Armor benefits include double the org damage in addition to half the enemy attack.
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I don´t know why someone apparently thought I was kidding, I apologize in advance if I interpreted it wrongly. I don´t have much time now but I just wanted to say that the Soviet army softness is one of the highest in-game (>80%). Even most of their armor divisions are above 50% softness so they are (very) vulnerable to SA; because of that if you overwhelm them with SA and decent HA even if you can’t pierce they will fold and your divisions will barely be scratched. You can actually defeat it (AI Red Army)pretty easily with only 5x2INF+3ART in each province along with 20-30 spare divisions for breakthroughs. BTW 25 brigades on a frontage of 10 not only have an overwhelming SA but their HA is also decent because both ART and INF have it; if you support the attack from 2 other provinces you can engage them with 11 divisions (55 brigades!) with minimal stacking penalty if your TH HQ leader is good and you researched "Human Wave". The AI is not very smart but most of its builds are even worse.
I saw you bombing in Australia with 55 planes. Use them to attack any/all Soviet HARM division you see, they are the only ones who can cause you some trouble but they are pathetically few.
Edit: It is funny how most ppl taken so long to acknowledge the benefit of the armor advantage and know that they did they think that this game is as simple as that; that IMO is silly.
I saw you bombing in Australia with 55 planes. Use them to attack any/all Soviet HARM division you see, they are the only ones who can cause you some trouble but they are pathetically few.
Edit: It is funny how most ppl taken so long to acknowledge the benefit of the armor advantage and know that they did they think that this game is as simple as that; that IMO is silly.
I didn't think you were kidding and I don't think anyone else did. I watched the video you posted I just didn't understand the actual mechanics of how the armor lost. That is why I was asking about it, I was operating under wrong impression that armor was basically unstoppable if you couldn't pierce it.
haha that was fun. I did have air superiority though I don't know what the Soviet air force contains but I hope to be able to control the skies.
I have to believe Barros. He seems pretty well informed. It does sound right that with an airforce like yours, you don't have to build that much AT. But I stress to Barro that this is late game, and the Soviets might have mechanized some of their infantry divisions. Combine that with some SPART and you get pretty low softness.
Before you invade, I highly recommend that you check out the wiki (paradoxian.org) and learn about stacking penalties. The planes you used in Australia were seriously overstacked and I wouldn't be surprised if they took massive damage.
The wiki is outdated on that. As of TFH, airborne stacking penalty got capped at 80% - airborne doomstacks rule the skies (at least in SP).
I always believed him, I read his AAR where he conquered the Soviet Union as Portugal so he is well informed
.It is good to know I'm probably going to have to change the way I build divisions in other games.
Preparations for the Unthinkable
Even though France is at peace, time is of the essence. Units in the Pacific must be deployed to Korea and the OOB needs a complete overhaul. Only then can I get a clear picture of what forces must be built. The plan will be to strike the USSR once 1946 army and air force tech is completed.
With the war ending France lost the best laws and had to revert to previous ones. IC did decline but not substantially; all units in the queue should finish by late January which is good since France is about to start a building campaign to reinforce the army.
At the start of the New Year much IC becomes available and the New Maginot Line is complete, level ten forts all across the new border with the USSR. This new line will thwart any Red Army attempt to invade France and provide launching points for my own assaults. The 5th Army is deployed to Korea with the 1st Allied Army in Japan.
The 1st RR Corps which was stationed in Vietnam is no longer needed there since Japan has been eliminated and will be cannibalized to fill holes elsewhere. Pesky British rebels were put down and control of the Mediterranean is reestablished. This was a valuable modifier and had to be taken back quickly.
The only combat in this update, sorry!
There is critical research going on now. All the 46’ infantry, armor, and land doctrine tech is in the queue. The plan is to get it researched, upgrade the army, and DoW on the USSR. Right now I need to redo the OBB, I’m worried that I will have to leave some divisions without leaders. This is going to take me while.
It is taking a lot of time to reorganize the OOB, trying to do three things at once which is making it take longer. Reassigning leaders, moving around existing forces into new armies, and trying to figure out what units need built. Anyways, it takes time and I’ve been doing it piecemeal as a result. The game has for the most part been paused.
At this point, all HQs at army level and up have leaders and all mobile forces at every level have a leader. While this is still subject to change the core of my army OOB is done, some corps may get moved around once I confirm a battle plan though. The mobile forces (Harm, Arm, SPart, TD, Mech) are split into two armies, the 1st Armored Army and the Operational Maneuver Group (henceforth OMG).
The first armored army has the power and the OMG the speed. The OMG will perform much like its real life Soviet model, wait for the big boys to punch a hole in the line and the OMG rushes through the hole and causes pure chaos behind enemy lines. In my case, the OMG’s sole job will be to encircle units and hold the line until those units can be destroyed. While putting together the OOB the 1st Armored Army was given priority on BM leaders while the OMG had priority on the offensive trait.
Finally got the OOB finished and somehow even have a few leaders too spare. I was surprised by the amount of time it took me to finish the OOB. Was a long process that I made more difficult by trying to shuffle around corps and deciding what I needed to build at the same time. Had to break out the pen and paper to keep everything organized.
After reading some of the comments in this thread I began to think about piercing value. A random thought popped in my head. Is reaching anti-tank weapons for infantry worth it? I fired up my game to take a look. It upgraded the hard attack as well so it was worth it. Luckily I did this, because for whatever reason I was not researching those four infantry techs which I thought I was. This could have been a huge problem if I didn’t notice since the bulk of the army is infantry based.
*Author's Note* At that time I thought that if a unit couldn't pierce armor it was useless against it, I now know better.
Here is what I currently have in production:
20 convoys
12 AT
7 TD
6 landing craft
4 infantry divisions
4 militia
3 art
2 brigades being upgraded
2 divisions that will be parted out to fill out several existing divisions
1 armored division
1 SPart
The AT and TD I built in case the Soviets have more armor than expected and I’d rather be safe than sorry. The landing craft are needed to bulk up current transportation capabilities. With them I can send 4 to Japan and I’ll be able to transport one corps around as needed. The other 2 will be added to the French Fleet and that will allow for the entire OMG to be transported at once wherever it’s needed. Militia is rebel control. Two will go to Japan were they can move anywhere in the Pacific. The other two will be used to crush any rebels that pop up in the USSR when I begin the attack. The last thing I want is Rebels Gone Wild going on behind my lines when I’m fighting the Red Army.
Finally got to unpause the game for first time in a while. Started to move divisions into position as I finally got around to planning an attack into the USSR, which I will describe in a bit later in the update. In the meantime I was satisfied to move divisions around and manage the research queue as time passed.
To save time I took 4 landing craft that were already built from the French Fleet and sent them to the Pacific. Taking a chance I know not sending escorts with them, I’m banking on only needing them to move the militias and not evacuate. The 1st Allied army was deployed to Korea and is ready to be the main fighting force in the Pacific.
About 90 IC was available at this point, my first inclination was to spend it on more interceptors and/or CAS but I will need all the IC I can get once these upgrades finish.
It quickly proved to be a good idea as the two artillery techs finished and that alone required 80 IC. At this time the armies are assembled in their positions. As soon as the units in the build queue are finished the French military can go to war against the Soviet Union.
Now is a good time as any to discuss the new intelligence (not really new more like I finally noticed it) on the Red Army deployments. The sheer size of the Red Army is a little intimidating. I couldn’t say for sure how many divisions they command but rest assured I will be outnumbered. Even more alarming is their HUGE manpower reserves, over 3,000. Certainly cannot fight a war of attrition.
In Soviet controlled Finland I somehow got control of five provinces. I’m not sure how, my guess is that rebels were in control of them when Japan fell but I do not recall seeing them then. Regardless the USSR seems to be in a frenzy around those provinces and there is a large force in Finland.
In the rest of Europe there appears to be only infantry divisions with a large force in southeastern Europe.
In the Far East is where it is interesting. The Soviets seem to have deployed all their mobile forces here. I counted 80 plus mobile divisions and there are many more divisions in the area with a big question mark on them so there may be even more mobile forces out there. That has to put a huge strain on their supplies. I’m worried about the 30 or so mobile forces I have causing problems let alone 80. Even if they are kept supplied they will have trouble over the mountainous terrain. Even so this is a force to be reckoned with.
My plan has changed from its original form. The first plan was to punch a hole somewhere in the middle and launch an amphibious assault from the Baltic and do a large encirclement. The next part would be to drive to Odessa. The plan pretty much just reversed, I’ve done this because of the extra forces in Finland.
The new plan is basically to encircle and destroy the bulk of the Soviet army in Europe. It has three phases; blue is the first phase, yellow the second and green the third. To begin the OMG will land in Odessa from the sea. While the 1st Armored Army and 2nd Army blast a hole in the Red Army’s lines (around the current Slovak/Polish border) with the goal of meeting the OMG at some point. The 4th and 3rd Armies will advance and destroy the Red Army in the Balkans. I’m expecting that Greece will be useful here as they have a decent army and the Soviets will be cut off from supplies.
The 2nd Phase’s goal will be to destroy the rest of the Soviets on the border. The OMG once it has linked up with 1st Armored Army will swing north to the Baltic. Depending on where resistance is heaviest is where the 1st Armored Army will go to if the OMG needs help it will head north, if not they will proceed south to speed up the encircling in the Balkans. The 2nd Allied Army will advance and hopefully send the Reds reeling backwards.
The 3rd Phase I’m not sure I can pull off but it will be a goal that I will attempt. I’m hoping that I can encircle and destroy the Red Army units in the Balkans quickly and allow those forces to go north and help speed things up there. Anyways, Phase 3 will be to trap those Soviet units in Finland, using the natural features to trap them. I don’t think I will be able to get there fast enough to trap them all but I’m hoping to attack and drive them back into Finland sealing their fate.
I’m not naïve enough to think this will all work perfectly or even work period. As I see it chance of success decreases with each phase. Naturally there will be pauses between each phase which I simply cannot predict at this time. But I am completely confidant that the first phase will succeed and reasonable confident in the 2nd. The third phase will be difficult and all depends on the speed in which the Soviets can be encircled and destroyed. The full might of the Air Force will support the attack across Europe.
With all the excitement in Europe I forgot about the Far East. Not all units are in position yet but here is the general plan. The 5th Army will be deployed in the mountains of Manchuria where its Alpine forces should excel. Its goal will be to slow down the Red Army and delay them. Meanwhile the 1st Allied Army will drive into Vladivostok. Further north elements of the First Allied Army will push from Manchuria and the Sea to attempt an encirclement. Beyond this I have no plans for the Far East. I lack the forces to do a major offensive in the area. The goal will mainly be to slow down the Soviet Union until the French forces in Europe smash the USSR and can seize centers of industry. China and Korea are to be protected as long as possible as they are providing invaluable MP to France.
I’d also like to take the time to thank everyone for help on this update. It felt like an interactive AAR for this update because I took many suggestions and used them to varying degrees. I was going list everyone but I’d feel bad if I left someone out. Plus I think pretty much every suggestion that was made after the last update I used to a varying degree. I went on the main HoI3 forum and got a couple questions answer there too. So thanks everyone for the help!
It is currently April 22, 1946 in game. Waiting for production to finish and then I can deploy the finishes touches for the Army. Tech continues to finish and I am extremely grateful I left IC to spend for upgrades. The medium tank techs and 2 infantry techs finished and there went 215 IC, just like that, into upgrading.
As time progresses more tech finishes. 267 IC is put into upgrades but 324 IC is needed to upgrade everything at the same time. It is currently July 19, 1946 some divisions won’t be finished until October and that is later than I’d like to attack. I’m as ready as I can be. The army and air force is in position. I can launch the attack against the Soviet Union at any time now. I will have the technological edge for at least awhile.
The next update will be the war the USSR. As always, thanks for reading!
Even though France is at peace, time is of the essence. Units in the Pacific must be deployed to Korea and the OOB needs a complete overhaul. Only then can I get a clear picture of what forces must be built. The plan will be to strike the USSR once 1946 army and air force tech is completed.
With the war ending France lost the best laws and had to revert to previous ones. IC did decline but not substantially; all units in the queue should finish by late January which is good since France is about to start a building campaign to reinforce the army.
At the start of the New Year much IC becomes available and the New Maginot Line is complete, level ten forts all across the new border with the USSR. This new line will thwart any Red Army attempt to invade France and provide launching points for my own assaults. The 5th Army is deployed to Korea with the 1st Allied Army in Japan.
The 1st RR Corps which was stationed in Vietnam is no longer needed there since Japan has been eliminated and will be cannibalized to fill holes elsewhere. Pesky British rebels were put down and control of the Mediterranean is reestablished. This was a valuable modifier and had to be taken back quickly.
The only combat in this update, sorry!
There is critical research going on now. All the 46’ infantry, armor, and land doctrine tech is in the queue. The plan is to get it researched, upgrade the army, and DoW on the USSR. Right now I need to redo the OBB, I’m worried that I will have to leave some divisions without leaders. This is going to take me while.
It is taking a lot of time to reorganize the OOB, trying to do three things at once which is making it take longer. Reassigning leaders, moving around existing forces into new armies, and trying to figure out what units need built. Anyways, it takes time and I’ve been doing it piecemeal as a result. The game has for the most part been paused.
At this point, all HQs at army level and up have leaders and all mobile forces at every level have a leader. While this is still subject to change the core of my army OOB is done, some corps may get moved around once I confirm a battle plan though. The mobile forces (Harm, Arm, SPart, TD, Mech) are split into two armies, the 1st Armored Army and the Operational Maneuver Group (henceforth OMG).
The first armored army has the power and the OMG the speed. The OMG will perform much like its real life Soviet model, wait for the big boys to punch a hole in the line and the OMG rushes through the hole and causes pure chaos behind enemy lines. In my case, the OMG’s sole job will be to encircle units and hold the line until those units can be destroyed. While putting together the OOB the 1st Armored Army was given priority on BM leaders while the OMG had priority on the offensive trait.
Finally got the OOB finished and somehow even have a few leaders too spare. I was surprised by the amount of time it took me to finish the OOB. Was a long process that I made more difficult by trying to shuffle around corps and deciding what I needed to build at the same time. Had to break out the pen and paper to keep everything organized.
After reading some of the comments in this thread I began to think about piercing value. A random thought popped in my head. Is reaching anti-tank weapons for infantry worth it? I fired up my game to take a look. It upgraded the hard attack as well so it was worth it. Luckily I did this, because for whatever reason I was not researching those four infantry techs which I thought I was. This could have been a huge problem if I didn’t notice since the bulk of the army is infantry based.
*Author's Note* At that time I thought that if a unit couldn't pierce armor it was useless against it, I now know better
.Here is what I currently have in production:
20 convoys
12 AT
7 TD
6 landing craft
4 infantry divisions
4 militia
3 art
2 brigades being upgraded
2 divisions that will be parted out to fill out several existing divisions
1 armored division
1 SPart
The AT and TD I built in case the Soviets have more armor than expected and I’d rather be safe than sorry. The landing craft are needed to bulk up current transportation capabilities. With them I can send 4 to Japan and I’ll be able to transport one corps around as needed. The other 2 will be added to the French Fleet and that will allow for the entire OMG to be transported at once wherever it’s needed. Militia is rebel control. Two will go to Japan were they can move anywhere in the Pacific. The other two will be used to crush any rebels that pop up in the USSR when I begin the attack. The last thing I want is Rebels Gone Wild going on behind my lines when I’m fighting the Red Army.
Finally got to unpause the game for first time in a while. Started to move divisions into position as I finally got around to planning an attack into the USSR, which I will describe in a bit later in the update. In the meantime I was satisfied to move divisions around and manage the research queue as time passed.
To save time I took 4 landing craft that were already built from the French Fleet and sent them to the Pacific. Taking a chance I know not sending escorts with them, I’m banking on only needing them to move the militias and not evacuate. The 1st Allied army was deployed to Korea and is ready to be the main fighting force in the Pacific.
About 90 IC was available at this point, my first inclination was to spend it on more interceptors and/or CAS but I will need all the IC I can get once these upgrades finish.
It quickly proved to be a good idea as the two artillery techs finished and that alone required 80 IC. At this time the armies are assembled in their positions. As soon as the units in the build queue are finished the French military can go to war against the Soviet Union.
Now is a good time as any to discuss the new intelligence (not really new more like I finally noticed it) on the Red Army deployments. The sheer size of the Red Army is a little intimidating. I couldn’t say for sure how many divisions they command but rest assured I will be outnumbered. Even more alarming is their HUGE manpower reserves, over 3,000. Certainly cannot fight a war of attrition.
In Soviet controlled Finland I somehow got control of five provinces. I’m not sure how, my guess is that rebels were in control of them when Japan fell but I do not recall seeing them then. Regardless the USSR seems to be in a frenzy around those provinces and there is a large force in Finland.
In the rest of Europe there appears to be only infantry divisions with a large force in southeastern Europe.
In the Far East is where it is interesting. The Soviets seem to have deployed all their mobile forces here. I counted 80 plus mobile divisions and there are many more divisions in the area with a big question mark on them so there may be even more mobile forces out there. That has to put a huge strain on their supplies. I’m worried about the 30 or so mobile forces I have causing problems let alone 80. Even if they are kept supplied they will have trouble over the mountainous terrain. Even so this is a force to be reckoned with.
My plan has changed from its original form. The first plan was to punch a hole somewhere in the middle and launch an amphibious assault from the Baltic and do a large encirclement. The next part would be to drive to Odessa. The plan pretty much just reversed, I’ve done this because of the extra forces in Finland.
The new plan is basically to encircle and destroy the bulk of the Soviet army in Europe. It has three phases; blue is the first phase, yellow the second and green the third. To begin the OMG will land in Odessa from the sea. While the 1st Armored Army and 2nd Army blast a hole in the Red Army’s lines (around the current Slovak/Polish border) with the goal of meeting the OMG at some point. The 4th and 3rd Armies will advance and destroy the Red Army in the Balkans. I’m expecting that Greece will be useful here as they have a decent army and the Soviets will be cut off from supplies.
The 2nd Phase’s goal will be to destroy the rest of the Soviets on the border. The OMG once it has linked up with 1st Armored Army will swing north to the Baltic. Depending on where resistance is heaviest is where the 1st Armored Army will go to if the OMG needs help it will head north, if not they will proceed south to speed up the encircling in the Balkans. The 2nd Allied Army will advance and hopefully send the Reds reeling backwards.
The 3rd Phase I’m not sure I can pull off but it will be a goal that I will attempt. I’m hoping that I can encircle and destroy the Red Army units in the Balkans quickly and allow those forces to go north and help speed things up there. Anyways, Phase 3 will be to trap those Soviet units in Finland, using the natural features to trap them. I don’t think I will be able to get there fast enough to trap them all but I’m hoping to attack and drive them back into Finland sealing their fate.
I’m not naïve enough to think this will all work perfectly or even work period. As I see it chance of success decreases with each phase. Naturally there will be pauses between each phase which I simply cannot predict at this time. But I am completely confidant that the first phase will succeed and reasonable confident in the 2nd. The third phase will be difficult and all depends on the speed in which the Soviets can be encircled and destroyed. The full might of the Air Force will support the attack across Europe.
With all the excitement in Europe I forgot about the Far East. Not all units are in position yet but here is the general plan. The 5th Army will be deployed in the mountains of Manchuria where its Alpine forces should excel. Its goal will be to slow down the Red Army and delay them. Meanwhile the 1st Allied Army will drive into Vladivostok. Further north elements of the First Allied Army will push from Manchuria and the Sea to attempt an encirclement. Beyond this I have no plans for the Far East. I lack the forces to do a major offensive in the area. The goal will mainly be to slow down the Soviet Union until the French forces in Europe smash the USSR and can seize centers of industry. China and Korea are to be protected as long as possible as they are providing invaluable MP to France.
I’d also like to take the time to thank everyone for help on this update. It felt like an interactive AAR for this update because I took many suggestions and used them to varying degrees. I was going list everyone but I’d feel bad if I left someone out. Plus I think pretty much every suggestion that was made after the last update I used to a varying degree. I went on the main HoI3 forum and got a couple questions answer there too. So thanks everyone for the help!
It is currently April 22, 1946 in game. Waiting for production to finish and then I can deploy the finishes touches for the Army. Tech continues to finish and I am extremely grateful I left IC to spend for upgrades. The medium tank techs and 2 infantry techs finished and there went 215 IC, just like that, into upgrading.
As time progresses more tech finishes. 267 IC is put into upgrades but 324 IC is needed to upgrade everything at the same time. It is currently July 19, 1946 some divisions won’t be finished until October and that is later than I’d like to attack. I’m as ready as I can be. The army and air force is in position. I can launch the attack against the Soviet Union at any time now. I will have the technological edge for at least awhile.
The next update will be the war the USSR. As always, thanks for reading!
How many troops do the Englishmen and Chinese have to support you? Anyway, good luck with that. I think you'll need it
P.S. Soviets really went haywire around those five provinces in Finland
P.S. Soviets really went haywire around those five provinces in Finland
That is quite an ambitious plan you have drawn up there. If you can pull it off, it will be highly entertaining for us readers!
Knowing how the British have been this game, I'd say none. No Chinese troops. The USA is influencing Nationalist China into the allies currently. Communist China is in the allies but have few troops. In a prefect game it be great to have the USA attack the USSR from the Far East and the British attack through Persia and Afghanistan.How many troops do the Englishmen and Chinese have to support you? Anyway, good luck with that. I think you'll need it
P.S. Soviets really went haywire around those five provinces in Finland
Yes the Soviets sent massive troops into Finland but they thinned their frontlines by doing it. I hope to make them pay for it.
Lets be serious, it would just be as entertaining for you readers if I got thrashed by the SovietsThat is quite an ambitious plan you have drawn up there. If you can pull it off, it will be highly entertaining for us readers!
. I have convinced myself that the invasion will either be surprising easy or shockingly hard, no middle ground.
Great job - I'm looking forward to this fight.
Do you really expect the US to participate in the war to any useful extent? I know the AI can get weird and either do nothing or send forces to some out-of-the-way place that has no importance as a war objective.
Do you really expect the US to participate in the war to any useful extent? I know the AI can get weird and either do nothing or send forces to some out-of-the-way place that has no importance as a war objective.
Thank you, I'm looking forward to the fight too
I don't expect much from the allies (except the units they place under my command) The British AI seems broke in my game. In fact the British are doing more harm to me than good, I've played a little bit into the game and I'm seriously considering loading up a the UK and deleting all their ground units before going back to France. Can't be considered cheating if I'm deleting allied units, can it?
I can certainly see why you do that now. I'm probably going to start doing this as well to avoid unnecessary problems.
Be sure to annex Hungary before Vienna - that way, Slovakia is neither your puppet nor axis member, so you could eat it afterwards.
You can however invite countries like Japan, who're not going to interfer with you.
--
Ever being fully in the battle for britain, just to realize, that some crappy fighters of a random minor ally occupy your precious airbase slots?
Excellent, I was annoyed at having Slovakia in the middle of my Empire.