Playthrough - Manchukuo

10 Aug 2023, 11:48

I thought I'd try writing a HWW playthrough, as I write myself private ones anyway during most games. Recently I decided I wanted to challenge myself a bit more, having joined games as Nationalist China, Japan and UK, so here we have it: the weakest playable country in Asia. I had three reasons for picking it:

1. It allowed me to return to my favourite doctrine;

2. No matter how full a HWW is, one can be 99% certain that nobody's bagged it yet, so I didn't need to camp out the games page for hours; and

3. I did everyone a favour by taking one of the least popular countries and allowing that game to be replaced by a new HWW with the powerful countries untaken slightly faster than it would have been otherwise.

A disclaimer: I only play occasionally, so I'll probably do a terrible job of running the country and this will end in ignominious defeat.

DAY ONE

Forum attachment

Fig. 1 And here we have it: one of the wimpiest armies to grace playable east Asia.

Surrounded as they are by two of the three most seriously powerful countries by far in this theatre (and, in my opinion, the scariest in the entire game), and having a weak army, the new government's first priority was to establish friendly relations on as many borders as possible. Japan being the most desirous ally, a particularly grovelling request was sent.

The Soviet Union instantly accepted, but as her ladyship had not thought to send a trade offer as part of the request, she was obliged to accept an unequal alliance (Right of Way vs Shared Map) rather than risk the wrath of a much more powerful state. Japan was much more reasonable, with the states agreeing to share maps with each other.

International peace and security being secured, Emperor Aragosta's thoughts turned to war. Manchukuo launched its first research project: light tanks and artillery, both level 2. Across the country production of artillery and militia began. Rule no. 1 in the east Asian theatre is always 'invade Manchukuo first', so I'm going to get in there pre-emptively; I've ruled out Japan and the Soviets, which leaves just one easily accessible country: Mongolia.*

An artillery division is staying right there in Hsinking (leaving one's capital undefended is asking for an ally with shared map to backstab you - I should know because I've done it) and Nanching (a port city) is remaining under militia guard, but everything else is going up to the Mongolian border. Having Japan as an ally - meaning there is no pressing urge to leave garrison forces in every city - is a huge relief, but the emperor barely trusts the Soviet Union and it's high on her list of future backstab victims.

I notice that neither of them are particularly strong players. Japan's player in particular fails its country's particular litmus test (i.e. if they don't invade Manchukuo on Day One, they're doing something wrong). Good - makes them all the easier to backstab. The Soviets are locked into a coalition with Britain and France, neither of whom bother me in the slightest as they're a fair way away from me.

As usual for me Manchukuo is already running short on goods - a combination of my habit of having every city on near-constant production (which I feel fully justified in doing here, what with Manchukuo's army being wimpy) and the fact that I focus heavily on ordnance in Comintern and Pan-Asian (ordnance foundries and artillery both chew through goods quite alarmingly). Furtunately the state has powerful - and, more to the point, rich - allies to provide aid, although begging for goods so close to first sealing the alliance is pushing it. Somehow the country is making money, so there's going to be a bit of a buffer before the emperor's chronic financial short-sightedness catches up to her.

Her financial advisors would like to know why she is not developing their industries? That won't take up goods. Most of the cities are already occupied by unit production projects that involve upgrading ordnance foundries, but the rural provinces have no such restrictions... and Yingkow, one of the only two major cities without expensive projects taking place at present, is the country's top goods producer. The other, Harbin, produces food; Manchukuo's agricultural wealth leads to the emperor dismissing industry development there as a waste of money. Metal is her next priority.

The die being cast for Manchukuo's first real war, the emperor loses interest until the first front reports start arriving.

*With the benefit of hindsight, I know what I should have done: declared war on Nationalist China and sent all my forces through Japan. With a neutral country in the way they'd be in no position to retaliate, or at least not without triggering a war with the most OP country in Asia. I did the reverse version of this, and won in a walk, the first time I played HWW, so I really should have thought of this earlier.

Feedback would be appreciated! However I should add that I'm posting on a three-day delay, so it may be too late to take very specific advice into account.

Her Ladyship Aragosta
A.K.A. "The Backstab Person"
Pan-Asian is a better doctrine than Axis when played correctly and you cannot change my mind.
You just lost The Game.
Join the Madness here:
CoW Forum Players! Unite!

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476 Replies

25 Aug 2023, 23:26

JK idc but It won’t change what I hear in my head…

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

25 Aug 2023, 23:39

Carking the 6th wrote:
Lady Aragosta wrote:
The new Qing emperor did indeed execute her Japanese puppet ursurper, hence why she is still in power.
If it only the leader of the Qing dynasty was called a King/Queen, then we could be calling them the Qing King or the Qing Queen…

God save the Qing?

It's pronounced Chīng because latin.

Aeroplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
— Marshal Foch
A pretty mechanical toy [...] the war will never be won by such machines.
— Lord Kitchener, on tanks

25 Aug 2023, 23:50

Lord Crayfish wrote:
Carking the 6th wrote:
Lady Aragosta wrote:
The new Qing emperor did indeed execute her Japanese puppet ursurper, hence why she is still in power.
If it only the leader of the Qing dynasty was called a King/Queen, then we could be calling them the Qing King or the Qing Queen…
God save the Qing?It's pronounced Chīng because latin.

You have a formal ambitious youngish male voice to me, very respectful and youthful, yet wise and experienced as well!

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

26 Aug 2023, 03:25

I'm slightly mad that this entire discussion took place while I was offline.

CMDR. Wolf wrote:
I read it in a aristocratic female voice; with a slight tang of royal to it. It's hard to describe, but when I read I just automatically assign a voice to what I'm reading and don't have a second thought about it, or intentionally try to change that reading voice.

When I'm reading my own posts they always come back as Queen Elizabeth I from Shakespeare in Love. Buggered if I know why.

Carking the 6th wrote:
British accent of course, if that wasn’t what you were going for (most royals in medieval England spoke French!)

Not entirely inappropriate; my profile picture is of a Roman matron (Livia Drusilla to be exact, and my favourite female historical figure of all time) and a lot of media show the Romans with British accents.

I have a sort of 'generic' voice I assign to most things I read, which is hard for me to pin down as it's in what I think of as an accent-less voice, but a few of the people on this forum get some more distinctive ones:

Carking the 6th: Has a touch of an American accent (if I had to guess what type I'd probably say New York, but I don't know enough about different American accents to be sure), mostly because he uses American spellings for at least some words

Claudio NVKP: One of those posh American men who do voiceovers in mid-20th-century radio programmes and videos

Lord Crayfish: Usually my default one, but picks up a Dutch accent when he posts something that includes Dutch

That Polish Guy: Eastern European accent, obviously; my knowledge on such accents means I lump them all together and can't get any more specific than that. Often unduly enthusiastic and loud for some reason, which probably says more about me than it does you

And also:

K. Rokossovsky: Canadian accent for some weird reason; possibly because one of my better (and more entertaining) teachers was Canadian.

26 Aug 2023, 03:41

I am an Arab, though I am in the US. Not New York though, Ew. You also got Claudio pretty well, though I’d add a Portuguese accent in there.

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

26 Aug 2023, 03:51

Lady Aragosta wrote:
I'm slightly mad that this entire discussion took place while I was offline.
CMDR. Wolf wrote:
I read it in a aristocratic female voice; with a slight tang of royal to it. It's hard to describe, but when I read I just automatically assign a voice to what I'm reading and don't have a second thought about it, or intentionally try to change that reading voice.
When I'm reading my own posts they always come back as Queen Elizabeth I from Shakespeare in Love. Buggered if I know why.
Carking the 6th wrote:
British accent of course, if that wasn’t what you were going for (most royals in medieval England spoke French!)
Not entirely inappropriate; my profile picture is of a Roman matron (Livia Drusilla to be exact, and my favourite female historical figure of all time) and a lot of media show the Romans with British accents.
I have a sort of 'generic' voice I assign to most things I read, which is hard for me to pin down as it's in what I think of as an accent-less voice, but a few of the people on this forum get some more distinctive ones:
Carking the 6th: Has a touch of an American accent (if I had to guess what type I'd probably say New York, but I don't know enough about different American accents to be sure), mostly because he uses American spellings for at least some words
Claudio NVKP: One of those posh American men who do voiceovers in mid-20th-century radio programmes and videos
Lord Crayfish: Usually my default one, but picks up a Dutch accent when he posts something that includes Dutch
That Polish Guy: Eastern European accent, obviously; my knowledge on such accents means I lump them all together and can't get any more specific than that. Often unduly enthusiastic and loud for some reason, which probably says more about me than it does you
And also:
K. Rokossovsky: Canadian accent for some weird reason; possibly because one of my better (and more entertaining) teachers was Canadian.

The Marshal of the Soviet Union is outraged at having been passed over as an insignificant individual by a fat Roman matron

COMRADES, FOLLOW ME!

LET'S AVENGE THIS INSULT

Glory to the Union!
Glory to the Red Army!
Glory to the Revolution!
Marshal of the Forum High Command

26 Aug 2023, 04:05

Carking the 6th wrote:
I am an Arab, though I am in the US. Not New York though, Ew. You also got Claudio pretty well, though I’d add a Portuguese accent in there.

Even aware of that, my brain only tends to associate people's post 'voices' with where they're from if I found that out before reading any of said posts. You're probably going to be stuck with a New York accent for a while.

TheZhukov wrote:
The Marshal of the Soviet Union is outraged at having been passed over as an insignificant individual by a fat Roman matron
COMRADES, FOLLOW ME!
LET'S AVENGE THIS INSULT

If it's any help, I can start reading all your posts in a great big booming voice until it sticks.

Or anything else that amuses me.

26 Aug 2023, 04:09 (edited)

Ya akhwan, Al-Rumi? Wallahi, it is time to fulfill the promise of history! Inshallah, with the blessings of Allah and the guidance of His Messenger, let us unite as muwahhideen, brothers and sisters, and march forward to victory. Bismillah, for the honor of our faith and the liberation of our lands, we shall bring down the Romans once and for all!

Remember, their Lady Aragosta may lead them, but with Allah's will, we shall prevail. And alongside us stands Comrade Zhukov, a steadfast ally in this righteous jihad. Inshallah, our tawakkul and istiqamah will be our strength, and together we shall carve our path to nusrat, to triumphant success!

Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasulullah!For faith, for freedom, we stand strong,Inshallah, victory will belong!Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

26 Aug 2023, 04:13

Lady Aragosta wrote:
Carking the 6th wrote:
I am an Arab, though I am in the US. Not New York though, Ew. You also got Claudio pretty well, though I’d add a Portuguese accent in there.
Even aware of that, my brain only tends to associate people's post 'voices' with where they're from if I found that out before reading any of said posts. You're probably going to be stuck with a New York accent for a while.
TheZhukov wrote:
The Marshal of the Soviet Union is outraged at having been passed over as an insignificant individual by a fat Roman matron
COMRADES, FOLLOW ME!
LET'S AVENGE THIS INSULT
If it's any help, I can start reading all your posts in a great big booming voice until it sticks.Or anything else that amuses me.

Don’t worry, AI will make sure to dig it into your head… I don’t have much an Arab accent (no real accent that can be discerned to be honest…) but I do not sound like a New Yorker!

Look, I need to set the record straight here. Just so we're clear, in case there's any confusion, I want to make it crystal clear—I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt, not a New Yorker. So, you got that, lady?

Forum attachment

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

26 Aug 2023, 06:48

Carking the 6th wrote:
You have a formal ambitious youngish male voice to me, very respectful and youthful, yet wise and experienced as well!

Interesting.

TheZhukov wrote:
The Marshal of the Soviet Union is outraged at having been passed over as an insignificant individual by a fat Roman matron

Read this as fat Roman neutron.

Aeroplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
— Marshal Foch
A pretty mechanical toy [...] the war will never be won by such machines.
— Lord Kitchener, on tanks

26 Aug 2023, 08:16

Carking the 6th wrote:
Don’t worry, AI will make sure to dig it into your head… I don’t have much an Arab accent (no real accent that can be discerned to be honest…) but I do not sound like a New Yorker!
Look, I need to set the record straight here. Just so we're clear, in case there's any confusion, I want to make it crystal clear—I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt, not a New Yorker. So, you got that, lady?

Crystal clear, not to be worried, but the voices in my head aren't buying it.

I'm starting to (mostly jokingly, don't worry) suspect that this is all a great big Suspiciously Specific Denial.

26 Aug 2023, 09:05

Now before all this 'voices' stuff gets too out of hand (although seeing as it takes up around two pages I may be too late

DAY EIGHTEEN

Well, the Chinese invasion is certainly going well.

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Fig. 46 The Yellow Army marches southwest.

I now hold most of China's cities; there's a couple in the south I'm taking later today, and a bunch up in the west that still seem to be fortified heavily enough to provide a challenge, but the real fight's nearly over. Once I hold all of them, and can hang onto them, all I have to do is squash the pockets of resistance, having removed all means for them to produce more armies to throw at me.

In order to actually take all of China, I'm declaring war on United Kingdom as well. As a surprise attack, of course.

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Fig. 47 Like I needed another powerful enemy.

I'll probably do the same to Communist China later today, depending on how quickly my new wave of militia goes. At this rate I'll be due for my Veteran Green Beret achievement by the end of the game (I only got the Rookie one last game, and that barely).

Mongolia has asked what I'm doing sending stuff through their territory, the first correspondence we've had since agreeing to a nonaggression pact. I forget how sketchy this can look to someone who doesn't have access to your map, and I told them exactly what I was doing.

Mongolia has also started invading Xinjiang.

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Fig. 48 Get your filthy claws off my territory!

[The caption in my original commentary was very different; I changed it because a) it included an expletive I don't think would pass in this forum, and b) it was an obsure pop-cultural reference. This is the bowdlerised version that still has pretty much the same meaning.

Anyone who can work out what the original caption was from this information, let me know.]

Well, that's their fate sealed. I'm definitely invading them now. I could maybe have given Mongolia a pass if I wanted to sacrifice the Qing and just get all of modern-day China, but they're not getting actual Chinese land if I can prevent it. Not for long, anyway.

I now have a few new spare militia units floating around in Qing China, which have gone towards my project to invade the Communists while I still have a decent amount of force in the area anyway and Mongolia and China occupying sufficient quantities of its border to limit counterinvasion potential. I think they actually start with more units than I do, which is kinda stupid when you think about it, but so be it. Does mean I'm absolutely pouring militia over the border, and have artillery on its way.

I've started researching level one nukes, and am preparing for paratroopers to drop into Japan. If I build three I get a 500-gold achievement, so there's that.

...come to think of it, if I as a Pan-Asian player somehow have nukes on Day Eighteen (and I'm not sure why HWW gives them out early), other people do as well, and both of my major enemies are Pan-Asian as well. I should probably start building anti-air to park in my major cities and hope nobody's going as far as nuclear rockets like I am.

26 Aug 2023, 16:13

Lady Aragosta wrote:
I'm slightly mad that this entire discussion took place while I was offline.
CMDR. Wolf wrote:
I read it in a aristocratic female voice; with a slight tang of royal to it. It's hard to describe, but when I read I just automatically assign a voice to what I'm reading and don't have a second thought about it, or intentionally try to change that reading voice.
When I'm reading my own posts they always come back as Queen Elizabeth I from Shakespeare in Love. Buggered if I know why.
Carking the 6th wrote:
British accent of course, if that wasn’t what you were going for (most royals in medieval England spoke French!)
Not entirely inappropriate; my profile picture is of a Roman matron (Livia Drusilla to be exact, and my favourite female historical figure of all time) and a lot of media show the Romans with British accents.
I have a sort of 'generic' voice I assign to most things I read, which is hard for me to pin down as it's in what I think of as an accent-less voice, but a few of the people on this forum get some more distinctive ones:
Carking the 6th: Has a touch of an American accent (if I had to guess what type I'd probably say New York, but I don't know enough about different American accents to be sure), mostly because he uses American spellings for at least some words
Claudio NVKP: One of those posh American men who do voiceovers in mid-20th-century radio programmes and videos
Lord Crayfish: Usually my default one, but picks up a Dutch accent when he posts something that includes Dutch
That Polish Guy: Eastern European accent, obviously; my knowledge on such accents means I lump them all together and can't get any more specific than that. Often unduly enthusiastic and loud for some reason, which probably says more about me than it does you
And also:
K. Rokossovsky: Canadian accent for some weird reason; possibly because one of my better (and more entertaining) teachers was Canadian.

Do I get a cool accent, lol? Carking already told me I was Overlord from Modern Warfare with a slightly younger-sounding pitch.

"たわごと" - Last words from the Japanese 9th Artillery Regiment before being pounded into oblivion by Manchu Battleship "Zhèngxiāngbái"

26 Aug 2023, 16:14

CMDR. Wolf wrote:
Lady Aragosta wrote:
I'm slightly mad that this entire discussion took place while I was offline.
CMDR. Wolf wrote:
I read it in a aristocratic female voice; with a slight tang of royal to it. It's hard to describe, but when I read I just automatically assign a voice to what I'm reading and don't have a second thought about it, or intentionally try to change that reading voice.
When I'm reading my own posts they always come back as Queen Elizabeth I from Shakespeare in Love. Buggered if I know why.
Carking the 6th wrote:
British accent of course, if that wasn’t what you were going for (most royals in medieval England spoke French!)
Not entirely inappropriate; my profile picture is of a Roman matron (Livia Drusilla to be exact, and my favourite female historical figure of all time) and a lot of media show the Romans with British accents.I have a sort of 'generic' voice I assign to most things I read, which is hard for me to pin down as it's in what I think of as an accent-less voice, but a few of the people on this forum get some more distinctive ones:
Carking the 6th: Has a touch of an American accent (if I had to guess what type I'd probably say New York, but I don't know enough about different American accents to be sure), mostly because he uses American spellings for at least some words
Claudio NVKP: One of those posh American men who do voiceovers in mid-20th-century radio programmes and videos
Lord Crayfish: Usually my default one, but picks up a Dutch accent when he posts something that includes Dutch
That Polish Guy: Eastern European accent, obviously; my knowledge on such accents means I lump them all together and can't get any more specific than that. Often unduly enthusiastic and loud for some reason, which probably says more about me than it does you
And also:
K. Rokossovsky: Canadian accent for some weird reason; possibly because one of my better (and more entertaining) teachers was Canadian.
Do I get a cool accent, lol? Carking already told me I was Overlord from Modern Warfare with a slightly younger-sounding pitch.

I got reznov from COD WAW

26 Aug 2023, 18:04

Lady Aragosta wrote:
Now before all this 'voices' stuff gets too out of hand (although seeing as it takes up around two pages I may be too late

Seeing the two replies under you, it’s too late.

Lady Aragosta wrote:
Fig. 48 Get your filthy claws off my territory!
[The caption in my original commentary was very different; I changed it because a) it included an expletive I don't think would pass in this forum, and b) it was an obsure pop-cultural reference. This is the bowdlerised version that still has pretty much the same meaning.
Anyone who can work out what the original caption was from this information, let me know.]

Get your Fascist claws off my Union! Of course, that must be what you said comrade, welcome to the revolution!

Lady Aragosta wrote:
Well, that's their fate sealed. I'm definitely invading them now. I could maybe have given Mongolia a pass if I wanted to sacrifice the Qing and just get all of modern-day China, but they're not getting actual Chinese land if I can prevent it. Not for long, anyway.

Xinjiang, Chinese land? Hmm… interesting

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

27 Aug 2023, 01:29

CMDR. Wolf wrote:
Do I get a cool accent, lol? Carking already told me I was Overlord from Modern Warfare with a slightly younger-sounding pitch.

'fraid not. Not from me, anyway. Probably because I've been interacting with the others for a while but only found out you existed when you signed up as Manchukuo in Carking's HWW, but to be honest my voice-assigning is pretty arbitrary anyway.

Carking the 6th wrote:
Seeing the two replies under you, it’s too late.

It would appear so. At least there's now a bit of variation in the discussion (not that the existing topic wasn't interesting, but I always like two discussions going on in one thread, particularly when one post tries to participate in both).

Carking the 6th wrote:
Get your Fascist claws off my Union! Of course, that must be what you said comrade, welcome to the revolution!

Not it. I wouldn't hesitate to put 'fascist' in a forum post should the occasion arise. [EDIT: although it would have to be a good occasion, because throwing it around as a generic insult is tantamount to invoking Godwin's Law.]

Carking the 6th wrote:
Xinjiang, Chinese land? Hmm… interesting

Frankly I'm not sure why Xinjiang is an independent country at all. It was an 'autonomous region' (still is, and appears to have been for most of its history) but still part of China. Mind you I'm getting this off a quick scan of a Wikipedia article to make sure I'm actually right before posting it, so I can't vouch for its accuracy.

27 Aug 2023, 02:08

Xinjiang is part of China, but the Native Ugyhur Muslims are facing genocide. China has created concentration camps and is moving in Han Chinese to replace them. It’s sort of like Tibet; taken over by China but still an independent people. Unfortunately the CCP has failed the revolution and is following the same path as the Nazis! Disappointing!

Also Godwin’s law is like the 4th funniest internet law I’ve heard and I love it.

CarKing the 6th of the Abrahamic Caliphate

27 Aug 2023, 03:30

Lady Aragosta wrote:
CMDR. Wolf wrote:
Do I get a cool accent, lol? Carking already told me I was Overlord from Modern Warfare with a slightly younger-sounding pitch.
'fraid not. Not from me, anyway. Probably because I've been interacting with the others for a while but only found out you existed when you signed up as Manchukuo in Carking's HWW, but to be honest my voice-assigning is pretty arbitrary anyway.

Existing in your eyes is a W in my book, especially considering I'm signing up as Manchuko in the HWW round. However, I've been playing CoW since 2021; and my tactics aren't that of a normal player. You, Lady Aragosta, and your title of Empress, perhaps shall find themselves rather bewildered.

"たわごと" - Last words from the Japanese 9th Artillery Regiment before being pounded into oblivion by Manchu Battleship "Zhèngxiāngbái"

27 Aug 2023, 04:36

CMDR. Wolf wrote:
Existing in your eyes is a W in my book, especially considering I'm signing up as Manchuko in the HWW round. However, I've been playing CoW since 2021; and my tactics aren't that of a normal player. You, Lady Aragosta, and your title of Empress, perhaps shall find themselves rather bewildered.

I'm looking forward to it.

I don't necessarily use normal tactics either, but I have yet to discern if that's a good or a bad thing in my case.

27 Aug 2023, 04:38

Carking the 6th wrote:
Also Godwin’s law is like the 4th funniest internet law I’ve heard and I love it.