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[January-June 1909]

#61

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: All the colors of the RAIN...

Last post by Tripoli - January 09, 2024, 01:30:30 PM

January-June  1909

Geopolitical
Tensions  with foreign nations, January 1909

Germany    1
Great Britain    1
France        3
Russia    0 Allied
Japan        3
Italy        3
Spain:    0 Allied
AH    2


•    February: A foreign policy gaffe by POTUS gives me the choice of increasing the budget at the expense of a general rise in tension, increasing my budget by blaming a particular country, or keeping tensions low, but losing prestige.  As tensions with Germany are relatively low, and her geo-political situation is the least threatening to the US, I opt to increase tensions with her and get an increased budget. This option raises tensions with Germany to 3.
•    April: A colonial dispute with Germany gives me the option of increasing budget and tensions or backing down and losing prestige.  Germany is allied with Great Britain, so I don't want to push her too far, but with tensions at 3, I have some wiggle room.
•    In May, Spain wants to send a force to the Virgin Islands to quell a rebellion.  Because we are allied, and because I would rather see a weak power like Spain come into the Caribbean, I don't oppose the move.  Also in May, the alliance with Russia expires.
•    In June, Italy sends forces to put down an upheaval in Libya. Even though there are no US interests at stake, my self-imposed goal in this playthrough is to defeat every nation.  Consequentially, I am not opposed to risking a war with Italy, who lacks allies, while the US has access to Spanish ports in the Med. This increases tensions with Italy from 3 to 5, but also creates a rebellion in Libya that Italy will now have to put down.

USA Political

January: Prestige is 30, Unrest is 0.
June:  Prestige is 30, Unrest is 0.

Naval Intelligence

•    February: The US steals German Q-ship technology
•    February: Germany invents torpedo protection II.  Germany also stops work on a BC due to budget issues.
•    April: Great Britain increases its naval budget to remain pre-eminent
•    April: Japan Develops small tube boilers, and engages in espionage against Great Britain

USN Technical Developments
•    April: Extended double bottom hulls are developed.

USN Budget
•    February: Congress increases the naval budget to $346,400

USN Construction
•    January: USS MINNESOTA-class BB is designed.
•    February: Ten (10) BARRY-class DDs are ordered.
•    April: USS MICHIGAN (BB-2) is commissioned
•    May: USS CONNETICUT and USS NEW MEXICO are commissioned. USS MINNESOTA  and USS OREGON are laid down.
•    June: BB  WYOMING is commissioned.


USN Operations
•    NSTR

Other
The ROCHESTER class protected cruisers are scrapped in April.  They are too old, obsolete and expensive

June 1909 Balance of Forces


June 1909 Foreign Relations

[July-December 1908]

#62

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: All the colors of the RAIN...

Last post by Tripoli - December 23, 2023, 01:38:39 PM

July-December  1908

Geopolitical
Tensions  with foreign nations, December 1908 
Germany    1
Great Britain    1
France        3
Russia    0 Allied
Japan        3
Italy        3
Spain:    0 Allied
AH    2


In July, I renew the alliance with Spain.  While not a major naval player, a Spanish alliance gives the USN access to Northern European ports.  Further, Spain has excellent relations with all other nations, so it is unlikely that the US will get sucked into a war as a result of the alliance.  Overall, the diplomatic situation is relatively quiet, giving the USN a chance to build up its fleet, unhindered by the possibility of impending war.

USA Political

• June:  Prestige is 32, Unrest is 0.
• July: Fleet morale drops to -1, due to a ship CO being a martinet.  He is cashiered at a cost of a point of prestige, but the damage is done.  Fleet morale comes back up to 0 by the end of the year.
• December:  Prestige is 30, Unrest is 0.

Naval Intelligence

• •    July: Japan halts the construction of a BC due to financial difficulties
• •    August-Italy develops 14 inch guns
• •    October: Great Britain increases its naval spending
• •    October: Germany develops 14 inch guns
• •    November: Germany is reported to have halted a BC under construction due to money issues
• •    November: Great Britain develops the target designator

USN Technical Developments

• July: USN hydraulic rammers, giving a ROF increase. 
• July: USN develops 900 ton DDs
• July: USN develops ASW mines
• August: USN develops 3000 yd@30 knt torpedoes
• October: Small tube boilers are developed, resulting in a 1% weight savings.
• USN Budget
• October: SECNAV askes to build 20 DDs.  I have been holding off on this, waiting for the development of double mount torpedo tubes, but the budget and prestige are too tempting.  The budget is further increased to 317,680 at the cost of some prestige when I use the technical superiority of the Austria-Hungarian navy to argue for an increased budget.

USN Construction
•   

• July: US increased dock capacity to 29,500 tons. CL OLYPMIA is commissioned.
• •    July: begin building a naval base in West Africa
• •    August: Private shipbuilding increases capacity to 30,500 tons
• •    August: CL Reno is commissioned.
• •    August CLEVELAND class CL is developed.  Intent is to provide a scouting cruiser for the battlefleet.
• •    October: four CLEVELAND-class CLs are ordered. The 900-ton  BARRY-class  DD is designed (see below)  This class emphasizes speed and torpedo armament.
• •    December: The ALWIN class DDs are scrapped.  Ten BARRY-class  DDs are ordered.

USN Operations

With the advent of 900-ton DDs, the 500-ton ALWIN class have instantly become obsolete.  They are all mothballed. As these were all in the Pacific fleet, I move an equal number of 600-ton RINGOLD class DDs to the West Coast, while plans are made to begin building a new 900-ton DD class.

Other

The BARRY class are 900-ton, 32 knot DDs with 3 center-line torpedo tubes.  There is room to expand this design to carry double torpedo mounts when they become available.  The design is intended to overcome the deficiencies noted in the earlier 500- and 400-ton destroyers, which were too slow to quickly close and too vulnerable to damage to be effective, especially against an enemy's main battleline.

The CLEVELAND class light cruisers are intended to act as advanced scouts for the Battlefleet.  My concept of operations is to have four of these ships performing scouting approximately 30,000 yards in front of the main battlefleet.  They would be backed up by 2-3 heavy cruisers approximately 15,000 yards in advance of the main battleline.  With a top speed of 29 knots, and a broadside of six 5-inch guns the CLEVELAND class is intended to be fast enough to avoid any enemy battlecruisers, but capable of falling back to the main battleline and acting as a "destroyer killer" after contact is made with the enemy's main body.

[January-June 1908]

#63

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: All the colors of the RAIN...

Last post by Tripoli - December 20, 2023, 02:56:35 PM

January-June  1908

Geopolitical

Tensions  with foreign nations, October 1907 
Germany    1
Great Britain    1
France        4
Russia    2 Allied
Japan        3
Italy        3
Spain:    Allied
AH    2


May: France and Japan sign an alliance.

June: France threatens to send a force to the Dominican Republic to quell an uprising.  With the recent Japan-French alliance, the US can not permit a French base in the Caribbean, as this would increase the ability of the French to threaten existing US bases.  The US supports the sending of an international force, which while increasing tensions slightly with France, results is a lower level of increase than taking over the Dominican Republic ourselves would do.  It also prevents them from regaining a foothold in the Caribbean.

USA Political

January: Prestige is 32, Unrest is 2.
June:  Prestige is 31, Unrest is 0.

Cutting the naval budget quickly reduces domestic unrest from 2 to 0.

Naval Intelligence

•    April: German navy has halted the construction of a battlecruiser due to financial difficulties

USN Technical Developments

April: USN develops the light cruiser armor scheme and improved 7inch guns
USN Budget
February: Congress increases the naval budget $260160

USN Construction
•    January: US increased dock capacity to 27,500 tons



USN Operations

To help maintain low tensions, the bulk of the US fleet is recalled to the US East and West Coasts.

Other

February: I am given the opportunity to fill the position of naval attaché to the Vatican.  The game had behind my back, assigned an unknown, CAPT Kirk, to the prestigious position as CO of the brand-spanking new  USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-1).  I think he is an absolutely the right man to handle all the naval affairs with the Catholic Church... ..This move frees up some command slots, allowing the me to move some more capable officers into Division commands.

The most concerning development is the French-Japanese alliance.  Such an alliance would potentially greatly strain the ability of the US.  Using the French network of bases, a combined Franco-Japanese fleet could cause significant problems throughout the globe for the US.

#64

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: The Shortest-Lived Long AA...

Last post by JasonPratt - December 19, 2023, 03:15:01 PM

 

#65

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: The Shortest-Lived Long AA...

Last post by Tripoli - December 19, 2023, 11:51:09 AM

Are you using any gfx mods? (Or kit mods? I don't know what the modding scene is for this game currently.)

Relatedly, any pix incoming? 

Yes, I'm slowly trying to figure how to balance the time commitment, my WITP:AE incompetence, and a way to make it intersting.  Right now, I think I'm going to include daily snapshots from the real world Nimitz "greybook" and simply use the game more as a chance to engage in a discussion of what was going on in the Pacific war.  Does that sound like a winner?

#66

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: The Shortest-Lived Long AA...

Last post by JasonPratt - December 19, 2023, 11:41:12 AM

Are you using any gfx mods? (Or kit mods? I don't know what the modding scene is for this game currently.)

Relatedly, any pix incoming? 

[October-December 1907]

#67

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: All the colors of the RAIN...

Last post by Tripoli - December 13, 2023, 08:17:49 PM

October-December  1907

Geopolitical
Tensions  with foreign nations, December 1907 
Germany    1
Great Britain    1
France        2
Russia    Allied
Japan        3
Italy        3
Spain:    Allied
AH    0


USA Political
December: Prestige is 33, Unrest is 2. 

Naval Intelligence
•    The intelligence budget is reduced.  Current targets are Germany (High), Great Britain (Low) and Japan (Medium).
•    In December, the Royal Navy begins advertising 14" guns.

USN Technical Developments

December USN develops Krupp cemented armor 
USN Budget
December : $255,360

USN Construction

•    November: Construction of a second 12" shore battery in the Phillipines is halted.  This will be resumed if tensions rise with Japan.
•    December: USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-1) is commissioned. Construction resumed on USS WYOMING



USN Operations

With the end of the war with France the Fleet is recalled from European waters and redeployed back to the East and West Coasts.  Due to  reductions in the operating fleet, there is an on-going effort to re-balance DESDIV and CRUDIV and re-assign officers and getting rid of some deadwood in the officer corps.

Other
•    Four OKLAHOMA-class B mothballed
•    Three ROCHESTER and Four HURON-class CAs are mothballed
•    one SAN FRANCISCO, two RALEIGH and one DENVER-class CL mothballed
•    nine AYLWIN-class DD (500 tons) are mothballed

#68

Tabletop AARs / Re: Gazala: Another Plan

Last post by MengJiao - December 13, 2023, 10:12:53 AM

Afternoon of the 27th and 21 Panzer reaches the middle of the map.  This is moderately perilous since the
airwar rolls have not been kind to the Axis and 3/4 of the map is under allied air superiority and 21 PZ has left the only safe zone: Bir Hakiem (which includes the Bir Haliem airfield but not the fort):

Morning of the 28th -- this is where things start to go very wrong for the Axis: first their supply problems start to increase, second the weather is likely to be worse and third, if the allies don't start destroying themselves the necessay battle of attrition is not likely to move fast enough.  The real crux of the problem is the two huge supply advantages the allies have -- even with dumps that Rommel and co can use -- it is the tight net of roads radiating from El Adem.  Historically, Rommel got there (El Adem) after the allies wrecked their armor.  In the game (as could have happened in reality if Auckenlek had intervened and or Richtie had grasped the situation) the allies have the option of not throwing away their armor.  they have more AT-capable weapons than the Axis does and they can wait for the Axis to get in too deep and then trap or annihilate a large Axis force.  But they should do it far back and use their artillery to produce the necessary bang to do the work.  The 160 Grant tanks can hold, but not crush the Axis

But here is the supply problem -- the two main roads out of El Adem that Rommel and Co have to cut or overwhelm:

#69

Tabletop AARs / Re: Gazala: Another Plan

Last post by MengJiao - December 11, 2023, 01:59:42 PM

Good thing I managed rule change 1 or the DAK would be a bit beat up after attacking Bir Hakeim.  Anyway its the morning of the 27th and I think Rommel and Co are doing better than last time.  The air war is easier to run but harder on the Axis at the beginning.  Bir Hakiem is in Allied air space at the start hence the mess in attacking it early.  But things are generally going well.  90 light is on the road to El Adem and the panzer divisions are going to avoid driving between the two allied armored divisions.  The supply dump thing seems to be working as planned and maybe Rommel and Co will do okay this time.  Here's a snapshot from pretty far south:

Afternoon of the 27th and 21 Panzer reaches the middle of the map.  This is moderately perilous since the
airwar rolls have not been kind to the Axis and 3/4 of the map is under allied air superiority and 21 PZ has left the only safe zone: Bir Hakiem (which includes the Bir Haliem airfield but not the fort):

[The Aftermath of the War with France]

#70

Digital Gaming AARs / Re: All the colors of the RAIN...

Last post by Tripoli - December 09, 2023, 02:04:40 PM

The Aftermath of the War with France[/b]

The aftermath of the war found the US with greatly expanded dominions in West Africa, Asia and the South Pacific.  Allied with Russia and Spain, the US also had good relations with all other nations.  The one exception to this was Japan, who with a relationship score of 4, the US had a peaceful, but wary relationship with.  However, being allied with Russia and Spain also created problems.  These alliances meant that consideration needed to be given to whether either of them could drag the US into a war.  ONI was tasked with evaluating the possibilities of war and  concluded that Spain had excellent relationships with all other powers, including surprisingly even France for whom it had been actively hostile against only two months earlier.  Consequentially, it was unlikely to drag the US into a war.  Russia, however, while having generally good relationships with most nations, had a strained relationship with Japan (5) and to a lesser extent Great Britain (4).  Accordingly, ONI evaluated that the next most likely war would be against Japan, as it had increasingly strained relationships and adjacent territory to both the US and Russia.  The good news was that  a US-Japanese was would likely not take place for approximately 2 years at the earliest. (see image below for the relations scores of the various nations.)


In terms of threat, while smaller, Japan is a near peer competitor in a war against the US.  It has almost an identical fleet tonnage to the US.  Although it has only four dreadnoughts buildings compared the five (5) under construction for the US, its forces are concentrated in the Pacific, while the US has to spread its forces out over the globe. And while its fleet is less technologically developed, and its budget is 62% of the US but Japan's ability to concentrate its full effort in the Pacific, mitigates to a large extent these disadvantages.   If Japan were to ally with a European power, it could prove to be a very dangerous adversary.

   The most dangerous threat to the US remains Great Britain.  Compared to the United States, it has more advanced technology, has a 40% greater budget, and 2.16 times the tonnage, and has six (6)  dreadnoughts completed and another six (6)  under construction. However, its battleships average around 20,000 tons, so they are somewhat smaller and likely less capable than the US dreadnoughts.  However, it possesses large numbers of well developed bases throughout the world, allowing the Royal Navy to easily threaten US interests anywhere.   Especially dangerous would be an alliance with Japan (as happened historically from 1902-23), as this would give Japan superiority in the Pacific, while freeing Great Britain to act against the US throughout the world. And with a current UK-Japan  relationship score of "0", such an alliance is possible.


Directly meeting a British threat with large battlefleet is not possible.  The ending of the war with France has slashed the naval budget to $253,000/year, with the current expenses running at $12,000/month over budget.  Cuts will have to be made.  Additionally, the unrest level of "2" in the US population should be lowered.  A reduced budget will help lower this unrest level. 

These budgetary realities mean that the USN will be able to build only 3 capital ships at a time, although it might be able to build four smaller dreadnoughts, albeit at a cost in capability.  However, a larger fleet means increased tensions, even if it is less capable.  Therefore, the US will continue to build three large, very capable and expensive battleship at a time to help close the gap with Great Britain, and maintain a superiority over Japan.  Meanwhile, any extra funds will continue to go into raiders, torpedo boats and submarines to execute a "Jeune Ecole" strategy in the event of a war with Great Britain.

While the US shipbuilding strategy is set for 3 battleships under construction at all times, there remains the problem of the current budget deficit, which is running at $12,000/month.  Scrapping all the 400-ton destroyers and putting into mothballs all the 500-ton destroyers reduces the deficit by only $1000/month.  The USS NORTH CAROLINA will be completed in 2 months, which will save $2500/month.  However, the only other way to save money is to scrap and mothball some of the older battleship and cruiser hulls.  Some, such as the 1899 ROCHESTER class, cost over $300/month to maintain, so they will also be scrapped. Finally, the USS WYOMING will have its construction delayed for two months, temporarily defraying $5400 in expenses until the USS NORTH CAROLINA is completed.