (Ide, T.); VII Gun (Okabe); VIII Gun (Sagara); IX Gun (Sumida); and LI Gun (Yuhi).  The first four are made of five infantry divisions, each composed of two infantry brigades, an engineer brigade and an artillery brigade.  LI Gun is made of five mountain divisions, each made of three mountain infantry brigades.  The total force strength is 239,000.

    My plan is to invade the Arabian Peninsula with VI Gun, and use the remaining forces in Iraq, Syria, Palestine and eventually Egypt.  I will leave the neutral states (Persia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey) alone for now.  VI Gun will invade Oman at Musqat.  They will then separate into two branches, one heading northwest to isolate and capture the British in Dubai, the other heading southwest to take Yemen.  VII Gun will launch the initial primary invasion at Kuwait, advance westward, hugging the Saudi border along the most direct path to the Suez Canal.  With Kuwait occupied, I will ship the remaining Gun in, and take Basra, and then Baghdad.  LI Gun will hug the Persia border and aim towards Aleppo, while IX Gun advances towards Beirut, and VIII Gun heads towards Tel Aviv.  The main objective, however, is the crossing and occupation of the Suez, so VIII Gun may be diverted to this effort if necessary.

My plans for Middle-East So-Gun

The Panama Offensive

    Our mission to occupy the Panama Canal presents a much less clear route.  Our easternmost base is Honolulu; from there, virtually all ports along the west coast of the continental Americas are just barely out of reach of my warship fleets.  Therefore, I am left with three options:  1) attack the Panama Canal area directly, with no warship support; 2) attack the Panama Canal area directly, with only long-range (capital) ships; 3) attack the Southern California area, then port-hop down the coast to attack the Panama Canal.

    The first two options are noticeably unappealing.  While I have severely damaged the American fleet, I am sure they have numerous ships, perhaps including a few capital ships, in reserve along their coast.  Launching an unsupported invasion invites disaster, as any group of destroyers or light cruisers could rip apart the unarmed transports, sending up to half of my army to the bottom of the sea.  Sending them with only capital ship support is little better.  In a battle against even small groups of destroyers and cruisers, it is still possible for some of the transports to be sunk, and the capital ships themselves would be imperiled if they face a number of enemy capital ships with no escorts.  Bear in mind that I was able to sink nine American battleships in the early days of the war, despite being outnumbered, due primarily to their lack of escorts.  I don’t want them turning the tables on me.

    Therefore, I am left with the third option, an attack against Southern California, followed by a port-hopping campaign down the coast.  I can occupy San Diego and Los Angeles and use them as a base for future operations, or abandon them once they’ve served their purpose.  For this operation I have designated the former 1 Homen-Gun and LXII Gun.  Field Marshall Honda (skill 5, Battle Master, Logistics Wizard, Defensive Doctrine) has been promoted from the command of VI Gun to lead the newly created West America So-Gun.  Reporting to him is Field Marshall Ushijima, S (skill 4, Logistics Wizard, Battle Master, Old Guard) in command of San Diego Haken-Gun, promoted from command of V Gun.  I Gun (Nishio, J.), II Gun (Kuribayashi), III Gun (Kano), IV Gun (Terauchi, T.), and V Gun (Tada) will report to Ushijima, while LXII Gun (Hirota) will report to Honda directly.  These divisions have begun receiving armor and anti-tank brigades, and vary in exact composition.  Total strength of this force is 276,000.

    The plan is to land at Oceanside with LXII Gun, supported by 1 and 13 Kaigun.  They will launch simultaneous land attacks against San Diego and LA.  Once these ports are occupied, I will ship in the remaining Gun.  For the time being, I will plan on holding a corridor in this region and build it up to use as a supply base for future operations.  I will defend LA with I Gun, Oceanside with II Gun, San Diego with III Gun, and Mexicali with IV Gun.  Tijuana will be occupied by V Gun, which will serve as a rear area for recuperation in the event of attacks.  I plan on building up the ports in each of these provinces to level 10, as well as adding anti-aircraft, airports, and land forts.  I have no intention of expanding out of this area in the immediate future, as invading the USA from the west coast is painful and slow.  However, once the full scale conquest begins, I will need all the ports I can get.

A Turning Point - Spring 1941

    The Spring of 1941 sees the completion of several protracted campaigns that have occupied the bulk of my time over the last two years.  In some cases, the finales are gradual and inconspicuous, in other cases stark and dramatic, but cumulatively they help to clearly demark the Spring of 1941 as the turning point of the war between myself and the Allies.

Victory in India

    Ever since the end of Battle of Burma back in February of 1940, there has been little important news coming out of continental Asia.  2 Homen-Gun has been plodding along for over a year now, occupying provinces with little resistance and progressing at such a slow rate I might think they are getting paid by the hour.  My overall plan for the conquest of India is this:  VI Gun follows the east coast, clearing the various ports and driving the defenders southward; VII Gun aligns on VI Gun’s right flank, and blocks defenders from attempting to escape into the central part of the subcontinent; VIII Gun proceeds in the most direct path across the base of the subcontinent, and then turns south to clear the western coast; IX Gun is to advance due west towards Karachi; LI Gun continues its ongoing mission of occupying the northern mountainous provinces, and then veers southward to meet up with IX Gun.

Methodical progress in India

    By the beginning of 1941 we have the subcontinent cut in two, and British forces are being gradually driven towards the Persia border in the west and Cochin in the south.  VI Gun encounters almost continuous fighting, while most other units see little, if any.  VII Gun, on other hand, winds up drawing the short straw when it comes to supplies.  As a result, VI Gun starts outpacing VII dramatically; the British forces attempt to cut off VI Gun by occupying Madras in their wake.  This, oddly, helps to free up supplies for VII Gun, which then turns the tables, encircling and capturing two divisions.  You have to give them credit for trying, I guess.

    The remainder of the offensive pans out more conventionally, driving the remaining defenders in Southern India towards Cochin.  That port is occupied on May 3^rd, and the remaining Allies are pushed into the tip of the subcontinent, where they are eventually captured unceremoniously.

    In the north, LI and IX Gun have a more mundane route.  A lone British division drives deep into territory I’ve already occupied, but after a week of backtracking I’m able to surround and destroy it with little effort.  Karachi falls with minimal fighting, and we steadily drive the remaining forces to the Persian border, where they surrender en masse.

    VIII Gun has the largest and most flexible path.  They need to aid both IX and VII Gun, and prevent British forces from breaking into the center of the region and wreaking havoc.  They encounter no real resistance in their march across the subcontinent, and before reaching the coast start to send divisions off to the south to encircle Bombay.  That city proves minimally problematic, and a single division is captured there in mid April.  VIII Gun then relaxes for awhile there, leaving the indefensible and undefended area around Goa to be picked up by headquarters units.  That area, however, turns out to be less undefended than I thought, and three divisions begin to eat into VII Gun’s supply lines north of Mangalore.  With VII Gun now helping in the capture operation south of Cochin, VIII Gun is needed to head south and round up the British divisions around Goa.  As with most of the units in India thus far, these last units are poorly trained and supplied, and are captured with minimal difficulty.

    Thus, India is now fully under my control.  This vast area, however, yields little benefit, providing only modest manpower and resources.  Its main value is to serve as a launching pad for operations in the Middle East, and to chip away at the ever dwindling British war effort.

Victory in the Pacific

    My stuttering progress in the Pacific Ocean finally comes to a close this season.  The American strategy of recapturing one island for every two that we capture eventually sputters out, as they run out of bases to launch the invasions from.  All of the smaller islands are captured by April, leaving only Rabul and Honolulu.  Thus, in May we set out to quash these two remaining outposts and put an end to the American naval presence in the Pacific for the foreseeable future.  II Gun is landed at Sunset Beach, north of Honolulu, and strikes the city over land.  The battle is modest, with only a single garrison unit defending the vital port, and we occupy it on the 4^th.  I will soon ship in Chindai units of my own to defend the city, but for now II Gun is used to fend off any counter-invasions.  Fortunately, such counter-invasions are never even attempted, indicating how imperiled the American war effort is.

    On May 10^th we start port strike operations again at Rabul.  Back in December, they had such a large quantity of ships in port, that our attacks were easily diffused and made little headway at great cost.  But the lack of supplies has gradually forced the attempted evacuation of most of their troop transports and many escort ships, leaving only the carriers and a few smaller craft.  10, 11 and 13 Kaigun are given the assignment.  10 Kaigun begins the effort, and after 4 days of steady bombing draws first blood by sinking the escort carrier Belleau Wood.  11 Kaigun takes up the mission next, sinking the escort carrier Langely and the two remaining destroyers by the 18^th.  As the month comes to a close we finish off the Americans with the sinking of the few remaining transports and the escort carrier Princeton.

    The differences between this operation and the one in December are striking.  In December our air crews would burn up their organization within 2 days, and suffer up to 30% casualties on top of that.  We were fighting against both ground and carrier based aircraft, provincial anti-aircraft fire and numerous ship-based anti-aircraft systems.  This time, the ground based aircraft had been evacuated, and the remaining carrier based aircraft were ill-supplied.  Our raids carried on for several days with modest organizational loss, and we suffered no noticeable casualties.  Once the operation was over, our fleets were ready for active operations again with virtually no downtime.

    LXI Gun is assigned to recapture the port.  They land west of the city in mid June, and promptly launch an attack against the defenders.  The city is defended by the 4th US Marine division and the 11th Airborne Division.  These are well trained units, but with no reinforcements, little supplies and no air or naval support, they have no realistic chance of survival.  The surrender on the 22^nd, having inflicted a modest 370 casualties on us, and suffering 1,719 killed in return, with another 17,000 taken prisoner.  The fall of Rabul marks the definite end of the war in the Pacific, as the Americans lack the operational range to attack anywhere but Hawaii from their continental bases, and lack the striking power to even attempt that.  With complete control of a vast empire ranging from Karachi to Honolulu, I now have a completely secure and impenetrable base of operations.  I am set to begin offensive operations against the Allies’ heartlands with the onset of summer, and from that point forward the Allies have no hope but a quick and merciful conquest.

    One last note: on June 16^th I deploy the fifth generation battleship Sagami, followed the next day by its sister ship the Tosa.  These juggernauts are deployed to 5 Kaigun, restoring that fleet to full strength and returning it to active operations.  Perversely, however, these ships are deployed at nearly the same time they become largely useless.  It is unlikely I will be doing anything other than convoy raiding and shore bombardments with my fleets from now.  The Brits still have a number of ships to throw at me, and the Americans likely have some held in reserve and a few in production, but it’s unlikely I will have any need for ten full combat fleets from now on.  The naval war, effectively, is over.  Interestingly though, the Tosa brings my strength back up to 100 ships, returning the Grand Fleet bonus to me.  I had lost it only a week into the war, when the light cruiser Oi was sunk by the British off Borneo.  After being the focal point of the war for over two years, my navy simultaneously regains the designations “Grand” and “secondary”.

Allied Losses, Both Slow and Fast - Winter 1941

    By the beginning of 1941, the naval strategic situation has completely reversed itself from six months ago.  Last summer, I was under pressure on multiple fronts from superior fleet groups, and was forced to divide my forces and attempt risky operations.  Those operations have paid off, and now it is the British and the Americans who are forced to break up their fleet groups and attempt risky operations.  However, there is one major difference.  My operations were well planned and executed, and had an overall strategic goal in mind.  The British and American operations, however, have little chance of tactical success and even less likelihood of strategic gains.

The British Navy Returns to Singapore

    The first such half-hearted attempt to gain the upper hand is the British response to the Singapore stalemate.  Singapore is a key strategic point, at a highly defensible crossroads between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  Its main value to the European powers is to serve as a launching point for operations farther east, while blocking the Japanese navy (and convoys) from extending into India.  However, the British Navy, now fighting in three separate areas, is far too overextended to launch offensive operations against me, and I’ve already circumvented Singapore by establishing ground supply lines to India and sea supply lines farther south.  Thus, at this point, the British would be better off abandoning the island.  Alternately, they could mount a large scale offensive, driving me off the peninsula, retaking Java and Sumatra, and isolating my troops in India.  Lacking the wisdom to adopt the first approach, and the resources to adopt the second, they split the difference, and subsequently expose their troops and fleet to piecemeal destruction.

    In early January, 12 Kaigun is on patrol off Singapore, with 2 Kaigun in Phet Buri as a reserve.  On the 13^th we see the first new signs of the British navy as a medium-sized fleet forces its way past 12 Kaigun into Singapore.  2 Kaigun is ordered to the scene, and 10 Kaigun is sent in from Tokyo in order to give us complete supremacy.  I begin port strikes, and by the 16^th I’ve sunk the battleship Resolution.  Having failed to accomplish anything, the British then attempt a break-out back up the Straits of Malacca.  We hit them on the 19^th, sinking a destroyer, light cruiser, landing craft, and the battleship Royal Sovereign .  They manage to escape northward, but we pursue and hit them again on the 20^th, sinking another two destroyers and the battleship Prince of Wales.  Thus, this ill-advised sortie costs them three indispensable battleships and a number of lesser craft, for no appreciable result.

    Later in the month, they decide to extract some value from the port by using it to stage submarine attacks against my primary supply lines.  My carrier fleets quickly hunt down the subs and drive them back to port, where they attempt to undergo repairs.  Instead, they are the victims of steady port strikes, with 10 Kaigun eventually claiming nine submarines over a five day period in late January to early February.

    12 Kaigun is shifted westward, and begins scouting out the ports of southern India in late January.  Pondicherry, the last French holding in the region, is home to a group of six French submarines.  It is unlikely these subs are receiving supplies adequate to ever operate, but it is better to be safe than sorry, and we sink them all by the end of the month.  I continue to scout the ports, and find a small fleet in the Maldives in February.  Port strikes here sink three transports and two destroyers.  I then return to the mainland, where I spot more ships in Cochin.  We launch port strikes here, but the port is better defended, and my flight crews run out of steam without dealing any permanent damage.

A Slow Death at Rabul

    After my failed port strike campaign against Rabul last December, I settled into a steady and sustainable plan of blockade.  1 Kaigun maintained station immediately outside of the port, accompanied by a carrier group.  1 Kaigun is mainly responsible for sinking supply convoys heading into port and warships attempting to leave it, while the carrier group was on duty to guard against the constant naval strikes launched by the Americans.  Every few weeks I would send the carrier group back to Sydney and rotate in a new group.  The system was working reasonably well, and we began slowly chipping away at the American fleet group.  Convoys were being sunk steadily, causing the Americans to attempt, and usually fail, to secret a few transports or destroyers out of the port.

    As with Singapore, the Allies would have been better off completely abandoning Rabul.  It had much less value for future operations, especially considering my relentless invasions of the remainder of the Pacific Islands.  On January 21^st Phoenix Island becomes the first American island captured since Guam, followed by Christmas Island on the 31^st, Palmyra and Jarvis Island in mid February, and Wake Island and Midway in March.  These occupations are carried off even despite the fact that I must continuously divert forces to re-occupy islands due to American diversionary attacks.  The fleet group in Rabul becomes increasingly isolated throughout the winter.  Yet the Americans refuse to attempt a mass breakout, instead sending small groups out to be summarily sunk, and further weakening the remainder.  None of these minor fights merit any particular attention, although one in early February has the distinction of being my 500th naval battle, giving me the highly useful Veteran Navy bonus.

Hey, Remember China?

    March sees the culmination of the Allies’ inexplicable, ineffective and suicidal plans, via an attempted invasion of the Qingdao peninsula.  Qingdao, if you’ll remember, was the site of one of my first major strategic operations back in 1937, allowing me to capture a division of Nationalist Chinese troops.  I honestly never thought I would need to type the name Qingdao again, yet here I am, doing exactly that.  The British apparently came to the conclusion that the various Allied invasions of Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, and other areas failed, not because they were poorly planned and executed, but because they weren’t bizarre and desperate enough.  Thus, on March 4^th the British launch the suprisey-est attack of the war.

    In between the cavalry and garrison units I have in the area to discourage rebels, and III Gun still idling away in Japan, I have plenty of land power to deal with the invasion.  My sea power, however, needs to be diverted from other areas.  2 Kaigun, having been patched up from the Singapore battles back in January, is sent to intercept.  I am further surprised to see the Brits using a rather large fleet for the operation, involving five battleships and a few escorts.  A violent fight ensues on the 16^th, and we gain the upper hand mostly through a better use of escorts.  We sink the battleship Valiant, and send the remainder of his fleet back into the port.

    By the 19^th, 14 Kaigun is sent to aid, and III Gun is landed on the peninsula.  The land battle is brief, and we capture the British division with little effort and drive the fleet back into the open sea.  A series of running battles occurs, in which we manage to sink the bulk of the remaining ships, notably the battleships Royal Oak, Queen Elizabeth, and Temeraire.  In these battles, I had to perform the interceptions with 14 Kaigun, and then bring in 2 Kaigun once the battle was joined due to the severe damage they suffered in the first battle.  Thus, this marks the first time one of my carrier fleets inflicted mortal damage to a large number of enemy capital ships in an open sea battle.  If the sea war drags on for another few years, this result will be commonplace, but for now, it is a unique event.

Cashing in on Naval Supremacy - Autumn 1940

    After the Battle of Agana Bay, my naval strategic situation improved dramatically.  While the Americans still have a number of ships, they are increasingly unable to throw major fleet groups at me.  The British navy, likewise, has largely left Singapore.  I don’t, technically speaking, know where they are, but it seems most likely they’ve redeployed to the Mediterranean or the English Channel.  Either way, out of sight, out of mind.

Resuming the Offensive at Singapore

    With my return to naval supremacy in the Singapore area, I restart my plan of allowing the British army to cross over to Johore, and then counterattacking when my navy closes the escape hatch.  On September 5^th we complete another of these maneuvers; we lose 2,500 killed in the fighting, kill 5,800 of their troops, and capture the remaining 19,000.  On the 15^th we repeat the process, losing another 2,000, and inflicting 3,000 killed and 7,000 captured.  This fighting is hard on my troops, however, and we stand down for awhile to recover.

    In October the Brits send a few ships to Singapore to attempt to discourage my operations there.  This time, mercifully, they send only two fleets.  Consequently, they are more likely to be victims than any sort of deterrent.  I deploy 2 and 10 Kaigun to the area, and begin port strikes on the 18^th.  The Brits attempt a breakout two days later, and lose a light cruiser.  They flee back to port; air strikes continue until the end of the month, eventually claiming the battleship Ramillies and the carrier Courageous.  This is accompanied by the capture of another four divisions allowed to cross over to the mainland.

    In November the British again send a fleet to Singapore.  10 Kaigun had returned to Tokyo for repairs; but 2 Kaigun remained on hand and took up the challenge.  The battle was rather small and inconclusive, with one light cruiser sunk on our side and a heavy cruiser being sunk on their side.  2 Kaigun returns to Tokyo for repairs, and the Brits, equally smarting, return to Scapa Flow.  With my fleets occupied elsewhere, the Singapore area remains quiet for the rest of the year.

The Reboot of the Invasion of Mainland Australia

    The invasion of Australia had been called off a month earlier due to the insufficient range of our escort fleet.  Despite clearing the ports of the remnants of the Australian navy, I was still not comfortable sending fully loaded troop transports out without protection.  Therefore, I ended up waiting until mid September before a suitable fleet had recovered from the Battle of Agana Bay and became available for the operation.

    The invasion is kicked off with I Gun landing on the 16^th.  It quickly becomes clear that we may have over-prepared.  4 and 5 Shidan occupy Sydney with no resistance on the 20^th; Canberra is defended, but only by a single division, and falls on the 21^st.  Newcastle falls shortly thereafter.  II Gun is landed farther north, and meets no resistance occupying Brisbane or forming the now irrelevant supply corridor.  On the 30^th troops from LXII Gun overrun Guadalcanal, dealing the last blow to the Australian war effort.  The government formally surrenders on October 1^st.

    While the actual combat portion of the invasion was anti-climactic, this conquest is the most significant thus far of the war.  In particular, huge amounts of desperately needed metals start flowing in, and I am able to return my industry to full production after several months of fits and starts.  Between the Australian stockpiles and the continued metals production, we are able to keep running at full efficiency for years to come.

Playing Whack-A-Mole in the Pacific

    With the American fleet severally hobbled, they adopt a new strategy to delay my progress at sea.  They simply wait until I leave an island unoccupied, and then recapture it, quickly leaving before my fleets can intercept their transports.  I lack the ground troops to occupy and defend the numerous islands, so the Americans successfully slow me down with these tactics for remainder of the year, and well into 1941.  Thus, my campaign in the Pacific over the next several months is nothing but an unending list of unimportant islands being captured and recaptured as I try to eliminate the Allied supply network and replace it with my own.  I won’t bother to detail every minor landing, but suffice it to say that my Rikusentai and troop transports are in almost constant action.

    The most significant combat takes place in September.  After the Battle of Agana Bay, I decide that American occupation of Guam has become enough of a concern that the islands capture becomes priority number one.  LXII Gun, now reunited, is pulled up from the Coral Sea area to take the island.  They begin the invasion on the 11^th, and the fighting lasts a full week.  The final toll for the battle is 1,493 KIA for us, while the Americans lose 2,170 killed and 22,822 captured.

    While this is fighting is going on, the Americans attempt a recapture of Eniwetok.  4 Kaigun, originally escorting LXII Gun’s transports, draws off to intercept, and sinks a destroyer and four transports on the 14^th.

    In October, 12 Kaigun is sent to the South Pacific for some reconnaissance-in-force.  Off Noumea, we encounter a British task force, and we try to take advantage of the chance to shrink the British navy a bit.  In the open sea battle on the 15^th, we sink a light cruiser and the battleship Barham.  The Brits flee to Tarawa; however, if there is one lesson to be learned from this entire play-through, it’s that ports without anti-aircraft cover are traps, not refuges.  12 Kaigun quickly takes up port strikes, sinking another light cruiser on the 17^th and finishing off the carrier Furious on the 19^th, before returning sated to Tokyo.

    With the American attack against Eniwetok driven off (or rather, sunk), they decide to mount a larger attack against Ponape in mid October.  4 Kaigun, still on station in Guam, is sent to intercept.  They learned from the Eniwetok failure, however, and this fleet is much larger: one carrier, three escort carriers, four light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 16 transports.  4 Kaigun has no chance to damage them, and retreats, allowing the island to fall.

    11 Kaigun is then sent to try its hand.  This was a bad idea on my part; the American airpower outnumbers us five groups to three, and my fleet is driven off unceremoniously.  I then send in 13 Kaigun; having been humbled twice, I avoid a direct fight and instead try to intercept convoys.  This works relatively well, and the American fleet leaves Ponape; unfortunately, they head to Rabul, which they occupy in November.

    It seems likely that the bulk of the remaining American naval strength is in that fleet group, now stationed in Rabul.  The logical thing to do, then, is to attempt a repeat of the Battle of Agana Bay.  I send three carrier fleets to New Guinea, and begin port strikes on December 1^st.  However, it quickly becomes clear this will not be a repeat of that battle.  The Battle of Agana Bay was initiated by failed port strikes against Saipan, which depleted the American flight crews.  Here, I had no such advantage; first one of my carrier fleets, then the second, then the third launch port strikes against Rabul, but are successively driven off.  The only appreciable damage is the hull strength reduction of a few escort ships down to around 30%.  The carriers are largely undamaged.  After three fleets have shot their bolt, with little gain, the strikes are called off.  Instead, I deploy 1 and 11 Kaigun in the open sea surrounding Rabul, and attempt to intercept convoys and escape attempts.  This is a slow process of wearing down the fleet by cutting off their supplies.  On Christmas, we see the first major dividends, as a pair of transports tries to slink out of port.  They are intercepted by 1 Kaigun, and promptly sunk; this is not a major gain by itself, but is noteworthy due to the loss of the commander, Admiral Nimitz.  He is arguably the best naval commander in the game, and his loss is a significant blow to the American navy.

Dealing with New Zealand

    After the fall of Australia, there are only three ports capable of supplying a large fleet group for any length of time: Singapore, Hawaii, and New Zealand.  Singapore is currently beyond my ability to take, and Hawaii is outside my range.  New Zealand, however, is ripe for the picking.

    By November, I can put together enough troop transports for the operation.  I, II, and V Gun have spent the last month in Australia, consuming the stockpiles of Australian supplies (beer and kangaroo burgers, I suppose).  My plan is to send II Gun to Wellington, V Gun to Auckland, and I Gun to Dunedin and Christchurch.  Following in my now well-established pattern of bad judgment calls this season, I begin with a frontal assault directly against Wellington.  The fighting continues for a week, inconclusively, before I finally give up and land the troops north of the city instead and proceed by land.  Pinning the Kiwis in the city, they make short work of them in a conventional land battle, and take the city by the middle of the month.  Auckland is undefended, and V Gun occupies it easily (although here I also deploy nearby and launch the occupation by land).  I Gun occupies Christchurch with no resistance, but Dunedin is defended and poses a challenge.  There is only one division here, however (unlike the three in Wellington), and they eventually succumb on the 21^st.  With their four major cities occupied, the New Zealand government officially surrenders the next day and goes into exile.

Minor Events in Europe

    Europe has been fairly quiet since the fall of France.  Even the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia was quick and rather uneventful.  However, a few events occur in the second half of the year which are worth mentioning.  On July 28^th Finland joined the Axis.  This is a largely predestined event, as an alliance with Germany is the only likely way of avoiding continuous warfare with the Soviets.  On September 1^st the Bulgarians decide to take their chunk out of the perpetually dwindling Romania; they (the Bulgarians) join the Axis a month later.  These new additions to the alliance nominally declare war on the Allies shortly after joining.  Realistically, they will never fire a shot in anger against the Brits or Americans, but are instead ramping up their militaries for the inevitable big event – the war against the Soviets, which is coming closer every day.