You could be right about that. The Swedish manpower numbers I've read have been worrying.
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You could be right about that. The Swedish manpower numbers I've read have been worrying.
I'm not sure just how many more men they can throw at me than they already are (I checked, and it is around 180k troops in and around Denmark) without getting around to a naval invasion. After all, the more troops in a single attack, the worse the stacking penalty will be in addition to crossing a strait into a (currently) level 2 fort.
Yep. They've lost Albania too, so if Greece ever gets attacked they will probably just be sitting there doing nothing. That being said, the Italians are holding onto Somalia rather well.
I'm not sure if they'll be able to break through the multinational doom-stacks either. We'll see on that end.
For what its worth, I just checked the Luftwaffe...and Germany has at most 20 or so bomber groups. Granted I only have six fighters myself, but if I put effort into improving my fighter cover, I can keep them busy (and since my manpower is rather limited, building aircraft will give me more bang for the buck than more reserve infantry).
The Kreigsmarine on the other hand...wow, that thing didn't get much. Only one heavy cruiser and battleship left (they never built the Bismarck/Tirpitz) and a handful of subs/light cruisers. I think, especially since I just demonstrated I can sink the starting BB's, that the German Navy is no longer a threat to Sweden.
Swedish MP is hovering around 480, and still rising at 2 per month. German, by contrast, is around 1500, going up by 27 per month. One would think they have the edge, but the attrition in the west has got to be hurting them. It will get even worse if they do take France, and instead of doing the sensible thing (recovering MP while trying to drown me in bodies) they go right to Barbarossa.
That's not good news because the Germans probably aren't able to make things more interesting by invading Norway!
I don't know whether Germany will go for Barbarossa or not given the unusual problem you've given them. If not, of course, Stalin might just bring Barbarossa to them...
The Germans still have a handful of transports left so they potentially could invade Norway, if they were willing to do it with little-to-no escort. That being said, if it becomes obvious they won't do anything other than infinite Battle's of Malmö I will take the reserves and find a lightly defended German port to take. Spice things up a bit, even it would probably be fairly suicidal.
As for Uncle Joe, he's rather preoccupied with Japan still, as they've got almost the entire border around Manchuria under control, all of Sakhalin, a good chunk of Kamchatka, a port next to North Sakhalin on the mainland, and most of Mongolia taken.
As for Uncle Joe, he's rather preoccupied with Japan still, as they've got almost the entire border around Manchuria under control, all of Sakhalin, a good chunk of Kamchatka, a port next to North Sakhalin on the mainland, and most of Mongolia taken.
Japan will come to a halt when the Soviet armoured divisions arrive at the front. But that Battle of Malmo is a clear example why the HOI AI still needs a lot more work. You'd realistically expect a couple of probing attacks, not full on assaults. The germans havent even tried paradropping around it, or an amphibious assault?
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I don't think Germany even has paratroops at this point. Nor have they tried an amphibious assault. The AI rather disappoints me honestly, though to be fair I am playing an older version of the game.
Interesting note: I played for three or so months (June-September '41). My manpower went down by one point in that time...the Germans? 300. At this point, if I just let the Allies and Germans beat each other up for another year or so I can just walk into Germany. I'm not sure if I should be depressed by that or not. I'm half-tempted to tag switch and open up the Maginot or something, just to keep things interesting. I won't, but it certainly is tempting.
Then again, I didn't check British/French MP numbers, so they could be even worse off for all I know. All I know, is with Germany at 1200 and falling at the rate it is, my 480-ish manpower suddenly looks better doesn't it?
With the offensive into Bornholm a failure, the Swedish military resigned themselves to defending Malmö and bombing the Germans occupying Denmark. The small size of the Swedish Air Force continued to cause problems, though two more bomber groups were under construction to reinforce the fledgling bomber corps. These would not be finished until November 1941 however, so the Air Force made do with what it had, if only to keep the Germans from getting complacent.
It seemed to be having some effect too, as the German offensives into Malmö were getting weaker and weaker every day, the battle rarely lasting more than a few hours, as opposed to the week long battles earlier in the Siege. If only civilians were left in the city they would have been happy about this, but they had all been evacuated months ago when it became apparent Germany was serious about taking the city.
Battle's such as this were becoming more and more common. Instead of massive firefights were thousands of Swedes and Germans lost their lives, it was now reduced to under a hundred Swedes at a time, and maybe one thousand Germans. The only assumption Swedish command could make was that the German Army was tied up in France, and running out of able-bodied men it could throw at Sweden. This was a relief to be sure, but only if the Allies could continue to hold fast in France.
News from the former Embassy in Czechoslovakia was also interesting, perhaps more so for the Czechoslovak volunteers than for the Swedes themselves. Prague had risen up in revolt, while the German and Slovakian forces were occupied in France. The revolt didn't come to anything, but it was a further sign that Hitler may have overstretched his nation. The German Armies failure to take Malmö or Paris had to be hurting on the home front, if revolts could take place in the heart of the nation.
However, it would be foolish to think the Germans were beaten.
Swedish convoys had been left alone for the most part during the war, as the limited Kreigsmarine focused on British shipping. However, with the repeated failures to break into Sweden, the Germans had decided to lift that restriction. The convoy took shelter in Britain, but the damage was done. It was not a good sign either, that the Germans retained enough force to still attack convoys carrying desperately needed coal from America.
As Sweden scrambled to reinforce their convoys, news came from the East.
The Soviets were flexing their muscles in the face of a weakened Germany. This was generally seen as pointless blustering by Moscow however. The Soviets were just as hard-pressed as the Nazi's were, with their Far Eastern front struggling against the Japanese. Neither of the European Superpowers were in good shape at the moment to be honest.
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I'm definitely leaning towards an amphibious invasion now. It would at least spice things up.
I don't think Germany even has paratroops at this point. Nor have they tried an amphibious assault. The AI rather disappoints me honestly, though to be fair I am playing an older version of the game.
Interesting note: I played for three or so months (June-September '41). My manpower went down by one point in that time...the Germans? 300. At this point, if I just let the Allies and Germans beat each other up for another year or so I can just walk into Germany. I'm not sure if I should be depressed by that or not. I'm half-tempted to tag switch and open up the Maginot or something, just to keep things interesting. I won't, but it certainly is tempting.
Then again, I didn't check British/French MP numbers, so they could be even worse off for all I know. All I know, is with Germany at 1200 and falling at the rate it is, my 480-ish manpower suddenly looks better doesn't it?
Warriors of the North said:
With the offensive into Bornholm a failure, the Swedish military resigned themselves to defending Malmö and bombing the Germans occupying Denmark. The small size of the Swedish Air Force continued to cause problems, though two more bomber groups were under construction to reinforce the fledgling bomber corps. These would not be finished until November 1941 however, so the Air Force made do with what it had, if only to keep the Germans from getting complacent.
It seemed to be having some effect too, as the German offensives into Malmö were getting weaker and weaker every day, the battle rarely lasting more than a few hours, as opposed to the week long battles earlier in the Siege. If only civilians were left in the city they would have been happy about this, but they had all been evacuated months ago when it became apparent Germany was serious about taking the city.
Battle's such as this were becoming more and more common. Instead of massive firefights were thousands of Swedes and Germans lost their lives, it was now reduced to under a hundred Swedes at a time, and maybe one thousand Germans. The only assumption Swedish command could make was that the German Army was tied up in France, and running out of able-bodied men it could throw at Sweden. This was a relief to be sure, but only if the Allies could continue to hold fast in France.
News from the former Embassy in Czechoslovakia was also interesting, perhaps more so for the Czechoslovak volunteers than for the Swedes themselves. Prague had risen up in revolt, while the German and Slovakian forces were occupied in France. The revolt didn't come to anything, but it was a further sign that Hitler may have overstretched his nation. The German Armies failure to take Malmö or Paris had to be hurting on the home front, if revolts could take place in the heart of the nation.
However, it would be foolish to think the Germans were beaten.
Swedish convoys had been left alone for the most part during the war, as the limited Kreigsmarine focused on British shipping. However, with the repeated failures to break into Sweden, the Germans had decided to lift that restriction. The convoy took shelter in Britain, but the damage was done. It was not a good sign either, that the Germans retained enough force to still attack convoys carrying desperately needed coal from America.
As Sweden scrambled to reinforce their convoys, news came from the East.
The Soviets were flexing their muscles in the face of a weakened Germany. This was generally seen as pointless blustering by Moscow however. The Soviets were just as hard-pressed as the Nazi's were, with their Far Eastern front struggling against the Japanese. Neither of the European Superpowers were in good shape at the moment to be honest.
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I'm definitely leaning towards an amphibious invasion now. It would at least spice things up.
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This is a fun read! I always love looking at the aftermath of those Malmö battles...
In my experience as Japan, the Soviets will try a "Japan First" strategy if you go to war with them.
Usually they devote 400-600K soldiers at least, including most of their best armoured divisions.
I've actually loaded up as the soviets once to see why they were losing against Germany, and I saw them moving armour east when Moscow had just fallen.
So I wouldn't expect too much from the Soviets if you have to fight them in Europe, or if Barbarossa happens.
Usually they devote 400-600K soldiers at least, including most of their best armoured divisions.
I've actually loaded up as the soviets once to see why they were losing against Germany, and I saw them moving armour east when Moscow had just fallen.
So I wouldn't expect too much from the Soviets if you have to fight them in Europe, or if Barbarossa happens.
It is possible the Germans haven't mobilized their manpower reserves yet. However, your numbers certainly show how much the protracted campaign in the west and the struggle for Malmö are hurting them.
Would building more bombers really be worthwhile? The luftwaffe is always an ungodly size, and it seems to me like building bombers wouldn't be useful since the Germans could swat your fighters aside with just a couple air wings.
Glad you like it!
I don't expect much from the Sov's either. Though the Germans aren't looking like they can hit them any time soon.
Like I said...I wouldn't want to live in Malmö in this timeline.
Yep, the Germans are hurting. Even if they mobilize their reserves, that's no guarantee the Allies won't mobilize their reserves too. Sweden and Norway (more so Norway) are going to be the only nations involved in the European war to not lose all their MP at this rate.
They are building a lot of divisions. Not enough to cover 300 lost manpower though.
Maybe true, but I'm trying to conserve manpower where possible (I'm not ruling out the Germans doing something to surprise me), and its cheaper to build bombers if I want something that can hurt the German Army. I'm also going to build more fighters when I have the free IC to do so.
Enough to build the divisions maybe, but not enough to keep reinforcing them if I do something like invade Germany. And right now, I have enough divisions (with several to spare) to cover Malmö, so I don't really need more yet. Plus I can always call in the Norwegians, if I absolutely have to.
Setting allied objectives on Malmö and Göteborg might not be a bad idea at all.
The fewer divisions you have the more losses you take, as the hits gets spread over all participating divisions and they are neutralised after the toughness or defensiveness the division have. So more is better, and 400 MP is enough for a German barbarossa! and far too much for the ~20 divisions of the Royal Army of Sweden.
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...point.
On a different note: Looking through the decisions...there's an option for a 'white peace' between the Allies/Axis? That would be an interesting, if very non-standard, way to get out of the war.
Probably good story potential too, writing how the Swedes pressured both sides to give up the war (since they only joined to defend Norway in the first place), and how the aftermath of the war goes. I actually rather like the idea of that, though I doubt the German AI would ever pick the peace option.
Factions fight until surrender, i believe. Can't have a peace agreement.
I believe the SF version of HPP has a "Peace in the West" decision where the UK can offer an armistice but it won't be activated unless France is defeated and it is heavily dependent on who holds power in the UK. Did Edward VIII abdicate in this timeline? Is Churchill prime minister? Lord Halifax? Things like that.
Normally yes, but this is evidently a special decision.
That's what I found. And since Edward never abdicated this time around...
I played ahead a bit, to see if the decision would actually fire if France fell. It did, and here are screenshots from both sides of the fence:
I'm in two minds about the future of the AAR now. Fight to the bitter end, which allows for more gameplay fun (eventual Swedish invasion of Germany when they finally kick off Barbarossa?), or tag-switch and make the Germans accept the truce for story potential? Eh, I'll decide eventually, and maybe France will actually survive this time. Next update will be up either tonight or tomorrow night.