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ROMMEL_HSQ

Major
43 Badges
Jun 2, 2005
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Game: HOI3:SF (Patch 2.04d)
difficulty: Hard
Mod: HPP 1.8.1
Kriegsmarineships-1.gif
Background:
Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy (Kriegsmarine) ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939. The plan called for a Kriegsmarine of 10 battleships, four aircraft carriers, three battlecruisers, eight heavy cruisers, 44 light cruisers, 68 destroyers and 249 U-boats by 1944 that was meant to challenge the naval power of the United Kingdom. -Wiki


In this AAR I will attempt to fulfill the Z-plan before I start any wars. I'm not sure how many destroyers/submarines one unit is supposed to represent, but I used 10 submarines=1, and 5 destroyers=1

First update next post :)
 
1st January 1936:
The German Reich military was expanding, but the focus of this expansion was in heated discussion between the 3 arms of the Reich military. The final decision was made in favor on the Kriegsmarine, and the Z-plan proposed by Admiral Raeder, Chief of the Navy.

MeetingRaeder.jpg

Hitler and Raeder shaking hands after the decision to favor the Navy

The plan for a strong Kriegsmarine involved having the following operational navy:
-4 Aircraft Carriers
-10 Battleships (2 Pocket-Battleships ready in 1936)
-8 Heavy Cruisers
-44 Light Cruisers
-14 Destroyer groups
-25 u-boat wolfpacks

For implementing the plan, the industry was expanded, with over 22IC's ordered (5x2, 12x1). And out of 17 research project the government can support, 14 were dedicated for Navy tech.


Intel and Diplomacy:
The foreign ministry was focused on influencing Romania for its oil fields, and Hungary as a strategic ally to the south. Our intelligence in the meantime were focused on the home front, to support the ruling party.
diplomacy.jpg

The world alignment in 1936

Military reorganization:
On the 13th January 1936, the Reich Order of Battle (OOB) was modified as following:

-OKH: East Prussia, and Polish borders
*Heeresgruppe A:
1. Armee (2 korps, 6 Divisions)
2. Armee (3 Korps, 9 Divisions including 3 Panzer Divisions)

*Heeresgruppe B:
4. Armee (2 korps, 6 Divisions)
5. Armee (2 korps, 5 Divisions)

-OKW: French borders
*Heeresgruppe C:
3. Armee (4 korps, 13 Divisions)


In the 25th January, the government decided to investment more into the education, giving a huge boost to officers and research projects funding. Next month, new military laws regarding training were enacted as well. It also saw Italy annexing Ethiopia.
Traininglaw.jpg

Educationinvestment.jpg

Education and Training Laws

The next months the allies tried to negotiate the second London Naval Treaty. Both Japan and Italy refused to sign it. Germany government didn't participate as well.

Other notable events:
-On May, 1936, our government started taking steps ignoring the Versailles Treaty. German troops begun deploying in the Rhineland.
-Mid June: Spanish civil war intervention on the Nationalists side.

forts-1.jpg

Extending the Siegfried Line
November:
In November, fortifications along the French borders were completed. Extending the Siegfried Line to the Swiss borders. 17 new IC's started operating in East Prussia, mostly dedicated to Naval armament for the Z-plan. The free and new IC's were initially used to upgrade some of our infantry brigades, to be followed by the following order:
- 6 DD's
- 1 BC
- 1 CA
- 3 CL's
- 3 Bismark-class BB's
a3_landscape_bismarck.jpg

Bismark-Class Battleship Blueprint

By 5th of May, 1937 our military forces have barely increased.
units.jpg


1937-1938

dhm763.jpg

A Type VII uboat, hundreds of these were ordered.
July 1937:
In July, war broke out in the east. The Empire of Japan declared war on China after the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident". Japanese attacks were swift, and the chines were crumbling on all fronts offering no resistance.
JapanDoW.jpg
Japan Declaration on 2nd of July​

Later that year, Japan installed a puppet government in the conquered territories.
JapanDoW2.jpg


Germany wasn't inactive during that period. Our intel was working hard to support our party ideology in Austria, and this cumilated in the Annexation of Austria in 20th, Januard 1938.
austria.jpg

The Reich almost fully united!

The world reaction to the take over was hostile, but they had nothing to do except recognizing our new status as a Major regional and world power.
major.jpg

Germany takes its rightful place among the world

In late August 1938, the chines became desperate with their diplomats requests to form an alliance. Even though they offered a huge economical benefits to Germany in the case of defeating Japan, our government had to turn them down. The Reich was not yet in shape for a war with a major power...a Naval Major power nonetheless.
china.jpg

Situation in China at the time


September 1938:
The Z-plan was to focus on the German Navy, but that didn't mean our armies would be neglected. In 6th of September, 4 new Panzer divisions were formed (5th, 10th, 6th and 2nd SS). Orders were given to form 3 new motorized infantry divisions to support them.
newpanzers.jpg

newmot.jpg

Production of new army units and submarines.


Czechoslovakia Fate:
Celebration over uniting with Austria didn't mean that we forgot our brothers elsewhere. In the summer of 1938, demands to secede the Sudetenland increased. The European powers saw the wisdom in such a move, and the treaty of Munich was born.
czech.jpg
 
Last edited:
Already looks very nice . i'm subbed.
Where d'you get the first poster?

and 1st :D
 
Interesting idea. How will your completed navy compare to other current (1938) navies?
 
Already looks very nice . i'm subbed.
Where d'you get the first poster?

and 1st :D
Thanks for subscribing :D
For the poster, it was among the first images after a image-google search with "Kriegsmarine". The website doesn't work for some reason.
 
Interesting idea. How will your completed navy compare to other current (1938) navies?
I really have no idea about the allies navies in the game. I honestly don't know much about Navy...so if you see me posting a US destroyer as a German Carrier don't be surprised :eek:o
 
I really have no idea about the allies navies in the game. I honestly don't know much about Navy...so if you see me posting a US destroyer as a German Carrier don't be surprised :eek:o

hehe .. we wil be indulgent... NOT:mad: (just kidding)

Bout them cariers do you have an ETA ? and what level will they be?
 
1939
In February, 1939, the Kriegsmarine welcomed the addition of the two Heavy Cruisers KMS Lutzow and KMS Seydlitz as well as five Light Cruisers (KMS Rostock, KMS Dresden, KMS Wiesbaden, KMS Oberhausen, and KMS Gelsenkirchen).
1.jpg

2.jpg

Hitler inspecting KMS Seydlitz

After celebrating addition of the new ships, eyes went to Czechoslovakia again, and this time it was to partition the state between The Reich and our allies in Hungary.
3.jpg

The regions that were taken over by Hungary. Poland took the opportunity to force their claims on Orlova

4.jpg

France and UK inaction encouraged Italy and on the 25th of Feb, they declared war on Albania.

During 1939, Chines attempts to ally the great Reich were in full force. Diplomats from other Chinese minors were also asking for alliance with promises of huge economical benefits.
5.jpg

The government got a lot of offers from the Chinese, to the point of annoyance


The Allies make the first move:
In March, in a secret conference between France and the United Kingdom, talks about the response to German expansion were discussed. The decision was reached later at the night. France and UK have subjected Germany to an embargo.
6.jpg

Our protest to the embargo was sent through our embassies in Paris and London


The Germans although hurt by the embargo, did not stop their plans to unite the German people under one states. In March, pressure on Lithuania gave positive results.
7.jpg

Memel united again with Germany

German foreign policy lead by Ribbentrop proposed the Anti-Comintern pact to Japan, Italy, United Kingdom and Poland. It was hoped that this pact will appease the British to left their embargo, but it was refused. Only Italy and Japan became signatories of this pact.
8.jpg

The Japanese signatory, Ambassador Viscount Kintomo Mushakoji watches as Hitler's foreign affairs adviser Joachim von Ribbentrop signs the Anti-Comintern Pact

After the signing of the pact, Japan asked for our recognition of Manchukuo, which was granted.
9.jpg

Germany recognition of Manchukuo


Z-Plan Progress:
In June 1939, the design phase of the Graf Zeppelin-class Carrier was finished. In accordance with the Z-plan, four of the Graf Zeppelin carriers were ordered. The carriers are expected to finish in July 42. Three additional Light Cruisers were also in progress, to be finished in June 40. Our three Bismarck-class Battleships were also near completion as well as a new Battlecruiser.
10.jpg

Steady progress of the Z-plan

News from the east:
The night of the 24th of June, 1939 saw two important events. Pushed by UK and Poland refusal to sign the anti-commintern pac. A Non-agreession pact was signed with the Soviet Union, including a secret clause for the partition of Poland and the Baltic states. On the Far East, Japan completed its strong grip on China when the Republic of China surrendered, and their territory was transferred to their puppet state of Republic of China-Nanjing.
11.jpg

The events of 24th of June 1939

First Capital Ship:
In 13th of July 1939, the first Scharnhorst-class Battlecruiser, KMS Moltke, was completed in Wilhelmshaven. The Battlecruiser main armament was the 40.6cm SK C/34 Triple turrets. Its 185,000shp Germania Turbines gave it a maximum speed of 34KPH and an operational range of 4000KM.
12.jpg

US intel reports (with false info) leaked to the press regarding the new Battlecruiser
13.jpg

Forward guns of KMS Moltke

Things were not over in July, the 3 Bismarck-class Battleships, KMS Bismarck, KMS Tirpitz, and KMS Hindenburg were completed ahead of schedule on the 14th July 1939. This brought the total number of Battleships to five.
14.jpg

KMS Tirpitz as seen from the deck of KMS Bismarck

Five additional Battleships of the IX-class were ordered and are estimated to finish in November 41.

Bulgaria allegiance:
Bulgaria has so far been friendly toward Germany and the prospect of a future Axis. Although our foreign ministry was focused on Romania and Hungary, Ribbentrop was shocked (with the rest of the world) when the Soviet Union and Bulgaria signed a military alliance. Romania panicked at the news, but their government still refused to consider of the prospect of an Axis alliance, believing a neutral stance is in their best of interests.
15.jpg

Soviet Union and Bulgaria

Military stats by 1st of September 1939:
The Kriegsmarine almost doubled its navy vessels, while the Heer gain in brigades is largely affected by the joining of Austrian army. Our Luftwaffe gained only 9 new squadrons to add to its fighters.
16.jpg
 
hehe .. we wil be indulgent... NOT:mad: (just kidding)

Bout them cariers do you have an ETA ? and what level will they be?

The dates are in the new update :)
I decided to not build carriers until I can build the Graf Zepplin class. Sadly for Germany in HPP, they have 0 tech in the carrier tree...which delayed the start of construction until 39 :(
 
Hmm Interesting, really interesting. Maybe I could give you some corrections to the Z-plan. The Deutchalnd class Heavy Cruisers (Pocket Battleship by allies, and if I'm right convoy raiders by Germans) are not considered in the Z plan becuse they are 30's era ships. Also the two obselete ww1 era Deutchalnd class battleships neither included in the Z plan. Z plan is the Scharnhorsts, Bismarcks, the H battleships as the 2-2-6=10 BB's, 3 O class BC's 4 Graf Zeppelin CV's (2 Grafs plus 2 improved types). Ineresting of 8 heavy cruisers should be in the fleet which meant 3 Deutchalnd class CA and 5 Hipper, while at the end of 1944-45 the KM would have these 8 CA and 12 P class totalling 20 CA's.

Also if you download the graphics pack for HPP it will include nice pictures and drawings for these ships.
I wonder, did you renamed your ships or the Scharnorsts not you first BC's to build, because the first BC name for germany is the KMS Scharnhorst and not Moltke, becuse KMS Moltke is the 4th one and I intended it for the KW 50-class, along with the KMS Von der Tann.
 
Hmm Interesting, really interesting. Maybe I could give you some corrections to the Z-plan. The Deutchalnd class Heavy Cruisers (Pocket Battleship by allies, and if I'm right convoy raiders by Germans) are not considered in the Z plan becuse they are 30's era ships. Also the two obselete ww1 era Deutchalnd class battleships neither included in the Z plan. Z plan is the Scharnhorsts, Bismarcks, the H battleships as the 2-2-6=10 BB's, 3 O class BC's 4 Graf Zeppelin CV's (2 Grafs plus 2 improved types). Ineresting of 8 heavy cruisers should be in the fleet which meant 3 Deutchalnd class CA and 5 Hipper, while at the end of 1944-45 the KM would have these 8 CA and 12 P class totalling 20 CA's.
Thanks alot for the info. I know I'm not going historical, but keep in mind that I'm starting the Z-plan from 36, while in reality it was in 39. Thats why my own ship classes might be older. The only exceptions I made were to the Battleships and carriers (bismarck and Graf Zep). The rest I used general classes of ships to make my life easier ^^


Also if you download the graphics pack for HPP it will include nice pictures and drawings for these ships.
I wonder, did you renamed your ships or the Scharnorsts not you first BC's to build, because the first BC name for germany is the KMS Scharnhorst and not Moltke, becuse KMS Moltke is the 4th one and I intended it for the KW 50-class, along with the KMS Von der Tann.
I didn't rename any. I don't know why the first BC's wasn't named historically...maybe a HPP thing?
 
I didn't rename any. I don't know why the first BC's wasn't named historically...maybe a HPP thing?

No the names should be in this order:
"KMS Scharnhorst" "KMS Gneisenau"
"KMS Von der Tann" "KMS Moltke"
"KMS Oberdonau" "KMS Mecklenburg" "KMS Goeben"
"KMS Derfflinger" "KMS Lützow" "KMS Hindenburg"
"KMS Mackensen" "KMS Graf Spee" "KMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich" "KMS Fürst Bismarck"
"KMS Yorck" "KMS Gneisenau" "KMS Scharnhorst"
"KMS Roon" "KMS Röder"

Which I intended for in order:
Scharnhorst class
KW 50 class
O class
Derfflinger class
Mackensen class
Erstatz Yorck class and the last two are to give some more names.

I need to consult this with others why the names not given by order.
 
I need to consult this with others why the names not given by order.

if a ship is in production(even if only by accident) and it is cancelled, I THINK that counts as that name having been used and it moves on to the next one.
i have done that before and that is what happened
it might not have been HPP though
 
KMS Gelsenkirchen, eh? Fascinating proposal -- I've always wanted to play with the Z-Plan, and did often in Great Naval Battles.

I'll be interested to see how this turns out. It's unfortunate that rushing ships means they're going to be of inferior quality by late war. But that must be, right? Oh well.

Rensslaer
 
if a ship is in production(even if only by accident) and it is cancelled, I THINK that counts as that name having been used and it moves on to the next one.
i have done that before and that is what happened
it might not have been HPP though

Yeah you have to reload to get the unused names in order again.
 
No the names should be in this order:
"KMS Scharnhorst" "KMS Gneisenau"
"KMS Von der Tann"
"KMS Moltke"
"KMS Oberdonau" "KMS Mecklenburg" "KMS Goeben"
"KMS Derfflinger" "KMS Lützow" "KMS Hindenburg"
"KMS Mackensen" "KMS Graf Spee" "KMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich" "KMS Fürst Bismarck"
"KMS Yorck" "KMS Gneisenau" "KMS Scharnhorst"
"KMS Roon" "KMS Röder"

Which I intended for in order:
Scharnhorst class
KW 50 class
O class
Derfflinger class
Mackensen class
Erstatz Yorck class and the last two are to give some more names.

I need to consult this with others why the names not given by order.
It seems that in my game, naming started with KMS Moltke, although I don't remember ordering and then canceling a BC :confused:
KMS Gelsenkirchen, eh? Fascinating proposal -- I've always wanted to play with the Z-Plan, and did often in Great Naval Battles.

I'll be interested to see how this turns out. It's unfortunate that rushing ships means they're going to be of inferior quality by late war. But that must be, right? Oh well.

Rensslaer
Yea, I might be able to deal with the UK...not sure how it will turn out with the USA.
 
Sounds good so far. Do you plan on waiting until the fleet is actually ready before starting the war?

Oh, and I saw you used Wikipedia's numbers for the Z Plan. If you look a little closer at the article, you'll find that it contradicts itself about 3 times in regards to the numbers, and the only "sources" it sites are a name and a page number. Not very accurate. For my Z Plan, I used what was described in this outside forum. It has about 3 threads dedicated to the Z Plan, and all of them cite their sources and discuss the ship numbers during the various stages of the plan, as it was reworked from the '39 original. I also have scans from a book, in German, on post #3 of my AAR.

The real Z Plan, according to the book and not Wikipedia's made up numbers, would be:
8 BB - 2 Bismarck, 6 H
5 BC - 2 Scharnhorst, 3 O
4 CV - 2 Graf Zeppelin, 2 unnamed
20 CA - 12 P (new pocket battleships), 3 Deutschland, 5 Admiral Hipper (convoy raiders)
18 CL - 12 M, 3 K, 1 Emden, 1 Leipzig, 1 Nürnberg
22 DD (5 in-game units) - 22 Spähkreuzer
600 to 800 subs (60-80 in-game units), the amount varies by the source

Of course, it's a little late for you to adjust your build.

Oh, and Germany doesn't have carrier techs because they never finished one. Germany starts off with light carriers researched, because they were converting the passenger liner Ausonia to a carrier at the end of WW1, but never finished it.

The naming problem is a vanilla one. I've seen it too. What I normally do, since I like to have the correct names on my ships, is save before building them, and if the names are off I reload the save, which normally fixes the problem.
 
Sounds good so far. Do you plan on waiting until the fleet is actually ready before starting the war?

Oh, and I saw you used Wikipedia's numbers for the Z Plan. If you look a little closer at the article, you'll find that it contradicts itself about 3 times in regards to the numbers, and the only "sources" it sites are a name and a page number. Not very accurate. For my Z Plan, I used what was described in this outside forum. It has about 3 threads dedicated to the Z Plan, and all of them cite their sources and discuss the ship numbers during the various stages of the plan, as it was reworked from the '39 original. I also have scans from a book, in German, on post #3 of my AAR.

The real Z Plan, according to the book and not Wikipedia's made up numbers, would be:
8 BB - 2 Bismarck, 6 H
5 BC - 2 Scharnhorst, 3 O
4 CV - 2 Graf Zeppelin, 2 unnamed
20 CA - 12 P (new pocket battleships), 3 Deutschland, 5 Admiral Hipper (convoy raiders)
18 CL - 12 M, 3 K, 1 Emden, 1 Leipzig, 1 Nürnberg
22 DD (5 in-game units) - 22 Spähkreuzer
600 to 800 subs (60-80 in-game units), the amount varies by the source

Of course, it's a little late for you to adjust your build.

Oh, and Germany doesn't have carrier techs because they never finished one. Germany starts off with light carriers researched, because they were converting the passenger liner Ausonia to a carrier at the end of WW1, but never finished it.

The naming problem is a vanilla one. I've seen it too. What I normally do, since I like to have the correct names on my ships, is save before building them, and if the names are off I reload the save, which normally fixes the problem.
Thanks for the info!!
Yea, a little late for me...and I'm hoping to finish at least all the capitals before doing anything. I doubt I can get the CL the wiki mention but maybe your 18 is something manageable. But to say again, I will not stop myself from war until "every" ship is ready.

I will try to read your AAR today hopefully. Still going through the "Great Patriotic war" ^^
oh, and update coming!
 
October 1939-1940

October 1939:
Poland have been increasing its military spending in the last years, in October 39 our intelligence upgraded their stats to a “Regional Power”. More troops are to be stationed on their borders.
1-1.jpg

1a.jpg

Intel report on Poland


Formation of the 1. Panzerarmee:

October also saw the reforming of the 4. Armee into the 1. Panzerarmee. Lt. General von Kleist was promoted to General and took command, with newly promoted Lt. General Model taking the XVIII. Panzerkorps. This army will take the lead in any upcoming conflict, with its division commanders chosen from among the best.
6-1.jpg

General von Kleist greeting Italians and Hungarians troops that participated in joint military exercises

7-1.jpg

Lt. General Walter Model in discussion with a Panzer commander

8-1.jpg

Panzer III Ausf. E formed the majority of our panzers in 1939



The 1. Panzerarmee OOB is as follow:
[
2-2.jpg

9 Panzer, 3 infantry motorized and 5 infantry divisions in total



Soviet Aggression and first Formal Alliance:
The month of November saw the Soviet Union attack on Finland. The world was sympathetic to the Finnish people, and thousands of volunteers went to fight the communist hordes.
3-1.jpg

9-1.jpg

Medical personnel of the 461st Mobile Surgery Unit on the Karelian Isthmus, winter 1939-1940

In November, the Axis officially was formed, with Germany and Hungary as the two founding nations.
5-1.jpg


End of year stats:
10-1.jpg
 
1940: Tensions Rise

February: Allies escalations
Tension in Europe kept on increasing. The French and British were still angry over the Reich peaceful expansions, and its violations of the Naval treaties. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, sent his diplomats with promises to sign the anti-comintern pact if the Reich would drop its Kriegsmarine expansion plans, but the German response was negative. As a result of the failed talks, the French Republic was the first to mobilize their armed forces on the 19th February. This was answered in a similar action in Germany. The UK and Hungary followed on the 24th of February, and 12th of March respectively.
1-2.jpg

The Reich didn’t just mobilize their troops, but the economy was geared for war as well.


Italy, a close friend and ally of Germany was invited to join the Axis on in March. Mussolini accepted the invitation under the condition of respecting Italy sphere of interest in North Africa and the Middle-east.
2-3.jpg

Benito Mussolini with the Fuhrer, in Munich, after joining of the Axis

The Winter War was concluded in May 1940. The Finish state was completely overrun by the Soviet Union and a small divided territory remained.
4-2.jpg

In Spain, the civil war was finally over in 31st of May 1940. But peace was far from over in Europe.
5-2.jpg


USSR Moves:
In 1st of June 1940, USSR sent an Ultimatum to the small Baltic States. In which Estonia refused to give in to the demands and decided to fight for their independence. Estonia tried to take a leading position and offered an alliance to Lithuania and Latvia, but both of them rejected the idea of fighting and accepted the Soviets demands.
6-2.jpg


7-2.jpg

Estonia attempt align itself with our Axis was short lived. Estonia was annexed in 30th of June.

July saw more aggressive diplomacy from the allies. This time from their allies-friendly Denmark.
8-2.jpg

Denmark joined in the embargo of the Reich

The Soviets Union reached a new low in the eyes of the world community in November 1940 after re-declaring on Finland with no justification. Annexing the remains of Finland territory took less than two weeks. The Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations afterwards.
9-2.jpg

Finland surrender after less than two weeks of fighting.

Soviets action was not over in that year. In November, Italians were concerned over what they called the warm relations between an “Aggressive USSR” and their neighbors in Yugoslavia. Initially the Germans were not alarmed by this, given the close alignment of Yugoslavia to the Axis. But on 26th of November 1940, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia announced a military alliance between them.
The Italian response to the new alliance was furious and Mussolini ordered his reserve mobilization, calling the new pact “Danger to Europe peace and its Balance”.
10-2.jpg

USSR and Yugoslavia alliance and Italy response

Slight Change in plans:
After the events of 1940, The Reich was completely surrounded by hostile/non-friendly nations. On the east, Russian aggression and military expansion. On the West, French and British embargo and mobilization. To the North, the Danish embargo and threat of allowing the Allies free passage to the Baltic. In the south, Yugoslavia had allied the Soviets. Lastly, our main oil partner, Romania, has the Soviets and Bulgaria alliance to worry about.
The Fuhrer held daily meetings with Chief of Staff and to discuss the best course of action. The results was that Germany is no position to initiate hostilities before the summer of 42. The industry have to shift focus toward our Heer and expanding the Luftwaffe. For that, a slight modification to the Z-plan and the ready fleet by 42 was reduced and the following build orders were changed:
CA: 8->6
CL: 44 ->19
The capital ships, screens and uboats were ready or in final stages of completion, and canceling them would be a huge waste of time, money and materials.

Diplomatically, attempts to bring Bulgaria, Romania and Nationalist Spain was given top priority, with making sure the USA doesn’t formally join the allies camp.

11-1.jpg

The Reich faces a tight situation by the end of 1940.