• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Intermission
Gameplay notes

I want to write this AAR as a purely narrative one, so I don't want to explain gameplay stuff in the chapters themselves, but there are some questions, so I decided to make an informative update every now and then, to explain what I did and why. Currently I'm not looking for advice. I may be later on, but right now I have a rather good idea of what I want to do and how. (I don't want to play too far ahead, I'm currently at October, 1939, and the AAR is finally catching up. :))

  • I know a lot about the inner workings of this game, still, I don't consider myself an expert player. Thing is, I usually know what I should do, but that doesn't always turn out how I wanted it to. Kinda like drawing. I know what I want to draw, but when I start to do it, the result is not exactly how I imagined. That may be because I don't calculate everything to the last digit. And I feel good :) Creating the perfect Division, the perfect OOB, the perfect tech build would not be fun for me. So, I might have made mistakes already, and will probably do even more.
  • With that said, I believe the twelve days it took me to take Poland was not that long, compared to the average. There can be multiple reasons for that of course. One of them is that Poland never actually mobilized, and another is probably that I started Fall Weiss in June. Then again, weather in Poland shouldn't really be a problem in September either, so I guess my tactic was good enough for normal vanilla :)
  • It was asked why I did amphibious invasions and attacked cities with armoured divisions. Well, there are two reasons for that. First, because I could. None of my invasions were actual battles, in all cases, I landed in empty provinces and secured the ports later on. And second, I want my armoured divisions, along with their leaders to have as much experience as possible. Leading them into battles that won't hurt them but will take relatively long (like attacking an Urban province) will help with that. My Panzers weren't really in danger of suffering too much casualties because of their armour (my enemy had very little Hard Attack), and I didn't really have to hurry.
  • I used my numerical superiority to my advantage in all of the Northern wars. In Poland, the enemy could fill the entire front, but that was not the case for the rest. Denmark, for whatever reason, only garrisoned one province on the front, even though they had more than one division, and I had units on both of my front provinces. Sweden never could form a front either, not to mention Norway.
  • Sweden actually moved out the division from Malmö. I was rather surprised by that, and felt kinda ditry for using this to my advantage, but hey. If the AI is stupid, that's not really my fault, is it? I used the 'movement of enemy troops on our border' escuse to declare war on them. Before that opportunity presented itself, I wasn't even sure I want to attack Sweden... On the other hand, if I did want to attack, I would probably have made two separate landings, one near Malmö, and the other where it actually was made. But that could have been more costly, because te Swedish Navy is actually quite strong compared to mine at the moment. (That will change soon, though! Ohm... Actually, it already did change, because I annexed Sweden, so their Navy disappeared from the game :D Whatever.)
  • That brings us to Norway. You might be wandering, what the heck just happened there. I'm playing vanilla, so there's no Operation Wilfred or coups or stuff like that, so what happened? I tell you. I declared war on Norway on August 30, won in three days, and decided that this shouldn't be represented as an actual war. I think the story was pretty neat, if I may say so myself :) Now, I was really a dirty rotten bastard with this one. As preparations, I positioned a Panzerarmeekorps near Oslo, and started to move another towards Narvik in the north. Those divisions were pretty slow (infrastructure is relatively bad there, and so is terrain), so I decided to deploy my two shiny new Divisions right on the Norwegian border. Guess what? There were no troops in Narvik either! Nor in Oslo... Probably my annexation of Sweden threw the Norwegians off guard, and they started to reshuffle their troops to garrison our common borders (which is like 50 provinces long...) with their five or so divisions. It didn't work.
  • Soooo, after beating Norway, they surrendered too, like Sweden, and I annexed them. Then, I released them again as a puppet. I did this to avoid all possible complications with puppeting an enemy directly. This also gave them five new divisions (one for every IC-containing province). Then I went to the save file and edited their Ruling Party and cabinet to more reflect mine. They now have a fascistic party and the proper ministers.
  • There's one difference from what you might expect, and that is the Head of State. I decided that it fits the story better to turn them into a Republic with a President, having dictator-like powers, so Quisling became their Head of State. He didn't have any traits for that, and I thought the 'Barking Buffon' would be the most suitable for him in that position.
  • I already hinted at this before: my new puppet is not involved in the war, unless I call them in manually. That is an important aspect, because this practically made me an inpenetrable shield for me on my Northern flank, and I can even use their bases normally! I don't need transit rights through my puppet, and they are directly connected to my supply chain, so there shouldn't be any problems with supplies/fuel either.
  • So far, the nation that lasted the longest against the might of the Reich was Sweden, with 25 days. Denmark and Poland were both 12 days, Norway was 3. I guess, this Blitzkrieg thing does work :) In game terms, I guess you could call it a Blitzkrieg if you breach the enemy lines and go right for the Victory Points, so they surrender ASAP. I'm dreading the day when I will start Barbarossa, because I still intend to lead all my troops manually...
  • The next step is the Baltic States. (I guess this is no surprise, because I already said they would be on the list...) That will most likely be only one chapter. Then there will be a relatively long waiting period for good weather next year. During that time, I will strengthen my forces, finish my Fleet Carriers, build up my Luftwaffe (currently it is capable of defending my homeland, but I still don't have any fighters for my Eastern Front!) and build up the strength of my Heer as well.
  • I never talked about Victory Conditions. I didn't change them from the default ones, so I have 8 'Control this city' type, with most of them relatively decent choices, and some stupid ones like have Vichy, Portugal, Turkey or Spain in the Axis. From these, Spain is already Allied, Vichy doesn't even exist yet, and if they form, they will be pushed towards the Allies anyway. Torkey and Portugal may be possible to invite, but I wouldn't really count on them. The AI can be very picky sometimes. By the time they would join, they are of no use to me any longer anyway... So, I considered changing these by editing the save, but they are not that bad actually. They can stay.
  • Strategic Effects. I have the Polish Corridor, the Pact of Steel and Öresund. Mostly bonuses for Supplies, which is nice. I also want to achieve the Gulf of Finland, which would give +10% Leadership and +20% Resources. Neat! I won't let myself turned down by them being completely unrealistic and random bonuses, they are still useful. :D
  • What else?... Well, I can't think of anything I would want to share with you right now, so that's it for now. I will be back in a few updates with more interesting in-game info! ;)


Index
 
Last edited:
Slan: Notes so far

good stuff ! !
:cool:
 
Of course if you have questions, don't be shy, ask away! ;)
 
Will you invade america and do sealion after barbarossa and if you will,what are your plans for the attack?

I definitely plan to do a Seelöwe, but the actual plan will depend on my then-current forces. It is at least a year away. Basically the same goes for the USA. In a few months, they will have an election, and the German-American Bund has about 30-40% popularity, so I would say they have a very good chance at winning. If they do, I will try to get them into the Axis. If they don't, or I can't manage to get them, I will invade. But only after I'm done with the Allies already. I don't want them to get all the GiEs...

Of course all this assums that I was victorious in Europe first...
 
I like your story of the German's protecting the Norwegians from the British. That reads just like what somebody in the propaganda business would concoct and it is very inventive.

The behind the scenes explanation is also a cool idea. As in the case of Norway, it is fun to see the real story behind the printed story.

Look forward to the next chapter.
 
@Cybvep, TheBromgrev: I'm pretty sure the USA will end up with the German-American Bund, but that doesn't necessarely mean they will join my party. But it would be rather awesome to have a fascist USA controlling the entire American contient. Or both of them. There wouldn't be any references to contemporary events, honest :D

@russmann: I'm glad you like the little twists here and there ;) I plan on writing the next chapter tomorrow (already started), so hopefully you can read it in the next evening :)
 
Meh, Americans in general are too stupid to even know what the word fascist means. I've heard and read speeches by extremely popular talk-show hosts and conservative politicians call President Obama a socialist, a communist, a fascist, and an anarchist all in the same sentence :wacko: The worst part is, about 40% of the country believes that.

That said, if the G-A Bund comes into power, which I'm sure they will, you won't have to worry about the USA joining the war. By the time they reach your corner, you would've finished the game already.
 
I may be mistaken but don't think this AAR is about Americans, so I guess we shouldn't really discuss their IQ or political views until they are actually become relevant to the story :) (Which will be the case sooner or later.) And even then, we should keep our discussion to their role in-game. Thank you for your cooperation! ;)
 
Soooo, after beating Norway, they surrendered too, like Sweden, and I annexed them. Then, I released them again as a puppet. I did this to avoid all possible complications with puppeting an enemy directly.

Thanks for the interesting insights. I thought you must have invaded and puppeted Norway but I would never have imagined you could win in 3 days! And when exactly did Republican Spain join the Allies? Did I miss that?

Just one question on the gameplay - what are the possible complications with puppeting an enemy directly?
 
@SSmith: Well, it is possible that I didn't mention Spain joining the Allies yet :rolleyes:

If by directly puppeting an enemy you mean choosing the "Puppet them" option instead of the annex and then release, there is one direct consequence I'm sure about: they keep their current army. That wasn't really interesting to me, so I let that got. The thing I was worried about is whether the engine sorts stuff like faction, alliances, guarantees, etc. on its own. I'm not sure about this, but it could happen... I'm also not sure if they would have joined my war automatically or not. In earlier versions, they didn't join automatically, which caused problems in China, when Japan puppeted Shanxi, trapping half the Chinese army in foreign, neutral territory... But I wasn't sure, and I didn't want Norway to join my war, I wanted them to be a neutral Viking shiled :) It worked. (Actually, I'm not sure I intended that. It is entirely possible that it was completely accidental :rolleyes:)

EDIT: Now, because I'm such a nice guy (and I had the right save-game), I tested this out for you. I couldn't see any actual consequences, and they were not involved in the war either. So, it is perfectly safe to puppet right away. Note that if you release a nation, they will get a regular triangular Infantry division on every IC producing province they own. That might be worth considering, depending on their current army at the time of their surrender.



And now, for something completely different!
 
Last edited:
Chapter XVIII

In which the Reich expands even further.

September 5th, 1939. Somewhere in Bavaria, in an Armoured Training Camp of the Wehrmacht. Captain Wilhelm von Walsrode arrived for training two weeks earlier, and he still had two and a half months left until he could join an active Panzer unit. Until then, he will spend his days mostly by learning how the Panzerkampfwagen III Ausführung F works (which was the most commonly used tank in the Wehrmacht at the time), familiarizing himself with the basic features of the Panzerkampfwagen IV (which should replace the third series as the backbone of the Panzer arm during the following year), studying armoured tactics, the basics of the Blitzkrieg and the Armoured Schwerpunkt doctrines and improving his aim with the Machinegewehr 34 machinegun. He also had to learn how to reload and aim the main gun of the Pzkpf. III. and how to drive it or how to use the built-in radio, in case some of his future crew gets wounded or worse.

tanks_in_training.png

Top left: a British Intelligence picture, showing the amount of armour on the different parts of a Panzerkampfagen III; top right: a Panzerkampwagen II, mainly used for training purposes; middle right: Krupp trucks with Infantrymen, towing a Panzerabwehrkanone 36 Anti-Tank gun; bottom left: a Panzerkampwagen III Ausführung D during a training excercise; bottom right: German troops getting on-board a Krupp L2 truck.

During the following week, Wilhelm's future crew will be assigned to him, and he can start to get to know them as well. He never was good at getting around with new people. He was slow to build trust, but when he did so, it was to last. But it was much more important for the crew to trust him than the other way around. "They are supposed to be my crew, not my friends!"

But not all his time was spent with armour-related training. Serving in a Panzer-Division was as demanding as in the Infanterie. Marching drills, shooting excercises, even obstacle courses. A tankman has to be tough.

Later on, when he will have his crew, there will be tactical excercises as well. Combined arms cooperation is a key concept in the Whermacht's doctrine: infantrymen have to be confident in advancing alongside tanks, and tankcrewmen need to know how to effectively support the infantry. They also have to know when to advance and when to support. Going into forests unsupported or moving too close to an unsecured building can prove disasterous even for the mighty Panzerkampfagen IV. "The most important thing in battle is to know your limitations."

infantry_in_training.png

Top left: German Infantrymen during a shooting excercise; top right: German non-commissioned officers pose for a group picture; bottom: German Soldaten practice throwing their Model 24 Stielhandgranate.

He knew he still had a lot to learn, but it would worth it. He was sure that the war didn't end with securing the Northern flank. There was no real sign of the Allies giving up yet. There was definitely more to come, and he could serve his Fatherland best on the front, in the strongest arm of the Wehrmacht: in a Panzer-Division.

The war was far from being over, but only God knew what plans the Führer had in his mind for the future of the Reich...


*** *** *** *** ***​

September 20th, 1939. Berlin, the rented apartment of Hans Grübermann and Anna Hoffmann. The couple settled in very quickly, and they felt rather confortable already. The apartment was well furnitured, and had some nice modern additions as well, like a telephone and a radio. Just like Hans' old place, although it was slightly smaller, with only one bedroom and no separate dining room: the table was in the kitchen.

It was a very special night, because Joachim, Martin and even Wilhelm were invited for supper. Joachim and Martin were frequent guests, but Wilhelm was rarely seen since the war broke out. After the end of the Northern Campaign, he got transfered into a Training Camp, so even with things more quiet, he still couldn't be around that much.

The meal was wonderful as always, giving them an excelent opportunity for some friendly conversation.

- What was it like to be in Sweden? Was it cold? - asked Anna. She was particularly interested in the life in the Wehrmacht. Then agian, it is easy to be interested in something you can never experience first-hand. As Erasmus said: "War is more delightful to those who have never experienced it."

- No, not at all. Or at least not where I was. But it was in August, so that's hardly surprising. You see, there's this geological phenomenon called the Gulf Stream, which brings enough heat that it is very similar to our own climate. Even the winters are relatively mild, considering how far to the north it is. And I didn't get that far north anyway, we stopped at Stockholm.

- How fascinating... - Hans, seeing the sparks in Anna's eyes was starting to get jealous again.

- Let's turn on the radio, shall we? - Joachim tried to get ahead of the brewing conflict. - The evening news will start any minute now! - They all went into the living room. The news has already started.

"Kkssshccrrrrrcccchsviet attempts at creating military bases in the Baltic States, and as a response, the German Reich issued an ultimatum to the governments of the three countries to break all relations with the aggressor. After they made it clear that none of them will comply, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a declaration of war, effective immediately. Units of the Wehrmacht already started their advance through the mostly unguarded borders towards Kaunas and Riga, and two Panzer-Divisions landed around Tartu. The city is under siege. More news on the war as it progresses." - Martin turned the radio off.

- Wow, that was fast! - he said. - I knew about the tension between the Reich and the Baltic States, but when I left work today in the afternoon, this war was not yet started. And they already landed in Estonia! Incredible!

baltic_states_attacked.png

On September 20th, 1939, war is declared simultaneously on the three Baltic States.

- I can't believe they really started another war! - Joachim was surprised. - I mean, this is the third offensive in four months... When will this end?!

- Pretty soon, I guess... We are running out of possible targets rather quickly! - Martin was cheerful, as usual. Eventhough he did participate in a war three years earlier, his patriotic optimism didn't let him get effected by the experience. He had a tendency to not let reality interfere with his philosophy. - And what resistance could those poor states offer anyway?

- That's not the point! We can't just go around conquering the whole world! - Joachim was thinking about Erhard.

- And why not? - Wilhelm was silent until now, but he felt it's time to join the conversation. - Let the Communists do it instead?

- Well, no, of course not... But the British and...

- The British and their Empire of colonies, preaching freedom and equality! The hypocrats... And the French are cast in the same mold. They had the right idea but they are too weak to actually implement it. Their time is over. The time of the German Reich has come! - Anna was awed by Wilhelm's little speech. Hans had to intervene.

- And what about the Americans? They quickly got over the Great Depression and are not likely to succumb so easily.

- And why would that be a problem for Germany? Do you think that the Americans are our enemy? Why would they be? They are not concerned in European affairs, and Germany is not concerned in American affairs. Not to mention that our biggest commercial partner before the war was the United States, until those British rats started sinking our honest merchantmen!

- From what I've heard, the American people will most likely elect Fritz Julius Kuhn, the candidate of the German-American Bund into Presidency next year - said Martin.

german_american_bund.png

Center: the German-American Bund parades in New York; top left: Fritz Julius Kuhn, leader and Presidential Candidate of the German-American Bund; top right: Fritz Julius Kuhn delivers a speech at a rally; bottom left: a Bund-Rally in the Medison Square Garden, in 1939.

- I don't think we should worry about them in the slightest. Where's Anna? - They looked around but couldn't find her. She must have sneaked out of the room while they were occupied with the passionate talks of Wilhelm.

- Anna? - Hans stood up to go look for her fiancé in the kitchen, but she just came back from there, with a big chocolate cake in his hands with candles on it. "Oh yeah, I forgot why we actually came together!..." thought Hans.

- Happy birthday, Joachim! - said Anna, handing the cake to Joachim.

- Happy birthday! - said all the others, then they all went back to the kitchen to get a slice of the wonderful cake.


*** *** *** *** ***​

- How about "It's a man's life in the Kriegsmarine!"?

- And what does that supposed to mean anyway?

- Well... You know... That you need to be a real manly man to join the navy and serve on a warship! - Martin and Hans were working on a new recruitment poster for the Kriegsmarine. The picture showed a young sailor in uniform, his expression confident as he looked into the distance. In the background was a somewhat stylized picture of the new, Graf Zeppelin class carrier and next to it, the siluette of a submarine. Working together with Hans was worth it to Martin for the most part, but sometimes he could get a bit too scrupulous. - Why? Do you have a better idea?

- No, but it's not my job to come up with the ideas. I'm only qualified to rate your ideas. - Hans enjoyed the situation. He really felt like he contributed to the intellectual effort, yet he kind of had Martin in his power.

- Alright. There was something fishy about that slogan anyway... Get it? Fishy? - Martin was very proud of this joke, eventhough it was even worse in German. Hans was not impressed at all. - Sooooo... We need something short, inspiring, patriotic but not too deep. What would make you join the navy?

- Well, I guess I would have to go insane first.

- "If you are insane, join the Kriegsmarine!" That doesn't sound too catchy... Okay, let's think about it a bit. Why does the navy need more recruits?

- Because they are building new ships which need new sailors.

- Exactly. Now, why are they building new ships?

- Because they don't have enough? - Hans was a bit confused. This was not the usual way of their cooperation.

- Enough to do what? I'll tell you what: to defend our convoys from the British submarines! That's it! We will have to emphasize on the threat posed by the huge, mighty Royal Navy! They have hundreds of submarines hunting for our poor, defenseless merchants! They practically placed a naval blockade on us, similarly to the one in the Great War! And they even would have mined the coast of neutral Norway a month ago, the bastards... - Martin was starting to get carried away. That was much more like their usual working method. - The slogan will be about saving our countrymen from the British wolfs! What do we import from overseas?

- Coffee?...

- Not important enough.

- Well, I know quite a few people who would argue with that... What about steel? Joachim always whines about steel imports.

- Excelent! "Join the Kriegsmarine, or the British will steal our steel!" - Hans wasn't impressed by this pun either.

- Isn't that a bit too long?

- What about "Sailors safeguard Swedish steal!"?

- And what about our own submarines? Don't they do the same thing?

- They do nothing of the sort. Our Unterseeboots are on survailence duty, monitoring the movements of the enemy.

- If you say so...


*** *** *** *** ***​

October 3rd, 1939. An Armoured Training Camp, somewhere in Bavaria, in the heart of the German Reich. The mess hall. Wilhelm felt he should get to know his men a bit more, so he decided to have lunch with them.

- You know, I really don't understand why they can't cook better than this. - First Seargent Hermann Benz, the gunner of Wilhelm's new crew and his second in command was a cheerful young man. He always found something to complain about, but never actually cared too much.

- I've had worse. - Seargent Karl Wulff, the driver of the crew was a veteran of the Great War. Unlike the others, he knew what it is like not only to fight in a war, but to lose it, too.

- Yes, we know you had, and you never shut up about it...

- Show some respect! - Wilhelm didn't like the attitude of First Seargent Benz. Eventhough he was senior in rank to Seargent Wulff, this was no way to treat someone who could be his own father.

- Thank you Captain von Walsrode, but I'm perfectly able to defend myself from a brat like him. - First Seargent Benz laughed out, and sat down with his plate.

- Anyway, did you hear the news? Tartu finally fell yesterday and Estonia surrendered. And I thought we will have something to do when the training is over...

- Oh, don't be so cocky - said Seargent Wulff.

- Yes, I know, I shouldn't long for battle, I heard this record too.

- No, you don't understand. You seriously think that the Baltic States were the last on the list? We will have a lot to do, don't you worry about that...

- Great! I can't wait! The other two could only hold for a mere week and Estonia only took this long because of the distance, too. If things go this easily when we get into action, I don't have to worry about anything!

- What about the British and the French?

- What about them?

- Well, do you think they will simply forget about this whole affair?

- Well actually, yes, I think they will. There's no point in them doing anything else. Our defences on the French border are impenetrable and their amphibious invasion attempts were ridiculous at best. What else can they do? Fly here? - he laughed out again.

- How about the naval blockade? Our nation can't produce everything it needs, and we are completely cut from the rest of the world because of the British submarines! And you know what? That also happened once already. It didn't work out that well back then...

- Yes, but then we were fighting the Russians, and Italy too. Now Russia is neutral and Italy is our ally! There's no reason to worry I tell you.

- I hope you are right, I really do. If only my bones weren't telling me otherwise...


Index
 
Last edited:
I suddenly understand the AAR's title :p
interfering with Stalin's interests...can't wait to find out how he'll respond.
 
@Morrell8: Yeah, me too. Or at least from some loading screen, not sure if it was M:TW2 though.

@Enewald: On October 6th, 1939, according to intelligence, the German-American Bund (NS) has 40%, the Democrats (SL) has 31%, and the Republicans (SC) have 6%. Also noteworthy is the Communist Party's (S) 9% and the America's First Comitee's (PA) 7%. The Silver Legion of America (F) has only 4%. Then again, this is only my Intelligence screen, so the values may be somewhat different. Still, the 9% difference between the NS and SL parties is very promising.

@misterbean: He won't. With no M-R Pact, the only expansionist step Stalin could make was the Finnish Summer War. No Bessarabia and no Ultimatum to the Baltic States. He might get some fancy ideas about attacking me before I do the same to him, but that would be rather stupid on his part, considering that Japan has won in China already, and is stationing her troops in Manchuria.
While we are at it: I guess I will have to make some changes to the savegame if Japan enters the fray, because Mengkukuo has 102 brigades, and I have a suspicion that they are actually Japanese units in disguise, and they won't go fighting for Japan as they should...


@Everyone: Things will calm down a bit for some time, because as Martin said, we practically ran out of potential targets. But that doesn't mean that there won't be any excitement! We have a Romanian and an American election to watch, the Carriers will be finished soon, and there's some serious sh*t going on in my build queue, too! (And there will be more, once the 30 IC for the Carriers comes back!) Oh, yeah, and there will be a wedding in March, if nothing inteferes with the events! ;)