"Av Stål och Svenskar!" - 1936

Hansson currently rules the political landscape, favouring a more war-focused political background. He also pushed for a new Social Democrat dogma, the Guardian view. He believes, along with most of the party constituents, that Scandavia is Sweden's responsibility. Hansson further exorcised these beliefs by making a public statement to the world, "Today Sweden has proclaimed the nations of Norway and Finland to be firm and propitious nations directly under the auspices of Stockholm." Norway was very disgruntled with the proclamation and pressed Hansson to retract his statement. Chief of the Army Oscar Nygren was quoted as saying, "Make us." to the Norwegians.

The Landsverk AB was put in charge of keeping the infantry up to date. This choice was obviously debated heavily, General Thörnel lobbying for a more heavy focus on the development of tanks. A continued political grid-lock also held up production for the year, the fiscal budget for 1936 still being hammered out between the Social Democrats and the coalition of parties that had formed to counter their continued domination. General Thörnel was at the head of this group, trying to use his ties with the agricultural parties to weasel his way into a cabinet seat during the up-coming 'Summer Government' session. Meanwhile Scania-Vabis, a recently nationalised corporation, was put to work on improving the industrial infrastructure which had begun to lag behind. They were chosen over another, more experienced, domestic company because their skills would be more likely put to use for the foreseeable future.

Hemmaförsvaret was disarmed. Fifty thousand trained men now were added to the conscription pool of the Swedes. Furthermore these now 'civilian' citizens were free to spend their money, a recent restriction imposed by Nygren to lower the cost of maintaining their small military the money was held in the Sveriges Riksbank, the Swede central bank until they were dismissed from service. The boom in demand led to an increased vacuum as tax receipts grew slightly larger for the budget year.

These are the two armies of Sweden, Stal Armen of Thörnel and the Norte Armen of Hamilton in Lulea. Hamilton was ordered to move his troops to Stockholm to reduce the logistical strain. From his office in the capital Thörnel poured threw the calculated budgets from 1935. Due to the continued deadlock, now largely instigated by himself, there were no reliable reports with which to allocate resources. Still the cabinet room erupted with battle every morning and closed with the final stalling speeches of Hansson. Even King Gustav the V was becoming increasingly weary of the lack of action being taken. It was with this observation that Thörnel would make a deadly gambit and approach the King's Chambers directly after the meeting.

Olof Thornel was born to a mid-level family in 1877 in the Swedish countryside. He registered and excelled in the premier Stockholm military academy, his merit locking in his success as Oscar II, the current Gustav the V's father, wandered the very same halls and made sure there was always a place in the Swede army for this budding tactician. In 1914 the Great War broke out and after spending most of his life in the neutral country he grew weary of simply reading and analyzing battlefield reports. Even though he had distinctively stronger ties to Germany he was barred from entrance, King Gustav the V worrying that if this brilliant man in fact proved pivotal it could drag the whole country to war. Such single-man initiatives would prove feasibly as the Red Baron rained terror from above several years into the fighting.

Thus he joined the French Foreign Legion at the onset of war. Due to his expertise he was handed one of the few Legion regiments. At Marseilles and Northern France his unit never wavered, often charging down the center to relieve pressure from the flanks that constantly found themselves under attack from advancing Germans. Down to some fifty-three percent of combat ready troops he was ordered to hold the little farming village of Don Pierre, several kilometers away from Paris. The action was absolutely necessary as the French-British lines needed to reorganize and build earthworks for the capital. His five hundred six men fought for two straight weeks against two experienced German divisions. Their devotion, their skill and the fear Thornel's regiment brought mirrored the SS in the second world war. Finally he gave the order to withdraw, a relatively new tactic that had not been implemented in the Swede military doctrine until after the 1800s. The rigidities of infantry life scare him from this point on.

On March 1918, having received a near mortal shrapnel wound to one of the main viens in his thigh he was rushed home on direct orders from the Monarchy. He was hailed as a hero, the French Foreign Legion even raised a monument to him on the frontlines but within a month it had been blown to pieces by assiduous German artillery. Finally recovering from his injuries in 1924 he enrolled in the Stockholm Academy to obtain a Masters in Economic Theory. His research constantly returned him the works of Karl Marx, whose Labour Theory of Value-dependent theory had just been disproven by the Austrian school of economics. The most notable opponent to the LTV was Bohm-Bawerk. This did not deture as he jumped into the original German Das Kapital text and ended his series on the Communist Manifesto. He ended up staying in the Academy until 1930 to get his Ph.D. in Economic Theory, his dissertation on Socialism was well received in the red-tinted country.

During his schooling he also brushed up on his Swedish history, the intellectual taxation of war had ripped much of it from his memory. His anger grew as he read about the Swedish Empire, the first great Gustav and the final lines of extension. It was this same research that brought him to the conclusion, despite his Communist tendencies, to curse the name of Russia and fully support a Greater Sweden. Up on tacks in his office is a picture of Sweden, the nations of Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia coloured a magnanimous Swede blue. Finding Norway to have never been fully controlled he is more than ready to rekindle the national union that died in 1905.



Hansson has led the Social Democract party for what seems a millennium, wielding his great political power to create an industrialized welfare state during the tragic depths of the world Depression, quickly becoming the envy of the world. In Scandinavia he is regarded as the picture perfect national leader even if he recently angered the Norwegians he is still held in high regard in both public and government eyes. His success has garnered a massive degree of support for both his party and own effigy.

His recent years have been spent constantly fighting against Thornel in his own cabinet over the military matters, though he has absolutely no military background. His own doctrine dictates that every other province in the north should have an infantry division standing guard. In southern Sweden the density would be intensified, owing to the greater population and economic concentration in this region. Each sector, the north and south, would have a reserve. In the North the troops would consist of a mountain division or two along with an equal or slightly greater amount of standard infantry. In the south the reserves would be dependent on semi-mechanized cavalry which could quickly sweep in and reinforce any wavering positions. The major argument raised and generally agreed to is that while Thornel's plan required a higher level of infrastructure the troops would be, in peace time, undeployed and held exclusively at Stockholm to lower the logistic strain as is currently underway. While having reserves constantly active would drain resources from other sectors of the economy.

Per Albin Hansson's foriegn policy was largely geared to not angering Germany and to increase ties with the Soviet Union. He has also ardently pushed for another union between Norway and Sweden, even if his recent comments seem to push an even more interventionist policy. While the western countries often found Russia to be an inferior military power the Swedes understood exactly what numbers could do having constantly experienced manpower shortages due to the smaller troop pool. He is rumored to have held meetings with Stalin in Moscow, this is fueled by his recent distancing between his party and Finland whom the coalition, led by Thornel, viewed suspiciously and even went so far as to open an office in the Finnish capital. This had the benefit of bringing much needed funds to the cash-strapped coalition. Hansson believes that a united Socialist front , with the Soviet Union as a great guardian angel, could make Sweden impenetrable.

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Author's note: These characters have been altered from their Real-Life lives to my own preference. Basically Thornel would be annexing many surrounding countries while Hansson would simply try to bring Finland and Norway into a Scandavian alliance. As well, if Hansson is chosen the military focus will shift from armoured combat to infantry with some supporting elites and cavalry units. (Hansson does not want to have anything to do with the Baltic states). As well Hansson is largely Defensive and is Pro-Soviet due to his political lean. Thornel, as I've written, should be more supportive of France due to his service there so he's actually a swing between joining the Axis or Allies (probably Axis because of the balance issues, i.e. Allies always winning because of America.) Thornel is also more interventionist, so if he does recieve overwhelming support early on there's a good chance he'll send troops to the Spanish Civil War (i.e. force an alliance with one side and send troops directly in), I haven't decided which side I'd have him join though... that's a problem. I figure the alliance is feasible for two reasons, either side will desperately need allies and the second is that Thornel is a war-mongering bastard. Hansson's involvement is also a swinger, mainly because of his Socialist ties. Perhaps I'd have him send only one or two infantry divisions as support, to reflect his lesser commitment.

Alright guys, I'm going to need some input before I continue on and I really want to start playing D: (on January 1st, 1936 still). So while Hansson is in power here's a pressing issue I need answered: Finnish-Swede alliance or a Swede-sustained Lithuania? Of course with Albin in control neither will come out on top so I need you guys to decide on: Thornel or Hansson? If Hansson is chosen then I will be switching the objectives of this AAR to: Acquire Norway as ally, raise a purely defensive force, join the Cominterm. (This will likely lead to a Allies-USSR war immediately after Axis-Ally war which the allies will most likely win). Plus respond soon

The cabinet broke out in even more intense debating as the recent shift in foreign policy has upset a large portion of the sparser northern citizens, several government labour unions striked in protest. This obviously disrupted the economic situation but in order to show that this new focus would not leave the peoples of Sweden with a heavy tax burden and little gain a short-term tax cut was initiated until the riots could be calmed down by local police forces. Thornel was most obviously upset by this, he demanded that the civilian cabinet allow him to march on the "delirious rabble". In spite of constant requests he was repeatedly denied.



The thirteen-ship Swede navy was transitioned from several ports to the capital of Stockholm. Much like their land counterparts this action was done simple to lower the cost of running the military as the tax cuts had soured reciept projections heavily. A search was sent for a wizard of logistics in the naval chain of command but this requirement was too steep for the four-man staff who only held the quality of superior tactics. An enterprising young Ehrensvärd was promoted from Vice to Full Admiral because of his previous work managing a naval shipping company from the capital itself. With no practical skills the navy was resigned to be a 'fleet-in-being'.



A Parisian spy was found! This has deeply hurt relations between the League of Nations and as a direct consequence the cabinet unanimously agreed to pull from the League, once of its most ardent supporters. The global tensions were bubbling to the surface. The economy rebounded and at first site of this Thörnel and his coalition ordered that the navy and army be re-armed with the most recent technology in exchange for support Hansson's of the expansion of the Scania-Vabis's factories along with the later private-public factories of Landsverk AB as a reward for their continued aid to the country. All these factories would be focused on Stockholm and to magnify the impact an infrastructure re-haul was to concomitantly occur. These deals were agreed to.



As the dissent died down and the economy swung back to full force the Scania-Vabis building was being constructed. The cessation of military recruitment left a massive group of young men who would normally be in uniform out in the streets working jobs and spending money. True to their word Thörnel's coalition allowed the legislature for the 'Three Year Act of Economic Development' (3AED) to pass unmolested. Olof hoped that the additional industries would be able to pump out his tanks in a short enough period of time to meet the demands of the military council.



Research in both fields has almost been completed by June 30th, 1936 exceeding the proposed schedule of late 1936. Things were shaping up well but the opening of new technology would again bring the furious arguments that had come to characterise the comedic renderings of political analysts about the Stockholm bureaucracy. Hansson pushed for agricultural investment and Thörnel supported tank research but with the Summer Government arriving at such a serendipitous time it was expected that save a miracle Olof would get his way this time around.



The Summer Government finally arrives! With Pehrsson, the Bondeförbundet and King Gustav the V in his pocket Thörnel was set to be in a very powerful position. As Axel primarily as a figurehead the puppetmaster behind the game would prove to be the military strategist. The next months would bring a staggering amount of change to the country.

Lelouch said:

Subscribed
Why is the AoD forum so dead? >.>

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@Lelouch: Thanks! I have no idea, I was utterly shocked that DvD hadn't posted an update to his epic Das war ein Befehl in over a year truly a saddening day for me . But it's good to see you're still around making AARs. As for the style (in reference to your PM) I've got a full load of school and work so I'm going Spartan but trying to keep it clean and sharp. I was wondering how to put cores, I figured it out a while ago but have since forgotten, but because I use Linux I don't know if one little change will break the game for me (shocked I've gotten it to work at all have been trying sporadically for months).

Lelouch said:

Yeah, loved DvD's AAR, too

Putting cores is something I can't help out with sadly - I rarely change anything in the game folder except for graphics and names ^^;

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Would you happen to have any idea where to find pictures for WWII~ era Swedish military? I really want to try and add some flavour :3. This new update is going to be decent sized, planned on making bi-yearly updates by I got stopped mid November

The Spainards erupt into a civil war on July 17th, 1936. Hansson is understandably pissed that he's unable to help the old socialist government. He plots about sending in Thörnel's men to fight in Spain and to get him out of Sweden. If all else failed he could give him a suicidal mission and brand him a coward had he failed. Both sides look weak but our spies suspect that it is only the initial shock of such tumult that has caused this temporary jaundice. As it stood the Summer Gov't did not send any aid, rather focusing on more domestic matters. Pehrsson was a reliable puppet and Gustav the V was happy to be in more de facto control but being used to not exercising it nothing was disrupted.


July 15th, two days before initiation of intra-Spanish hostilities, Basic Machine Tools is completed. The Bofors AB begins a Census Tabulating Machine project and Thörnel promises the centrists he'll use the next open science institute to work on agricultural reform. August 13th after Early Infantry is finished Olof keeps his word and orders the KTh group to create a report on possible advances and machinery.


Per Albin Hansson and his Social Democrats attempt to take back the government on September 29th, 1936 as had been planned and agreed upon earlier. Unbeknown to them Thörnel had no intentions of keeping promises he never made and quickly consolidated power by not upsetting farmers and swaying the loyalties of the Kind, and thus Sweden's pride... their army.

The night of terror that fell down just before midnight of the 29th and for days after shocked the country. Industry was stunted as Social Democrats rioted in the streets and thousands of citizens became criminals looting and stealing everything they could, taking advantage of the mayhem that befell their once peaceful country. Bullets rang in Stockholm and across the entire territory of Sweden. Police units were severely strained but had been able to maintain some semblance of order.



With great celerity Thörnel was put into the positions of Chief of Staff as well for the Army and Air Force. Erik Palmstierna was considered a nothing, almost like he existed to simply fill space. Even if Erik had the un-original idea of taking the navy and heading to some foreign country to escape the likelihood that this new government would not be able to find them again, especially after not losing too much international support for the overtly violet revolution, were slim to none.

Economically most of the industries dominated or inherently oligopolies were nationalised such as the vital war resources like ore mining, refinement, shipping and other miscellenously necessary jobs. The Nation was again tried heavily for their new change in world views as school teachers joined the early riots and strikes. Unlike foreign policy, which was drastically altered by the new cabinet, the military and most other aspects of day-to-day life the military maintained a conscription-esque structure. Such oddities were peculiar but as the government became more belligerent this would likely change as well.


And so the drums of war signal the destruction of a new nation on September 30th, 1936. Still with only two green, precluding their commanders, divisions the task was daunting. It was Thörnel's plan to land Hamilton at Memel to secure a beachhead before the furtive Lithuanians could defend their shores. Suffice to say adding war atop the internal turmoil was questionable.

The same day we've found our chest in a rather large pile of faeces. However! Sweden does have Operation Red Thunder... and it will begin.


Okay... so back to the drawing board.


This is going to get interesting real fast.

Lelouch said:

Wow, instant clusterf*ck. Interesting

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Aye, I really did not expect SU to go crazy over that. Really didn't want to give them a war economy for three years before they invade Finland :/. Ah well, it's no fun if its easy.

EDIT:
As well I have finals and projects for the next two weeks, so until May 10th I won't likely update.

warhell said:

Comintern vs Axis vs Allies. Intersting!

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I don't actually think Axis are against the Allies, at least not yet, but seeing as I'm dropping a class (to be made up in the summer :/) I might be able to get an update up. No promises though lol