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Okay, hit a slight snag in posting...namely having five or so tests this week.

I should, hopefully, be able to post at some point tomorrow though. Also, a question for the native Swedish speakers: what is 'Valiant' in Swedish? I'm planning on naming one of the new ships classes I (eventually) get around to making that. I would just use Google translate or something, but I don't trust that as far as I can throw it :p

Google Translate's "modig" or "tapper" should both be correct; I'm not a native Swede but the language is close to Dutch in most respects.
 
Hi,

"tapper" equals "valiant" best. A ship, at least a large one like a HC or heavier would be named "Tapperheten" i e "Valiantness" though.

Rgds, Oldtimer
 
Google Translate's "modig" or "tapper" should both be correct; I'm not a native Swede but the language is close to Dutch in most respects.

Either could work I guess.
However if I'm not mistaken the in-game original Swedish fleet already has a ship by the name HMS Tapperheten, which I suppose would be the way to use "tapper" in an objects name, while HMS Modigheten would be an objects name if you would use the word "modig". Just using HMS Modig or HMS Tapper works too though, but from what I can find those ship names only came about around the 1990's.

Keep up the good work btw :D, and protect Gothenburg until the very last if it ever comes to that ;)
 
Thanks for the responses! Those should help when it comes to naming my newer ships. And I have an update for everyone too!

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Warriors of the North said:
Chapter 2: January-June, 1937

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The year 1937 began with another change in government. Stanley Baldwin resigned, to be replaced with Neville Chamberlain in Great Britain. This should have mattered little to the Swedes, as they had somewhat loose ties with the British, considering most of their trade was flowing into continental Europe, and Germany was influencing the government away from the Brits. And that, in fact, was why this event drew Swedish attention. Or, rather, drew German attention, and that was something that required the Swedes to keep an eye on things. It was seen as doubtful at the time that anything would really come of this situation however, just that it justified noting in Stockholm.

Rather more pertinent was increased cooperation between Stockholm and Oslo. The Swedes and Norwegians were supporting each others economy on several levels, with the surplus metal that wasn't going to Germany flowing into Oslo, and Norwegian coinage flowing into Stockholm's coffers. The two Nordic states were quite friendly to each other, and at the time some thought an alliance might be possible. As it stood, however, Gustav was still highly resistant to the idea of allying with anyone, so cooperation with Norway remained economic in nature.

However, the Swedes were proving to be somewhat unique in cooperating with their neighbors. For, far away from Scandinavia, things had come to a boiling point in China. Japan had recently left the old Naval Treaties much as Italy had done. At the time, that had been seen as something worrying, but not dangerous. Unfortunately, Japan did not stop there. An incident at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing, the old Imperial Capital, quickly escalated into all out war.

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The Marco Polo Bridge, defended by Republican Chinese troops

The young Republic of China was quickly joined by their former Communist enemies, and the Ma Clique. There seemed to be little they could do to stop the Japanese Kwantung Army however. Shanxi quickly fell, and most of the northern Republic was soon under Japanese occupation. The Chinese fought hard, but they were outmatched in this war. All of that being said, it should have made little realistic difference to the Swedes. What pushed the events in far away Asia to the forefront in Stockholm was a much nearer nation.

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The Soviet Bear was stretching its muscles. While Russia had been fairly quiet outside of sending aid to the Spanish Republicans for some time, this was very worrying. Other side of the world it may have been, the government in Stockholm watched these events with a wary eye. For all the problems with Germany reoccupying the Rhineland, or with Sanjuro's government in Spain, at least those were isolated events. Soviet Russia spread from one end of Eurasia to the other, and was making it clear by its support of China that it was willing to throw its weight around, no matter how far away it was from Moscow.

About the only thing alleviating these worries was news from inside Russia herself. Ever since 1934, the Soviet's had been ripping themselves apart, Purges hitting anyone suspected of not being loyal to the Party...or loyal to Stalin. These had, until recently, been fairly low-key however. Most of the victims had been relatively low-ranking, and wouldn't horribly hurt the Soviets. However, that was all about to change. For Stalin was not finished...the Army would be his next victim of the Great Purges. For the Army was the greatest threat to Josef Stalin's powerbase.

Because of this, an estimated 3-5 percent of the Soviet Officer corps would be purged. Swedish intelligence was never able to get a firm number, but it had to be enough to seriously destabilize the Red Army. For the undercover agents in the Soviet Union noticed that the army was demoralized and short on officers, to the point where it was doubtful they could have beaten the battle-hardened Japanese even if the Soviet Bear had intervened directly. While that news was a relief to the Swedes, it was rather more worrying that Stalin was willing to cripple his own Army in order to secure his power...how long until he turned his eyes outward?

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Josef Stalin, architect of the Great Purges. And Marshal Tukhachevsky, one of the highest-profile victims.

With these events occurring outside the borders of Sweden, we once more turn our eyes inward. With intelligence reports such as these filtering through Stockholm, efforts began to be made to improve and spread out the Swedish industry. For, at the time, the majority of Sweden's industry was concentrated in a handful of cities along the coast, most notably Stockholm herself and Malmo. Realizing that, while convenient, this made the Swedish industry an easy target, it was decided to build the new factories further inland. It was known at the time that it would hurt getting resources to the factories, but at the same time, it meant that should a potential enemy arise, Sweden would have some backup industrial capacity in safer locations.

This decision also had some interesting effects on the Swedish people. Moving the factories to formerly small, un-industrialized cities allowed people still unemployed by the Depression to find new work, outside of mines. These new workers proved to be a valuable asset, increasing productivity in the new factories, and forming a healthy competition with the older works in Stockholm and Malmo. This competition and the new workers combined to form something of an economic boom in the Swedish industry, something that would surely help in the long run. For example, it allowed the first new fighter squadrons to be pushed through, and set up in the factories.

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Not everyone was happy however. While the factory workers had new work and better wages, the workers in Stockholm's shipyards had little to do. Aside from filling orders for Germany's growing merchant marine, they had little work. The High Command had long ago decided to focus on the Army and Air Force before the navy, though they had expanded the drydocks in Stockholm somewhat in the interest of pursuing larger ships, like battlecruisers. However, this lack of focus on the Navy hurt the dockyard workers, who were paid less and less due to lack of jobs to do.

Needless to say, this did not go over well, especially compared to the relative prosperity of the factory workers. Several of the larger Unions banded together, and went on strike. They demanded better wages, and better safety regulations. The latter was likely included to get some more concessions out of Stockholm however, as the dockyard workers were arguably better off than their factory counterparts. Either way though, the Swedish government had more important things to do than try and put down a relatively harmless strike. So representatives of the Government and the Unions met and hashed out a deal. In the short term, Sweden would make a bit less money (money spent on the dockyard workers wages) and it would take some time to get the yards back to full productivity. But it avoided any larger issues, and allowed the High Command to focus on the fighters currently being built.

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The final event of note in the Swedish industrial scene was a breakthrough at Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori. For some time now, there had been efforts to design a new rifle, to replace the aging Mausers currently being used by the Swedish Army. Dozens of designs had been tested and discarded, none proving to be more reliable or easier to produce than the old, but useful, Mausers. That is, until a new semi-automatic rifle design was put forward. It was primitive, compared to later rifles of the same type, but it proved to be at least as reliable as the Mausers, while being faster firing and easier for the cavalry to use.

Needless to say, the Gevär m/37 was quickly rushed into production, and efforts began to reequip the existing Divisions with the weapon. It would take some time to complete, but it would give the Swedish infantry/cavalrymen some extra firepower. And when they would be outnumbered by most any potential enemy, every little bit helped. Of course, work continued to improve the m/37 even further, but the rifle would suffice for the time being. That was the view in Stockholm at the time.

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I have a quick question: Is the way I format things good? Should I have more words-per-screenshot, or less? Or is it sufficient as it stands?
 
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Nice update!
I think the balance is fine, both national/international news and text/screenshot.
 
Hi,

can you somehow counter Germany influencing you? By cabinet changes or intelligence activities?

Rgds, Oldtimer
 
I like the balance too
 
And the world goes even grimmer... well it is WW2. :p

The ammount of text per screenshot is good. :)

Just wait until 1938 :p

Good to know the text is good.

Nice update!
I think the balance is fine, both national/international news and text/screenshot.

Good to know I'm doing well.


Hi,

can you somehow counter Germany influencing you? By cabinet changes or intelligence activities?

Rgds, Oldtimer

There might be a cabinet minister that gives a bonus to the Allies, though I would have to check (I know there is a Comintern one, for what that's worth). That being said, and I tried this in my test game, trying to influence away from Germany won't work if they are determined enough. I could set my own leanings for the Allies, but so long as Germany is influencing me, my position on the pyramid would remain more or less the same.

In other words, unless Hitler doesn't want me to be best buddies, I'm basically stuck where I am (unable to join anyone) or have to join the Axis. Either way, I decided (and probably should have it as a house rule in retrospect) to avoid picking a faction myself. If I end up Axis...well, I end up Axis. That being said, my ideological similarity with the Allies means I'll likely end up in their camp if Germany ever does stop influencing me.

I like the balance too

Thanks! :)
 
I just hope you'll ever get into some conflict! :p

Really though, I'd rather not imagine how you'll describe every little event that is going to take place in the game, let alone during war, though I guess you left out something already. I'll be always somewhat biased towards gameplay-style AARs, but my opinion is that if you're writing primarily to share a game you think it's worth it for whatever reason. If you're not describing the game, then you're using it only as an inspiration and you're not writing an AAR.

Huh, I hope I didn't scare you too much. You're perfectly describing the game, though I think you're procrastinating it a bit too much, but I've found out I can perfectly read it even at 11 p.m., so I guess it's not that bad :D
 
I just hope you'll ever get into some conflict! :p

Really though, I'd rather not imagine how you'll describe every little event that is going to take place in the game, let alone during war, though I guess you left out something already. I'll be always somewhat biased towards gameplay-style AARs, but my opinion is that if you're writing primarily to share a game you think it's worth it for whatever reason. If you're not describing the game, then you're using it only as an inspiration and you're not writing an AAR.

Huh, I hope I didn't scare you too much. You're perfectly describing the game, though I think you're procrastinating it a bit too much, but I've found out I can perfectly read it even at 11 p.m., so I guess it's not that bad :D

Its not my fault Sweden has 100 neutrality! :p

As it sits, I'm using the events right now for lack of anything else to use. Once the war rolls around, I'll likely cut down on anything but very important events, in lieu of focusing on battles (and likely only important ones even). I'm actually looking forward to that, since it gives me more to work with than the events everyone knows about (or at least, everyone who's played HPP).
 
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Warriors of the North said:
Chapter 2.1: June-December 1937

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With the events occurring abroad, Sweden continued to put work into improving its military. While the Army was getting the majority of the upgrades (the Gevär m/37 was very well received by the troops), there was serious work being put into forming a native aircraft industry. The new fuel tanks were, unfortunately, incompatible with the old (if reliable) Bulldogs however. And Sweden still lacked a true home-grown fighter design. So, it was decided to look even further abroad for new aircraft.

At the time, the United States was also looking for new fighters to bolster its obsolescent Army Air Corps. Swedish officials managed to be present at a competition between several different fighters, and one stood out that impressed them. The Seversky SEV-1XP (re-branded the P-35 in American service) highly impressed the Swedes, and orders were soon placed for three squadrons to replace the obsolete Bulldogs in Swedish service. New engines and fuel tanks of Swedish design would be fitted to the fighters, along with a new designation: J 9. These fighters were believed to be at least equal (if not superior in firepower) to the BF-109B currently in German service, examples of which having been acquired from surplus Condor Legion stocks as Germany was attempting to replace the B model with more advanced iterations of the 109 design. [1]

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The Seversky P-35 J 9, Sweden's newest fighter.

The Swedish Navy, while receiving little upgrades, was also showing it still had use, if only for keeping an eye on the coastline. A seaplane from the HSwMS Gotland spotted unidentified ships trying to speed ashore near Stockholm. The Gotland herself was fairly close by, and managed to intercept the unidentified ships. When the cruiser pulled up alongside, the previously mystery ships hauled up a Latvian flag and their crews started to call out, in Latvian, not to shoot. The crew of the Gotland reported being more bemused than angry, as Latvians could have just traded regularly in Stockholm, so they merely escorted the ships back to their homeland, leaving a message with the Latvian government to keep a closer eye on their traders.

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As this chapter has been focusing on the military branches, it is also worth mentioning that in a move that many considered smart and showing remarkable foresight, Sweden did not sell off or scrap the old Mausers. While the Swedish Army, as a Standing force, lacked any militia units, they started to distribute the old Mausers amongst the men of military age who had yet to be drafted. By doing so, it allowed for quicker arming and training of militia, should things ever come to that point.

It was dearly hoped that this was a move that would just be a sensible precaution...never something truly needed, however. Nonetheless, the old Mausers would continue to find a use serving Sweden, if only as a last resort.

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Turning away from internal Swedish issues however, things were bleak. While Europe had calmed down following Sanjuro's victory in Spain, China was becoming a battlefield reminiscent of the worst days of the Great War. The entirety of the northern Republic, and a large part of the eastern Ma Clique, had been occupied by the Japanese. The line had stabilized somewhat around the Communist territory and the Nationalist/Republican[2] North Line, but it was generally seen as a matter of when not if this Line would fall.

Unlike the Spanish Civil War, Sweden was unable to get any officers into China to observe this War however. The only ways into war-torn China were through Japanese territory, the Soviet/Mongolian border, or through China herself. The Japanese were leery of letting Westerners near the front, the Soviets refused any Swedes passage along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Chinese were only allowing in those who would help them. So any news on the Chinese front had to come from the Swedish spy network...something that had been gutted in order to bring any and all trained citizens into the various research fields. All the northerners were able to gather was that the Japanese had advanced air-cover, and their troops were far better trained than the Chinese militia, if heavily outnumbered. It was a good example of an army made of lesser numbers, but higher quality, winning a war however...something that was marginally comforting in Stockholm.

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The Line was stable when this map was produced, but a breakthrough would see the Republic's capital of Nanjing fall by the end of the year

In news closer to Stockholm, the Germans had decided to stop influencing Sweden to their way of thinking. The Social Democrats in power were too far from the Nazi's in ideology, and it was considered more important in Berlin to get like-minded nations into their camp, such as Hungary. However, instead of going back to the status-quo, Sweden found itself being drawn into the British camp. The Entente, or Allied, powers were mostly just Britain (and the Commonwealth) and France/her colonies at the time. However, Britain had noticed how many nations Germany was attempting to draw into their fold, and was making concerted efforts to draw three nations into her camp.

These three were Italy, Portugal, and Sweden. The Italians, despite walking out of the London Conference, were still at least cordial with the British. And while Mussolini's Fascists were no friends of Democracy, some factions in the Entente/Allies were convinced that the Italians could be used as a bulwark against German expansion towards the Mediterranean. Considering the relations between Hitler and Mussolini, it was probably a foregone conclusion that these efforts would fail...though there remained some hope that the rivalry between the two nations would be enough to sway Italy to the Entente like it had in the Great War.

Portugal was a rather more unique case. The British (or, rather, the English) and the Portuguese have the longest standing alliance in history. However, the Estado Novo government under Salazar in Portugal was more friendly to the Fascists than to the democracies. While Portugal was unwilling to break with the British, the Alliance was more of a non-aggression pact than a true alliance by this period of time.

Finally, there was Sweden...influenced by Germany it may have been, it still had more similarities with the Entente powers than with the fascists and Nazis. So it was perfectly reasonable, and expected even, that it was only a matter of time until the Swedes were fully in that camp. Folklore says that the collective governments of Denmark and Norway breathed a sigh of relief when the Germans gave up on influencing their more powerful neighbor, and the Swedes started to lean towards Britain again.

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However, there was still some influence from other nations than Britain persisting in the Swedish government. Gutted it may have been, the spy agency was still able to keep an eye on unusual events in Sweden herself. One such event was an opposition party gaining some financial support from sources outside Sweden. While the nation in question was covering its tracks well, efforts were put into place to investigate the opposition party. There was some backlash against the ruling party, but it was considered necessary for keeping the peace in Sweden.

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All of these events left the second-half of 1937 as a very busy year in the world. Sweden would continue to watch these events with some amount of worry, even as the military and industry were upgraded. The final upgrades of the year would arguably be the most important even. While the Air Force was fawning over their new J 9's, the Army and Navy were getting new materials of their own. And both services highly appreciated the importance of these upgrades they were receiving.

For the Army, they gained the first true tank Brigade in Swedish service. The Germans had refused to sell any of their Panzers, so the Swede's had looked a bit further south. The new nation of Czechoslovakia was quickly making a name for itself in tank production, and were willing to allow the Swedes to produce some of their newest model, the LT vz.34. While the tanks were light in every sense of the word, they were something to support the even lighter armored cars that currently made up the armored portion of the Swedish military.

As for the Navy, they had been working with designers from other nations to produce a true battlecruiser. The Sveriges were powerful ships, arguably pocket battlecruisers anyway. But they lacked armor, and were too cramped and small for fighting in the open ocean. It was recognized that, if Sweden ever had need to sortie out of the Baltic, that larger ships would be needed. While some called for battleships, or even Aircraft Carriers, it was realized by the more level-headed members of the General Staff that such ships would never fit Sweden's needs. The Air Force was already monopolizing the aircraft industry, and the nation had no experience with battleships. However, the Navy did have plenty of experience with Cruisers. While BC's were bigger than anything the Swedes had at the time, the principle behind manning them was similar to the existing Heavy Cruisers. Thus, Sweden focused their naval efforts on building battlecruisers to supplant their existing Heavy Cruisers.

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[1]: Historically, the Swedes wouldn't get the Seversky fighters until 1939-1940, when Seversky himself was flying one around Europe in an effort to gain more sales. In this case, I fudged things a little because the Swedes gain the P-35/ J 9 after a certain upgrade set is hit. I happened to hit it in 1937, when the P-35 was actually accepted into American service. Thus the little bit about how the Swedes managed (somehow) to be observing the trials that got the P-35 into service, and buying some on the spot.

[2]: I'm not sure if the Chinese would be called 'Nationalist' Chinese here, considering the name is 'Republic of China' and the 'Nationalist' Spanish just won the Civil War. Granted I could be wrong, but it seemed like it fit to have some confusion on that front.
 
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Looking good once more!
Nice to see these events different from regular TFH, and all the models add a nice touch to the story as well.

And for the nationalist-republican thingy, that's the problem with different countries using similar names. In Spain's case, it was a republic, then nationalist army units revolted. In China's case, the Nationalist government represents the old nation of China I guess, with the various warlords being rebel forces. It just depends on the starting situation of either nation.
 
are you really payig for that tuna can? :p
 
Great AAR so far! I always loved playing Sweden in HoI2, but I must admit - never played HoI3 as extensively as I did the second for whatever reason, but I must say - you are making me want to try Sweden anew! :)

Cheers!
 
Looking good once more!
Nice to see these events different from regular TFH, and all the models add a nice touch to the story as well.

And for the nationalist-republican thingy, that's the problem with different countries using similar names. In Spain's case, it was a republic, then nationalist army units revolted. In China's case, the Nationalist government represents the old nation of China I guess, with the various warlords being rebel forces. It just depends on the starting situation of either nation.

Glad you like the way I integrate the models!

Yeah, the whole China situation is confusing, since I'm looking at it from a perspective of the time. We may call it 'Nationalist' China these days, but at the time I'm not sure if they would have.

are you really payig for that tuna can? :p

When Sweden can't build tanks of their own, Sweden takes what they can get :p

That can of tuna will have Sweden's foes shaking in their boots. :laugh:

You guys are making me want to name my Armored forces the 'Tuna Can Division' now...

Will be following this closely, as after some time I've restarted my HOI3-interest with a Swedish game :eek:o. Looks very promising indeed, this AAR!!

Thanks! :)

Great AAR so far! I always loved playing Sweden in HoI2, but I must admit - never played HoI3 as extensively as I did the second for whatever reason, but I must say - you are making me want to try Sweden anew! :)

Cheers!

Glad to have you!


@everyone: Provided I don't get swamped with school work tomorrow, I'll update then.
 
The new nation of Czechoslovakia was quickly making a name for itself in tank production, and were willing to allow the Swedes to produce some of their newest model, the LT vz.34. While the tanks were light in every sense of the word, they were something to support the even lighter armored cars that currently made up the armored portion of the Swedish military.

Nonsense. These tanks are actually ARM in TFH version of HPP. Compare Panzer I and LT 34. These tanks simply cannot be thrown into one category :p

Nice to see these events different from regular TFH, and all the models add a nice touch to the story as well.

He's playing SF HPP... :D
 
Nonsense. These tanks are actually ARM in TFH version of HPP. Compare Panzer I and LT 34. These tanks simply cannot be thrown into one category :p

Point taken :p



@everyone: I'm having to redo a ten page Comparative Politics paper (worth a good third of my grade too) so I have to push back updating until I finish it, especially when it is due this Friday. I will update with the first half of 1938 whenever I finish the paper, I just don't know exactly when that will be.