Germany under the 1.02 Patch

[dag231]

Germany tested under the 1.02 patch....

Very Hard/Furious settings....

HOUSE RULE: no diplomatic actions other than declaring war until 1938....

Preparation:

1. Assign 1 General to every unit - get the experience...

SUGGESTION 1 - leaders who are not assigned the full amount they can take (Field Marshalls with 12 divisions, etc) should have their dissent levels rise...

SUGGESTION 2 - leaders have their abilties listed in the ledger and in a sortable column (beside rank and skill).. also experience...

2. Move everything to the Polish border except 3 divisions in each of Saarbrucken, Stuffgart and Freiburg (to keep France honest).

SUGGESTION 3 - Diplomatic Action when a country moves a certain number of troops against a border of another country. Say a ceiling of 3 units per bordering province - anything more and a DA pops up whereby I have to stand down or the country in question goes off in search of allies....

3. Research infantry.

4. All provinces get Improving Industrial Capacity from Jan 1.

5. Install Himler as Security Minister.


Goal: Take Poland out ASAP, get the experience the troops need and then swing aroundif necessary to deal with France....

 

[dag231]

The Polish Winter War

January 9, 1936 - war is declared on Poland....

General staff uses concentrated force backed up by air superiority tactics and massive tactical bombing...

January 12 - horrible weather slows progress....

January 20 - Danzig finally falls.. troops reach the Wisla River

Heavy resistance in Krakow by Polish Field Marshall Smigly-Ryrz and in Torum under Swylling....

February 5 - Vermacht crosses the Wisla River

February 12 - Krakow falls

Polish Foreign Minister Jozef Bock pleads with the Allies for help, but France and Britain unwilling to declare war.....

February 25 - Bug River crossed....

February 26 - Bock meets with Foreign Minister Neurath - unconditional surrender offered.... initally refused so troops can get more experience.....

SUGGESTION 4 - when a peace treaty is refused, other nations should be more resentful towarfds agressive nation, ala EU2....

February 30 - Poland annexed...

Minister of Security Himmler and Minister of Intelligence Canaris both stress that England is unprepared to commit themselves to a conflict and France does not want to go it alone...

British Foreign Minister Antony Eden proposes a Great Power summit, but Neurath sucessfully brushes the offer aside....

Cheif of Staff Beck offers up the Baltic States as something to acquire - would put Leningrad in serious danger in any Russian conflict.....

Von Fritsch, the Army Chief wants a pre-emptive strike against France through Luxenbourg, bypassing the Maginot Line, but is voted down.....

The Baltic States it is....

 

[dag231]

Allies Declare War

The Baltic States fall fairly quickly:

March 1 - Lithuania war (annexed on March 12)
March 14 - Latvia war (annexed on March 21)
March 14, 1936 - Estonia war (annexed on March 23)

Dissent from these wars rises to 7%... grim, but necessary.....

March 20 build: 3x armour (artillery), infantry (artillery) and tactical bombers.....

Strategic Redeployment - 3 divisions to Koln, rest to Rumania to capture the oilfields...

BUT

March 26 - Allies declare war....

Everything gets shipped to Koln and to reinforce the French border. Given the fortifications on the Maginot Line, best bet is to swing through Luxenbourg and try to encircle the French armies...

 

[dag231]

The Battle for France:

March 26 - Allies Declare War:

The plan is to thrust into Luxenborg and create a Maginot Line pocket.

To this end, Luxrnbourg is declared war on, attacked, and annexed on April 2.

The word from Canaris is that the French might fall if their beloved Paris is captured. Himmler scoffs at this "Capital Attack" Doctrine, but Panzer Field Marshalls von Mannstein and Schoerner take it upon themselves to drive to Paris.

On May 19, Paris falls. ON the 20th, Petain offers a conditional surrender, the condition being the creation of a Vichy France.

Never.

Bu July, the Maginot Line Pocket is starting to take shape. Why France has not moved the forces out, given the feeble line of resistance within Germany, is beyond all out military comprehension.

There are a few problems in the Alpines....

And the British, aside from bombing all of Germany, do make their insignificant presence felt....

But, by last October, the die is cast.

Why the British did not make a better attempt at an invasion is unknown. A huge opportunity for them. Same with Czechoslovakia and Russia.

The last stand:

Finally, the final blow is put in place...

On November 2, 1936, the last French soldier on the continent has surrendered.

Continental France is no more...

Superior technology, better officers by a damn wide margin, and Mass Concentration Doctrine couple with extensive tactical bombing is what did France in. That plus the fact that, aside from British nuisance bombing, she was fighting alone.

SUGGESTION 5 - a more opportunitistic AI would be very welcome. Much like the AI in EU2, where it would join into campaigns when it sniffed blood. That, plus an AI that takes into account Mass Concentration Doctrine and Combined Forces Doctrine....

 

[unmerged(11493)]

This is an interesting take on playing Germany and by that I mean completely different from what I've been doing. After a fling with France under 1.01 I found out that the Anschluss and Czechoslovakia crises are canned events when I thought it was up to me as the player to drive these issues by influence, demands, coups, or war. Now I don't do *anything* other than economic fiddling, research, and building until after I have annexed the Czech and spun off Axis Slovakia under Tiso. Good economic policy via world trade is critical to getting the most out of German industry as you are short of steel not to mention rubber and have less coal to trade than before. Building more IC is pretty pointless at this time.

The fruits of this effort: I have basic multi-role fighters (FW-190A), naval and tactical bombers (Ju-88s), improved anti-tank rockets, and virtually all land doctrines in 1938 (boku organization! mech divs are up to 115).

Thanks for the screenshots... I would be too nervous about a French counterattack from Strasbourg or a Belgian offensive into Luxemborg with only one division there, even though I don't think that the AI is good enough to take that opportunity. Talk about the mother of all pockets if they had done that to you! I shudder to think about the supply issues that would cause being cut off from Germany like that.

 

[Tim O]

BY rejecting the Vichy settelment you have to waste a year of game time to hunt down every French colony to annex it.

 

[unmerged(11493)]

Originally posted by Timothy Ortiz
BY rejecting the Vichy settelment you have to waste a year of game time to hunt down every French colony to annex it.

You don't get them by settling with Vichy anyway. Taking all of metropolitan France gives you ports on the Med.. Very handy if Benito doesn't want to join the party, or you decide not to even ask the fella. I plan on taking this approach in my current game and using naval bombers and U-boots from the Riveria to harass British shipping.

 

[dag231]

Vichy France is Useless to Germany.. in a way...

Only thing good about Vichy France is not having to kill all those units.. no French colonies..... upside though is all that lovely experience....... Vichy France also means you dont get those ICs...

 

[dag231]

Conference Concerning Options Available for the Third Reich

Air Force Chief of Staff Herman Goring orders up 5 squadrons of fighters, due in May of 1937.

Security Minister Heinrich Himmler and Intelligence Minister Wilhelm Canaris both agree that the Low Countries pose an unreasonable risk to Fortress Europe.

Foreign Minister Constantin Neurath holds meetings with Belgium and Netherlands officials, but this is merely a ruse to delay their running to the Allies while the Vehrmacht strategically re-deploy along the borders.

November 8, 1936 – Belgium Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak pleads to the Allies for strategic reinforcements. Fortunately, Canaris intercepts the cable and before London can respond, war is declared on the 9th.

By the 12th, Belgium is but a memory on the continent. On the 14th, it is the Netherlands’ turn. On the 22nd, they are done like toast.

Chief of Staff Ludwick Beck calls a conference for the 25th to discuss military options.

The options on the table:
1. Preparation for the Invasion of Britain – Naval Chief of Staff Erich Raeder argues that any realistic invasion is two years away, at the least. 30 to 40 transports flotillas plus 20 to 30 capital ships and submarines in support are necessary to make any invasion feasible. Very, very backburner.

2. Northern Scandinavian Push – Beck warns that committing troops to the North means they are not available elsewhere, and opens up extra opportunities for the Allies to get a foothold in Europe. Better to keep the North neutral for now. Agreed by most.

3. Romania – Armaments Minister Hjalmar Schacht pushes hard for this, arguing that the Ploiesti and the Craiova oilfields are essential to any long-term military effort. No objections by anyone.

4. Czechoslovakia – pretty much everyone in the room wants to reclaim the Sudenland, but Neurath argues successfully that an at5ack will be wasted – a diplomatic solution will easily happen, as the Czechs have pretty much been abandoned. Its just a matter of time until they fold.

5. Austria – the Aunsluss weighs heavily on everyone’s mind….but, again, Neurath argues that a peaceful solution, allowing full annexation is just around the corner.

6. Russia. Like the Sword of Damocles, Russia sits there. Most agree that it is a matter of when, not if, the attack will have to take place. Army Chief Werner von Fritsch rightfully argues that an attack on Russia right now would be suicidal. Russia outnumbers the Vehrmacht in every key asset category – the Red Army is currently up to 65 army divisions and 15 air squadrons. Field Marshall von Mannstein dismisses the comparison though, citing that the difference between the technologically-advanced and battle-hardened Vehrmacht and the corruption-riddled and dissention-filled Red Army is “the difference between schnapps and potato gin”.

The choice comes down to Romania and Russia.

Oilfields vs. the Ideological Enemy.

Canaris puts forward intelligence briefings on how Stalin is dissatisfied by Red Army leadership and could be preparing purges. Better to wait until they are totally demoralized, and then strike. After several bottles of the finest French wines Paris had to offer – from Goering’s personal cellar, it is agreed to form up 10 divisions of artillery-backed infantry to bolster the Russian Front.

While this is happening, Romania will fall.

November 26, 1936 – war on Romania.

The Romanians are woefully outclassed, but Field Marshall Antonsceu does a gritty job in defence, forcing several retreats including a terrific defence on Insi.

January 1, 1937, Schacht informs that, thanks to the Industrial Capacity Increase Program, industrial capacity is up to 398.

January 16, 1937 – Piatra Neavant falls as does Bucharesti. Romanian Foreign Minister Nicholas Titulescu offers an unconditional surrender, but Neurath is forced to decline it, as Fritsch wants to get more experience for his officers.

February 4, 1937 – all Romanian forces surrender and Rumania is annexed.

 

[unmerged(11493)]

All that fighting and only 292 IC to show for it. I was getting 322 as Germany alone after I did some crude figuring by pencil and paper on how best to to split the surplus coal between rubber and steel. I did 3:1 coal for rubber and 2:1 coal for steel to ensure I would have takers. My numbers showed 320 was optimum. I guess that extra 2 was my Schacht "genius" bonus? Whoop-dee-doo. lol

 

[dag231]

Hmmm.....

Havent really dealt with the world market yet......I have more than enough coal, steel and most likely oil, to last a while....

 

[unmerged(11493)]

At base efficency, every day for each IC you need 2 coal, 1 steel, and 0.5 rubber. The best picture of what is happening can be found in the ledger as the second economics breakdown screen, the daily resource flow. Get to know this table well. It is the most useful thing in the whole ledger IMHO.

It appears you were being limited by rubber. Given that your oil stockpile is healthy, my guess is that you took that screenie just after Romania fell and you aquired their stockpile. You may see an immediate jump in your IC now to the maximum but it may drop off after that. I find short term swings in IC level annoying as it requires messing about with the finky sliders often... so I prefer to tune trades (laying big orders first immediately after the game starts before everyone clamors for their share of rubber) so that the net accumulation of these three is zero or slightly positive. I want IC now more than I want to stockpile resources, with the exception of oil, which isn't used for IC anyway unless it is being converted.

Get all the natural rubber you can on the market, so that as much oil as possible gets stockpiled for your military ops rather than being used up by the conversion plants. I've not seen what happens to the world market after you go to war with the Allies yet... it should force conversion on you after that I think. But in my present game I'm not converting at all, yet.

 

[unmerged(2695)]

Congratulations

You have certainly played the game like nothing I've ever tried, even in 1.00. Too shackled by history I'm afraid.

How large losses did you have when defeating France?

 

[unmerged(8915)]

hm, waiting for events? i would condemn it as somewhat questionable, but you explain it so well...

but kudos on the screenshots

 

[unmerged(1502)]

Inexplicable Anglo-Gallic Letharagy

This is a very good game but the better the game the harder it is to have good AI.

I'm playing the same game, Patch 1.02, Germay Very Hard/ Furious and it's a walkover. I've conquered (in order) Austria, Chezchoslovokia, Hungary Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland, England (British Isles) in 1936, in 1937 I rolled over France and the Benelux, Greece, Egypt, India, Burma, Gibraltar (con permisso) North Africa and the far east. In 1938 I took out Austrailia, Denmark, Norway and generally mopped up (British & French fleets et,) and built better tanks for my '39 invasion of the USSR. I've stopped playing because it's just too silly. What's after Russia? I've got more IC's than the US now.

The AI is appaling. The British didn't even try to stop me invading. I also invaded France (from England) at which point most of their army pulled out of the Maginot line and went on a wild-goose chase after Rommel and a panzer division in the south of France.

Patch 1.02 made a big difference (you can't just crack the Maginot line any more) but the AI is so silly if you do anything imaginative it can't cope. I don't see what can be done about it.

 

[dag231]

AI

The AI does seem a bit limited, so thats why no alliances for me....

Losses in France were minimal - a few divisions at most....

 

[dag231]

Interlude

INT. EAGLE'S NEST -- DAY

Third Reich Armaments Minister HJALMAR SCHACHT - balding, slightly portly, with a trace of a limp - pours himself a cup of coffee. Looking out the window, the beautiful German Alps look inviting.

Intelligence Minister WILHELM CANARIS - regal, Prussian military look, Aryan - approaches.

CANARIS
Ah. A beautiful morning.

SCHACHT
Yes, but wasted on yet another meeting.

CANARIS
Oh, don't be so disagreeable, Hjalmar. The Rumanian oilfields are ours, as you wanted.

SCHACHT
But the extra divisions are putting a huge strain on our resources. We risk letting the Russians catch up to us in technology.

Security Minister HEINRICH HIMMLER - swarmy, bookish, nebbish little schemer, like a rat that grew - silently walks up behind the conversation.

HIMMLER
Such talk is almost treasonable, Herr Schacht.

Both Schacht and Canaris turn to see Himmler stepping out of the shadows.

CANARIS
Heinrich - so good of you to sneak up on us like that.

SCHACHT
The Fuhrer knows my loyalty, Herr Himmler.

CANARIS
If you don't play nice, Heindrich, maybe I should ask Reinhard to join us in these meetings.

Canaris laughs. Himmler, for a moment, looks wounded, but then he too starts to laugh.

SCHACHT
Reinhard?

CANARIS
Reinhard Heydrich. A very ambitious young officer.

Naval Chief of Staff Reich ERICH RAEDER - stately in his appearance - pokes his head up from the buffet table.

RAEDER
Gentlemen, gentlemen. Enough idle banter. Will you support my bid for an invasion fleet?

CANARIS
Erich, you must see someone about these delusions of grandeur episodes you have. Invade England? When there are 60 divisions poised on our East?

RAEDER
Yes, but it will be at least two years before the fleet will be ready. Surely by then the Communists will be dealt with.

Air Force Chief of Staff HERMAN GOERING - fat, the kind of fat you rarely see outside of prized hogs rolling around in the mud inside a pen - walks in.

GOERING
Just let my Luftwaffe take care of England and Russia.

RAEDER
Speaking of delusions of grandeur.

An OLD SERVANT walks in.

OLD SERVANT
Herr Ministers - the Conference is about to begin.

All file into the conference room.

 

[dag231]

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- LATER

Pleasant room with full, floor-to-ceilings windows offering a stunning view of the Alps.

Goering, Himmler, Canaris, Raeder, Schacht, Foreign Minister CONSTANTIN NEURATH - nebbish, Chief of staff LUDWICK BECK - battle-hardened soldier but still retaining that small-town wonder deer-in-the headlights look when an imaginative idea comes into his head, and Army Chief WERNER VON FRITSCH - ancient and scholarly, are present.

RAEDER
But keeping England alive means bombs will continue to drop all over Germany.

GOERING
How dare you! It is not the Luftwaffe's fault but an absolute lack of squadrons.

SCHACHT
I will not stand to be made a scapegoat for your incompetence.

BECK
Gentlemen - please. Herman, Hjalmar - there is no blame being assigned here.

RAEDER
The simplest solution is to prepare an invasion fleet and the bombing will stop.

FRITSCH
And what happens if we land 20 or so divisions in England and they are trapped there? What if the fleet gets sunk and Russia decides to take that exact moment to be opportunistic?

BECK
Erich - I have to agree with Werner. It is just not feasible to invade England quite yet.

Raeder does not look happy. Since his fleet is just patrolling the Northern Passage, he looks bored.

BECK
But, I think we could come up with a feasibility study on the matter.

Schacht starts to protest.

BECK
A feasibility study, Hjalmar. Nothing more. Let's get through the current round of technological research and the infantry deployment, and then we can begin planning a German British Isles.

Much murmuring.

NEURATH
Well, what about Hungary?

HIMMLER
Hungary is fascist, Constantin.

BECK
Yes, but it is not our kind of fascism. And the Fuhrer never liked that tin-plated dictator, Horthy.

FRITSCH
What is your idea, Neurath?

NEURATH
We have 32 divisions in the area. At best, Hungary can field 12. We redeploy ten divisions to the Russian front, just to keep Stalin honest.

CANARIS
As if ten divisions could do that.

NEURATH
Then take Hungary.

HIMMLER
Hungary is almost useless to us.

NEURATH
Yes, but what it does do is almost encircle the Czechs.

An eagle soars outside the window.

CANARIS
Ah, I see your point. They will have to sue for peace when they are surrounded. We take the Czechs without firing a shot.

NEURATH
Well, I doubt they will go that quietly, but essentially, yes.

BECK
Wilhelm, any further news on the Russians?

CANARIS
Same as before. Much dissension within the officer corps and that Stalin is growing weary of the bickering.

A pause as servants refill the wine glasses.

FRITSCH
By taking Hungary, it also affords us an opportunity to eliminate the soft underbelly problem.

BECK
Yugoslavia?

FRITSCH
Yes, and Italy.

HIMMLER
Monarchs in Europe should not be tolerated.

CANARIS
Or strutting peacocks like Mussolini.

Much laughter.

BECK
So, it is agreed then. A redeployment and then a Hungary crushing.

SCHACHT
One thing I would like to raise as a talking point is Turkey.

BECK
Turkey?

SCHACHT
Yes - by taking Turkey we allow ourselves striking distance of the Russian oilfields as well as the Middle East. We could control a substantial portion of the world's oil

FRITSCH
Forgive my geography, Hjalmar, but inst Bulgaria in the way.

Schacht smiles.

SCHACHT
Of course.

 

[dag231]

Hungary

Hungary Front Pre-Invasion:

February 8 - war declared on Hungary. Hungarian Lt. General Bisca puts up a spirited fight in Budapest and then Vesprem, but it was just not meant to be for the Hungarians.

February 22 - Hungary is annexed.

 

[dag231]

Tragedy

EXT. EAGLE'S NEST -- LATER

Goering and Schacht are outside, enjoying the fresh air when Beck walks towards them.

BECK
The 2nd Luftwaffe squadron was wiped out by the Americans.

GOERING
What?

BECK
In Endhoven, this morning.

GOERING
You see - I told you we needed more squadrons.

SCHACHT
What good will they do? The American technological lead is overwhelming in aviation. We should consolidate and research.

GOERING
I want 20 squadrons as soon as possible.

SCHACHT
That Is insane. It will grind research to a halt.

Beck pauses for a moment, reflecting.

BECK
I agree. 20 new squadrons placed strategically in numbers should halt the bombings. Do it.

An exasperated Schacht walks away.

GOERING
He is like the voice of doom, that man.

BECK
Yes. Never a sunny moment with Hjalmar.

Fritsch approaches, drunk as usual.

FRITSCH
Ludwig, Fat Boy. What a beautiful day.

GOERING
Surprised you are still standing, Werner.

FRITSCH
Nonsense. Good Bavarian boys are taught from the time they could stand how to drink and drink well.

BECK
About your Bulgarian plan. About the experience your commanders need.

FRITSCH
Yes?

BECK
I think its very doable. Order the reployment and then the attack.

FRITSCH
Excellent. That calls for a drink to celebrate.