Let's Play Hearts of Iron 2 (Preparing for D-Day in Asia)

[WhiskeyWolf]

The brutal attrition warfare has all but brought every able-bodied man of Poland to the fight. For two years, Poland held the alien menace, as meanwhile, both Japan and United States have managed to purge the xenos from their territories, and only Central Europe and Australia remained under alien control. The soviets began to launch their offensive as well, gaining territory as they liberated the ruins of Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

If Poland did survive, the risk of Poland becoming surrounded by Soviet territories was immense, and depleted of manpower, their future, regardless of what happened from now on, would be bleak.

What did I tell you.

 

[Infantryman]

It's over, unless you send the new kind aliens to invade the aliens that first invaded the earth.

 

[Cassidy]

It's over, unless you send the new kind aliens to invade the aliens that first invaded the earth.

I updated the thread title to convey properly the new situation, but ITZ not over yet. The next update will have to be split in four to convey everything happening in January 1941, so here is the first part of it. Also, here serious hints on what that may or not may happen once and if I finish this LP in a new LP that would be directly linked to this one but involve another type of strategy game.


==========================

Relevant soundtrack due to many of the major events involving Bulgaria

January 1941: The Dawn of a new Civilization(Part 1)

Amidst so much turmoil, the detail of further pushing the "Hawk Lobby" in the government of Poland was nearly forgotten. Not that it would help that much considering how terrible the situation of the planet was. It was in the last hours of the Christmas of 1940, that events were being prepared, as the last, best hope for mankind has begun:

Over 9000 years later

The Segmentum Solar, the cradle of mankind. Here is Terra, known to antiquity as Earth, the heart of the Foedus of Man. An Alliance of a million worlds, the Foedus stretches across the Galaxy, besieged by aliens and demons, attacked from within by Scientologists and Furries, for ten thousand years it has endured, protected by fleets of warships and legions of genetically engineered warriors. It all began in the Twentieth Century, and since then, there is only war. War never changes.

Only filthy mutants and the unclean refused to support the Foedus of Man in the Finest Hour of the human race. Those who fell into cowardice were erased from History, forgotten, their gene seeds wiped out to not infect those who were willing to fight with cowardice and pussification.

Few countries, for most were still tied into the pride of the primitive nation-based statehood even when such pride threatened the survival of humanity, were willing to cede their forces for the Allied Guard, the idealized unified military force that would become the founding stone of our current military.

They were willing to embrace the Alliance Guard not out of desperation, but out of their commitment to the human race being greater than their commitment to their nationalistic primitive ideas. Those who disagree with what History shows are most likely Scientologists or furries.

A mysterious man, codename WhiskeyWolf, became the first Grand General of the Alliance Guard.

In a daring move, his first action was to order the encirclement of a far more technologically advanced enemy by poorly trained and equipped armies of countries who were poor compared to the greater powers of such past age, and yet, such greater powers did not manage to stop the tide of the Xenos scum that invaded Terra, by the end of 1940.

Back to the present times

The Alliance Guard's South American Command begins a desperate mobilization to stop the incoming tide in this truly global war stretching through all relevant territories of Earth.

Considering the situation of Poland regarding manpower for the military forces, WhiskeyWolf uses his influence to provoke another change in the presidential cabinet.

Assuming also military control over Bulgaria, a desperate, suicidal last attempt to hold the tide in Plovdiv is ordered to fall back. The attempt to defend it with 22 divisions was still ongoing.

The aliens seem completely ignorant regarding naval warfare. It was the only field where they weren't causing total devastation against all the military forces trying to hold their advances.

For having managed to make Poland be as Awesome as Finland, a right was given, the right to command a small but extremely determined force among many others to fight against the aliens, before they could threaten Finland, for a small part of Sweden already was lost.

In the many ironies of history, not only the Poles ended having to fight with the Germans for their own and mankind's survival, but the Finns will end having to fight with the Soviets as well. And eventually, even greater ironic twists would occur.

1eyedking was never found. The South American soldiers face a dangerous army of aliens in power armors, and stand no chance, as they retreat for Argentina's Last Stand in San Miguel de Tucuman.

Meanwhile, the forces attacking France are dangerously close from merging their front with the invaders still tied between French, Belgian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Romanian and Polish defenders. There is only one military force close enough to avoid such a disastrous event.

Artillery is manufactured for the Polish forces, but because they are away from the homeland, they can't be fitted with such brigades right now. Considering that it will be some time, and hopefully they will never have to be pushed back as far as to Poland, a new plan is devised, once more three artillery sets for brigades are constructed.

In yet another irony of history, Yugoslavs and Italians fight side by side against the greater enemy. When the type of enemy they are facing is identified, it becomes clear the direness of the situation.

Offtopic Note: I'm almost sure this pic is from a mod for ArmA or ArmA 2. You know who can confirm this. And speaking about skyway, nevermind, that will be for another update.

Tripods commanded by a super-nigger. Can it get worse than that?

Meanwhile, the Polish defenders hurry to stop the enemy advance in Dresden.

ULTIMATE DOOM EXPANSION SET FOR FRANCE

35 divisions vs. 1 Tripod division. Can they be able to defeat a tripod if they outnumber such dreaded foes at more than 30:1? It was not a question. It was a desperation attempt to recapture Plovdiv, for they knew how powerful such threat was. All nearby countries were threatened by such feared force.

Slowly, the casualties began to become gigantic amidst the frozen snow. Even such massive force apparently stood no chance of defeating the dread Tripods. The situation was dire indeed. And there was little that could be done.

It was far worse than they could imagine. Only the heaviest artillery shells could damage such things, and they were almost unstoppable.

Meanwhile, the Yugoslavs hurried to defend Trento while there was still time.

TOO LATE, ITZ COMING!

35 divisions couldn't stop a lone division of Tripods, these war machines were practically undefeatable in a strategic sense, even if a few of them actually were taken down during the many battles fought. The future of humanity seemed worse and worse at every month of this conflict.

Meanwhile, the only victory heard of against the aliens, was once again, over the seas, and considering the orbital assets of the enemy, ultimately irrelevant.

Further divisions from Yugoslavia advance to halt the alien devastation over Bulgaria.

It was too late to defend Trento, as thirteen divisions are attacked by the Tripods. The ultimate outcome of an engagement like this is somewhat predictable. There is for now no idea on how many divisions would be necessary to stop the onslaught, if that is even a possibility, for considering their sheer technological superiority, perhaps they are truly unstoppabble no matter what. However, Venice was heavily fortified, giving a small, faint hope that the enemy could be stopped in it.

There was a strange bug that made several counters of other countries show like Soviet counters after the global alliance event was triggered. I don't know why it happened.

Anyway, the Greeks put an heroic defense against the invaders, but in the end, not even Leonidas would be able to stop ITZ.

The enemy advance over Soviet Union threaten both Poland and Romania. Divisions are sent to attempt halting the tide. The situation is far worse than imagined, and the enemy gained extremely large amounts of ground in the European part of the Soviet Union in incredibly little time. ITZ COMING TO UKRAINE!

And these aliens won't react differently if someone comments "Banal. Shit. Boring" about their destruction.

In the darkest New Year's Eve of mankind history, the City of Lights has fallen. France is on the verge of collapse, and then, even more tripods will begin their rampage from the west. Poland would have to fight a terrible war through multiple fronts to ensure their survival from now on.

Another useless victory in the English Channel was the only good news of this dark new year of 1941.

The Battle for Venice lasts for more than a day now, as the valiant defenders hold the tide of the tripods while hundreds of thousands of refugees flee to the west, to the south and to the north.

For, even when completely deprived of supplies, the tripods still cause untold rampage. However, many lives are at stake. They must at least slow the enemy down.

Even the known city of Stalingrad was about to fall, with apparently no force nearby to take it back.

The fears of the Alliance Guard about the kind of threat that loomed in the Soviet Union were confirmed. Poland would have to fight a multiple-front war with other countries in central and eastern europe, against tripods.

Yet, the enemy is held for a surprisingly long time considering the situation.

Meanwhile, the aliens began their attack on the completely undefended French possessions in Vietnam.

THIS IS LIKE THAT THING CLEVE WAS TALKING ABOUT!

ITZ HERE!

 

[spekkio]

The tension is killing me!

The French didn't surrender yet?

 

[Mrowak]

The tension is killing me!

Yeah, Cassidy. You certainly know how to build up the atmosphere. Also

The French didn't surrender yet?

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Also, here serious hints on what that may or not may happen once and if I finish this LP in a new LP that would be directly linked to this one but involve another type of strategy game.

The French didn't surrender yet?

They probably tried but it didn't work.

 

[Cassidy]

The French didn't surrender yet?

They probably tried but it didn't work.

Considering what happens to the humans who let themselves be captured by such enemy, I'm sure they'd rather fight to death than surrender.

The Strogg transformation cutscene is Quake 4 is pleasant compared to ITZ.

 

[Cassidy]

Phoenix, Kwanzania, in the New Year's Eve of 1941

January 1941: The Dawn of a new Civilization(Part 2)

Not even heavy naval bombardment suffices to stop the powerful enemy. Without supplies, surrounded, the Tripods still continued their advance, although they have slowed down.

The battle for Venice was a long, brutal and seemingly hopeless battle, where the soldiers managed only to delay the rampage of the tripods. It has been four days already, and humanity was losing. Yet, in spite of such powerful enemy, the Yugoslav and Italian soldiers demonstrated great bravery, holding the Tripods for an entire week.

Scant reinforcements arrived, but they were not enough to stop the enemy slow but deadly advance.

Meanwhile, the situation in South America worsens, as the region of Salvador is attacked by

According to the Lore that can be found about it, that region of Salvador has some very hard-working people and soldiers, contributing to the ultimate result of the battle that was inevitable in the first place.

It's not like power armors soldiers could be stopped by a lone infantry division, even in the most technologically advanced country of the world in small arms, Poland. And as things are never good, in Europe:

Venice is lost. Even without supplies, the lone tripod division drives the defenders back.

Meanwhile, rape is coming to almost half of the Argentinian divisions, now under control of the Alliance Guard. Without supplies, and due to mysterious reasons, the fact that the Alliance Guard can't rebase their vessels in allied naval bases to rescue these soldiers in Tierra del Fuego, their doom is inevitable, but considering what happens to those who are capture, they can be avoided from having a worse fate than dying of starvation through a naval blockade, once they retreat to that cold and shivering island.

If Reims falls, over sixty percent of the French Army will be completely cut off from supplies, and thus, rape, and the ultimate defeat of France, will happen as outcomes of such tragic invasion.

[Perception]There is something different in the latest screenshots.

ITZ came to Ukraine, as the battle of Kherson begins. A new recruit arrives, to hopefully turn the tide in this incredibly hopeless battle, for if 15 divisions couldn't stop it, 5 would never manage to do it.

Banal

[Intelligence]Warsaw began to suffer. Alien flying machines ruled over skies, bringing untold destruction against the city as they charged their ray guns and fired them against the factories. No interceptor could match their ridiculously high speeds and they were so powerful that such bombers could eat any fighter for breakfast. Then, back to the matters involving skyway, not so soon because it was, according to skyway, no need to explain what.

A scout is sent to assess the situation in Rostock, and it's definitively not good, not good at all. They seem to be preparing for an attack, an attack against

Meanwhile, reinforcements arrive to secure Dresden for the second time. Poland fights multiple battles against ITZ, as the situation worsens, as multiple POPAMOLE divisions appear, and skyway isn't in this front line to stop them.

A daring counter-attack begins.

Multiple battles are fought, ITZ is everywhere. Would skyway be able to stop the tide of ITZ in Ukraine?

skyway died trying to defend Ukraine against the Tripods and POPAMOLE aliens in Gaylo-styled Power Armor

However, not only bad news came. in Dresden, the German and Polish soldiers have managed to halt a massive horde of undead and POPAMOLES.

But Stralsund has fallen.

And those retreating from Kherson suffer the risk of being overran by the tripods.

In 10th of January of 1941, Stalingrad has fallen,

Korea has fallen

France has fallen.

And one day later, multiple divisions retreating from Kherson met a horrible fate, as the tripods overran them. Civilian and military deaths were now ranking in the millions across the planet.

The Argentinian soldiers, as 1eyedking would rather to happen if he was still alive, are spared from something worse than dying of starvation in frozen wastes.

"Personally, I'd rather die of starvation than end like this." - kingcomrade, among several other refugees from Texas, including Kaiserin.

The situation in Bulgaria is dire, as more than five hundred thousand men struggle to keep the enemy at bay.

The only good news is that the Soviets, somehow, managed to pocket the aliens in Sumy. However, considering what happened the last time a lone tripod was pocketed in Italy, this isn't very hopeful at all.

In 14th of January of 1941, the aliens were already dangerously close to reach the border of Poland in the Eastern Front, while they continued their brutal advance through the west, only barely halted by the combined strength of the large detachments of the Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Hungarian and German armies.

The defenders of Balta had no chance.

Meanwhile, Kustrin is threatened,, and, not to defend it, but to use it as a stopover before reaching Poland, which will sooner or later have to face the aliens in both its eastern, southern and western borders.

Almost a million of French soldiers decide to fight to death. Many end in horrible ways. Far more horrible than even this.. The ways through which the feared hordes of zombie-like soldiers are spawned...

And thus, ITZ came to France, there was no more hope, the sheer majority of their army has been annihilated in a brutal two-front war, as were many remnants of the Belgian and Dutch armies.

The tripod is still "starving", if such creatures actually need to it, and thus,a desperate offensive to retake Venice, and avoid such Tripod from joining the rest of the alien armies in Germany, begins.

In the meantime, the army of Paraguay fails to meet the other South American Armies in an unified front, and now is on the verge of meeting its ultimate doom.

And ITZ continues happening in Bulgaria. Only this time, the enemy launches not only one division of Tripods, but apparently being adept of overkill, launches a legion with 3 tripod divisions, against which absolutely nothing could hold their ground, at least not for more than a few days or a week at most.

One desperate counter-attack is launched from multiple regions to relieve the defenders of Varna.

And the battle for Venice has begun.

The counter-strike on Plovdiv was a disaster, being completely crushed in only two hours by the horrors the enemy deployed in defense of the territories they have devastated, and buying just a few hours of time for the civilians fleeing Varna.

Ravaged through the south, west and east, the military forces in Central and Eastern Europe are well aware that they will become one of the most important battlefields in the Battle for Earth, in the finest hour of mankind. The enemy will soon encroach on the borders of Poland.

It doesn't take much longer for the offensive against Venice to begin failing, while several brutal battles continue to be wage against such immensive menace.

Meanwhile, when reaching Kustrin, several Romanian soldiers meet an unstoppable legion, that could ravage through Poland if left unchecked. War is reaching home.

ITZ COMING TO POLAND

Not even them could stop it.

 

[GarfunkeL]

AWESOME!

It seems that the tripods are bit too effective

 

[Cassidy]

AWESOME!

It seems that the tripods are bit too effective

I didn't playtest them, but there is little else to expect from something with 80 soft and hard attack and 10% softness. Besides it's realistic that a WW2 army would be completely raped by something like tripods even at ridiculously big odds. The only good news is that there aren't too many of them compared to the regular powar armorz aliens and zombies using just modern technologies instead of the other shit.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Have you caused them any losses at all? Sure, the Greek/Bulgarian/Romanian/Yugoslav infantry are probably a mix of 1918 and 1936 infantry but it's not like you'll have time to upgrade to 1945 infantry anytime soon or wield tank divisions in large numbers.

 

[Quilty]

This LP blew my fucking mind away.

 

[anus_pounder]

You are now watching this topic.

 

[Luzur]

Have you caused them any losses at all? Sure, the Greek/Bulgarian/Romanian/Yugoslav infantry are probably a mix of 1918 and 1936 infantry but it's not like you'll have time to upgrade to 1945 infantry anytime soon or wield tank divisions in large numbers.

yeah feels like you are fighting just to prolong a long, drawn out massive defeat.

if you dont suddenly get some super tech and can begin gangbanging UFOS and whatnot.

 

[Cassidy]

Have you caused them any losses at all? Sure, the Greek/Bulgarian/Romanian/Yugoslav infantry are probably a mix of 1918 and 1936 infantry but it's not like you'll have time to upgrade to 1945 infantry anytime soon or wield tank divisions in large numbers.

yeah feels like you are fighting just to prolong a long, drawn out massive defeat.

if you dont suddenly get some super tech and can begin gangbanging UFOS and whatnot.

Actually, most of the Romanian and Bulgarian infantry are mostly 1939, with a few 1936 divisions. And finally, there is one, albeit very difficult way to prolong such a defeat for years, because the tripods make only a fraction of the entire alien invasion force and they will always advance through the paths of least resistance, as do their elite soldiers in powar armorz. It's possible to hold them in Germany... if only the same was true for the other fronts.

And no, all modifications I did to the save game was to make thing harder, not easier. Either way, this LP will involve a fight to the bitter end.

======================================

Vladivostok in 19th of Januray of 1941

January 1941: The Dawn of a new Civilization(Part 3)

As expected, there was nothing that could be done to stop the enemy onslaught in Kustrin. However such were not the only bad news.

Varna was finally lost.

A ghost fleet was also lost. Meanwhile, a realization would come to those who sought to liberate Venice.

For they have managed, with heavy artillery fire, to destroy more than twenty percent of the tripods pocketed in Venice, and thus it became very clear, that although requiring immense odds, such enemies were not undefeatable.

But in such strategic situation, things weren't very simple, and unfortunately, the enemy had more forces than a few tripod divisions under their command. The enemy encroached through several sides against the borders of Poland.

Meanwhile, in something totally ridiculous, the game didn't inform that the aliens occupied Nuremberg already(despite the fact I have configured the message setting to always warn whenever a battle starts), leading to the fact that all divisions in Dresden lost most of their organization and I am not going to reload the game just because of that.

Meanwhile, the attacks against the tripods in Venice were eventually broken.

Dresden fell.

The French Army discovered the meaning of rape.

And as if things couldn't get worse...

Bulgaria is about to know ITZ.

Could this save Dresden?

Even under the leadership of dumbfucks!

If Plieven falls, the divisions retreating from Varna could meet their end.

There was little that could be done, the situation was worse and worse.

A hopeless war against an enemy far more powerful than anything ever created by man.

The enemy proceeded to wreck destruction and unspeakable acts upon Bulgaria. The world was collapsing, humanity could be on the brink of extinction.

The battle of Dresden was over. Germany's situation was worse every day, and with the fall of France, things could only get even worse.

To buy time for the men retreating from Varna, hundreds of thousands hurry to Plieven. The lives of a significant number of soldiers are at stake now. Losses that can't be afforded.

The alien encroaches through the borders of Poland. The threat is immense, and this war terribly difficult. The situation is very dire, as a massive front must be defended lest ITZ come to Poland.

Those divisions leaving Varna are now on their own.

For reinforcements arrived too late to change the inevitable.

Meanwhile, an attempt to liberate Kustrin begins.

The situation at South America worsens.

But the Tripod abandons Venice. Alllowing for its liberation. The lone invader has been kept at bay in Italy, and avoiding for it to join with the rest of the enemy forces is critical.

One of the world's largest armies has been annihilated.

There is nothing that could be done to liberate Kustrin now.

Almost there, yet, they can see the rampaging war machines not much away from them. Their retreat is desperate, but could be over soon, if it succeeds.

January, a month marked by the fall of France and of Scotland.

However, the enemy had one weakness. The bulk of their forces lied in Germany, and in other areas of the world, as the front widened, their numbers would become insufficient to occupy all the lands they have ravaged.

It was a relief for WhiskeyWolf, as the twelve divisions managed to retreat quickly enough to avoid being overran. It was one of the few good news in such dark times. As expected, while they have barely managed to arrive,

Pleven was lost. However, there were only so many tripods... perhaps, if they could be lured to advance too much... to stretch themselves too much without meeting other enemy forces.

Mobilizations are made to halt the enemy advance through Germany. If only they could manage to liberate Stralsund, dozens of alien legions would be pocketed.

The remnants of the French Army prepare to retreat, and hopefully continue fighting in Italy and Switzerland. Such was the state of the world by the beginning of February of 1941.

The advances continued happening in the Far East, although the two invasion forces did not succeed at merging their front lines, although that could change very soon, considering the situation at large. China has been almost completely conquered, and thus, they would be free to begin their rampage through the last refuge of the British Empire, India.

ITZ is really strong in Kwanzania. Now, the enemy begins to encroach their industrial heart in the East Coast. If they fail to halt their tide, the largest economic superpower of the world will be destroyed, and thus, any hopes of stopping such enemy will fade.

Fighting together, the armies of South America prepare for their last chance. If they don't manage to stop the enemy now, it will be over for them.

In Europe and the Middle East, the enemy gained significant amounts of ground. What began as a war, was now in its final stages already. Italy, Germany, Soviet Union, Italy, the Baltic States and Poland prepared themselves to do in Europe:

The Last Stand of Humanity

 

[Mrowak]

Epic

In the true sense.
Not - God forbid - newfagian popamolian idiocy.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

Epic

In the true sense.
Not - God forbid - newfagian popamolian idiocy.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Can there be hope anymore?

 

[GarfunkeL]

Can there be hope anymore?

 

[Infantryman]

I think there is no hope, as the production capacity of all major powers has been nearly completely destroyed. Strange thing that Soviet Union is doing so terribly, it should have at least 200 divisions, and it does seem to me, that there are only about 30 at the frontline.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Could be the classic SR-bug that the AI succumbs every now and then. USSR AI especially is vulnerable if it has to fight in both Europe and Asia. Sometimes more than 50% of the Red Army are in SR-limbo which means that sooner or later there could be a hundred divisions in Moscow with zero org.

 

[Cassidy]

Actually, the Soviets have more than 200 divisions, but about 140 of them are being redeployed because of AI dumbfuckery.

The goal of this thread was always to survive as long as possible rather than to win because victory would be impossible... or maybe... there could be one last hope for humanity.

Spoiler

The idea of an amphibious assault is completely alien to the aliens, which is why nothing happened to Ireland and why they have been successfully held off in Japan.

And the outcome of this LP/AAR will probably end as a complete subversion to what happens in Harry Turtledove's Worldwar

*Edit: Also, I think I posted too many updates already in only one page, so for now I'll just leave this as a hint of what is coming.

To make things worse, besides that shit in SU AI, the US AI took ages to stop building naval forces and begin focusing on ground forces too.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

The goal of this thread was always to survive as long as possible rather than to win

 

[Mrowak]

*Edit: Also, I think I posted too many updates already in only one page, so for now I'll just leave this as a hint of what is coming.

Gotta... reach... next... page

Edit: Next page ready as ordered commander Cassidy.

 

[GarfunkeL]

We need Commander Shepard here, for sure!

what happens in Harry Turtledove's Worldwar

Fucking shitty books in any case, good riddance.