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Which team did you play in the last game?

Glorious Arstotzka
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Glorious Moskurg
- 13 (12.3%)
Ingloriously Didn't Play
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Author Topic: Intercontinental Arms Race: Finale  (Read 551321 times)

piratejoe

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1005 on: May 09, 2017, 12:26:08 pm »

Attack the jungle, then attack the archipelago. Thats my vote.
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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1006 on: May 09, 2017, 12:44:11 pm »

I am not sure that's how it works; pushing an area just means you advance if you win.
Just so: Attacking doesn't increase your odds of winning. It only makes it so that you gain ground if you do win. If you win in an area where the enemy is attacking, but you are not attacking, it's a stalemate.  Lastly if both sides attack an area someone has to gain ground, it can't be a draw.

So suppose a side attacks in a certain location and the other defends, and the attackers have a slight advantage but not enough to advance, then it's a stalemate. However, if the other side were to also attack here, then suddenly they'll definitely lose terrain due to the same slight advantage the other team has. Ergo, focusing one's attention on a certain theater can actively hurt the performance of the troops fighting there.

Isn't this a little strange?
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Strongpoint

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1007 on: May 09, 2017, 12:48:40 pm »

I am not sure that's how it works; pushing an area just means you advance if you win.
Just so: Attacking doesn't increase your odds of winning. It only makes it so that you gain ground if you do win. If you win in an area where the enemy is attacking, but you are not attacking, it's a stalemate.  Lastly if both sides attack an area someone has to gain ground, it can't be a draw.

So suppose a side attacks in a certain location and the other defends, and the attackers have a slight advantage but not enough to advance, then it's a stalemate. However, if the other side were to also attack here, then suddenly they'll definitely lose terrain due to the same slight advantage the other team has. Ergo, focusing one's attention on a certain theater can actively hurt the performance of the troops fighting there.

Isn't this a little strange?
Why do you assume that slight advance is not enough to advance?
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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1008 on: May 09, 2017, 01:01:06 pm »

Because as far as I know, one of the possible outcomes of a battle is "team A cannot advance but does have a slight advantage, if they keep this up or get a little bit more of an advantage they can gain ground next turn/somewhere in the future."
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Azzuro

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1009 on: May 09, 2017, 01:04:07 pm »

Another point of confusion: what happens when the front is 'in between' islands, as it is in the middle lane now? If we decide to attack the Archipelago, and Cannala decides to attack the Plains, where does combat take place? On both islands or neither (the sea)?

Personally I would like both sides to launch naval invasions, see how much (if any) of the invading force survives against sea and air interdiction, then write the combat on both islands accordingly, with the caveat that the whole invading force is defeated if part of the territory is not captured in the same turn and a new force is needed to launch again, which cannot be done if the whole island you're launching from is not controlled. This will allow simultaneous naval invasions to take place, but greatly limits the number of times it will continue happening as it is unlikely that both forces will be that evenly matched.
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Mulisa

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1010 on: May 09, 2017, 03:18:20 pm »

We have a good foothold in the jungle; Should we not instead focus on kicking the cannalans the fuck out of tundra?

Also We might not have what it takes to take the fight to the archipelago anyway.
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helmacon

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1011 on: May 09, 2017, 03:24:50 pm »

We have a good foothold in the jungle; Should we not instead focus on kicking the cannalans the fuck out of tundra?

Also We might not have what it takes to take the fight to the archipelago anyway.

Once we finish capturing the jungle we can assimilate it's resources. One thing at a time here.
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Sensei

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1012 on: May 09, 2017, 03:25:52 pm »

Battle Report 4: Spring 1938

Islands, islands, islands:
The Eatern Tundra island is now named Myark, by the Forenians who have annexed it. They will gain the benefit of its resources next turn. The Cannalans have named the Western Mountain Island "Isla de Craneo", and they too will benefit from its resources next turn. The Cannalans also haved named the Archipelago, it is now "Archipielago Que Huele a Mar".

Other notes:
I have shortened some of Cannala's legacy equipment descriptions. The Cannalan weapon list is just too long! I also omitted the Type 5 SMG, since it's crap anyway and they always use the QFS instead. Keep in mind, Cannala still has access to it if it becomes important for some reason.
I am also considered a new section on the equipment list called Design Doctrines. There have been a few features which people want to add back to old designs or have on all their new designs, which should be easy to do, so they don't want to spend a revision action on adjusting all their old vehicles. I have effectively allowed this on some other things in the past, like Slat Armor retroactively applying to a lot of Cannalan vehicles. Another example is that most Forenian vehicles are assumed to have radios, since their radios are cheap. If something becomes a design doctrine, it will be used whenever logically convenient, either for all designs or all new designs going forward. This could save some lines in design docs, like "The new plane has a radio and retractable landing gear and oxygen mask". Let me know what you think of this idea.

New Equipment:

This turn, the Forenians focused on making sure they have the Transport Capacity to exploit resources on Myark. They've built the UFAF-MTA-38 'Reckless Effect' which is a big, four-engine transport plane, but nobody is sure what Reckless Effect means. It holds four tons of cargo, providing 1 TC, and can also serve in combat by delivering paratroopers, and has no bomb bay, but a large rear loading ramp. Some genius thought the plane needed a system to jettison all cargo off the ramp in an emergency, but this system proved a little trigger-happy so it would go off by accident in flight. They've spent their revision fixing this, and ensuring the MTA is as reliable as possible.

Cannala has built the 1938 A-3 Parrot, a cheap air superiority fighter designed to counter the Yellowjacket. It's primary design directive is to be cheap without sucking, and it accomplishes this with a flying B average. It's essentially a down-engined Falcon, with a normally-aspirated V10 like the Yellowjacket, but a number of helpful little features like retractable gear, reflex sights, and an oxygen system. It's armed with two Muerte MG's and two Can Perforator autocannons, making it more heavily armed than the Parrot, but without a lot of ammunition. For their revision they built the M3T3A1 SPAAG "Firecracker", an AA gun built around the 4-inch Daybreaker autoloader on a Raider chassis, but it was rubbish so don't expect to hear about it this season.

The Forenian Army currently has the following equipment:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1013 on: May 09, 2017, 03:26:17 pm »

The Cannalan army currently has the following equipment:
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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1014 on: May 09, 2017, 03:26:58 pm »

The War This Turn:
Cannala has apparently decided that they don't need to push in the middle of the sea, as the Forenians are unlikely to push back and there are few resources there, so they are attacking both the north and south. Forenia is doing the same. Forenia has saved their research credit for later, while Cannala has used their espionage credit this turn.

Espionage!
Cannalan Special Agent Wakō turns over what he is about to do in his head, as he waits in line to enter Forenia. He isn't proud. Like all of the Juraki, pride seems to him like a memory from the past: He was proud, once. Then the Cannalans gassed the capitol, and took the survivors prisoner. He was assigned some absurdly large debt as 'reparations' for the war. Cannalan pesos had always seemed worthless before, but now apparently no amount of hard labor could pay off his debt, plus mounting interest. But they told him it could all go away, if he accomplished a somewhat dangerous task. He reaches the booth, and hands over his fake passport. "Wow!" says the Arstotzkan border agent. "So you're what a mixed Arstotzkan-Moskurg looks like? I never seen one before! And thirty-two years old... no wonder you had to live outside the country!" Most Forenians have never seen an "Arstotzkurg" adult before, even children whose parents jumped into bed with each other the moment they ceased to be wartime enemies are only a few years old.

So, the passport that Forenian insider provided worked, the most dangerous part is over. The work permit should be okay too. Wakō's shame casts a pall over the many sights of Forenia City. Shouldn't he be aiding Forenia, or anyone who will fight against Cannala, instead of sabotaging them? But this is the surest way to get his family out of the labor camps, and so much quicker. Hopefully, his ancestors will forgive him. Lost in thought, he nearly is struck by some maniac racing through the streets in a hot rod- a big Moskurg fellow grabs him and pulls him out of the way, and tells him to be more careful. An hour later, he's close to the end of his list of instructions. Having clocked into a factory, in the position of "Expert Metallurgist", he strategically plants a few forged documents- instructions to workers, about metal additives, and personally adds a big bucket of an experimental steel hardening agent to a certain vat of liquid metal. His job done, he leaves for the harbor to meet the contact who will take him back to Cannala- hopefully they will live up to their end of the deal.

Although Wakō didn't know it, that one vat was to be the source of all new and replacement springs for the M3 Sorraia GPMG this season. For the Spring, M3 Sorraia GPMG's, both used by infantry and in vehicles, will suffer almost constant failures as their springs just snap during sustained fire.

The Battle at Sea
This spring, the weather has cleared, daytime operations at sea are usually in good weather, and both sides just try to avoid getting into a fight and night if they can help it. Cannala has added the Parrot fighter to their air force's arsenal, to hopefully match the number of aircraft Forenia is deployed, and have a counter to the Yellowjacket with a few more features to give their pilots the edge. In practice, the presence of Forenian carriers at sea means that Forenia still sends consistently more aircraft into combat. The carriers deploy most of the Expensive planes, while the cheap Yellowjackets fly in large groups from land, but aren't the first into battle. The sabotage of the M3 Sorraia, however, has pretty much ruined the Yellowjacket's combat effectiveness, as well as hampering the HF-32b Stinger.

Last winter, despite the fact that the Forenian navy is terribly vulnerable to Cannalan ships, it seemed like the combined Forenian efforts of aircraft sorties launched from land and from carriers might continue to push the scales back. However, the Yellowjacket fighter's main armament is next to useless this season, it can practically be counted out of the fight. The Cannalans have also brought their new Parrot fighter to the scene. The Parrot is a slightly better fighter than the Yellowjacket, in the same price range, thought the extremely quick-firing cannons exhaust their ammo in a short burst (not worthless in the case of targeting bombers or ships) and the two heavy machine guns are the main armament. These cheap aircraft are deployed in large wings and can help to match the number of Forenian aircraft at sea- but, many of the Forenian aircraft at sea are Stingers and DB's. Furthermore, although the Forenians have been relying on the Yellowjacket for total air superiority, the AS-DB-HF-23 has been Cheap since Forenia secured their extra oil. It is definitively a worse fighter than the Parrot, being armed for ground targets, and even Forenian pilots have trouble making it an even match, but at least Forenia has some cheap aircraft. The DB being cheap is partly limited by the lack of space on carriers, but ground-launched wings of DB's arrive in combat a bit after Cannalan ships are engaged by carrier-launched aircraft. Forenians are getting good at targeting Cannalan ships, but often the worst they can inflict without heavy bombers is ruined turrets and burning decks, and it takes a combination of aircraft disabling a ship, then Archer destroyers hammering it for a while to actually sink Cannalan ships. Forenia's air force and navy both could use more potent weapons.

The combination of a new aircraft and messing with Forenia's cheap fighters means that Cannala manages to cling on to their Major Naval Advantage, but it's really getting extremely tenuous.

The Battle for the Jungle:
Attacking: Both
The wet season continues in the jungle. Rivers are still flooded wide, and roads thick with mud.

High in above the jungle canopy, a Forenian UFAF-MTA-38 carries a group of paratroopers towards the Cannalan rear lines. "Hey Yuri," he points and says the copilot, "what's that big red button for?" The pilot hurriedly covers the button with his hand. "Achmed! Don't touch that! It's the cargo eject button!" "What? Why do we even have one of those?" "I don't know! Some nutter thought it was really important. It opens the cargo door and unhooks everything all at once." "But, it doesn't do anything since we just have paratroopers back there, right?" "EVERYTHING unhooks! Seats too! It's all clipped to the floor on spring-loaded hooks!" "That's insane. I bet you the guy that did it was Arstotzkan though." "It gets worse! I heard that on some of the test models, it would activate all on its own. Just flying along and woosh, all your cargo out the back." "Holy tigers! They still have it in here?" "Yeah, I asked the ground crew if they could uninstall it, but they said I needed to file for a permit."

The war on the ground hasn't changed at all since last season, so it's largely a question of whether Forenian air support can turn it around. That's not happening: Compared to the sea, there's no carriers here to give Forenia an easy numbers advantage. Their superior piloting still gives them a definite edge, but some of the heavily-defended Cannalan bombers are getting through. Forenia's intel advantage lets them make the most of their air support, and with Forenian communications entirely secure and the jungle canopy obscuring their armies, not to mention the reduced potency of incendiary bombs during the wet season, Cannalan bombers don't make much of an impact.

The biggest actual change this season is the use of Forenia's Reckless Effect aircraft to drop paratroopers. It's only Expensive, making it cheaper than either side's existing bomber that has been used for the purpose. Unlike the Warhog, its large rear cargo door leaves paratroopers with absolutely no fears of striking the plane's tail and being killed. Forenian paratroopers equip themselves with the standard AS-AR34, and grenades, plus usually an RPG or light mortar per squad, but never Tiger Armor or flamethrowers. It's enough to put another significant tick in the favor of Forenians during infantry combat, they use their position to attack from the rear when the Cannalans least expect it, and target Cannalan AA guns. This season they even managed to steal Cannala's cypher pads and listen in on important messages before the Cannalans realized twice. On the other hand, the new Parrot fighters have sometimes forced MTA's (it doesn't roll off the tongue, but soldiers prefer it to "Reckless Effect", whatever that means) to retreat, or shot them down. The fact that the MTA is unarmed saves room for maximum cargo but it does mean it strictly relies on fighters for escort, and even Forenian pilots can't always shoot down planes that outnumber them before they hit Forenian bombers/transports and run away.

Cannala still has the armored advantage, their amphibious APCs are very valuable. Unarmed, they're at least as valuable as Forenia's air transport at delivering troops, since it lets Cannala use rivers to their advantage. Armed, they're less mobile but still more mobile than Forenian tanks. This will matter less during the dry season though. Forenia's MTA's could be a decisive factor, but the Forenian air force is severely hampered right now and dealing with the new Parrot.

The Cannalans gain ground, but only barely. [Cannala 2/4, Forenia 2/4]

The Battle for the Tundra:
Attacking: Both
Spring brings a slow thaw in the snow, and less terrible weather.

There's a lot of open ground, and the Cannalan Raider (or Marauder, the variation with the Daybreaker turret) is still an excellent form of infantry mobility and support. On the other hand, they're easy prey for the Forenian dive bombers, which are cheap, have the perfect cluster bomb munition for targeting them, and maneuverable enough that Forenian pilots have a good chance of dodging attacks by Parrots. Unlike in the jungle where Forenia relied on Very Expensive heavy bombers to burn away jungle for air support, losing some of their cheap ground attack craft to parrots isn't so much of an issue. It is however important to note that the DB sees a lot of losses to ground fire, most often when the pilot is struck by HMG rounds, and autocannon rounds can tear up a good chunk of the wing or cause engine failures.

Like in the Jungle, Forenia has a minor air advantage overall, and makes some use of paratroopers. Also as before, their weapons give them an advantage in infantry combat... except the rather valuable M3 Sorraia, which was a boon to the Forenian troops, back when it worked.

Forenia is doing a lot of damage, but Cannala can still send more reinforcements into the meat grinder, plus has the use of naval shelling. It's close though, and might turn the other way when Forenia has reversed the effects of Cannala's sabotage. Cannala gains ground. [Cannala 4/4, Forenia 0/4] Cannala must hold this area for one turn to gain its resources.

Events outside the War:

The Outside World:

The situation in Germany is getting bad. Winston Churchill has condemended the Munich Agreement, in which land was ceded to Germany from Czechoslovakia, as a defeat, and says he expects war. Polish jews are evicted from Germany by the thousands, most of them aren't allowed into Poland and are forced to camp out of the border. The Kristallnacht occurs, thousands of Jewish businesses are looted, and 25,000 Jews are arrested. The international community reacts with outrage at Germany's treatment of its Jewish citizens. German diplomat Ernst vom Rath is assassinated in Paris. Benito Mussolini demands that France surrender Tunisia, Nice, Corsica and French Somaliland to Italy, causing another crisis. Germany begins forming concentration camps. America loans $25M to the loyalist Chinese government, angering Japan.

Orson Welles' famous War of the Worlds broadcast occurs, which purportedly causes a panic as some people mistake it for actual news of a real alien invasion. A month later a translated version is broadcast in Cannala, and nearly causes a major incident as flak is directed at an "invading alien" which turns out to be a Warhog cargo plane. LSD is first synthesized, but thankfully not brought to Cannala yet. Otto Hahn discovers uranium fission, which will pave the way to nuclear power... and maybe other things.

Local Events:
In Cannala, the anniversary of the Christmas Attack is recognized. Rum Rations are tripled. El Presidente delivers what is by all accounts the most heartfelt, impassioned, sensitive and mournful yet at once strong and proud speech in Cannala's history. Nobody happened to write it down exactly though, and the following morning everyone is too hung over to remember the particulars.

In Forenia, Arstotzkan-nationalist propaganda has begun appearing again, more than before, and inter-state violence is appearing with it. The Arstotzkan Nationalist Party has increased to 20 of the 120 parliament seats, giving them a pretty significant position in Forenian politics, though still behind the Moderate Party and the National Forenian People's Party which is specifically opposed to individual nationalism. The Moskurg Nationalist party was previously very minor but has grown to 12 seats. The "Put a rocket on it" party, despite being focused on a single issue which doesn't affect the daily life of most Forenians, made a surprising grab at 8 seats. The controversial Forenian Nazi Party also holds two seats, both from Arstotzkan districts.

Grand Prix:
The European Grand Prix is the most famous motor sporting event in the world. The entire international community it attending, and it's just as much about the cars as it is about the drivers. Nations use the Grand Prix as a place to demonstrate their superior engineering abilities to the world. The 1938 Grand Prix has so far been absolutely dominated by German cars, and the implications of what this might mean for the quality of Germany's planes and tanks is not lost on the rest of the Europe. This would be an excellent opportunity for Forenia and Cannala to demonstrate their value on the world stage. Unfortunately, neither of them have been invited. However, Forenia and Cannala each have managed to be invited to the considerably less reputable Swiss Formula Libre. This still garners some international attention, and unlike the Euro Grand Prix, there are very little regulations on the type and power of cars entering the race. Next turn, you will have a special design action for your race car entry. Pretty much any configuration goes, but directly interfering with other drivers isn't allowed. The racing course is a closed street course in the city. The winner will receive an Expense Credit, but you also might find that you're able to advance useful technology in your race car design.

Turn 5, Commence!
The year 1939 has begun! You may now begin voting for your design phase!
« Last Edit: May 09, 2017, 03:34:36 pm by Sensei »
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Mardent23

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Spring 1938 (Strategy Phase)
« Reply #1015 on: May 09, 2017, 03:28:07 pm »

Alright, anti air time.
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Devastator

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Summer 1939 (Design Phase)
« Reply #1016 on: May 09, 2017, 03:35:58 pm »

Reads 'we need a new general-purpose tank' to me.
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Kashyyk

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Summer 1939 (Design Phase)
« Reply #1017 on: May 09, 2017, 03:38:20 pm »

I think we need an amphibious APC to counter theirs personally.
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Devastator

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Summer 1939 (Design Phase)
« Reply #1018 on: May 09, 2017, 03:39:01 pm »

or an amphibious tank..  (at least a snorkel)
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Mardent23

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Re: Intercontinental Arms Race: Summer 1939 (Design Phase)
« Reply #1019 on: May 09, 2017, 03:40:45 pm »

What  about the new parrot?
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