Poles Apart – an HOI4 Ahistory

[TheExecuter]

In the east, the initial resting places for the evacuated CSE divisions were essentially stripped of available supplies by 8 June, so the men were sent to new garrisons further south, where the logisticians of the British Raj could hopefully assist their rebuilding better.

Not retreat, sir...redeploy!

Ahem...yes, redeploy...

Rome was occupied easily by 2100hr on 9 July. A futile Italian counter-attack was defeated early on the 11th, the enemy taking heavy casualties and inflicting none. Italy was pushed closer to surrender, but fought on after Mussolini shifted his capital all the way south to Palermo in Sicily.

One wonders how sick of war at this point the average Italian is...

But by the following morning, they had capitulated, with Estonia going under French military occupation. This was also good news for Poland, with an Allied-held front now active along the northern border with the USR. Though the garrison left behind by the end of the month seemed rather puny for the task!

I have a bad feeling about this...

 

[BenKerryAltis]

When is the next AAR coming up?

 

[Bullfilter]

When is the next AAR coming up?

A day or so

 

[BenKerryAltis]

A day or so

So, today?

 

[Bullfilter]

Not necessarily (depending on time zones). It means a day or maybe two

 

[Bullfilter]

Bam. Victory.



The importance of a navy demonstrated once again...



So, why was Sinkiang chosen as the target for the Polish expeditionary force?

This whole area seems like a poor place to be attacking...but there could be strategic value?



I'm sorry...what?

That doesn't seem possible or probable...

In this TTL, Poland continues to rely on its Allies for the naval effort and just hopes it's not more incompetent than the enemy factions!

Sinkiang - well, it is explained a bit around that time in the AAR and discussion, but mainly it was to try to keep China in the war and get some experience fighting and supplying (both for in-game troops and for me playing the game). There wasn't much else going on at the time that we wanted to really get involved in and that we could try to make a difference in ...

Re Italy: yep, that's what I thought!Just had to whack-a-mole all over again.

Not retreat, sir...redeploy!

Ahem...yes, redeploy...



One wonders how sick of war at this point the average Italian is...



I have a bad feeling about this...

Indeed: advancing rearwards!

Estonia and the Eastern Front? All in good time

 

[Bullfilter]

Have managed to finish off the last chapter for August '47, so here's final comment feedback:

Nice! That would be a really significant victory if you can pull it off!

Still lots of work to be done there before a full encirclement can be completed. But the Allies, led by the Finns, are certainly being bold there!

I hope the large number of Allied units remains a manageable problem. I notice a lot of those divisions sitting behind the lines have very poor supply and I think this is potentially what's preventing them from advancing. I have seen sometimes with my own units under AI orders (albeit on a much earlier build) where the game has told me units can't move because of lack of supply.

Agreed. I'm hoping in this case numbers can prevail over crowding and poor supply. Even with the poor supply, I can still use selective attacks from the Poles to keep things ticking along, I hope.

This could possibly work to your advantage? I assume Soviet supply now has to route all the way from Vladivostok, so with Moscow in Polish hands they may not have the railroad junctions they need to get that supply to all parts of the front.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of.

I have seen the Soviet Union defeated in the late game when there's a lot of AI unit spam, so I remain optimistic this will all work out. I just might take a while to get there if supply becomes a major obstacle.

Yes, will try to expedite their fall where we can. The eventual clash between the returning Allies and the MAB should be titanic ... and almost completely unsupplied.

All things considered, it would probably be better if there isn't another Allied landing here.

Yes, they have many troops to spare, but why waste them there?

Looks pretty good, but you will now have a two-province front to defend. I hope you get more Allied support and the Americans don't manage to force a way through one of those provinces with their superior numbers.

Not getting much help in the west - things are now looking grim there.

This is looking a lot better than it was. I think it's just a case of figuring out a sustainable tempo for future operations.

That's the trick. Though we'll still push hard with the light tank divs when necessary, even if the deficits remain, just to keep the momentum going, though I would rather rebuild their strength.

The ultimate defence of Russia - slogging through the Steppes.

At least now the Allies are doing it in earnest. Gone are the old days of only those C-Y offensives to assist!

One has to feel a little sorry for those troops in Borneo, but Borneo ultimately isn't that important. Australia is rather more so. Triage, as it were.

Agreed. And I remain concerned for the viability of Australia's defence against the US onslaught.

Your fleet means it uses your fuel. But the port will provide its own supply. Poland would just need enough fuel for the fleet to get there, and enough for operations in the area.

Right, thanks, good to know.

On the bottom row with all the generals, when you select one, does a horizontal list of buttons pop up (in addition to the normal frontline orders)?

Ah, I checked and found the last stand button. Do the effects apply only when missions are assigned or when (as I do) all the divs are being micromanaged? I basically never use the AI army missions..

Agreed. From what I remember, the Siberian Railway is not built up very well. It could also have lots of gaps. You should definitely look towards cutting it off.

Actual question is how to support a Siberian campaign against TRA in the future with such a bad supply line.

Interdicting Siberian rail line is indeed a good idea, would strongly recommend that

Interesting. Though getting to it will be the trick ... maybe a punch through and swing across it once I can rest 1st Army up a bit, but supply is going to be a problem.

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter One Hundred and Eleven: Uderzenie na Północ (Strike to the North)
(19-31 August 1947)

Polish troops from 104 DPR (a reserve division) fight in the streets of Novgorod, 20 August 1947. [MS Copilot]

=======​

Eastern Front: Northern Sector

Polish units led the thrust north to Novgorod from 19-20 August 1947, but their advance guard – a by now disorganised reserve division with very little supplies – encountered a recently arrived Soviet infantry division when they arrived on 20 August. A quick cross-river attack was attempted, but it stood a low chance of success.

​

It was called off early the following morning and 104 DPR, at that time well in advance of the main advance, waited for reinforcements to arrive.

​

More troops had closed up on Novgorod by the 22st but it was only another reserve division and, despite putting in a more determined assault, it too had clearly failed by that evening and was called off.

​

But to the west, the bold Allies thrust from Petrograd had advanced again. The thinly held corridor had almost joined up with the Allied forces advancing from the south, where a battle was under way east of Pskov to cut off a long thin pocket containing 12 Soviet divisions.

​

Though seemingly lightly held and vulnerable to counter-attack, the long salient was closed off by the end of 24 August. While Polish troops in the area continued to consolidate and tried to reorganise and resupply, the Allies had closed up to Novgorod and were attacking, though again with little progress being made.

​

But this battle was eventually reinforced by Polish and other Allied troops and a victory was won on the evening of 26 August, and by the morning of the 27th the Allies were heavily reinforcing the Petrograd Salient.

​

Despite the earlier victory, the Soviets had managed to get another division into Novgorod before it could be occupied, requiring another attack on 29 August. This time, five French, Polish and German divisions made the assault and enemy resistance looked to be wilting.

​

Indeed, another victory was soon won and the Germans were the first to arrive at midday on the 30th – and subjected to an immediate fierce counter-attack as they waited for their colleagues to back them up.

​

But to the west, the Allies had poured enormous strength into their long salient, shutting off the trapped Soviet forces to their west in a vice-like grip.

As the month ended, it seemed as many as 14 Soviet divisions had been trapped, out of supply and with little apparent hope for rescue. Pskov had fallen some time before and the pocket was already being compressed.

​

Novgorod had held and been reinforced. The next objective would be to create another pocket, this time by a further drive north towards Volkhov.

=======​

Eastern Front: Central Sector

The Poles continued to conserve their effort in the Central Sector, with so many other Allied divisions in play, supply at a premium and the R&R program for 1st Army still under way. However, there was still active fighting in places and on 21 August General Marian Kukiel, commander 5th Army, got a little to close to it. He was wounded by artillery fire and would require a period of convalescence but retained command of the ‘Reserve’ army.

​

Although in a less aggressive mode, this did not mean the Poles were inactive and on 22 August a general advance to the front was ordered for many of the still-recovering (and poorly supplied) divisions as a general push north continued.

​

Another small milestone was achieved with the occupation of Ivanovo on 23 August by a Franco-German force.

​

While the general Allied advance continued for the rest of the month, no major battles involving the Poles were fought.

=======​

Eastern Front: Southern Sector

There was heavier action in the Southern sector in the last part of August as the Allies, with more direct Polish support in this area, sought to keep pushing east across the Volga after having secured Saratov and Volgograd. The Soviets suffered a heavy defeat north-east of Volgograd and another to its south-east on 20 August.

​

But an initial attempt to take Engels was defeated with heavy (mainly French) casualties on the afternoon of the 22nd.

More widely across the whole Eastern Front, supply at this time had perhaps improved a little but remained low at the front, with heavy fighting all along the Southern and Caucasus sectors. This also explained the decreased Polish tempo in the Central sector.

​

The earlier surrender of the Georgian SSR had now been followed up by the strong occupation of the Polish Occupation Zone by some 8th Army and many more Allied divisions. On 24 June, the Poles made a drive north across the mountains towards Nalchik.

​

As the month ended, a heavy round of fighting (mainly led by the Allies) had been renewed in the Northern and Central sectors as the months progress had pushed the Soviets further towards surrender.

​

As the month ended, the Allies maintained air superiority over most of the Eastern Front. In the Central Russian and Western Steppe Air Zones, the Polish Air Force had held the upper hand and losses remained sustainable.

=======​

Middle East, Iran & Central Asia

On 21 August, even as the Soviets mounted a determined attack west of Kerman, the Poles spotted an opportunity for an attack of their own just to the south. It would succeed exactly two days later, while reinforcements would allow the province above to be held.

​

In Iraq and Kurdistan, the Allies were making ground as they pushed huge numbers of men into the line (at the expense of supply maintenance). It seemed they would use human waves to overwhelm the enemy.

​

As the month drew to a close a new Polish attack sought to close the narrowing gap to southern Iraq, where the Allies were now attacking east in force.

​

Iran remained quite active, with the enemy still mounting a number of attacks that were bleeding their own troops more than the Allies. Combat was more sporadic on the Black Sea-Persian Gulf line.

​

Across all sectors of the Eastern Front and Middle East, steady broad-front advances had been since the start of the month.

=======​

South East Asia

There was no further significant change in South East Asia, with Singapore and Java in stalemate and the Allies hanging on in North Borneo.

=======​

Australia & PNG

It was a different story in Australia, where in the west 2 Pz Div was still retreating by the night of 23 August and LF Div 2 was already under attack in its fall-back position and was again ordered to retreat.

​

Then disaster struck late on the morning of 27 August. 2 Pz Div was still short of completing their inordinately long retreat when the US advance guard overtook them: by the time they arrived, it was too late and they were forced to surrender without a fight. Over 9,000 men were forced into captivity.

​

LF Div 2 had better luck, with the Australian 1st Div holding off the Americans long enough to complete their next retreat on 31 August with new orders to redeploy to Perth in the face of overwhelming US numbers in the west.

​

But in Northern Queensland the Allies were reinforcing the line: the US still had superior numbers but their supply was tenuous and the Allies becoming well dug in.

​

The front was static in PNG, where the Japanese seemed to have reduced their numbers a little to ‘stalemate level’.

=======​

The Americas

As it had been for a long while now, the fronts were static in both Canada (where again, the Allies kept all their reserves off the front line) and Yucatan. Nothing significant changed from 21 to 31 August.

=======​

Domestic Affairs

Thanks to production, lend lease and the comparative decrease in Polish op tempo, a small surplus of infantry equipment had been achieved by 21 August. The trend line for the rebuilding of that stockpile was sharply positive across the last month.

​

Also of note, the deficit in light tanks had been reduced from 800 to 742.

Two days later, the final iteration of research in fuel refining was completed, with attention turned next to improving the effectiveness of logistics companies.

​

More construction effort was switched to infrastructure development in Krakow as the month drew to a close, as the new military factory in Lublin neared completion.

​

By the end of the month, infantry gear was even further in surplus, but there were now severe shortages in both artillery and AT guns, support equipment remained a problem and light tank numbers no better. A small deficit had also opened up in heavy infantry support tanks.

​

The monthly casualty analysis brought up some interesting points. First, it was confirmed that the loss off 2 Pz Div EF was attributed to Germany, not Poland. More generally, while battles involving Poland over the month saw 61,200 casualties, Polish losses for the month were only around 26,000. This reflected the increasing reliance on ‘piggy-backing’ on Allied attacks, which minimised Polish casualties. Reserve manpower was roughly steady at around 130,000 men.

​

On all fronts, the USR had lost around 380,000 troops – and a second minor 4thInt member in Georgia. Global losses for the respective sides of the war were almost even, but territorial gains in Russia meant the war was now assessed to be 20% in the Allies’ favour. The general conclusion drawn was that on balance, despite a few peripheral Allied losses, mainly in South East Asia, the balance of the war had continued to slowly shift in their favour.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

It's a shame that you can't attack through the Outback to ambush the US. Then again, it wouldn't be great for Australia if the US could...

 

[TheExecuter]

Peace had once again come to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

One wonders how motivated the average soldier fighting in Sinkiang feels knowing he isn't threatened at home and he has very little actual chance of winning a quick victory...

Both battles would continue as September ended, as would an Allied attack against the tip of the Sinkiang salient south-west of Urumqi. All Polish units remained disorganised and badly under strength, thanks largely to the terrible terrain, climate and supply conditions.

Are we learning something?

I hope we are...

I look forward to Italian War Mk.III when the French inevitably cockup their occupation. Again.

I thought this too. I wondered if France thought Poland would provide the occupation troops and so provided too few...

 

[jak7139]

Ah, I checked and found the last stand button. Do the effects apply only when missions are assigned or when (as I do) all the divs are being micromanaged? I basically never use the AI army missions..

You don't need to use the frontline orders to get the benefit. Last stand and the other buttons affect all units under the general (if you want you can assign all units you want to give the buff to to a new army/general, cutting down on the command power cost).

Though getting to it will be the trick ... maybe a punch through and swing across it once I can rest 1st Army up a bit, but supply is going to be a problem.

The Soviet supply will be terrible as well, remember. Perhaps even more terrible than yours if you can isolate them from any supply hubs/rail links.

Novgorod had held and been reinforced. The next objective would be to create another pocket, this time by a further drive north towards Volkhov.

Both of these encirclements look set to break the northern front wide open.

More widely across the whole Eastern Front, supply at this time had perhaps improved a little but remained low at the front, with heavy fighting all along the Southern and Caucasus sectors. This also explained the decreased Polish tempo in the Central sector.

How are the railways into Russia looking generally? Are they linked up to Warsaw?

It seemed they would use human waves to overwhelm the enemy.

Ironic.

LF Div 2 had better luck, with the Australian 1st Div holding off the Americans long enough to complete their next retreat on 31 August with new orders to redeploy to Perth in the face of overwhelming US numbers in the west.

Is Perth the closest supply hub in the west? You don't want to give the US and more toeholds than necessary.

 

[stnylan]

The loss in Australia is certainly unfortunate, but at the end of the day it is sideshow compared to Russia. The endless expanse of Russia.

 

[SSmith]

But to the west, the bold Allies thrust from Petrograd had advanced again. The thinly held corridor had almost joined up with the Allied forces advancing from the south, where a battle was under way east of Pskov to cut off a long thin pocket containing 12 Soviet divisions.

But to the west, the Allies had poured enormous strength into their long salient, shutting off the trapped Soviet forces to their west in a vice-like grip.

The Allies did very well (without Poland's help for once!) to complete that encirclement. At first it appeared as though the Soviets could just march out of that pocket through the gap east of Narva - just how were the Allies able to move in so many divisions so quickly?

However, there was still active fighting in places and on 21 August General Marian Kukiel, commander 5th Army, got a little to close to it. He was wounded by artillery fire and would require a period of convalescence but retained command of the ‘Reserve’ army.

I don't remember exactly sure where 5th Army is? Anyway, this seems really unlucky since the Allies have taken over doing most of the leg-work now.

Then disaster struck late on the morning of 27 August. 2 Pz Div was still short of completing their inordinately long retreat when the US advance guard overtook them: by the time they arrived, it was too late and they were forced to surrender without a fight. Over 9,000 men were forced into captivity.

Bad luck! I thought you'd ordered the withdrawal in good time and wasn't expecting the Americans to overrun either of those divisions. I suspect the lack of fuel could have been the issue for the panzer division?

LF Div 2 had better luck, with the Australian 1st Div holding off the Americans long enough to complete their next retreat on 31 August with new orders to redeploy to Perth in the face of overwhelming US numbers in the west.

This seems sensible. I don't see the Americans being stopped in the west any time soon.

As it had been for a long while now, the fronts were static in both Canada (where again, the Allies kept all their reserves off the front line) and Yucatan.

Perhaps it would be better if large numbers of Allied divisions were still sitting around in Canada doing nothing? The main problem now seems to be the AI flooding every front with too many units!

Two days later, the final iteration of research in fuel refining was completed, with attention turned next to improving the effectiveness of logistics companies.

Sounds good. The only thing that could possibly save the USR is the complete failure of Allied logistics.

By the end of the month, infantry gear was even further in surplus, but there were now severe shortages in both artillery and AT guns, support equipment remained a problem and light tank numbers no better. A small deficit had also opened up in heavy infantry support tanks.

I would hestitate right now to suggest scaling back the investment you've put into repairing the infantry equipment deficit, but it is looking like you will need to find some more military factories from somewhere. The deficits in artillery, AT and support are a concern, but they're not really a serious problem just yet. Is there anything you're manufacturing that you really don't need?

The general conclusion drawn was that on balance, despite a few peripheral Allied losses, mainly in South East Asia, the balance of the war had continued to slowly shift in their favour.

I agree. The Allies have healthy advantages in fielded divisions and industrial output, and the USR will capitulate at some point (taking the 4th International down with it). The Allies only really have problems on the margins now (North America, East Asia and the Pacific). Fully defeating the MAB and the TRA could be hard, though.

 

[TheExecuter]

On the diplomatic front, the political campaign to boost the non-aligned Belarussian Socialist Assembly had gained ground, making it the second most popular party to the Communists, while the charm offensive had seen Byelorussia’s opinion of Poland improve significantly.

I have a bad feeling about poking the Bear like this...

Early on the 20th, 10 DP had reinforced and by 1000hr the gruelling battle had been won, with heavy (for the Sinkiang Front) casualties for the enemy in particular. It was estimated it may take up to another six days to occupy the province, however, as the six original attacking formations had all pulled out by then.

The defenders of Urumqi have certainly built a good propaganda legend for themselves, if nothing else. Defending against alien invaders...

The fact that it's likely mostly the terrain defeating the enemy can be largely ignored by the masses...

 

[Bullfilter]

So, today?

Not necessarily (depending on time zones). It means a day or maybe two

Ps: as it happened, within a day!

 

[BenKerryAltis]

Seven days have passed, update when?

 

[TheExecuter]

But none of this could save the failing Chinese state. Chongqing fell and just after midnight on 2 December 1942, Chiang’s government collapsed and went into exile under the protection of its Allied partners. All their forces then fighting in the field packed up and went home. A few patches of land occupied by Allied formations remained under the nominal political control of the exiled Nationalists.

Oof.

Is it time to cut bait? After all, without a Chinese faction to support, all Poland is going to achieve now is to increase British and French Empires.

Seems like the time to retreat, IF the enemy will let you...

Excitement mounted when 28 DP arrived just south of Altay to find it unoccupied. They began a river crossing operation but it would take an estimated eight and a half days to take the last Sinkiang stronghold.

Or not!

Yeah, it's a matter of painting much like your own nation. Also the system is a little bit mote user friendly for rails. You click on the initial connection (where the rail already exists) and then simply click your intended end point. The game will build the whole line in between.

Of course, it might be an idea to carefully look at that line afterwards incase it needs editing, but it should work.

It's probably going to be the big polish contribution for rhe rest of the war.

Well...untill Russia invades anyway.

Professionals study logistics...

Imagine what would have happened if Poland or the Allies had properly focused on logistics earlier...

 

[Bullfilter]

Seven days have passed, update when?

Remember, I have two other AARs going simultaneously and update them in between, not to mention RL etc. Often more likely to be closer to two weeks than one between updates, though sometimes I can crank them out quicker if the month's images have already been largely edited. Just about to start playing the next month here, so it will be a few days yet: can't say exactly how many.

 

[Bullfilter]

Spoiler-free comments feedback:

One wonders how motivated the average soldier fighting in Sinkiang feels knowing he isn't threatened at home and he has very little actual chance of winning a quick victory...

Fortunately the game doesn't model this entirely valid viewpoint!

Are we learning something?

I hope we are...

Well, maybe eventually.

I thought this too. I wondered if France thought Poland would provide the occupation troops and so provided too few...

Haha: "thought" + the AI? This is where the argument breaks down

I have a bad feeling about poking the Bear like this...


The defenders of Urumqi have certainly built a good propaganda legend for themselves, if nothing else. Defending against alien invaders...

The fact that it's likely mostly the terrain defeating the enemy can be largely ignored by the masses...

Well, best we're ready to poke him when he comes growling at us. This Belarus side-show will be a theme for some time yet ...

You take what propaganda victories you can! War & truth, bodyguard of lies, etc etc.

Oof.

Is it time to cut bait? After all, without a Chinese faction to support, all Poland is going to achieve now is to increase British and French Empires.

Seems like the time to retreat, IF the enemy will let you...


Or not!

Part of the game narrative rationale is we don't worry about increasing anyone's territory as long as it helps the Allies win the war. We take the collective security of the Western Alliance seriously! With it being the only serious theatre in progress at the time and wanting a bit of gameplay/expeditionary experience, we were prepared to sink a lot into the effort. And if it helped soak up the electronic lives of a bunch of MAB soldiers without existential risk to Poland and a long way from its heartland, so be it.

And it gave me something to write about

Professionals study logistics...

Imagine what would have happened if Poland or the Allies had properly focused on logistics earlier...

Always. And I learned some very important lessons in Western China about an aspect of HOI4 - of which I really remain a novice even now, three years on - on how the supply, logistics and construction mechanics worked. Not irrelevant if we were ever to become embroiled in a War in the East, as well.

 

[Bullfilter]

It's a shame that you can't attack through the Outback to ambush the US. Then again, it wouldn't be great for Australia if the US could...

Exactly ... in this case, geography that constrains the width of the fronts they can attack on and also hampers their resupply benefits us as defenders. Quite realistic really: not feasible for a major army to operate through there at scale, especially in those days.

You don't need to use the frontline orders to get the benefit. Last stand and the other buttons affect all units under the general (if you want you can assign all units you want to give the buff to to a new army/general, cutting down on the command power cost).

Ah, thanks very much for that. I may use some of them, at some point. Though I notice they come with trade-offs, which is fair.

The Soviet supply will be terrible as well, remember. Perhaps even more terrible than yours if you can isolate them from any supply hubs/rail links.

True. I normally test and probe every so often to see if relative strength opportunities crop up, or to press hard (at some expense) when its really necessary for a breakthrough or whatever. I've found their AI has been fairly reasonable at scrambling defences when their line appears to have been vaporised (from what is visible on the map). When operating in space, that is: not so good at preventing encirclements and extracting trapped troops, especially against a human player.

Both of these encirclements look set to break the northern front wide open.

Very much so, and to bag a lot of divisions. But closing them out will also shorten the line a lot and move the fighting into rougher, more remote and hard to supply territory, as well. Colonel Distance is a pretty effective aide in addition to General Winter!

How are the railways into Russia looking generally? Are they linked up to Warsaw?

There's an update in the next chapter on the Russian side of the equation, as it is a focus of planning for next steps. In brief, with Moscow and environs now firmly in our hands, it's core is restricted to three disconnected lateral east-west routes branching off the Trans-Siberian Railway.

As for Warsaw-east, the lines are pretty much linked and getting repaired. But per above, the further we push, the worse the comms become. Especially with the huge weight of Allied 'help' I can't really limit adding to the burden (like it did in China, too). We may have to start building or upgrading again at some point, Western China/southern Iran style! Or leave it to them and strike elsewhere.

Ironic.

I know! Once we get a full-on late-game head-butt with the MAB it's going to be a stodgy, bloody mess, I suspect.

Is Perth the closest supply hub in the west? You don't want to give the US and more toeholds than necessary.

It's the only one. And no rail line north of Perth, even.

The loss in Australia is certainly unfortunate, but at the end of the day it is sideshow compared to Russia. The endless expanse of Russia.

Quite. Though a sideshow with some partisan interest for me . And another chance to keep the US occupied far from home on a front where they might take a fair amount of attrition in due course and risk eventual isolation and destruction, like the first few attempts they made before they managed to take Darwin in the current invasion.

The Allies did very well (without Poland's help for once!) to complete that encirclement. At first it appeared as though the Soviets could just march out of that pocket through the gap east of Narva - just how were the Allies able to move in so many divisions so quickly?

They did - I was pretty impressed that they did it then reinforced properly. They did have a lot sitting back in Estonia and Finland, so I guess the AI just told them 'go for it' as there were enough to do it.

I don't remember exactly sure where 5th Army is? Anyway, this seems really unlucky since the Allies have taken over doing most of the leg-work now.

They're spread all over. It was more (like the others on the Eastern Front) organised around a theme rather than geographically. It's the reserve infantry/weaker EF army originally used mainly for holding the line and back-up duties when the Great Winter Offensive was being hatched. They've gradually blended in with all the rest over the months.

Bad luck! I thought you'd ordered the withdrawal in good time and wasn't expecting the Americans to overrun either of those divisions. I suspect the lack of fuel could have been the issue for the panzer division?

That's what I thought, too. I did assume it was supply-related without directly checking it at the time. Ah well, they were a freebie after all.

This seems sensible. I don't see the Americans being stopped in the west any time soon.

Especially after their colleagues had just ended up in a US prison camp and they couldn't get supply where they were. More on the War in the West in the next chapter ...

Perhaps it would be better if large numbers of Allied divisions were still sitting around in Canada doing nothing? The main problem now seems to be the AI flooding every front with too many units!

"Were" - or "weren't"? Anyway, the general point is clear and well made - have been thinking the same myself. The proverbial embarrassment of riches. It happened in China that time, too and there are more of them now. Still, better than the opposite problem!

Sounds good. The only thing that could possibly save the USR is the complete failure of Allied logistics.

Right. I don't think they'll fail ... just suffer from continual self-inflicted, non-fatal asphyxiation!

I would hestitate right now to suggest scaling back the investment you've put into repairing the infantry equipment deficit, but it is looking like you will need to find some more military factories from somewhere. The deficits in artillery, AT and support are a concern, but they're not really a serious problem just yet. Is there anything you're manufacturing that you really don't need?

More on production fine-tuning in the next chapter. There is a lot sunk into inf gear for now and it's still well short of full efficiency, so taking a little away would not hurt too much. Still, better to have new production coming on line than shuffling between lines. I think I've got rid of completely superfluous lines a while back, while ones that are a little more marginal and in surplus but still needed longer term have mainly been kept ticking over with one factory - to mitigate against the same issue with them. The one I didn't - heavy tanks, where there was previously a big enough surplus and light demand - has since fallen into deficit, so will have to be restarted at a very low efficiency level.

I agree. The Allies have healthy advantages in fielded divisions and industrial output, and the USR will capitulate at some point (taking the 4th International down with it). The Allies only really have problems on the margins now (North America, East Asia and the Pacific). Fully defeating the MAB and the TRA could be hard, though.

And I agree in turn, with all those points. Still, the work is cut out and well understood for now with the Soviets and their minor puppets. And we'll see how things develop from there with the MAB and TRA, in terms of the game and story and what is worth pursuing.

Thanks again everyone for the support, comments and readership. Enough happened in September 1947 to again make it three rather than two chapters, to keep them within length parameters.