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HoI4 Dev Diary - Poland Focus Tree Rework Part 1/2

Hello everybody and welcome to another dev diary for the upcoming Barbarossa patch and yet to be announced DLC. Today I’m going to be talking about the first focus tree which is a rework of Poland.

Poland was first added as a free DLC on release for everyone titled "United and Ready" so as such what you see in this diary will be free for everyone once Barbarossa drops. Next diary we will continue on to cover the DLC parts of the focus tree, because the tree is a bit too large to cover in one go. Enjoy!

Poland is interesting because it is a hugely popular minor (it's roughly as popular as Spain and more popular than Greece). Yet it has a very difficult position sandwiched between Soviet and Germany, which tend to scare people off. Perhaps it's the challenge, or its critical role in WW2, or just the large amount of Polish HOI4 fans, you tell me.

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So, if we load up the tree we can see not only Ignacy Mościcki’s beautiful new portrait, but an entirely new tree.

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Let’s start with the industrial branch. In the old tree, the player would have to dredge through a lot of low-value research bonuses to get just a few extra factories, so many of those old focuses have been expanded with extra factories and bonuses. But, this branch is not just about getting free factories, Poland is on a tight schedule and must use her time well if she has ambitions of outlasting the Reich.

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Many industry focuses for Poland grant powerful but temporary bonuses towards consumer goods and construction speed so time the funding of your armement well to maximize the bonuses you’ll get.

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Poland was a nation with many problems in 1936, and one such problem was that their rail networks were disparate and disconnected; largely due to the fact that Poland had only a few decades prior been part of three different nations. Among many problems this caused for Poland, it also disrupted their agricultural supply networks, which resulted in the Peasant’s Strike of 1937.

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Beginning as mere whispers among the peasantry, if Poland fails to join the supply networks and enact major agricultural reform, they will be faced with a nasty peasant’s strike, damaging their stability, industry, and populace. Though on a tight schedule, Poland may pacify the countryside to delay this uprising, but until reform is enacted, the peasants will remain restless.

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Failing to enact reform entirely will result in a massive populist uprising, and a civil war is the last thing Poland needs. If Poland is to survive the Reich and the USSR, she must be united and ready.

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Moving on to another issue Poland had in the 30s; we have the Free City of Danzig! Danzig/Gdansk was in a unique and complicated position in this period. The city was simultaneously free and owned by no-one, an official Polish protectorate, and an international city partially run by the League of Nations. So representing Danzig/Gdansk as an on-map tag in 36 felt not quite right, so instead the city is demilitarized and Poland is incapable of accessing any of their factories, resources, or manpower.

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When the Nazi party took power in the city, it strangled Polish trade, so Poland begins the game with the “Embargoed Economy” trade law, similar to Undisturbed Isolation in the US but not nearly as harsh. To remove the Embargoed Economy, Poland must either develop a new trade port in Gdynia, gain a new port through conquest, or clamp down on Danzig.

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Attempting to seize control of Danzig will cause the city to begin a resistance, and Poland can fight that resistance through decisions and the usual resistance/compliance mechanics. With enough compliance, Poland will be able to ban the Nazi party and take permanent control of the city; ending the resistance, gaining access to all of Danzig’s resources, manpower, and industry, and finally being able to remove the embargoed economy.

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Failing to bring Danzig under control will result in the city rising up against you and appearing as a tag on the map. Failing to stamp out this uprising in time will cause the city to defect to the Reich.

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When either Gdynia or Danzig has become Poland’s major port, they gain access to the rest of their naval branch, granting dockyards, factories, and research bonuses.

Next up we have the old Prepare for the Next War branch, which has been expanded quite considerably since its original implementation. Poland now has access to Plan East and Plan West, military plans to fight the USSR and the Reich.

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Historically, Poland believed the USSR to be the greater threat and didn’t begin preparing Plan West until just two years before invasion. But, with the power of hindsight, the player can start either plan immediately after completing the Prepare for the Next War focus, and accumulate forts and construction bonuses along the border.

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However, until Plan West has been completed, Plan East cannot be begun and vice versa, but when complete, no further focuses from the branch may be taken.

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Finally, probably the part of the tree that has received the most love; the historical Polish political focus branch. Poland was not the united stable regime we had previously seen on release. Along with impending threats outside their borders, Poland was (like most authoritarian regimes) plagued with infighting and factionalism.

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The dictatorship was divided between the Castle lead by Ignacy Mościcki, the Sanation Right lead by Edward Rydz-Śmigły, and the Sanation Left led by Walery Sławek.

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Each branch of the Sanation has a series of focuses that can be completed for various bonuses and the player does not have to commit to one faction or the other right away. Rather, you can form your government with a multitude of policies from each of the three factions, but the longer you spend forming your government, the less time you have for other things like industry and plans East and West.

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Historical Poland will also have access to the April Constitution, the binding document of the Dictatorship. Though it begins weak, through collaboration with Sanations Left and Right, the Constitution will become a powerful bonus to Poland's politics. With all power consolidated in the President, you'll be able to change your laws and your cabinet with ease.

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Time isn’t your only opponent here though, each of the two factions will expect Mościcki to appease them by enacting their policies and giving them power. Every focus of the Left you complete will make the Right more irritated and vice versa. On top of that, both factions will passively gain irritation over time so spend too long without taking a side and you risk losing both to civil wars.

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Historically, Mościcki maintained control of the government until wartime, at which point it was agreed Śmigły would take control, but Poland failed to last long enough for this to take effect. However, if the player has appointed either Śmigły or Sławek as Chairman of Poland, the Sanation Right/Left can supercede the Castle and become the majority controller of the government. This enables some light alt-history within the historical branch, as well as unlocking new diplomatic options for Poland.

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Available to all three factions of the dictatorship is the Align With the West branch, which allows Poland to join the Allies as they were able to in their old tree.

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In the 30s, Lithuania was technically at war with Poland until the 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania in which Poland demanded an end to the cold war over Vilnius. As well as being able to gain cooperation and eventually an alliance with Lithuania, Poland may also demand Lithuania’s annexation which can result in occupying Lithuania without the need for war, but take this focus with caution as it extends your frontline with the Axis.

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Lastly, the Romanian Bridgehead Strategy has now been moved to the diplomatic branch and allows Poland to bring Romania into the allies. Historically, Poland and Lithuania had an alliance prior to the war, and Poland can pursue this alliance closer, bringing Romanian guns to the Polish front.

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The Sanation Right exclusively has access to Polish Revanchism which has now been expanded into its own full branch. As well as being able to demand the annexation of Lithuania, the Right can pursue both a restored Commonwealth and fulfil the ambition of the Polish–Czechoslovak confederation.

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Lastly, the Sanation Left has access to an expanded Baltic Alliance path, allowing them to gain alliances with the Baltic states, Czechoslovakia, and Romania, and unlocking the newly expanded Between the Seas branch!

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(It's worth mentioning at this point that most focus icons are placeholder)

No matter which path Poland is pursuing, as long as Poland is not in a faction already, they will be able to realize the Intermarium ambition and create an alliance from sea-to-sea! All they need to do is be considered a major or be a faction leader already, and have a large army. At this point, Poland can be considered a real contender for a major alliance of their own.

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The old Between Seas focus was not really “between seas” so much as it was just a Baltic alliance, but now the first nation to be invited to the faction is Romania. After Romania has made their decision, the alliance can spread any direction; north into Scandinavia and the Baltics, and south into the Balkans. Though unlikely, an Italian alliance is not out of the question for Poland here, but some significant change in policy for either nation would be necessary to tempt the Italians away from the Axis.

That’s all for this one, next week we’ll be talking about Poland’s DLC-locked alternate history branches!
 
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History is a sequence of cause and effect events. The same strategy game. A focus tree should also be a cause-and-effect sequence.

Let someone explain to me what is the relationship between the "Expand The Gdynia Seaport" and "Integrate Gdansk Industries" focus groups and the "ORP Orzeł" "commissioned in the Netherlands?

Similarly, what is the cause and effect relationship between "April Konstytucja" and "Polish Militarism"?

And further: what is the logical relationship between "Align with the West" and "Lithuanian Ultimatum"? On the contrary, rapprochement with the West should prevent the annexation of Lithuania.

And also: What does "Baltic security" (whatever that means) have to do with "Protect Czechoslovakia"?

And also: the focus "Invest in the Old Polish Region" precedes "Modernize Congressional Factories" If I understand correctly that "Congressional" means "in the former Congress Kingdom", then both focuses mean the same. The Old Polish (Industrial) Region is the industry of the former Congress Kingdom.

And also: "National Defense Fund" focus ... why does "Fill The Railways Gaps" focus depend on?

I also don't understand what is Pan-slavic Revachism? In Poland, Pan-Slavism practically did not matter, because in practice it meant subordinating the Slavs to the interests of Moscow.

The "Abolish Segregated Seating" focus should be "Abolish 'numerus clasuss" rule "

Gdańsk should be a Free City, a separate country.

The idea of creating the Polish Peasant Union state, especially in such an area as on the map, including lands inhabited mostly by Ukrainians and Belarusians, is the height of absurdity.

Did anyone read anything about Polish history before starting to create this tree?
It is a pity that most of the changes are not new at all, but were copied from Historical Poland mod.

For my part, I would expect:
- more developed (flexible) diplomacy,
- more than four political parties available (if it can be in mods, why not in Vanilla?),
- (if it's supposed to be "Barbarossa") to "decent" and not very politically correct, but a real tree for the Soviets.
I also hope that in the end Poland will not be forced to occupy Zaolzie and will have something to say in this matter.

To say something nice, I'm very curious about these railroads. I hope someone took the trouble to check where the most important railway junctions were.
 
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Kinda embarassing to see a developer smugly say that he saw it on a unsourced bit of text on English wikipedia when confronted with the ahistoricty of right and left sanation. Like sure, you can't expect Paradox to hire historians to do research for every bit of content, but atleast have a bit more careful use of native speakers and primary sources when researching. Even just a cursory look at Polish wikipedia shows that "sanation left" and "sanation right" aren't terms that are actually used.
 
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One thing that I haven't seen brought up here (unless it was then I'm sorry) is: Will Poland finally get a proper shade of red in its flag? Currently, the in-game flag of Poland is white and generic RGB 255,0,0 red. This isn't right. Historically, deciding on the shade of red Poland should have in its flag and coat of arms was a subject of a heated discussion, with various options (crimson, vermillon, coquelicot, amaranth and scarlet, among others) appearing on the table. Ultimately, crimson was chosen and used until coup d'etat by Piłsudski in 1926, after which the color was switched to vermillon and was used all the way until 1980 (so even in communist Poland).

My suggestion: The flag of non-aligned Poland should be white and vermillon and the flag of democratic Poland should be white and crimson.
800px-Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg.png
640px-Flag_of_Poland_%281919%E2%80%931928%29.svg.png
 
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Please include Mongolia and Menjiang reworks. They can be small, just giving them cores on eachother and a few national decisions would be cool enough.
In this dlc it does not make sense these trees with the theme of the dlc but I believe a lot later we will have regional shared trees in the Chinese warlods style that could perfectly substitute the current generic tree for that type of smaller countries but some of these trees could have small more specific branches of a specific country could be the reestablishment of the Mongol empire or something like that
 
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I also hope that in the end Poland will not be forced to occupy Zaolzie and will have something to say in this matter.
This is a good point. Historically, Zaolzie was returned to Poland after an ultimatum issued to Czechoslovakia after the Munich agreement. If I recall correctly, Hitler did bring up Polish claims to Zaolzie and other minor patches of land in Czechoslovakia during the Munich talks and probably planned to give Zaolzie to Poland after taking control of it but Józef Beck (Polish minister of foreign affairs) decided to not wait and issued a separate ultimatum, which was a very bad diplomatic decission, as it led to other countries viewing Poland as the aggressor.

The way Poland could take over Zaolzie should be expanded upon. Perhaps a focus to organize a referendum (historically, iirc, there was supposed to be one organized but it never came to be)? And if the Munich agreement happens, Poland should have an option to act on its own and issue an ultimatum or let Germany decide.
 
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Now, just imagine how big the Soviet tree would be...
Not just the Soviets, imagine Italy's on the next overhaul.

The ones who are still whining doesn't know what awaits them if they understand.
 
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Now, just imagine how big the Soviet tree would be...
Depends, is it going to be Soviet-related, or will it be a huge tree because they shoved in tsarist/fash/dem nonsense.

What I'd want is it to be like Red China, where you choose between flavors of communism.
 
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Kinda embarassing to see a developer smugly say that he saw it on a unsourced bit of text on English wikipedia when confronted with the ahistoricty of right and left sanation. Like sure, you can't expect Paradox to hire historians to do research for every bit of content, but atleast have a bit more careful use of native speakers and primary sources when researching. Even just a cursory look at Polish wikipedia shows that "sanation left" and "sanation right" aren't terms that are actually used.
In the ranks of Sanacja there were many people with a socialist background. But the supporters of Valery Slawek certainly cannot be called the Sanacja left.
Instead of Sanacja-Left, it would be more accurate to name a group of Sławek's supporters simply "The Colonels"
 
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One thing that I haven't seen brought up here (unless it was then I'm sorry) is: Will Poland finally get a proper shade of red in its flag? Currently, the in-game flag of Poland is white and generic RGB 255,0,0 red. This isn't right. Historically, deciding on the shade of red Poland should have in its flag and coat of arms was a subject of a heated discussion, with various options (crimson, vermillon, coquelicot, amaranth and scarlet, among others) appearing on the table. Ultimately, crimson was chosen and used until coup d'etat by Piłsudski in 1926, after which the color was switched to vermillon and was used all the way until 1980 (so even in communist Poland).

My suggestion: The flag of non-aligned Poland should be white and vermillon and the flag of democratic Poland should be white and crimson.
800px-Flag_of_Poland_%281928%E2%80%931980%29.svg.png
640px-Flag_of_Poland_%281919%E2%80%931928%29.svg.png
1618684689013.png

Source: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaga_Polski#Odcień_bieli_na_polskiej_fladze
For reading this, I recommend google translate :) But I will tell you that the official color of the bar is the official color, and most Poles use this bright red on the flags that can be bought, unofficial, although the Polish flag is also going to be bought in the official colors.
For the love of the marshal, it is best to correctly spell his name: PIŁSUDSKI, with an "s" in the middle
True, we say syllables this name: Pił-sud-ski, not Pił-sudz-ki -> "ds" not "dz".

In the non-historical tree, I am quietly counting on some option to recreate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In addition, some madness in the style of "Great Catholic Poland" or Great Lechia, or clauses for any area where the Polish ruler was in power, that is:
- Bohemia in 1003-1004 conquered by Bolesław Chrobry (first Polish King, crowned in 1025) - claims.
- Slovakia in 1003-1018 conquered by Bolesław Chrobry - claims.
- Ludwik II Jagiellończyk (son of Polish King Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk) have king of Bohemia in 1471-1516 (reclaims(?)) and Hungary&Croatia (more claims) in 1490-1516.
- Stefan Batory (hun. Báthory István) have Transilvania (claims) Duke on 1571-1586 and Polish King 1575-86.
- Zygmunt III Waza have Sweden king in 1592-1599, when Riksdag dethroned him and Polish from 1587-1632. - claims on SWE and FIN, because in this date Finland have under Sweden Kings.
- For some time, Moldova was a Polish vassal, similarly to East Prussia, then known as the Duchy of Prussia.
- Cores on Kurlandia (today Lativa, in history we have war on Inflanty with Sweden).

I probably do not remember something, because Poland has lost what it has once gained, but Paradox has something to rummage in and what to invent: D
 
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View attachment 705581
Source: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaga_Polski#Odcień_bieli_na_polskiej_fladze
For reading this, I recommend google translate :) But I will tell you that the official color of the bar is the official color, and most Poles use this bright red on the flags that can be bought, unofficial, although the Polish flag is also going to be bought in the official colors.
I know all of this very well. Still, we shouldn't be using the unofficial color (which looks fancy in HEX but it's just the most "basic" red), because it's a result of ignorance and teaching that the flag of Poland is "white and red", without ever properly specifying the shade of red. We should be using the actual historically accurate colors and then educating people, instead of limiting ourselves to the most basic shades.
 
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In the non-historical tree, I am quietly counting on some option to recreate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In addition, some madness in the style of "Great Catholic Poland" or Great Lechia, or clauses for any area where the Polish ruler was in power, that is:
- Bohemia in 1003-1004 conquered by Bolesław Chrobry (first Polish King, crowned in 1025) - claims.
- Slovakia in 1003-1018 conquered by Bolesław Chrobry - claims.
- Ludwik II Jagiellończyk (son of Polish King Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk) have king of Bohemia in 1471-1516 (reclaims(?)) and Hungary&Croatia (more claims) in 1490-1516.
- Stefan Batory (hun. Báthory István) have Transilvania (claims) Duke on 1571-1586 and Polish King 1575-86.
- Zygmunt III Waza have Sweden king in 1592-1599, when Riksdag dethroned him and Polish from 1587-1632. - claims on SWE and FIN, because in this date Finland have under Sweden Kings.
- For some time, Moldova was a Polish vassal, similarly to East Prussia, then known as the Duchy of Prussia.
- Cores on Kurlandia (today Lativa, in history we have war on Inflanty with Sweden).

I probably do not remember something, because Poland has lost what it has once gained, but Paradox has something to rummage in and what to invent: D
I honestly think these ideas are just too far-fetched. Claims on lands that were controlled over 900 years earlier for several years at most? I'm not convinced. Not to mention the sole concept of "Great Catholic Poland" makes me cringe to my core (and the "Great Lechia" is more of a today's meme than anything). And I'm probably not the only one.

For a more rational list of claims/cores, I'd look at Dmowski's line, as it pretty much covers all areas inhabited by ethnic Poles in any greater numbers at the time. So the entirety of Upper Silesia (Lower Silesia was mostly germanized at the time), Masuria (where the referendum was held and Germany won), lands to the east, of course, and Polish Livonia (the part of Livonia, or Inflanty in Polish, that remained a part of Poland after wars with Sweden and had a population of ethnic Poles. Don't remember how vast, though).
 
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In this dlc it does not make sense these trees with the theme of the dlc but I believe a lot later we will have regional shared trees in the Chinese warlods style that could perfectly substitute the current generic tree for that type of smaller countries but some of these trees could have small more specific branches of a specific country could be the reestablishment of the Mongol empire or something like that
I disagree, it would make a lot of sense for a DLC focused on the USSR. For one Mongolia is literally it's only ally, other than little Tannu Tuva. Also Japanese-Soviet border clashes, driven partly over who should be overlord of Mongolia, was an integral concern for Soviet foreign policy up to 1939. It's be fun for the clashes and rivalry between the USSR and Japan to be better represented in game, and would give you something to do early game as the Soviets. It's also worth mentioning that irl the Japanese and Soviets stationed large number of troops on eachother's borders, up until 1941 or so when both needed those troops elsewhere, but now there's no reason to station troops on eachother's borders at all.
 
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