Eh, by the time the Nationalists are pushed in the North, thats almost complete death to them. Poor Nationalists, and since Germany and Italy have problems of their own, I don't expect them to send any more help.
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I've actually seen one game (actually, a single AAR of somebody else's game) in which the Nationalists snatched victory from such a situation. There might have been a mod involved though, and I can't remember which AAR it was...
Only time I've seen them snatching a victory in the North was after I supplied them with a godly amount of oil and supplies.
Latest Status Update:
The Bad - Unfortunately, I am still awaiting arrival of the book with the most vital information for next update, III:XXIX.
The Good - The downtime has allowed me to finish the next two updates, III:XXX and III:XXXI, and begin work on III:XXXII.
The Also Good - While I'm waiting, I'm still happy to provide whatever bonus information y'all express interest in. What sounds good?
Thanks for your patience everyone!
The Bad - Unfortunately, I am still awaiting arrival of the book with the most vital information for next update, III:XXIX.
The Good - The downtime has allowed me to finish the next two updates, III:XXX and III:XXXI, and begin work on III:XXXII.
The Also Good - While I'm waiting, I'm still happy to provide whatever bonus information y'all express interest in. What sounds good?
Thanks for your patience everyone!
I don't know about anybody else, but I'd be interested in some information about how things are going on the home front in Germany. How are the common citizens faring and what is their opinion on the course of the war? Obviously that last bit would be dependent on what information they're allowed to get, but I'm still curious.
What about the lifes of some of the biggest names like Guderian, Manstein, Rommel, Galland, Model, etc..
Bonus feature: Not an update, hence the brevity.
I somehow didn't notice those last two comments, so I made a bonus feature about two other topics: The Pacific, and the Soviet Union. I'll get to Hardraade's and Slaughts' as soon as I can! Thanks for your continued patience
o.
Bulletin from the Far East
Tensions flared at the end of October between Australia and the Empire of Japan. On the 26th of that month, the small motor ship Southern Cross was sailing in the shallow waters 300 kilometers to the west of Port Moresby bound for Papua New Guinea with a group of Anglican missionaries. Shortly after dark, a nearby tanker heard a distress call from the ship that ended abruptly after several seconds. The tanker, SS Gretafield, changed course to investigate and found the ship’s severed bow pointing vertically out of the water at the center of a small fuel slick.
The Southern Cross some time in the year of its sinking.
The next day, vessels of the Royal Australian Navy combed the area unsuccessfully for survivors. Crews dived on the wreck and found bits of debris and an antenna believed not to have come from the Southern Cross. Subsequent investigation suggested that the debris had come from a Japanese Kaichū type submarine. The Japanese government officially denied that any submarines were operating in or near Australian waters at the time.
The Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro, sailing in waters not far from Singapore. September, 1936.
The incident has led to a cooling of Anglo-Japanese relations. It has been widely rumored in the English-Speaking press that the Imperial Japanese Navy is taking advantage of the Royal Navy’s distraction in Europe in a bid to assert itself as the dominant power in the Pacific.
Bulletin from the Soviet Union
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union does not sleep. The Red Army has swelled greatly since the declaration of war with Germany. Speculation abounds that Stalin may soon invade the Baltic countries in order to overrun the German exclave in East Prussia. If he does, only three young divisions stand between the Soviets and the historic Ordensburg of the Teutonic Knights. Worse, there is worry in German intelligence circles that as early as summer of 1937, Stalin might invade neutral Poland to get at Germany itself while the Wehrmacht is still preoccupied in the West. Poland is arming herself warily, though, and will surely not be caught unawares by violations from either of its two powerful neighbors.
Soviet Battleship Marat shortly after the outbreak of war. She was caught in Gdynia, a neutral port in Poland, when war with Germany began, but successfully sortied back to Leningrad unmolested.
In the Baltic Sea, German submarines have menaced Soviet shipping since the start of hostilities in May. The pocket battleship Admiral Scheer even sallied briefly in June for gunnery practice, taking some 4,300 tons of merchant shipping with it before returning to port -- and sending panicked Russian vessels back to Leningrad until it was positively confirmed that the raider was out of Baltic waters. Still, submarines made the waters outside Leningrad hazardous long after Admiral Scheer had taken up its new North Sea station. OKM plans to withdraw most of its submarines from the Baltic when the Gulf of Finland freezes over some time in December, freeing some of the boats for service against the British merchant fleets.
I somehow didn't notice those last two comments, so I made a bonus feature about two other topics: The Pacific, and the Soviet Union. I'll get to Hardraade's and Slaughts' as soon as I can! Thanks for your continued patience
o. Bulletin from the Far East
Tensions flared at the end of October between Australia and the Empire of Japan. On the 26th of that month, the small motor ship Southern Cross was sailing in the shallow waters 300 kilometers to the west of Port Moresby bound for Papua New Guinea with a group of Anglican missionaries. Shortly after dark, a nearby tanker heard a distress call from the ship that ended abruptly after several seconds. The tanker, SS Gretafield, changed course to investigate and found the ship’s severed bow pointing vertically out of the water at the center of a small fuel slick.
The Southern Cross some time in the year of its sinking.
The next day, vessels of the Royal Australian Navy combed the area unsuccessfully for survivors. Crews dived on the wreck and found bits of debris and an antenna believed not to have come from the Southern Cross. Subsequent investigation suggested that the debris had come from a Japanese Kaichū type submarine. The Japanese government officially denied that any submarines were operating in or near Australian waters at the time.
The Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro, sailing in waters not far from Singapore. September, 1936.
The incident has led to a cooling of Anglo-Japanese relations. It has been widely rumored in the English-Speaking press that the Imperial Japanese Navy is taking advantage of the Royal Navy’s distraction in Europe in a bid to assert itself as the dominant power in the Pacific.
Bulletin from the Soviet Union
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union does not sleep. The Red Army has swelled greatly since the declaration of war with Germany. Speculation abounds that Stalin may soon invade the Baltic countries in order to overrun the German exclave in East Prussia. If he does, only three young divisions stand between the Soviets and the historic Ordensburg of the Teutonic Knights. Worse, there is worry in German intelligence circles that as early as summer of 1937, Stalin might invade neutral Poland to get at Germany itself while the Wehrmacht is still preoccupied in the West. Poland is arming herself warily, though, and will surely not be caught unawares by violations from either of its two powerful neighbors.
Soviet Battleship Marat shortly after the outbreak of war. She was caught in Gdynia, a neutral port in Poland, when war with Germany began, but successfully sortied back to Leningrad unmolested.
In the Baltic Sea, German submarines have menaced Soviet shipping since the start of hostilities in May. The pocket battleship Admiral Scheer even sallied briefly in June for gunnery practice, taking some 4,300 tons of merchant shipping with it before returning to port -- and sending panicked Russian vessels back to Leningrad until it was positively confirmed that the raider was out of Baltic waters. Still, submarines made the waters outside Leningrad hazardous long after Admiral Scheer had taken up its new North Sea station. OKM plans to withdraw most of its submarines from the Baltic when the Gulf of Finland freezes over some time in December, freeing some of the boats for service against the British merchant fleets.
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And don't forget to take a look at the HoI3 Writing Contest!
Five copies of HoI3 are up for grabs, and one will bear the hallowed signature of Johan Himself!
There's lots of great writing by forumites we know and some we don't. From the dramatic to the comedic, from the sacred to the profane. I heartily encourage you to take a look at vote for the three that strike your fancy most!
Five copies of HoI3 are up for grabs, and one will bear the hallowed signature of Johan Himself!
There's lots of great writing by forumites we know and some we don't. From the dramatic to the comedic, from the sacred to the profane. I heartily encourage you to take a look at vote for the three that strike your fancy most!
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A few answers for you, Slaughts:
Guderian - Generalmajor Guderian is serving with HKK as a senior planner. He is one of a group of staffers who are vigorously advocating developments in German panzer doctrine following from the "Expanding Torrent" theory propounded by a number of British and Italian military scientists.
von Manstein - Generalmajor von Manstein is also serving with HKK. Currently the senior war-planner on HKK-Staff Operational Plans "Löwengrube". von Manstein is known to have tussled with von Küchler over the best approach to forcing Britain into submission, but is on good terms with Bayerlein.
Rommel - Oberstleutnant Rommel is serving under Hausser as a battalion commander after excellent service in Belgium and France. Although an Iron Class 1st Class is pinned to his chest, he still awaits his "big break".
Galland - Oberleutnant Galland has scored 4 kills over Britain as of November 7. Combined with 1 kill over France late in that campaign, he has achieved ace status. Like Germany's first ace of the war, Oberleutnant Ihlefeld, Galland has developed a reputation for crashing aircraft, losing four Ar 68s without injury to himself.
Model - Oberst Model is currently serving as a regimental commander under Hausser after successful but undistinguished service at the battalion level in France.
Keitel - Generalleutnant Keitel was perhaps Field Marshal von Blomberg's heir apparent at the start of 1936, but fell from grace with his superior following von Blomberg's tainting in the Beck Affair. He is currently placed on the Führer-reserve list, and is spending most of his waking hours lobbying for a position in the invasion of Denmark through which he might distinguish himself and thereby reenter Hitler's good graces.
Up next: The Home Front
Guderian - Generalmajor Guderian is serving with HKK as a senior planner. He is one of a group of staffers who are vigorously advocating developments in German panzer doctrine following from the "Expanding Torrent" theory propounded by a number of British and Italian military scientists.
von Manstein - Generalmajor von Manstein is also serving with HKK. Currently the senior war-planner on HKK-Staff Operational Plans "Löwengrube". von Manstein is known to have tussled with von Küchler over the best approach to forcing Britain into submission, but is on good terms with Bayerlein.
Rommel - Oberstleutnant Rommel is serving under Hausser as a battalion commander after excellent service in Belgium and France. Although an Iron Class 1st Class is pinned to his chest, he still awaits his "big break".
Galland - Oberleutnant Galland has scored 4 kills over Britain as of November 7. Combined with 1 kill over France late in that campaign, he has achieved ace status. Like Germany's first ace of the war, Oberleutnant Ihlefeld, Galland has developed a reputation for crashing aircraft, losing four Ar 68s without injury to himself.
Model - Oberst Model is currently serving as a regimental commander under Hausser after successful but undistinguished service at the battalion level in France.
Keitel - Generalleutnant Keitel was perhaps Field Marshal von Blomberg's heir apparent at the start of 1936, but fell from grace with his superior following von Blomberg's tainting in the Beck Affair. He is currently placed on the Führer-reserve list, and is spending most of his waking hours lobbying for a position in the invasion of Denmark through which he might distinguish himself and thereby reenter Hitler's good graces.
Up next: The Home Front
Very good, much pleased by Keitels situation. Evil of me, but never did liked him
Nice bulletins as well as a good look at Germany's famous ( or soon to be famous?) military leaders.
Galland crashing, erm, flying the Ar 68.
I'm going to cry...
*Pats* there there, soon he will have a real airplane to fly
Slaughts (1) - Ah, don't worry, you're not evil. Keitel's not really the nicest fellow himself, after all .
Hardraade - Thanks!
Kurt_Steiner, Slaughts (2) - Look at the bright side. If he'd crashed in a fast, powerful Bf 109, he probably wouldn't have survived.
.Hardraade - Thanks!
Kurt_Steiner, Slaughts (2) - Look at the bright side. If he'd crashed in a fast, powerful Bf 109, he probably wouldn't have survived.
In Response to Hardraade, a little bonus:
The economy is under increasing strain, but strain roughly comparable to that of Great Britain. In comparison to OTL 1940 (I use 1940 because it is roughly the equivalent point in the war), Great Britain’s economy is under less strain here, and Germany’s is under more.
Although the local economies, especially in the South and in the Rhineland, are recovering from the initial shocks of April and May, the manufacturing sectors of the economy are groaning under the weight imposed by Schacht’s fierce timetables. As a result, durable goods are in short supply throughout Germany.
Additionally, rationing has begun in Germany and the occupied nations. With the British blockade beginning to take effect, sharp rationing has been effected for petroleum, rubber goods, coffee, sugar, canned fruit, soap, tobacco and several other goods. The decision to begin rationing was a bitterly difficult one for Hitler, who feared that shortages would erode public morale. Dr. Schacht prevailed on him, though -- pointing out that if Britain could be subdued rationing could be brought to an end. The British government has not put rationing programs into effect, yet, but it is believed by the Abwehr that the plans are already drawn up and only awaiting the decision of the Prime Minister, should the need arise.
Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan, while on a junket to Italy in September.
In Germany the common people still enjoy, for the most part, a standard of living superior to that in most of the world. Through the efforts of Dr. Schacht and Dr. Ley, the workforce remains highly efficient -- central planning from the highest levels dictates the job and assignment of every single worker in the Reich based on his or her particular skills and abilities. Arms production focuses on small arms, one- and two-engined aircraft and shipping useful in an invasion.
Support for the war remains high. Buoyed by unexpected success in France and the Low Countries, the Wehrmacht enjoys high esteem among the German People. The news they get is, of course, almost entirely propagandistic in nature, but so far the news remains good enough that even unbiased reporting would be encouraging. The means and methods of Dr. Goebbels are not, however, centered primarily around factual deception. Rather, the Propaganda Ministry directs a majority of its energies toward emotional manipulation of its citizens, continually painting the war as the work of a clique of warmongers surrounding Stanley Baldwin.
The economy is under increasing strain, but strain roughly comparable to that of Great Britain. In comparison to OTL 1940 (I use 1940 because it is roughly the equivalent point in the war), Great Britain’s economy is under less strain here, and Germany’s is under more.
Although the local economies, especially in the South and in the Rhineland, are recovering from the initial shocks of April and May, the manufacturing sectors of the economy are groaning under the weight imposed by Schacht’s fierce timetables. As a result, durable goods are in short supply throughout Germany.
Additionally, rationing has begun in Germany and the occupied nations. With the British blockade beginning to take effect, sharp rationing has been effected for petroleum, rubber goods, coffee, sugar, canned fruit, soap, tobacco and several other goods. The decision to begin rationing was a bitterly difficult one for Hitler, who feared that shortages would erode public morale. Dr. Schacht prevailed on him, though -- pointing out that if Britain could be subdued rationing could be brought to an end. The British government has not put rationing programs into effect, yet, but it is believed by the Abwehr that the plans are already drawn up and only awaiting the decision of the Prime Minister, should the need arise.
Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan, while on a junket to Italy in September.
In Germany the common people still enjoy, for the most part, a standard of living superior to that in most of the world. Through the efforts of Dr. Schacht and Dr. Ley, the workforce remains highly efficient -- central planning from the highest levels dictates the job and assignment of every single worker in the Reich based on his or her particular skills and abilities. Arms production focuses on small arms, one- and two-engined aircraft and shipping useful in an invasion.
Support for the war remains high. Buoyed by unexpected success in France and the Low Countries, the Wehrmacht enjoys high esteem among the German People. The news they get is, of course, almost entirely propagandistic in nature, but so far the news remains good enough that even unbiased reporting would be encouraging. The means and methods of Dr. Goebbels are not, however, centered primarily around factual deception. Rather, the Propaganda Ministry directs a majority of its energies toward emotional manipulation of its citizens, continually painting the war as the work of a clique of warmongers surrounding Stanley Baldwin.
Or alternately. Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, pictured breathing a sigh of relief that his massive financial fraud will never be discovered thanks to the war. It could have been tricky if anyone had ever tried to cash those MEFO bills.
Still on the bright side if "Central planning from the highest levels dictates the job and assignment of every single worker in the Reich based on his or her particular skills and abilities" then the German economy is going to be utterly screwed. That level of anal dictatorial central planning is going to produce massive anger with the workforce and be mind boggling inefficient.
Germany will be brought down by its own economic illiteracy, huzzah!
It didn't in real life
. In fact, a number of Roosevelt's men reported admiringly back from their travels in Germany about the satisfaction and efficiency of the workforce, despite what we would see today as outright militarist exploitation. Even a few New Dealers proposed a system similar to the Arbeitsbücher used in Germany, although only to be mandatory for those on relief. It never got that far in America, but nonetheless it serves to show that even observers who were at best neutral couldn't but be impressed by Germany's mid-1930s labor system. A very interesting book along these lines is: Soldiers of Labor: Labor Service in Nazi Germany and New Deal America, 1933-1945 out of Cambridge University Press / German Historical Institute.
Remember, of course, that with rationing finally instituted in Germany, morale may very well suffer seriously (and ahistorically for this date) once the winter gets going. More on that in future updates!
The historic system maybe did work, but the system you described just cannot of worked. Centrally planning the assignment and job of each individual worker is the economics of the mad house. That said I look forward to seeing some of the report produced;
'Today Fritz Kuehl of 37 Das Wanken Straße Potsdam will assemble 183 widgets precisely, then tomorrow he will assemble 185 as he becomes more efficient at widget assembly. Sadly on Friday he will be distracted by a pretty girl at lunch and only make 173 of which exactly 4 will be deficient."
:rofl::rofl::rofl:
I admit to cracking a little more than a smile at that last part.
But still, what I'm describing is esssentially the historical system. If, for example, a worker has experience or training in agricultural engineering, the German Labor Front (DAF) could compel that worker out of a job in a bicycle shop and into a job where those skills could be useful in agricultural collectivization. If unemployed, a young man could be compelled by the Reich Labor Service to perform manual labor on appointed projects.
If you've misunderstood the sentence I used to explain this in the feature, though, I'm sure I could have worded that bettero.
By centrally planning the assignments of each worker, broad work quotas would be put into the DAF by Schacht's people, or people working under Schacht's overall authority: e.g. "We need 200 laborers certified as skilled welders to supplement the workforce at Germaniawerft Krupp in Kiel." The DAF would then (under ultimate auspices of Labor Minister Seldte) search its files for appropriate workers to fill this quota, whose names would be compiled, and any exceptions or exemptions checked for (though I believe this was generally fairly cursory). The change would be noted in these workers' Arbeitsbücher, which would then often be sent directly to the person's new place of work. If they did not begin work there, they would be without their Labor Book, and therefore almost totally unable to obtain legitimate work in Germany. This is the sense in which I meant planning the jobs of each individual worker -- as contrasted with the American system, for example, where workers were not personally compelled to any particular job by the government. Note this does not mean that the German government here is making any estimates about the productivity of an individual worker, but rather simply dictating when and where he shall work.
EDIT: So although, say, a restaurant dishwasher has his job only because of his Labor Book, that doesn't mean that some bureaucrat in Berlin actually thought about placing him there. It just means that he's technically there at the behest of the government.
I admit to cracking a little more than a smile at that last part.
But still, what I'm describing is esssentially the historical system. If, for example, a worker has experience or training in agricultural engineering, the German Labor Front (DAF) could compel that worker out of a job in a bicycle shop and into a job where those skills could be useful in agricultural collectivization. If unemployed, a young man could be compelled by the Reich Labor Service to perform manual labor on appointed projects.
If you've misunderstood the sentence I used to explain this in the feature, though, I'm sure I could have worded that better
o. By centrally planning the assignments of each worker, broad work quotas would be put into the DAF by Schacht's people, or people working under Schacht's overall authority: e.g. "We need 200 laborers certified as skilled welders to supplement the workforce at Germaniawerft Krupp in Kiel." The DAF would then (under ultimate auspices of Labor Minister Seldte) search its files for appropriate workers to fill this quota, whose names would be compiled, and any exceptions or exemptions checked for (though I believe this was generally fairly cursory). The change would be noted in these workers' Arbeitsbücher, which would then often be sent directly to the person's new place of work. If they did not begin work there, they would be without their Labor Book, and therefore almost totally unable to obtain legitimate work in Germany. This is the sense in which I meant planning the jobs of each individual worker -- as contrasted with the American system, for example, where workers were not personally compelled to any particular job by the government. Note this does not mean that the German government here is making any estimates about the productivity of an individual worker, but rather simply dictating when and where he shall work.
EDIT: So although, say, a restaurant dishwasher has his job only because of his Labor Book, that doesn't mean that some bureaucrat in Berlin actually thought about placing him there. It just means that he's technically there at the behest of the government.
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