Development Diary #34 - 24th of June 2009

Johan · 24-06-2009, 14:41

In todays development diary, we'll give you the first exclusive AAR of Hearts of Iron 3. I give the word over to King, who will tell you about his recent game as Italy.

Italy – 1938

While Germany slowly dismembers Czechoslovakia and Japan advances in to China Italy has grander plans. Our goal is simple Yugoslavia. The Italian people are ready for war and to we are confident that the Italian army is superior to the Yugoslav one. So unless someone intervenes we are confident of victory. We also do not have enough resources to sustain our economy on a war footing, we can either buy these and have to divert IC in consumer goods production to pay for them or we can simply take these from other countries stockpiles. Yugoslavia becomes a much more attractive target. Will there be consequences from our act of liberation? Most probably but the experience will be useful for our armies.

In 1938 the Italian armed forces are divided into 3 theatres, one covering our recently expanded Italian East Africa, one covering Libya (and Rhodes) and one covering Italy proper. All are put onto defensive stance, but the Italian theatre is given Belgrade as a specific objective. Then we wait.

The theatres start to put their units into defensive positions but the Italian theatre places special emphasis on the Yugoslav border since it knows that Belgrade is an objective. Meanwhile Italy upgrades troops and researches new equipment. We start with 4 battleships in production and we just leave them on. Italy is a member of the Axis, it knows Britain and France are Allied countries and are thus likely enemies, all theatres are crying out for more ships to meet this threat. We also start to build Radar Stations. One in Rhodes to start monitoring the Eastern Mediterranean and one Taranto to do the same in the Central Mediterranean. It will take a while for these to become truly effective but if we are given enough time we will have good monitoring capabilities on Allied fleet movements. When spare IC becomes available a third radar station will be built in Sardinia to give us warning of movements in the Western Mediterranean.

We have also increased our peacetime draft level; this is part of the formula for a quick victory over Yugoslavia. Our gamble is that the Yugoslavs will have a much lower draft level meaning that even if we hit them without a proper mobilisation our divisions will have a much high strength and organisation than the Yugoslav divisions. However this is a trick we will probably only be able to pull off once. Neighbours of Yugoslavia will see us an increased threat will probably mobilise their own armies at the thought of having Italy as a neighbour. Hopefully Yugoslavia will provide us with enough loot to sustain us until the next campaign.

This is sadly going to have to be a winter campaign, not a lot we can do about this. We want Yugoslavia out of the way before the war in Europe begins. Although things aren’t going to quite ready by then we set D-Day for the 1st of December 1938. We are going for the limited war because we do not want to share any of our conquests with Germany. This is going to be an Italian only show and we are going to show the world the power of the Italian army.

The Italian theatre is set over to Blitzing stance and the assault begins. The battle of frontiers goes exactly as planed. The Yugoslav divisions are heavily under strength as they had yet to mobilise and they shatter under the weight of the initial Italian assault.

So now it becomes a race. The Italian army needs to seize as much of Yugoslavia as possible before the shattered divisions are rebuilt enough to slow us down and fresh reserves appear on the frontline. 20 days into the war and already Yugoslavia is collapsing.

The glorious march continues, but it looks like future victories will be less easy. The Swiss have mobilised and we suspect that new neighbours we gain when we finish with Yugoslavia will probably do the same. However in the mean time we enjoy the victory. We are going to score practical war experience to help with doctrine research and also gain experience for units and leaders. This will help in future wars that we know will be much tougher. Basically our troops are advancing quick enough to prevent a new line of resistance forming. This was a war won by a combination of surprise and preparation. The Yugoslav army has its last stand around to Belgrade the troops are already so weakened that they will not stand for long against the Italian army.

With that out of the way Belgrade falls and Yugoslavia has been ‘liberated’, after 3 months of fighting. So ends this little AAR. What would of happened next with Italy? Well I would of activated the decision to annex Albania next and then looked to do something about the over all mobility of the Italian army. The troops will need to be faster when taking on better opponents like the United Kingdom or France.

Grey Wolf · 24-06-2009, 14:42

First!
Damn - lots of screens..

Alojzius Pend. · 24-06-2009, 14:44

Yeah screens are stunning

Buzz · 24-06-2009, 14:44

Yay I was hoping it would come out now!

stljeffbb · 24-06-2009, 14:44

Woo hoo....can't wait for August 4th!

Jeff

PS...hmmmm a "Peace" button....I wonder what that does

Krediax · 24-06-2009, 14:45

What are the Numbers in front of the "land units" tab?

King · 24-06-2009, 14:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krediax

What are the Numbers in front of the "land units" tab?

The percentage strength of that unit (not counting any below it in the heirachy)

Buzz · 24-06-2009, 14:49

I love, love, love the interface. I have to admit I tried the HoI2 demo a while back and was turned off by the interface, I love this one.

TheLoneGunman · 24-06-2009, 14:53

Excellent AAR King!

Looking forward to hearing more on your Italian Campaign!

One question though, what is the difference between simply DoWing Albania or using the decision to DoW Albania?

Will the decision end up giving you cores on that region or some other benefit over a simple declaration?

Spoony · 24-06-2009, 14:53

Sweet

Krediax · 24-06-2009, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by King

The percentage strength of that unit (not counting any below it in the heirachy)

so at the start of the camping the East african divisions were heavily under strangt (18,2%) and were reinforced till 42,7%

but why is 18,2 displayed in green and 42,7 displayed in red?

Nikolai · 24-06-2009, 14:54

Yay, at last an aar!

Quick question: What does the "This will generate 25 threat in Beograd" mean?

King · 24-06-2009, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheLoneGunman

Excellent AAR King!

Looking forward to hearing more on your Italian Campaign!

One question though, what is the difference between simply DoWing Albania or using the decision to DoW Albania?

Will the decision end up giving you cores on that region or some other benefit over a simple declaration?

This was a strictly one off AAR I am afraid. However I may do another in the future depends on work load.

I could of course DoW Albania that but the decision is like the event in HoI2 that gives Albania to Italy. Unlike the event though I get to pick when I do it.

Snaggleooo · 24-06-2009, 14:55

Very impressed. Wets the appetite for HoI3 even more. Cheers Johan & King!

Singleton Mosby · 24-06-2009, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by king

We are going to score practical war experience to help with doctrine research

Very interesting!

Great AAR King.

King · 24-06-2009, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krediax

so at the start of the camping the East african divisions were heavily under strangt (18,2%) and were reinforced till 42,7%

but why is 18,2 displayed in green and 42,7 displayed in red?

No only the East African Theatre HQ.

If you notice the Theatre HQ name is always displayed in green, that marks them as being under AI control. Red simply means it wasn't reinforcing in that screen shot.

Connavar · 24-06-2009, 14:56

This wets my appetite for more ....

Razor · 24-06-2009, 14:58

Promising DD indeed. When can I preorder?

kaspar42 · 24-06-2009, 14:58

Great AAR.
I noticed a lot of trade offers pop up on the screenshots. Will you still have the option to autoreply to and autoinitiate trades like in HoI2?

Alojzy · 24-06-2009, 14:58

Hmmm, do you think rising mobilization levels (to reinforce your divisions) was really necessary?

It seems (at least on screens) Yugoslavia had barely any divisions at all, so you could simply win by using your superior number of units, outflanking them and gaining local superiority.

Not trying to nitpick, I just wonder how much advantage you can get from sudden attacks without mobilization. It seems minors can be very easily caught with their pants down (single YUG division on the first screen vs. armies of Italians and multiple border provinces without any defending unit).

24-06-2009, 14:41	#1
Johan The Master Paradox Dev Team Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Always two there are... Posts: 12,359	Development Diary #34 - 24th of June 2009 In todays development diary, we'll give you the first exclusive AAR of Hearts of Iron 3. I give the word over to King, who will tell you about his recent game as Italy. Italy – 1938 While Germany slowly dismembers Czechoslovakia and Japan advances in to China Italy has grander plans. Our goal is simple Yugoslavia. The Italian people are ready for war and to we are confident that the Italian army is superior to the Yugoslav one. So unless someone intervenes we are confident of victory. We also do not have enough resources to sustain our economy on a war footing, we can either buy these and have to divert IC in consumer goods production to pay for them or we can simply take these from other countries stockpiles. Yugoslavia becomes a much more attractive target. Will there be consequences from our act of liberation? Most probably but the experience will be useful for our armies. In 1938 the Italian armed forces are divided into 3 theatres, one covering our recently expanded Italian East Africa, one covering Libya (and Rhodes) and one covering Italy proper. All are put onto defensive stance, but the Italian theatre is given Belgrade as a specific objective. Then we wait. The theatres start to put their units into defensive positions but the Italian theatre places special emphasis on the Yugoslav border since it knows that Belgrade is an objective. Meanwhile Italy upgrades troops and researches new equipment. We start with 4 battleships in production and we just leave them on. Italy is a member of the Axis, it knows Britain and France are Allied countries and are thus likely enemies, all theatres are crying out for more ships to meet this threat. We also start to build Radar Stations. One in Rhodes to start monitoring the Eastern Mediterranean and one Taranto to do the same in the Central Mediterranean. It will take a while for these to become truly effective but if we are given enough time we will have good monitoring capabilities on Allied fleet movements. When spare IC becomes available a third radar station will be built in Sardinia to give us warning of movements in the Western Mediterranean. We have also increased our peacetime draft level; this is part of the formula for a quick victory over Yugoslavia. Our gamble is that the Yugoslavs will have a much lower draft level meaning that even if we hit them without a proper mobilisation our divisions will have a much high strength and organisation than the Yugoslav divisions. However this is a trick we will probably only be able to pull off once. Neighbours of Yugoslavia will see us an increased threat will probably mobilise their own armies at the thought of having Italy as a neighbour. Hopefully Yugoslavia will provide us with enough loot to sustain us until the next campaign. This is sadly going to have to be a winter campaign, not a lot we can do about this. We want Yugoslavia out of the way before the war in Europe begins. Although things aren’t going to quite ready by then we set D-Day for the 1st of December 1938. We are going for the limited war because we do not want to share any of our conquests with Germany. This is going to be an Italian only show and we are going to show the world the power of the Italian army. The Italian theatre is set over to Blitzing stance and the assault begins. The battle of frontiers goes exactly as planed. The Yugoslav divisions are heavily under strength as they had yet to mobilise and they shatter under the weight of the initial Italian assault. So now it becomes a race. The Italian army needs to seize as much of Yugoslavia as possible before the shattered divisions are rebuilt enough to slow us down and fresh reserves appear on the frontline. 20 days into the war and already Yugoslavia is collapsing. The glorious march continues, but it looks like future victories will be less easy. The Swiss have mobilised and we suspect that new neighbours we gain when we finish with Yugoslavia will probably do the same. However in the mean time we enjoy the victory. We are going to score practical war experience to help with doctrine research and also gain experience for units and leaders. This will help in future wars that we know will be much tougher. Basically our troops are advancing quick enough to prevent a new line of resistance forming. This was a war won by a combination of surprise and preparation. The Yugoslav army has its last stand around to Belgrade the troops are already so weakened that they will not stand for long against the Italian army. With that out of the way Belgrade falls and Yugoslavia has been ‘liberated’, after 3 months of fighting. So ends this little AAR. What would of happened next with Italy? Well I would of activated the decision to annex Albania next and then looked to do something about the over all mobility of the Italian army. The troops will need to be faster when taking on better opponents like the United Kingdom or France. __________________ Johan Andersson Wizard "A patch is never late! Nor is it ever early. It arrives precisely when I mean it to do!"

24-06-2009, 14:42	#2
Grey Wolf Colonel Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: beyond the northern waves Posts: 980	First! Damn - lots of screens.. __________________ ...Can You hear the howling?... Anti-Social Arsenal of Democracy the path HoI3 should take

24-06-2009, 14:53	#10
Spoony Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 323	Sweet __________________ AKA: RoninX @ Taleworlds: M&B

24-06-2009, 14:54	#12
Nikolai Basileus Romaion Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 4,592 Blog Entries: 1	Yay, at last an aar! Quick question: What does the "This will generate 25 threat in Beograd" mean? __________________ Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. -Isa 41:10 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16 Owner of: EU1, EU2, EU3: IN, HoI1, HoI2: DD ARM, HoI3, Victoria: Revolutions, CK: DV, Rome:VV.

24-06-2009, 14:58	#18
Razor Colonel Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Schroeder's box Posts: 864	Promising DD indeed. When can I preorder? __________________ The Prime Ministers Dream - My first and last AAR In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

24-06-2009, 14:44	#3
Alojzius Pend. Corporal Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Poland Łódź Posts: 30	Yeah screens are stunning __________________ HoI Resistance !

24-06-2009, 14:44	#4
Buzz Sergeant Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 68	Yay I was hoping it would come out now!

24-06-2009, 14:44	#5
stljeffbb First Lieutenant Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 245	Woo hoo....can't wait for August 4th! Jeff PS...hmmmm a "Peace" button....I wonder what that does

24-06-2009, 14:45	#6
Krediax Captain Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 390	What are the Numbers in front of the "land units" tab?

24-06-2009, 14:49	#8
Buzz Sergeant Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 68	I love, love, love the interface. I have to admit I tried the HoI2 demo a while back and was turned off by the interface, I love this one.

24-06-2009, 14:53	#9
TheLoneGunman Generalleutnant Join Date: May 2008 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 1,315	Excellent AAR King! Looking forward to hearing more on your Italian Campaign! One question though, what is the difference between simply DoWing Albania or using the decision to DoW Albania? Will the decision end up giving you cores on that region or some other benefit over a simple declaration?

24-06-2009, 14:55	#14
Snaggleooo Sergeant Join Date: May 2008 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 79	Very impressed. Wets the appetite for HoI3 even more. Cheers Johan & King!

24-06-2009, 14:56	#17
Connavar Sergeant Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 98	This wets my appetite for more ....

24-06-2009, 14:58	#19
kaspar42 Sergeant Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 51	Great AAR. I noticed a lot of trade offers pop up on the screenshots. Will you still have the option to autoreply to and autoinitiate trades like in HoI2?

24-06-2009, 14:58	#20
Alojzy Lt. General Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,376	Hmmm, do you think rising mobilization levels (to reinforce your divisions) was really necessary? It seems (at least on screens) Yugoslavia had barely any divisions at all, so you could simply win by using your superior number of units, outflanking them and gaining local superiority. Not trying to nitpick, I just wonder how much advantage you can get from sudden attacks without mobilization. It seems minors can be very easily caught with their pants down (single YUG division on the first screen vs. armies of Italians and multiple border provinces without any defending unit).