Retreat from France

With the situation on the French front rapidly deteriorating, 1st Expeditionary Army is ordered to pull out. Because German armour is making quick advances in the north and risks cutting off my access to ports on the English Channel, I opt to head west to evacuate through St Nazaire. HQs and motorized divisions recuperating near the rear of the line make a hasty retreat; for everyone else, it is a fighting withdrawal all the way across France.



As the army beats its retreat across France throughout December, it is a very sombre Christmas at home . The graveness of the situation on the mainland is reflected in the King’s Christmas address.



Because our retreating forces are under constant harassment from the Germans, the withdrawal is a very slow one. At the end of January, my forces finally reach the west coast of France, and the French government simultaneously capitulates. The Germans gain control of the northern half of France and all ports along the Atlantic coast, and the collaborationist Vichy regime is installed to preside over the southern zone and North African territories.



A transport fleet covered by 4 Surface Group (led by the newly commissioned battleship Duke of York) successfully plucks most of the expeditionary army out of France and brings them home. Unfortunately, the 50th Division lags behind and is not able to reach St Nazaire before the Germans capture the port. As the transports pull away, I send the 50th south towards the port at La Rochelle, but it is encircled by German armour at Challans and is destroyed.



Italy Enters the War

With French resistance crumbling, Italy (quite opportunistically) elects to solidify their Pact of Steel and enter the war alongside Germany. The map below shows the situation in Europe by the end of January 1940. Red territory belongs to the Axis, green is British, and blue is allied. Note that while northern France is marked blue, it is currently occupied by the Germans.



The Italians quickly begin to gobble up territory in Africa. My only units defending North Africa at the moment is 7th Corps attached to Southern Command, which is made up of the 7th Armoured Division, and 7th and 8th motorized infantry divisions. Despite their limited numbers, the infantry divisions set up a defence around Alexandria, while 7th Armoured conducts a limited counterattack at El Alamein, forcing what is perhaps the first Axis retreat so far in the war.



For now, 7th Corps will stay in a defensive posture around Alexandria. But I’m planning to form a new expeditionary army to conduct serious counter-offensives in North Africa over the next few weeks.

The War at Sea

No new major combat to report. U-boats are slowly beginning to take a toll on my shipping. Despite my blockade of the Heligoland Bight, U-boats are breaking through and are operating with relative impunity in the North Sea and eastern Atlantic. This situation will probably worsen now that Denmark and France’s ports on the Atlantic coast are now under German control.

In February, German subs observed operating around the major naval base at Scapa Flow.



Convoy losses are highest off the Iberian peninsula. In this map, each red icon represents an attach on a convoy in an ocean sector for the past week – so four attacks in this region for the last week alone.



In response, I have begun forming small escort groups from the reserve fleet, usually consisting of two light cruisers and two destroyer flotillas. These groups are tasked to patrol the areas with the most enemy activity, but haven’t had any luck stemming my losses so far.

With the spread of the war to the Mediterranean, I have diverted some naval forces there. 2 Surface Group (headed by the vaunted battlecruiser Hood) was previously based in Bombay, and now patrols off Alexandria. 2 Carrier Group and 3 Submarine Group move from Portsmouth and Gibraltar respectively. Both are now based at Malta, and are patrolling the Tyrrhenian Sea.

There is a small skirmish in the Bay of Naples on 26 February. No losses for either side, but my cruisers suffer considerable damage, forcing the fleet to withdraw back to Malta for repairs. 2 Carrier Group will be out of action for a few weeks.



Production

Some good news on the production front – a few new units are ready for deployment. Three new dive bomber units are deployed in Glasgow and 1 Dive Bomber Group stands up. Two new interceptor units arrive in Plymouth as well, becoming 3 Fighter Group. My new armoured divisions are coming along, and should still be ready by June of this year.



Other Developments

Things are grim as well in the far east. With the fall of France, Japan seized much of what was French Indochina. Japanese invasions in southern China have also resulted in the encirclement of my garrison in Hong Kong. The British government levies a total embargo against the Japanese to deter further acts of aggression; the Japanese respond in kind in early February.



One last interesting note – with the capitulation of Denmark, Iceland has somehow fallen under German administration. I sent one of my battleship squadrons to investigate; several reconnaissance runs around the island didn’t reveal any occupying units. Nevertheless, a German-controlled port and airfield on the mid-Atlantic Ridge is unacceptable. We must begin formulating invasion plans immediately.

Good luck recapturing Iceland.
Can you send airborne troops to capture it faster than a sea borne invasion. I know you are banking on your recon being correct but using those types of forces would seem to me to be a way to quickly recapture the island if it is truly uninhabited.


Wheels

Iceland should be a cake walk. How are things in Abyssinia?

That'd definitely make things quick and easy. Unfortunately, no airborne troops at the moment - historically, the first British airborne unit wasn't created until No. 2 Commando took on parachute duties in mid-1940, and the British 1st Airborne Division didn't stand up until 1941. As for my game, no idea at the moment how long it'll take me to raise a few parachute divisions, but it's on my list of things to do

In the meantime, I will have to take Iceland the old fashioned way.


Lots of militia-on-militia fighting at the moment. The Italians are gaining ground there, but their advance is quite slow as their foot soldiers try to negotiate the rough terrain.



I'm not really panicking about their gains at the moment - there's nothing really of any consequence there to lose. But I am concerned about keeping convoys moving safely through the Red Sea and off the horn. I will probably reposition what limited units I do have there to better defend the ports, so that they can't be captured and used as staging areas for convoy raiders.

Didn't the UK occupy Iceland along with their Norway operation?

Since you didn't intervene, it is natural that Germany got Iceland together with Denmark.


Anyway, good luck with keeping the Atlantic clear. And with fending off the Luftwaffe.

Invasion of Iceland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Iceland
It seems the real invasion force was thrown together at the last minute and was very short of troops so the game seems to be representing that fairly well.


Wheels

BTW, if anyone is interested, the entire HoI3 pack can be had on Steam right now for a mere $7.49. Easily worth many times that IMHO.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/12375/

Operations Fork/Valentine

Gentlemen, as suggested in my previous update, German-controlled ports or airfields in the mid-Atlantic present unacceptable risks to allied shipping. The Faroe Islands have also fallen under German administration, giving the Germans access to a harbour in the North Sea. Invasions of Iceland and the Faroes must be carried out without delay.

The invasions also present an opportunity to experiment with amphibious landings conducted over a long distance and with large forces. The occupation of Iceland and the Faroes is therefore assigned to the five motorized infantry divisions of 5th Corps.

The invasion plan is as follows: 5th Corps will depart from Cardiff in early March, and land at Reykjavik. 3 Surface Group, which has been conducting reconnaissance off Iceland for the last week, will also escort the group and provide shore bombardment support in case of any opposition on land. 5th Corps will then capture the rest of the island while the surface group and transports refuel at Reykjavik. Once the island is secure, 5th Corps will reboard the transports, sail to the Faroe Islands, capture them as well, and then return home.



On 6 March, 5th Corps, under the command of Major General Bartholomew, boards 1 Transport Group in Cardiff and sails to Iceland.



The task force reaches Iceland on 11 March and lands unopposed. The wintery terrain makes capturing the rest of the island a very slow and arduous process, but all territory is secured and 5th Corps reboards their transports by the end of March. No German units were sighted on Iceland.



The Faroe Islands do not fall nearly as easily; they have been occupied by a German garrison division, which, despite not being a frontline combatant unit, has dug in and is well-prepared for our attack. This is troubling news, as I was certain German sealift had been paralyzed by my blockade. Somehow, the Germans are still managing to move troops around, at least in limited quantitites. Anyway, the islands are too small to mount anything except a direct assault, so off we go. After a few days of fairly intense fighting, the islands fall. I lose 819 men to the Germans’ 475. 5th Corps returns home by middle of April.



The Battle of Britain

With the conquest of France, German airpower is now brought to bear upon Britain. Between March and April, German bombers appear over Plymouth and Portsmouth, and also strike at my naval patrols in the Channel Approaches. They mostly seem to be going after my naval task groups as they sit in harbour, but between accurate AAA fire and Hurricanes on intercept duty, I do not sustain any casualties worth mentioning. Below, Nos. 15, 16, and 18 Group Squadrons successfully beat back a Stuka attack over Plymouth.



Despite these early successes, I suspect the Battle for Britain may just be getting underway. I have more interceptor groups about ready to deploy, and will keep a close eye on bomber activity over southern England.

Mediterranean Theatre

No major updates to provide. 7th Corps is still holding out just fine at Alexandria. My new armoured divisions will be ready in just over a month – I’m thinking North Africa will be a good proving ground for them. So, I expect to launch major counteroffensives there in June or July.

A few naval skirmishes: 2 Surface Group led by HMS Hood encountered an Italian battleship fleet east of Malta. Hood sinks the Conte di Cavour; no casualties sustained among my forces.



2 Carrier Group eventually returns to service after some quick repairs in Malta. The group sights a large Italian fleet based in the port of Cagliari on Sardinia. A series of port attacks are launched from the Gulf of Tunis without much success; a few of their destroyers will be out for repairs, but nothing sunk.



Gentlemen, that brings us to the end of April 1940.

Once you can spare the IC, you should put one (Faroer), respectively two (Iceland) garrison units on the islands. You may never know when Jerry gets bold again and sends a lone division there.

Otherwise, go on...



Also, many, many thanks for the HU on the sale!! 7.50€ for everything is awesome!

Another good AAR fatty. I suspect that the German Divisions were able to use the Faroe islands as a spawn point.


Wheels