HOI III (Their Finest Hour) AAR - Going it alone

[JasonPratt]

This kind of in-depth history, even for an alternate history, is why I would never be able to write a good AAR (or OAR) for a nominally historical wargame. I just don't know enough to be credible about motivations and circumstances.  :(

[undercovergeek]

Google, wikipedia and honey infused Jack Daniels are your friend!

[Martok]

^ LOL


Sorry 'geek, but I have another gameplay question:  Does HoI3 allow you to "diplo-annex" countries like in the EU series?  I'm just curious if that was an option for Albania, or whether you were going to have to invade all along. 

[undercovergeek]

no diplo-annex, that would be a great feature by the way

Albania was just the next step in Mussolini's righting of many wrongs in Italy's history

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

It'sa fusilli time! 

[undercovergeek]

The 8e Armata's plan for the liberation of Albania, sporadic street fighting breaks out but no real resistance is offered, surrender

On January 3rd 1938 Italy declared war on Albania. The King's initial plan was to mount a resistance in the mountains with his Italian trained troops, leaving the ports and main cities undefended, but Italian agents placed in Albania as military instructors sabotaged his plan. The Albanians discovered that their artillery pieces had been disabled, and ammunition stores had been destroyed. As a consequence, the only token resistance was offered by gendarmes and small groups of patriots. Meanwhile, the King abandoned the cause of his country, and he and his wife slipped across the Greek border.

The plans for the attack were were left to General Lisi's corp, recently arrived from East Africa, consisting of four mountain divisions with artillery support and General Zingale's corp consisting of four pure mountain divisions. Lisi advanced from the newly acquired Yugoslav province of Ulcinje into Albanian territory through Lezhe, into Tirane and on towards his ultimate objective of Vlore along the Greek border. Zingales advanced down the right flank of Albania to ultimately arrive at Korce on the Greek border. The conquest of Albania was just a means to an end for Mussolini's next mission, it was all over in six days. The population was confused and rightly felt abandoned. It took a few days for them to designate a representative of the people, but on January 9th 1938, they unconditionally surrendered.

Albania became a part of the new Italian empire.

[undercovergeek]

Ioannis Metaxas - Primie Minister of Greece, Athens, Mussolini on the Albanian/Greece border meets with the General Staff

The Romans had ruled Greece for over 1,000 years between the time that Flaminius' legions defeated Philip V of Macedonia until the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. For Mussolini, no reestablishment of the Roman Empire would be complete without control of the other major Mediterranean peninsula. Not all disputes between Italy and Greece were of the ancient variety however. Italy had clashed with Greece during the occupation of Turkey after the first world war, Italy even assisted Turkish nationals in their war against Greece. Greece was also angry with Italy for its occupation of the Dodecanese islands which Italy captured from the Turks in 1912 and which Greece insisted belonged to them. Italy had promised their return to Greece in the 1919 Venizelos-Tittoni accords, but hadn't. Furthermore, Italy now possessed Albania and with it significant claims to territories in Greece.

There was also the murder of General Tellini in 1923, shortly after Mussolini came to power. Italy was working with the League of Nations on a border dispute between Greece and Albania and General Tellini, a personal friend of Mussolini, was the leader of the Italian delegation. He and three of his staff were murdered by Greek nationals for suspected bias in favor of Albania. This led to a brief invasion of the island of Corfu, but the League intervened in the dispute, Greece apologized for the murders, Italy returned Corfu, but the affront and hard feelings remained. Ultimately, all these disputes were a pretext. Greece was in what Mussolini deemed to be Italy's sphere of influence. Greece would submit, or there would be war.

Ioannis Metaxas became the prime minister of Greece in April of 1936, but suspended parliament and declared himself dictator just four months later. On the eve of March 1st 1938, Italy's ambassador in Athens, Emanuele Grazzi, handed an ultimatum from Mussolini to Metaxas. In it Mussolini demanded free passage for his troops to occupy unspecified "strategic points" inside Greek territory. Metaxas rejected the ultimatum with the words "Then, it is war"

[BanzaiCat]

Merda just got real.

[Staggerwing]

It'sa Mousakka time!

[undercovergeek]

It'sa Mousakka time!

Lmao

[JasonPratt]

Google, wikipedia and honey infused Jack Daniels are your friend!

And then for no apparent reason you were beaten by the Ethiopians bwahahahahahaha your game crashed and you couldn't reconstitute your save!  ;D

Albania became a part of the new Italian empire.

Now THAT'S Italian!

Time to grease the wheels of Empire...

[besilarius]

Well, at least the Italians might make the Greeks give up retsina.  That abomination has to go!

[JasonPratt]

Well, at least the Italians might make the Greeks give up retsina.  That abomination has to go!

Along with pretty much every other Greek food. Bleh...

[Keunert]

i like my retsina display you amoled freaks

[undercovergeek]

Mussolini, for the first time since his rise to power, was uncharacteristically worried. Aides had noticed the lights burning late in his rooms and wondered what could concern their saviour so much



In his private chambers Mussolini pours over his plans for Greece and the translation of a rousing speech by Metaxas to the Greek nation

He called conferences with his main advisors, senior generals and Chiefs of Staff. Truth be known this was the first time Mussolini needed to wage total war, to mobilise his full armed forces - the army, navy and airforce and he was nervous - this was the first test of Italy's full might on the world stage. He wanted to ensure no rock was unturned in his search for the ideal plan, the master stroke, his pride would not allow failure.



Mussolini meets with senior Generals Badoglio, Balbo, and Graziani throughout the first week of March

At midnight on March 7th 1938, Italy declared war on Greece.

When devising the battle plan against Greece, Mussolini had enquired of the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Badoglio, how many divisions would be required to take Greece. Badoglio's answer was at least 20, Mussolini was to give him 28 infantry divisions, including his beloved Aplini troops, plus Messe's corps of 4 mobile divisions.

On the morning of the 8th the assault on the Greek border began. General Gambelli's four mountaineer divisions attacked south from Korce to Kastoria, the attack was supported by Calvi di Bergolo's corps attacking from Bitola. Attacking from Skopje, deeper into the border was Lisi and further to the east was Zingales, and on the extreme right flank would be the ever reliable Roatta, on the west gathering in the port city of Tirane for a different mission altogether was Pintor. Messe's mobile force attacked through the less mountainous western side of Greece in an attempt to break down the coast and isolate Athens. The key to the whole plan, the crux of Mussolini's late nights and nervous looks was to grab Greece's two major cities, Salonika in the east and Athens to the South. His biggest worry was that Greece, already close to the United Kingdom through trade and political connections, would reach out diplomatically and join the Allies before Mussolini could force the surrender to him and him alone, above all else he feared a Greek government in exile and an ability to exert full control over Greece and call it his own.



The initial plan of attack

Once Gambelli had secured Kastoria, his divisions were in a good position to concentrate artillery fire on the Greek stronghold at Ioannina. With the support of Ambrosio's four infantry divisions, recently formed after the African campaign, as well as General Calvi di Bergolo's mixed Alpini, Gambelli stormed the fortifications. The Greeks had a strong position, but the Regio Esercito brought to bear tremendous firepower from three separate directions and the Greek infantry were forced to abandon their fortifications. On the other side of the front, Zingales continued with his attack through Edessa to Meliki, effectively cutting off Salonika from the rest of the country, whilst Roatta began to march southeast.

Also on the 8th the full weight of the Regia Marina and Regia Aeronautica were also unleashed. Mussolini's 1st Fleet's command was given to the talented rear admiral Campioni, who was widely regarded as a fine tactician. Campioni's fleet was the pride of Italy, it consisted of four battleships, three heavy cruisers and three light cruisers with the 7th and 8th flotillas of destroyers, this potent fleet was sent to patrol the waters of the Ionian sea - its role to intercept any fleeing Greek ships and to guard the sea lanes leading into the Adriatic. Mussolini rebased three naval bomber squadrons to the airbase at Rhodes where they were in a perfect position to scatter Greek shipping in the area, and seven submarine flotillas were rebased to the Dodecanese where they proceeded to pillage the Greek convoys. The rest of the navy was split into small squadrons of destroyers and cruisers in an attempt to cover the sea south of Greece, after all Greece was fully capable of landing its own force in Italy or on the shores of Italian Africa.



Italian submarines wreak havoc upon the Greek merchant fleet in the Aegean Sea