SDN World 3 Commentary Thread II

[CmdrWilkens]

Maybe your naval command and government could never agree on what sorts of ships to build. The Navy wanted proper oceangoing battle-line ships, the government wanted monitors and cruisers, the government did something devious and won by firing the dissenting admirals...and now the Colombian public have been shown the folly of their leader's/leaders' ways and will now demand an election so they can vote for a rightfully socialist and properly forward-thinking administration that won't screw them over in the next war for the survival of socialism in northern South America.

Cue re-optimization of leadership and military reform so you can fix your mistakes with IC justification! Problem solved.

Czech we've been down this road for probably 15 of the 30 odd pages of this thread. Bringing it up now is just beating a dead horse. Ryan is working to get a better pool of advice and I honestly have offered the best I can give when solicited (the ship design thread). Right now we are where we are and hopefully sometime after the New Year will have everything resolved.

[Norade]

I might be back, but feel free to RP as if a closely linked Portuguese/Spanish government made choices that were good for both nations. I won't entirely give up my nation, but might not be able to pick it back up.

[Ryan Thunder]

Ryan is working to get a better pool of advice and I honestly have offered the best I can give when solicited (the ship design thread).

For which I'm very thankful for, by the way.

[Steve]

I don't think Wilkens will be though.....

[Ryan Thunder]

Yeah, really, nine years worth of yard-work destroyed in minutes.

But to be fair, his advice had nothing to do with that, unless I'm remembering wrong.

[Norseman]

I'm suddenly in the market for older ships, even the Dutch Pantserschippe, are any still for sale or do anyone have any old obsolete vessels that they can sell to me? If so please let me know!

[Ryan Thunder]

DISCLAIMER: This is just for laughs! It started out as a serious post and rapidly became just plain silly.

D+10, Fuerte Sherman, Gran Colombia

The hills were alive with the sound of naval gunfire as the great guns of Fuerte Sherman exchanged fire with distant Mexican battleships, like a small child distracted by a passing wasp. Nearer to shore, a pair of Mexican battlecruisers attempted to suppress Colombian forces on the long beach to the West of the Fuerte from afar, confident that they would be totally ignored by the fort which was being engaged by sporadic fire that was unlikely to hit it, let alone cause damage. Strangely, the beach was not closely guarded, save at the end nearest Fuerte Sherman, and when the gunfire ceased, hundreds of troop-carrying merchant vessels with magic cargo bays of infinite holding steamed forth, seemingly out of nowhere, even as dozens of shells fired by the twenty-odd Colombian corvettes and cruisers stationed at the Fuerte were casually deflected by the transports' unarmoured hulls.

Effectively suppressed by the withering naval bombardment provided by the two battlecruisers, which, twenty years later and in far greater volume, still would have struggled to even faze an entrenched position, the dozen machine gun emplacements around the mouth of the river opened fire on the landing brigades, shredding line after line of Mexican footsoldiers even as they leapt from wave to wave over the waters like an army of gods, until, finally, upon finding their gun barrels mysteriously warped and their ammunition supplies missing, the defenders there were forced to either surrender or be overrun by the Mexicans, who had clearly employed the services of a sorceror to aid in their operation.

The Mexican landing at Fuerte Sherman overturned the rules of amphibious warfare as formulated by experienced military personnel around the world. It effectively demonstrated that dedicated landing craft were an obvious waste, as even unarmed merchant craft could land troops in waist deep water and expect them to make it to shore under a density of fire that had been observed many times in the past to be capable of holding off waves of unimpeded infantry indefinitely, provided a sufficient source of supplies. The Battle of Fuerte Sherman was also the first military engagement where personnel trained in the dark arts of sorcery were employed to bend reality to the wills of their masters.

Later that day, before the second wave of Mexican troops had landed on the shoreline, the two rifle brigades from Fuerte Sherman moved to engage them, augmented by the four combat divisions, all personnel from which were found to have chosen to go drinking in Colon rather than man their posts, right up to the local corps commander. In equal parts due to their predilection for consuming unreasonable quantities of tequila, and the influences of the aforementioned sorceror, the Colombian troops were unable to aim their rifles and guns properly and thus failed to dislodge the enemy. One particularly hammered howitzer crew, however, was credited with more than ninety percent of casualties inflicted on the Mexicans in that engagement, for reasons that are not entirely clear. The Grand Army of Colombia has since commenced a program to conduct experiments with the objective of determining the ideal point of inebriation for artillery crews to be maximally effective and efficient in their operations, codenamed Berzerker.

[Ma Deuce]

OK guys, I'd like some opinions on my coastal artillery batteries so far: I've covered the main naval base (top), the major shipyards and ports, and the major inhabited islands. I'd originally earmarked three brigades (15,000 men) for coastal artillery, which so far means I've got 3,000 men to spare. Any ideas on where else I should be covering?

Coastal Artillery

Diego Suarez
3 x 40cm/45
4 x 35cm/45
13 x 30.5cm/40
8 x 20cm/50
20 x 14cm/50
36 x 8/10cm AA

~2100 men

Shipyards/Ports
Maroantsetra 3 x 40-55k slips
4 x 40cm/45
3 x 35xm/45
5 x 30.5cm/40
4 x 23cm/50
10 x 14cm/50
16 x 8/10cm AA

~1300 men

Majunga 1 x 40-55k, 3 x 25-40k slips
4 x 35cm/45
6 x 30.5cm/40
8 x 20cm/50
12 x 14cm/50
16 x 8/10cm AA

~1200 men

Tolanaro 3 x 25-40k slips

2 x 35cm/45
6 x 30.5cm/40
6 x 20cm/50
10 x 14cm/50
12 x 10/8cm AA

~1000 men

Tamatave (main port, also north terminus of Pangalanes Canal)

2 x 40 cm/45
3 x 35 cm/45
5 x 30.5cm/40
4 x 20cm/50
12 x 14cm/50
24 x 8/10cm AA

~1200 men

Mananjary (south terminus of Pangalanes canal)

4 x 30.5cm/40
6 x 20cm/50
8 x 14cm/50
20 x 8/10cm AA

~800 men


Islands
Reunion
5 x 30.5cm/40
6 x 20 cm/50
8 x 14 cm/50
16 x 10cm/8cm AA

~800 men

Mauritus

5 x 30.5cm/40
8 x 20cm/50
10 x 14cm/50
20 x 8/10cm AA

~950 men

Mahe (Seychelles)
6 x 30.5cm/40
8 x 20cm/50
12 x 14cm/50
18 x 8/10cm AA

~1050 men

Praslin (Seychelles)
2 x 20cm/50
6 x 14cm/50
8 x 8/10cm AA

~300 men

Mayotte
4 x 30.5cm/40
4 x 20cm/50
6 x 14cm/50
12 x 8/10cm AA

~600 men

Grand Comore
4 x 30.5cm/40
4 x 20cm/50
8 x 14 cm/50
16 x 8/10cm AA

~700 men

[Thanas]

With regards to those 'missteps', Thanas mistook my mobilization in preparation for war against Russia for preparation for war against *him*. Which is excessively paranoid to the point of mild insanity.

And you wonder why we do not get along....

You mobilized your entire army and did so without notifying anyone where those units were to be stationed. Any nation would be concerned about such an action by a neighbour.

Why in the world would I want to fight the Germans? I have no real claim on any German territory, even in the name of Nordic irredentism, except maybe Schleswig and Pomerania and those aren't worth a war over.

Actually, Schleswig is certainly worthy of a war, considering it puts you within easy reach of cutting off my merchant shipping completely.

Been a bit of a wedge between us since, which got bigger when he united a huge chunk of Europa into a single bloc to the exclusion of both myself and the Polish player. As a result Slacker and I have sort of banded together for survival (into the jokingly named 'Warsaw Pact', no less, even though neither of us have had time to really post about it) due to the fact that we're both bordered by Germany *and* the USSR and neither of them are particularly friendly.

What I did was to make alliances with those nations that would not drag me into a war and would secure my borders. I have no interest in a Baltic war of any kind, as it would threaten my economy. Germany will not get involved unless any war threatens to do so or cuts off grain shipments or threatens to change the balance of power too much.

[Thanas]

EDIT: I wonder if it would be worth actually listing out my war aims. Maybe it'll reduce the immense fog of confusion and assumption that hangs around here.

I am going to assume - as a Soviet general would, that your aims include taking Finland, Murmansk and Leningrad, the utter annihilation of the Baltic fleet and the destruction of the baltic harbors of the Soviet Union.

The soviet generals will also keep a close watch on the Polish border (Stas acknowledged that in an IC post before he left).

Bluntly speaking with Germany and Russia enjoying solid commercial relations and the later supplying the former with a good deal of the agricultural products needed it would be a truly odd war in which Germany did not become involved on behalf of the Soviets. In other words unless you can tempt Thanas as operator of Germany with something big enough to back off on a truly necessary relationship then I see no conflict of interest with Thanas playing the role of Soviet field commander.

Wilkens is essentially correct, I need the soviet grain products for the dutch, but see the above message of mine for qualifications.

[Norseman]

Obviously Brazil is going to be upset about yet another war against a Socialist country, however they also get a chunk of their grain from the USSR (and a lot from Argentina and possibly the USA too). Incidentally Thanas what is happening to my expeditionary force? I'd like to know what goes on there if you can tell me.

[Siege]

Ryan, that was hilarious .

[Thanas]

Obviously Brazil is going to be upset about yet another war against a Socialist country, however they also get a chunk of their grain from the USSR (and a lot from Argentina and possibly the USA too). Incidentally Thanas what is happening to my expeditionary force? I'd like to know what goes on there if you can tell me.

Atm I am still trying to get a proper map from Beowulf as to where his forces are placed. I can't really go into specifics yet due to that. However, as a rough guess, I would still think your expeditionaly force, unless they are professional solders, is still finishing training.

[Norseman]

Obviously Brazil is going to be upset about yet another war against a Socialist country, however they also get a chunk of their grain from the USSR (and a lot from Argentina and possibly the USA too). Incidentally Thanas what is happening to my expeditionary force? I'd like to know what goes on there if you can tell me.

Atm I am still trying to get a proper map from Beowulf as to where his forces are placed. I can't really go into specifics yet due to that. However, as a rough guess, I would still think your expeditionaly force, unless they are professional solders, is still finishing training.

1 Division of Revolutionary Guard
1 Brigade of Marines (unless that clashes with my construction queue)
1 Motorized Artillery Brigade
1 Motorized MSE Special Purpose Brigade
1 Cavalry Division

So yes these are already trained and equipped troops, note this is the load out mentioned earlier in my writings.

[Steve]

Hrm.

No, no, not gonna do it, not gonna....

[Thanas]

OK guys, I'd like some opinions on my coastal artillery batteries so far: I've covered the main naval base (top), the major shipyards and ports, and the major inhabited islands. I'd originally earmarked three brigades (15,000 men) for coastal artillery, which so far means I've got 3,000 men to spare. Any ideas on where else I should be covering?

It's odd that your islands are more fortified than most of my major bases, but I'll simply chalk it up to different defence strategies.

Ryan, that was hilarious .

Seconded.

1 Division of Revolutionary Guard
1 Brigade of Marines (unless that clashes with my construction queue)
1 Motorized Artillery Brigade
1 Motorized MSE Special Purpose Brigade
1 Cavalry Division

So yes these are already trained and equipped troops, note this is the load out mentioned earlier in my writings.

In that case, they are probably already on the way to the far east (with the exceptions of the marines, which might be retraining new conscripts or covering some beaches in Finland).

However, I am not sure if they would have arrived there yet as it is only D+45 in the manchurian war (and I really wish I would get Beo's map now).

[CmdrWilkens]

OrBat and Build Queue have been updated to strike the names of ships sunk at sea and account for damage inflicted on others.

[Ryan Thunder]

Ryan, that was hilarious .

Seconded.

*bows*

[Ma Deuce]

It's odd that your islands are more fortified than most of my major bases, but I'll simply chalk it up to different defence strategies.

What can I say; I live in a bad neighborhood

Seriously, a lot of those fortifications are supposed to be quite old though (note the preponderance of 12in/40s), dating to before I had much of a navy, so those guns would have been the first line of defence against any enemy at a time when if anyone conquered those islands, I'd be hard pressed to get them back. Still, most of the fortified island do have bases as well, so it's not as if they're just defending lightly inhabited rocks.

Still, OOC that density was partly a result of the fact that I had figured on 3 brigades for manning them, so I was trying to spread that around. I'll see if I can cut back to two.

EDIT: In other news, I've got my back-budgets for the first three quarters up (finally). Somebody let me know if anything is out of whack.

[Steve]

Oh, in the *cough* excitement over the sub attack rolls and the appeals and modifications relating to it, I forgot this:

[01:16] sbbigsteve: Counterattack at Yaviza.
[01:16] Sunhawk2: Shep and my theme song ^_^
[01:16] sbbigsteve: //roll-dice 3-sided 6
[01:16] sbbigsteve: sbbigsteve rolled 3 6-sided dice: 4 3 4
[01:16] RyanThunder00: 11
[01:16] RyanThunder00: average, again
[01:17] RyanThunder00: home advantage +1 I believe.
[01:17] sbbigsteve: Given they were lightly armed, you dislodge them from the second rail line, but you don't decisively destroy them.
[01:17] RyanThunder00: k

The Mexican force at Yaviza has been forced back from the sabotaged rail line. It is still out of action though and will need repair, probably a week's worth or more (as Wilkens was implementing stuff like blasting apart the rail beds and any bridges, etc.). The flow of reinforcements from Colombia to Panama has been halved.

[Ryan Thunder]

Comment; I outnumber them at least 2:1 in familiar territory with a heavy artillery advantage.

The "average" result should be annihilation.

[Lascaris]

Oh, in the *cough* excitement over the sub attack rolls and the appeals and modifications relating to it, I forgot this:

[01:16] sbbigsteve: Counterattack at Yaviza.
[01:16] Sunhawk2: Shep and my theme song ^_^
[01:16] sbbigsteve: //roll-dice 3-sided 6
[01:16] sbbigsteve: sbbigsteve rolled 3 6-sided dice: 4 3 4
[01:16] RyanThunder00: 11
[01:16] RyanThunder00: average, again
[01:17] RyanThunder00: home advantage +1 I believe.
[01:17] sbbigsteve: Given they were lightly armed, you dislodge them from the second rail line, but you don't decisively destroy them.
[01:17] RyanThunder00: k

The Mexican force at Yaviza has been forced back from the sabotaged rail line. It is still out of action though and will need repair, probably a week's worth or more (as Wilkens was implementing stuff like blasting apart the rail beds and any bridges, etc.). The flow of reinforcements from Colombia to Panama has been halved.

Erm...not really. The Mexican army can't have destroyed more than a few km of the line before the Colombian counterattack. So you move your troops by rail there, disembark them, march them over the gap, re-embark them on trains and send them their way. It inflicts some delays but still...

[Norseman]

Sorry for being so late in posting the resolution to the Kenyan Crisis... now I have to concentrate on writing stuff for the Panama Crisis. Hmmmm, why does it seem like there's nothing but an endless succession of emergencies?

[Thanas]

Erm...not really. The Mexican army can't have destroyed more than a few km of the line before the Colombian counterattack. So you move your troops by rail there, disembark them, march them over the gap, re-embark them on trains and send them their way. It inflicts some delays but still...

Going to be a bit hard to do that with heavy equipment like artillery, tanks etc...

[Norseman]

Personally I'd recommend having teams of porters etc, etc carry supplies across the gap instead of trying to move even more troops in there. This for the simple reason that I think it's the supply situation, not simply the number of troops, that will decide things.