The Bolsheviks strike back is a good or bad thing for the Commune? For RP they should be enemies because or at least rivals, but dunno if DH can simulate that
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At this point, I am actually wondering if this might as well be an AAR or not, though I don't think I am up to writing RP and narrative parts to the quality I want just yet (a whole lot of reading I need to get done before that) I thus still think of it more like a how-to guide than an AAR which is why it isn't under the AAR category. I will eventually write a narrative RP driven AAR, but I want to be able to describe how Syndcalist structures might operate from an informed position first. If I see a narrative growing in my head regardless of what I think about how qualified I am to write it, I may opt to turn this into an AAR anyway. If I do, I will start over in the AAR thread and rework what I have done so far into a narrative framework while perhaps continuing to post here in reference to the gameplay elements.
It's possible I might opt for a different governing party than the anarchists and re-engineer events to bring the Bolsheviks back into power. I will have to do quite a bit of reading on the profiles of the various leaders and ideologies. Makhno may, however, make me retain the Anarchists as the ruling party simply because he is such a fascinating figure and there is a much greater volume of Anarchist theory than Syndcalist ones. There would still have to be a measure of pragmatic compromise between maintaining the kind of centralized structures necessary to conduct a war and the anarchist ideal of society. One reason I've avoided writing this as an AAR is that it's very hard to define what Syndicalism means both as a theory and in practice, whereas a greater emphasis on Anarchism solves that.
As I recall, a Bolshevik Russia won't necessarily join the International event-wise (though I think it is more likely to attack Germany than Russia would normally be unless allied to Japan.) I don't know if there are specific decisions for an ideological conflict between rival Socialists in KR as they are in other mods such as Communist Germany (and I think Napoleon's Legacy between the USSR and the USSA?), but it does make a lot of sense for relations between a Bolshevik Russia and an Anarcho-Syndicalist International to be rather frosty once the mutual threat of Germany is removed. While in the immediate sense it means that there is no chance of Russia joining the German alliance, which can happen and can be tough to beat unless there is another front (Japan) it does split the socialist world.
As an exercise of thought, the what-if regarding Anarcho-Syndicalism which KR offers as an ideological replacement to Marxism-Leninism seems best served by a Bolshevik revolution in Russia as the 2nd part of the story. How France reorganizes after defeat in World War 1 and builds a revolutionary state-based, after a fashion, on government by consent and dispersed authority (which while not exactly democratic due to the suppression of none-socialist elements, is certainly more democratic than OTL Communism unless you elect the Sorelians or the Jacobians) acts as a very effective first part proposing the alternative. France is after all the cradle of revolutionary states (or at least it was until the 20th century) and in that sense, France driving socialism forwards makes more sense than OTL.
Victory over Germany, in turn, legitimizes the model much in the same way the Russian Revolution and its later defeat of Germany did in OTL. Not only that, it re-affirms the French Revolution in the removal of the old monarchical order which in KR Germany and Austria (in the absence of a Romanov restoration in Russia) stand as the clear proponents of. After the war, you may very well get a cold war between rival socialist powers; one democratic and one authoritarian and depending on how things go on America either a Capitalist holdout if democratic federalists win, a Fascist state if the AUS wins, a military Franco like Junta if MacAurther wins and remains dictator or a fellow socialist state that may go Trade Unionist, Syndicalist, Totalist, or Communist (it tends to purge the anarchists)
So yea, there is definitely a lot of meat for an AAR here. I would be happy to hear from people reading their thoughts if I should go ahead and turn this into a full AAR and continue the gameplay guide separately and any suggestions you have on what you'd like to see in such an AAR. Speaking for myself, I was inspired mostly by One and Invisible in terms of the format I would probably write in; history book pieces, narrative pieces from people on the ground as well as political decision-makers. That said, I also like the idea of breaking things up with radio broadcasts and focusing much more on the political angle of the ins and outs of how such a socialist structure might work to the best of my ability. I am still on the fence on if to do it or not so feedback would be helpful in that regard.
I would vote to keep this thread AAR-free. I think that the, "This choice has benefits A & B along with risks C & D." style is very helpful. It would be difficult to also write an AAR in the same thread at the same time and do them both well. I agree that there is good material for one here, should you want to do so in parallel.
EDIT: I understand that the situation in Russia can shake out in, like, 8 different ways. I have never played Russia (I hear it is fun), how would different outcomes affect us in France?
EDIT: I understand that the situation in Russia can shake out in, like, 8 different ways. I have never played Russia (I hear it is fun), how would different outcomes affect us in France?
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That's fine. And a few roleplay elements even in a guide I do like, spices things a bit up and avoids boredom... helps also to explain the sometimes weird decisions one chooses to go with in DH.
So early war would be sometimes in 37?
And late war?
Does this scenario/mod follows in any way the timeline and events of the historic 30ies and war in 39? Or what determines war and peace in the mod?
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I think I will go ahead and parcel out the AAR part as an AAR while continuing this guide as a game focused one. It's the best way of letting myself continue the one without being dependent on the other as time and research allow. The benefit of playing Anarchists is that there is more theory stuff available. For the purposes of the guide, I will start mentioning developments of the AI and their implications to France starting with a quick overview of AI decisions up to this point.
Normally, it has no immediate implications as Russia will remain neutral for the most part (unrealistically so in my opinion as one would expect them to grab the Eastern puppets if say Berlin or continental Germany is taken, there really should be more events covering this) Russia might not even remain as a functioning state depending on how its events unfold (I once saw it get swallowed up by Turkistan, Mongolia, Japan, Don-Kaban, Finland, and a surviving rump European Russia.)
Russia becomes relevant to France depending on its alliances; if it's allied to Japan, for example, there is a high probability of it going to war with Germany when the Japanese attack it. Alternatively, if Japan has attacked the Qing, Germany often intervenes and joins the war with Russia getting the option to do the same and practically join the German alliance in the process. Russia also gets decisions to join the German Alliance directly (often in return for some concessions in Eastern Europe) or it may end up moving on a rare event chain toppling German puppets that has a good chance of leading to war.
I am not entirely sure what are the options regarding a Soviet Russia as I haven't seen it happen too often (they tend to lose the civil war and the AI chance for them to seize power without one is pretty low as was the case here) I think they have more decisions the AI is likely to pick regarding attacking Germany, but I don't think they join the International directly. The main implication is that they won't be allying with Germany, but they are just as liable to stay neutral.
Technically, you can declare war whenever via the DoW action. Eventwise, the above was still in May of 36. There are various events and flashpoints that can start an early war in both 37 and 38 such as the demanding Geneva from the Swiss, British intervention in Norway, the assassination of a German ambassador, or French support of revolutionaries in the Rhineland. What I'd define as the "normal" war date is 39 which is when the AI gets the Alsace Lorren or War decision which as far as the German AI is concerned will always end in war. Even then the war can start a few months earlier over misfires during military drills.
Late war I would define it as anything later than 39 when Germany regains all of its IC from Black Monday. Germany loses much of its IC in 36 due to modifier changes and dissent and depending on events and if it gets to fight a war can languish in a low IC state until 38-39. That means that for the duration of these effects France has industrial superiority, but the more you leave the war late post-39, the more time Germany has to catch up. I tend to give Germany an extra year mostly for the challenge and because I find starting the war on the 10th of May 1940 to be rather poetic, but it's possible to build a good army by 39.
Not really to the first question, KR is probably the most thought out Alternative History scenario for KR and therefore has a lot of its own historic timeline that is quite distinct from our own. War and peace are mostly determined by the very detailed event chains of the game ranging from capitulation conditions to post-war map re-drawing, to declarations of war. You could still declare war manually, but the events do help weave it into the scope of the mod's narrative better.
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Sorry, life caught up with me, will be getting back to this really soon (over the next few days) and staying on it this time until it's done! Thanks for asking.
Was already wondering that myself. As good a time as any to make sure I'm notified of this thread
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A further precision, with KR and brigades we also get bonuses of soft attack, organization and/or morale with the terrestrial doctrines, which makes (with good ministers too) that it can be interesting to brigading all his army (while in DH full, putting brigades in his infantry is more of a waste of IC) and even if it mostly revolves between AC, eng and art.
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Chapter 4 - The International Situation & The First Year of Rearmament
Chapter 4 - The International Situation
& The First Year of Rearmament
& The First Year of Rearmament
Part 1 - Friends & Enemies
When I last posted, I ended with a quick overview of the Soviet revival in Russia and its consequences to the Commune of France. Generally, a Soviet Russia is an unlikely outcome for several reasons: 1) The chances of the AI choosing a Bolshevik Prime Minister are very low. 2) Once chosen, the chances of establishing the Soviet Republic while higher with a red Prine Minister are still not particularly high. 3) If the Bolsheviks do not come to power peacefully they will generally either lose the 2nd Russian Civil War or win only once Russia has become an irrelevant rump state due to foreign interventions and internal secessions.
Soviet Russia certainly isn't planning on being confined to a rump state status this time around...
As to what it means to the Commune, truth be told, I haven't seen this outcome enough to be entirely sure. On a positive note, it means that there is no chance of Russia joining the war as part of the German alliance which can happen under certain conditions. That said, it does not necessarily mean that the Soviets will join the international or fight Germany at all since the most common circumstances for a Russian attack on Germany are either posturing in the Eastern client states or Russia allying itself with Japan either before it attacks Germany or after (conversely, sometimes Russia can ally with China and Germany against Japan) In some situations, Russia can directly ally with Germany against France as part of an event chain over Alsace or DoW without an alliance due to the reassurance treaty.
Obviously, fighting a two-front war against Germany is much easier for the Commune, but for the most part, the chances seem to favour a one front war even with the Soviets in charge. Russian intervention on Germany's side naturally makes the war much harder but there are ways and circumstances the Commune can get around it. Firstly, Russian redeployment tends to go right up to the front line meaning that it can pay to postpone completing an encirclement to let the Russian troops in first thus destroying them in detail and denying the huge numerical Russo-German advantage, at least until Germany can be safely knocked out from the war. That said, sometimes the volume of troops in a pocket can simply be too much for the Commune to handle, at which case it pays to bait the Russo-German forces deeper into a bulge inside the Commune with a fighting infantry army retreat and keeping the armoured divisions ready to encircle one army at a time.
An example of a Russo-German encirclement as described above, though with some Dutch and Japanese help.
Initial steps towards a potential Mediterranean Block are already underway.
Another possibility involves an early war breaking out between the UoB and Canada which the Commune can either join or stay out of (including simply ignoring the decision to join the war for example) Doing so is rather gamey and can cause all sorts of problems with event chains and could mean that the Commune will have to fight without the UoB's navy to keep the Germans busy (potentially problematic for amphibious operations and coastal defence) That said, launching a serious operation against Algiers will mean delaying an invasion of Germany giving it more time to get over the consequences of Black Monday, and thus a chance to close the IC gap. I am not entirely sure if one can simply ignore the war with Algiers even while technically joining it and stay on track for attacking Germany anyway.
Algiers generally has a choice between more land forces, more naval forces, or more coastal defence. I'd say the prospect of a larger infantry army is more dangerous to the Commune on account of the already powerful Entente naval assets and the possibility of amphibious landings or support of continental allies.
Finally, a successful Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth can give Germany a pretty substantial infantry army in addition to its starting Eastern clients. The same applies to any additional ally Germany draws in, particularly in the air where the sheer weight of numbers can severely challenge Communard air missions.
A Republican Poland cannot restore the Commonwealth and thus generally becomes harmless to our interests. I think it can still potentially become an Austrian puppet under certain conditions, but I am not sure these apply to a Republican Poland since most events revolve around the regency council.
Four possible interventions in the Commune's favour include firstly a Soviet/Russian attack on Germany as described above. Secondly, a victorious CNT in Spain as an ally (though one of limited utility on account of the additional coast it presents and low IC potential) Thirdly, an early reunification of Italy under the SRI banner (Which is particularly useful against Austria) Finally, a coup in the Netherlands which makes the invasion of Germany far easier to accomplish. Other possibilities such as a Syndicalist Norway, Iceland, or even Australia are more relevant to the UoB's war effort. That said, some German clients such as Ukraine and Africa can join the International under certain conditions with the former providing at least a temporary second front while the latter restricts the German government in exile. The CSA can also join the International if it wins the Civil War but apart from air units it's mostly confined to fighting Canada and tends to lose against it at that.
With internal reform in progress, the coup won't be possible leaving the Dutch neutral in the coming war.
Part 2 - Trade & Investment
With the above changes in mind, it is now safe to extend our trade relations to cover all possible technology with the Soviets and perhaps even Poland since neither is expected to become an enemy at this point. I have generally traded tech & resources for cash every month in order to pay for research and infrastructure investments that not only improve logistics and research speed but also provide potentially useful blueprints for technologies we will need in the coming war (I got 1937 interceptors as well as 1939 infantry blueprints for example, both of which are very useful.) Germany has a technological edge over France in terms of tech team skill, variety, and I think even money production so every edge counts. Tech & resource trading declines as a viable source of income the more secure the AI becomes in its own research and resource stockpiling so its best started early in the game and continued as long as possible with nonthreatening powers/techs.
I have also started the development of carrier techs I will need for an effective fleet. While not strictly necessary for the Commune which probably should concentrate on its land forces, for the most part, they are fairly cheap investments and useful in maintaining some degree of effective naval presence in the Med. For the most part, I prefer not to research techs before their historical year (as it takes more time) until my research effectiveness has increased substantially from my investments which is why I haven't yet researched 1937 interceptors and other techs. Land doctrine, however, is an exception if I want to get tank divisions early.
Sweet if declining regular cash gains between 1000-2000 a month! Though going through all these countries is a pain.
You could follow the timetable I set out in the previous chapter to avoid going through all of them
but the monetary gain of doing all the rounds can be substantially higher.
Ecuador provides a good example of a resource/tech market while Chille has an unreasonably high price I won't be paying for now.
The USA, the gift that keeps on giving. But where the hell did Afghanistan get all this money from?
While trading away resources restricts our immediate stockpile in the early game period I think that is an acceptable loss since much of the shortfall can be made good ahead of the war via automatic stockpiling and manual trading of excess resources, even tech come to think about it, in return for our future wartime stockpile. Metal as a locally produced resource is pretty useful as an export commodity while energy is cheap enough not to miss. My main concerns are oil and supplies since my army depends on the former to move and I have no local production of oil to speak of nor of enough energy to convert into oil. Supplies on the other hand are a substantial draw on IC to produce domestically and while it is one I am prepared to pay for now I will be trying to ease the IC burden ahead of the war.
Part 3 - Rearmament & Interesting developments
Germany suffering the aftershocks of Black Monday which with a free-market translates to low IC potential. This may not last depending on other events, but for the time being I significantly outweigh the Germans in IC by some 50 points, and they also have a lot of dissent to worry about. This naturally reduces the resources they have available for rearmament, though the Commune Player should not count on Germany being industrially immobilized for long if at all. Certain outcomes can quickly heal German industry ahead of the war and another war elsewhere can likewise give it a lot of breathing space. As I am experimenting somewhat with this playthrough's build order rather than making the most optimal choices it is a fairly welcome development that extends my own rearmament timeframe.
Meanwhile, the British can't decide who should be in charge and the two Italian governments don't seem to like each other very much.
September sees the completion of my quick round of 6 motorized divisions (with 6 more as a serialized production over time) Since I have no intention of pursuing an early war with Germany if I can help it, I've opted to send the new divisions to the Italian border just in case an early war there gives me a chance to take it.
From October to December I continue to redeploy more of my forces towards the North Italian border as tensions between the Italian governments increase. New Infantry divisions take point along the Belgian border while my motorized divisions are amassed on the Italian border to give me a large rapid response force.
Production-wise I've been trying to keep a portion of IC dedicated to upgrades for the time being since the consequence of a draft army is a much lower upgrade rate. While I could be doing other things and I am worried all these serial runs might restrict my armoured division orders, I would prefer if my infantry divisions reach the 36 models as a minimal standard along with the artillery (my existing infantry was especially dreadfully behind) I have also started a few serial runs of cavalry I intend to equip with the tanks I detached from the motorized divisions. A bit wasteful, but I find that cavalry can act as a useful reserve force.
I also started the construction of my light carriers so they'll be ready in the event of an early war against Algiers and Canada in 38. I don't have radars tech for them as of yet so that will have to be produced separately later on. Since aircraft are fast to build I think I will hold off the construction of new wings until I have the 1940 interceptor model and the 1938 tactical bomber model to save me the upgrade cost. That said, it would depend on exactly how much I will have to invest in the armoured divisions. It may emerge that I will be better of to produce 37 interceptors via serialized runs rather than waiting until the last minute.
January 1937 summary of technology, production, and industrial capacity use.
That's all for now so I will end with a few more dissent reduction events and a little bit of music to see us off!
That's all for now so I will end with a few more dissent reduction events and a little bit of music to see us off!
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Now that this update is uploaded I thought I'd clarify a few things about this guide going forward. Firstly, truth be told, I simply got a bit tired of DH for a while but now that I've had a bit of a break I am back to it and having as much fun playing the grand old game as ever. Work and life will probably get in the way from time to time but I will endeavour to release smaller updates as I did previously should that happen rather than a full-length chapter to keep the Guide active. Since we have most of the set-up and background out of the way I imagine it will continue on the basis of general tips I think are worth mentioning as they emerge, the process of rearmament every few months, and any developments worth keeping in mind both as they emerge in this game's events and as they may emerge in your games.
Now, as to the future of this guide, my intention is to continue this work as a guide and not start an AAR at this stage as I sort out the narrative angle of one. There are also a lot of points in which this guide diverges from what I would consider optimal play, and therefore, I intend to write up a much shorter "Simplified Guide to the Commune of France" that will overview the necessary actions for what I'd consider the optimal motorized/armoured army to defeat Germany after I finish this one. The Complete Guide will continue after the war against Germany and cover the African campaign as well as an invasion of Soviet Russia if I feel like it. I will later write an AAR but despite my earlier post on the matter, I am currently looking more into the Sorelian or the Orthodox Syndicalist set-up than the Anarchist one.
Thank you all for reading and reminding me that this guide existed because I did briefly forget about it.
Now, as to the future of this guide, my intention is to continue this work as a guide and not start an AAR at this stage as I sort out the narrative angle of one. There are also a lot of points in which this guide diverges from what I would consider optimal play, and therefore, I intend to write up a much shorter "Simplified Guide to the Commune of France" that will overview the necessary actions for what I'd consider the optimal motorized/armoured army to defeat Germany after I finish this one. The Complete Guide will continue after the war against Germany and cover the African campaign as well as an invasion of Soviet Russia if I feel like it. I will later write an AAR but despite my earlier post on the matter, I am currently looking more into the Sorelian or the Orthodox Syndicalist set-up than the Anarchist one.
Thank you all for reading and reminding me that this guide existed because I did briefly forget about it.
I am not sure I'd go that far because brigades still have a rather disproportionate IC cost as opposed to the cost-effectiveness of simply building more divisions, but I do agree that some brigades seem to be more effective in KR than in vanilla. Perhaps if you serial run an artillery brigade or two it can get cost-effective to equip all or a substantial part of the army with them or with cheaper brigades such as AT (or at least I think they are cheaper?) Artillery brigades specifically suffer from a speed reduction penalty I am loath to impose on the entire infantry army but one that is more tolerable in the case of my fortress busters. I am not sure it's truly cost-effective to build the armoured cars for my motorized divisions and I wouldn't bother in a more optimized playthrough but they seem to give them a punch.
Edit - A little teaser for the next update!
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Excellent.
I started to miss reading a fine tutorial post here in the forums.
DH isn't exactly the most casual game... I guess, we all have those phases.
ACs are dirtcheap. For the Commune, I think, an AC raises the IC cost of a MOT by just 7% but raises soft attack by around 16% and lowers vulnerability by 15-18%. So that's truly a bargain... other than the MP-cost if one is low there.
I give really all MOTs an AC. Actually I start even lower and give already every CAV an AC... I upgrade them to MOT anyway.
Definetly. Neither is the cost ratio art : inf good. Artillery raises the cost of an INF by more than 50%, the lowered vulnerability is neglectable, mobility reduced... another INF is almost always better and comes with free additional org.
Nevertheless I find myself using INF/art with great joy at some rare strategic positions: strongpoints or Schwerpunkte where they, without moving, can support attack towards several directions and afterwards need to stay put there anyway to continously defend the region for strategic/logistical reasons.
I start to think that in DH the artillery values are a bit too much nerfed. It doesn't feel correct that proper artillery brigade usage in DH is reduced to only a few special circumstances when comparing it with the uber-importance of artillery in WW1 and still heavily used in WW2... and not only by the Red Army, there was a reason why Guderian insisted on motorized artillery support for even Panzer.
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Chapter 5 - 1937: The Year of Revolutions
Chapter 5 - 1937: The Year of Revolutions
Part 1: Calibrating the Economy for War
1937 started with a bit of a foul-up on my part when I forgot to prepare for a particular dissent and industrial efficiency increasing event that also costs a fair bit of money to boot. Had I remembered it, I would have saved up the money for investment both to avoid getting into a state of minus money which damaged my ability to trade and research and to fully benefit from the dissent reducing bonuses of said investment. Unfortunately, I didn't adequately prepare for it, so I will have to prioritize consumer goods over upgrades for a few months to get back into a state of liquidity and get over at least some of the dissent.
Personally, I think the 2nd option is by far the best if only for that 10% bonus whereas the 5% bonus isn't really worth the trade-off while the third one still raises dissent in exchange for money I can easily get by other means. That said, with 750 money plus a little bit more in trade you can easily get rid of at least one dissent point you gain leaving only one you can easily get over. Still, I quite like the substantial resource and industrial bonuses of option 3.
Not a bad beef up once you get over the dissent, and I forgot a C.
Not an ideal shift, but I will get over it.
I still have another 6 unit serial production ongoing
Hopefully, the gearing bonus will shrink the time it will take to build them all.
I would like to have about 24 interceptor wings since Germany & Co have a lot of airpower.
The first round out of 3 fortification increases in Belfort is also completed.
It may seem unnecessary, but I've seen the AI breakthrough here too many times.
Compared to other points on the German border, it is by far the weakest.
Part 2: International Developments
Germany certainly seems to be in the process of reversing its initially poor economic showing as I suspected it might do. Two notable developments, apart from its slight industrial recovery, are the appointment of von Lettow-Vorbeck as German chancellor (a pretty large dissent reducer for a Germany that doesn't have too many of them) and the Kaiser's decision to both adopt the mobile doctrine and invest in the construction of new panzer divisions (money for event generated tanks)
So much for a Syndicalist Africa...
Well, thanks for the manpower and the dissent reduction at any rate!
Another interesting development is the posturing ahead of a potential Communard claim on Geneva. Staking such claims can lead to an early war with Germany if the Swiss ask them for help and the Germans decide to support them while not doing so causes some political slider changes I'd rather avoid as well as dissent. I could just take the decisions and not pursue them, but that would be gamey, so I think I will satisfy myself with trying to claim Geneva and backing down if Germany says no. I can live with the dissent hit that would entail and while the extra industry and chocolate of Geneva would be nice I don't really need that province.
Meanwhile, apparently everyone and everywhere apart from Africa has decided that this year is the best time to stage their revolutions/civil wars. This isn't unusual for KR as 37 is an event heavy year with the US and Spanish civil wars to name but a few starting then, but still, a lot seems to be happening all at once. First of these is the 2nd American Civil War which started after Long didn't approve of Curtis's negotiations with Reed and apparently also didn't appreciate MacAurther trying to assassinate him when he said so. Blah blah, fast forward to the PSA, CSA, and AUS all going to war with the Federal government and Canada grabbing Alaska and New England (but not releasing the latter so far) Naturally, I have decided to support the CSA if only to keep the Canadians busy during the war if they win.
While I am not so keen on American Totalists taking over, I am afraid there is no possibility of much of an anarchist one either narrative-wise.
I wonder what the election results were. Evidently, the Democrats collapsed as a party to CSA and America First defections or else I can't get enough electors for Curtis and the Republicans to win. Perhaps a more accurate way to think about it is that either the Democrats or the Republicans support the other party in the event they get enough electors between them? It's a side narrative concern but I do think there is room to expand the US elections ahead of the civil war as an event chain, perhaps to be a bit like the Caribbean Federation and Australasia that seem to have at least one or two votes for each region over politics.
Austria has also seen fit to first score an epic fail in its centralization efforts with the Hungarians (who managed it quite well in Croatia funnily enough while leaving Bosnia alone) They then proceed to piss off Bohemia into open rebellion which as of the time of this post remains undecided. A pretty good outcome for the Commune since the Hungarian AI generally doesn't help its allies all that much while no matter what happens in the war Austria will emerge weaker.
Spain also blows up, and out of all the civil wars, it is the one in which I have the most immediate interest. So far the CNT seems to be doing fairly well and I've supported them with the in-game event decision to do so regardless of the dissent hit. That said, the CNT are for some strange completely A-historical reason the most industrially disadvantaged faction of the civil war despite controlling Catalonia that was at the time and to a point still is a major industrial entre. For that reason, it might prove necessary to start building some light infantry divisions and give them to the CNT via trade deals so they can either eventually win or at least be kind enough to lose only once I've dealt with Germany. Since I have such a large manpower bonus in this save, I am not too worried about either that or IC.
The international congress also met in London during May providing me with a few nice dissent reducing events but also with a particular decision to raise it back up. Normally I don't bother with nukes as the Commune, but for the interests of this guide, I have decided to pursue them nonetheless if only to see how they might be incorporated in the long term Commune strategy. The dissent is a bit steep but there are enough events to reduce it and I am long over the prior batch already. Personally, I don't see much utility for nukes since by the time they are available the Commune has generally either won or lost, but I guess they could be useful for late wars such as an invasion of Russia, Asia, or the Americas. A more sensible decision would probably be to take the dissent reduction of refusing the Brits.
The Germans don't seem to approve of our harmless little gathering. That said, this is probably the most harmless of decisions the AI can take. It could try its luck signing a reassurance treaty with Russia (not a red one though) and though that effort usually fails, it's by far the most dangerous for the Commune. The AI could also just round up some leftists in Germany and decrease its dissent further (I think it also increases my own?) This promise of protection doesn't really change much.
Meanwhile, the Soviets start steamrolling over Mongolia and Alash Orda out of event chains pressing their claims while Japan eyes Germany as a future target.
Part 3: Reunification of Italy
Turns out my decision to station a large part of my army on the Italian border paid off. Normally, if the Commune attacks the Italian Federation or joins the Spanish Civil War directly the Germans will almost certainly intervene (they can also intervene over Norway if Britain attacks it) That does not apply, however, if the Italian Federation declares war first. It usually does that either over the battle of Anzio as happened above (the alternative is to admit defeat and lose the province) Or once the Commune of France has been eliminated at which point nobody is defending the SRI (who in turn attacks the Federation once Germany is beaten) Note that sometimes the Federation can peacefully annex the SRI in a coup and that the Austrians can also puppet the Federation opening a front if they join Germany.
My first decision was to use some of the money I saved up from trade to commission some war propaganda to reduce the dissent I had gained over my nuclear ambitions. It's a one-off decision but one that seemed very convenient to deploy now when my dissent was a bit higher than I would have liked it to be. With so many motorized divisions on the border, I decided to go for rapid capture of victory points avoiding unnecessary battles when I can as I do not intend to enable reinforcement for as long as I can help it. The plan is to break through Genoa, get to Parma, and then take Milan preferably without fighting for it. While the SRI hold the line in the South, I will then swing my army around to capture Bologna and then start my march on Rome to complete the annexation of the Federation.
While my army of 12 motorized divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, 3 mountain divisions, and a field HQ presses on Genoa, the Federation forces in Nice seems to have noticed my rather understrength marine division on Toulon and proceeded to attack it. Since I am not facing any other enemy I decided to move one of the other marine divisions from Marseilles while getting the one to its left to move into the city just in case. My coast will be temporarily vulnerable to amphibious landing but I don't think there is much of a threat from one so long as it's only a limited war against the Federation. The move quickly counters the attack on Toulon.
Meanwhile, my bombing force of 6 TACS begin to support the advance while a force of six interceptor wings establishes air superiority and one air-wing defended Marseilles. Since the Federation has a somewhat powerful navy, I have decided against using my fleet in this operation. I also don't see any point in assuming military control of the SRI at this stage since beyond holding its front as well as it can I don't have any missions in mind for it that will benefit from doing so.
Genoa's defenders are quickly overwhelmed leaving the doors to the Italian North and the central interior wide open to the rapid advance I have planned.
With the opening move complete I immediately press on my attack with my motorized divisions & HQ in the direction of Parma and Milan while the cavalry secure Genoa, the mountaineers defend Grenoble, and my marines keep the defenders of Nice too busy to attempt an orderly retreat into the interior.
Alessandria falls leaving the road to Milan wide open. I've also started moving forces from the North to keep that army in Chambery & Turin too busy to retreat.
With Alessandria secure and my cavalry on its way there, my forces begin stage 3 of the invasion with one motorized army advancing on Milan and the other advancing on Parma. Chambery also comes under attack from four infantry divisions I have on the border while 3 others are on route to Pontralier.
Milan is soon taken almost without a fight and 7,000 Federation troops from the IV corps d'armata surrender when they get cut off in Genoa.
Stage 4 of the invasion sees my infantry overwhelm Charbery with the support of my mountain troops while one of my motorized armies pushes into Bologna. Since the battle of Nice is taking a bit longer than I'd like I sent my HQ towards Genoa to assist the marines while my cavalry moves to Alessandria.
With Bologna secured I order my motorized forces to begin their final drive on Rome. Meanwhile, a further 15,000 troops of the III corps D'armata surrender.
A Federation peace offer is rejected as SRI and Communard forces converge on Rome and in a brief battle overwhelm the Papist defenders.
With control of the capital theirs, the SRI annexed the Federation. In return for the former French territories of Charbery, Nice, and Corsica, I return other captured provinces to SRI though it will take some months for their tenuous claims to become national provinces. Meanwhile, my forces redeploy to the Swiss border.
In conclusion, we've greatly improved our strategic position with the reunification of Italy. Along with Austrian weakness in this playthrough, we should be able to discount effective Austrian intervention in the war against Germany with a rapid drive through Italy into their empire, hopefully of allied troops. Losses, while high for some units such as the marines, are still tolerable enough to avoid reinforcement and the supply cost it would entail. Production-wise we are still on course with our prior projects as well as the interceptor run. I think I will wait for the 1938 model light tanks before I start to build armoured divisions despite being able to do so doctrine-wise. It will also give my current runs time to wind down giving me more industry for mass tank production.
I have also started research of 37 model submarines and destroyers for my naval commitments and will continue towards improved torpedos and ASW though not many of either will be constructed. (6 destroyers for my career forces and one or two submarine serial runs to give me another offensive arm in the Mediterranean or perhaps even in the Atlantic.) Air and naval doctrine research are also well underway though I will return to a land forces focus before long. In a mobile doctrine focus game, I would be already mass-producing 36 model tanks at this point to the exclusion of all else, but I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
Until then, here are a few more dissent increase/reduction events and a song to welcome our Italian comrades both old and new into the fold!
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Well, it reminds me of a game with the KR Japan where I had surrounded at least half of the Russian army but I was not able at first to defeat them because there were so many of them
even if I ended up winning in the long run thanks to attrition and sending reinforcements.Remark, even in case of victory of the normal Spain this one to a event to join the Entente or the Mitteleuropa, so the victory of the CNT is important in spite of everything.
The anti-tank brigade (AT) is not very interesting in my opinion, AC is better since in any case, the "heavy" divisions (arm, motor, etc.) are a minority.
Ah and I forgot to thank you for this tutorial, when I tried with the Commune, I had not succeeded (I had underestimated the enemy fortifications
)AC is all the more valuable (even if they have lowered the vulnerability values) that when your motorized take a counter-attack and especially if the enemy sends its armored div.
Personally, I brigade my infantry with art 1945 when precisely this -1 in max speed disappears besides, in general I don’t have much else to produce at that time.
However, for my current part, I test this: inf with art AND sp-art, the idea is to have a cheap "armored div" (hard/soft attack values equal or higher) to have less need to produce real ones. It’s not a bad idea on paper, although I think it’s a waste of IC...
There are a few things I might have to trim going forwards because I am getting a bit behind my armoured division timetable for a 1940 attack largely due to all those serial orders mounting to a pretty big IC investment. Perhaps trying to combine what I learned to do via firepower doctrine and mobile doctrine plus the naval investment isn't as effective as I thought, but as I am aiming for a mid-1940 attack date (mostly to give the AI a bit more of a levelled playing field) I still have three years to reverse course over armour. Most of the other components are there, the motorized divisions I want, a bigger air cover than I generally get due to leaving it too late, plus a solid core for an infantry force capable of doing its part in the Alsace encirclement operation rather than leave it all on the tanks as I usually do. I also think that in the long term investing in the navy early even for a limited run will really help advance the timetable of effective operations in Africa.Ah and I forgot to thank you for this tutorial, when I tried with the Commune, I had not succeeded (I had underestimated the enemy fortifications
All that being said, I'd say the most straightforward way to beat Germany as the Commune still is to double down on mobile doctrine armoured thrust. When I was new to the game I made the mistake of also investing in paratroopers but it turned out they are quite unnecessary for a Liege breakout. All you really need to do is outrun and outfight the limited German forces on that part of the border. Since Flanders-Wallonia registers as an ally the AI does not protect that part of the Meuse river with enough to stop a mass armour assault of some 24 armoured divisions and 12 motorized infantry long enough to reinforce it effectively. That being done, you rush around the massed German army in Alsace (normally via Luxembourg) and encircle it using the cavalry as a mobile reserve until whatever infantry you've managed to build apart from your starting forces in the border can catch up. You should be able to destroy at least a third of the German army that way.
It is possible to build that kind of armoured army by 1939-40, but there are some sacrifices. No naval investment, localized air support at best due to your limited forces getting shredded, at least half of your armoured force will be obsolete by the time of your attack since there won't be free IC for upgrades until after the build orders are complete (which is when you go to war) Finally, numerically speaking your army will remain smaller than the German army since there won't be a lot of resources left over for that much infantry (certainly not of any specialized variety, such as the artillery I am building in this AAR, or the mountain army I train when I use firepower.) While Germany is fairly easy to take out with such an army, as is executing quick captures of VPs belonging to most of the European states, Russia isn't as easy to beat with such an army without a lot of additional divisions. Personally, I like to recruit puppet armies for that purpose to avoid manpower losses.
Russia is indeed very hard to beat when it's in full strength and you are its only enemy. Most of the games I lost were lost to Russia.Well, it reminds me of a game with the KR Japan where I had surrounded at least half of the Russian army but I was not able at first to defeat them because there were so many of them
Yes, that's very true. What I meant is that Spain by itself isn't the most effective of allies, but that the possibility of it turning against you is bad enough that I'd consider building light infantry divisions to help the CNT out rather than leave it just to the AI. In most cases, the CNT will lose due to inferior IC resources and because by the nature of how Spain is set up in the game when the CNT advances into the Spanish interior the shared border between Spain and the Carlists tends to shrink leaving the CNT on the receiving ends of both armies. The same doesn't really apply to the other two in the same way. Even if all the CNT army ends up doing is defending its coast, it's better than having to station your own forces to do the same job. Plus the CNT tends to compensate with a large air force.
I really should run the numbers on all those combinations. For some reason, sometimes building things one way is cheaper than building them in another way. For example, building Super Heavy artillery on its own is more expensive than building inside an infantry order. My reasoning for keeping them separate is that I like to group my infantry according to speed - cavalry as the first line of reserves, unequipped or lightly equipped infantry as the second, artillery as the third, and super heavies as the siege train against forts and heavily defended rough terrain. It also helps in planning out fronts, such as a Northern Front rushing into Germany after the encirclement of the armour, cavalry, and infantry while the artillery divisions become the Southern front and press into Austria's mountainous frontier.
I would love to get into the numbers game and look into what sort of brigade attachments truly are IC effective at some point.
Though I admit, I am not so good with number crunching.
In some of my last games I didn't really know where to take the IC nor the tech teams for tanks... so I built only MOT as a fast unit. It worked surprisingly well. I had more MOT than usual, more IC for other stuff and basically 1 more tech team (which didn't need to research tanks all the time).
After I gave it some thought, I realized that I should had been less surprised than I actually was that omitting tanks/panzer seems to be a true option.
Primarily panzer are a rapid force used by the Wehrmacht for armoured spearheads (offense) and later basically as a rapid emergency reserve (defense). Fighting tanks with panzer was rather a luxury or an emergency, fighting tanks with infantry/artillery/air whenever possible prefered and often enough even a necessity because the Wehrmacht panzer were always again in the suituation of being too weak (vs France, vs SU).
And the encirclement part can be also done with MOT, mostly even better because they are faster. And brigaded with AC also sturdy enough to keep their ground when getting under heavy attack until reinforcements can arrive.
What I haven't tested, how a force without tanks fares against the SU. In theory, the greater the landarea of war (like in the SU), the more the speed advantage of MOT should kick in and especially that you can build more of them.
I've noticed that you use IH/improved hulls for your CVLs. I must admit I much too stingy for such an investment (well, perhaps not stingy but usually too hard pressed to find the ICs).
CVL+CAG: 1.42 IC per prodcution day
CVL+CAG+IH: 1.93 IC per production day
That means I can build 8 CVL/CAG for 6 CVL/CAG/IH And 8 to 6 are probably superiour in any way... in game.
In reality I'd wished for as sturdy ships as possible as a sailor. (But reality is grim: Nowadays eg the US Navy uses even highly flammable/explosive aluminium for their destroyers... the reasoning being that their chance to survive a hit is unlikely enough that it's not worth building for it, gah. Compare that attitude with the continuous work and development which was put eg into the B-17 bombers in WW2 to make them as sturdy that it became a legend).
Nope, it's not.
The daily IC-cost of production is quite different but so is the build-time. INF takes longer than building a lone heavy artillery.
If you calculate it, the price is exactly the same.
What's also sometimes misleading: The building menu shows only 1 digit behind the dot which, for some units with long runs and added with cheap brigades, causes some heavy rounding. But internally DH calculates correctly. You can see it to the right top in the IC prodcution listing where all number are shown with 2 digits behind the dot. Just compare the values there before and after you put something into production.
Took me years to figure that out... *grin
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From memory, I had sent my MOT to the far north of Manchuria expected the Russian redeployment then sent them for a movement of encirclement, with a landing on the other end of the encirclement. All this after defeating China and Mongolia, in order to have as many troops as possible. (If it helps you in case of another confrontation with the Russian colossus).
Absolutely love the guide.
Its a way for me to play one of my favourite nations in my head without having to play Kaisereich.
I know a lot of people love this mod and as a kid I probably would have too.
But people should know that these stacking bonuses absolutely overpower you vs the AI. This is the problem with any of these mass-event mods. The only one I know in this regard that's not like this is Fallout Doomsday as it more causes things to happen to everyone rather than individual countries.
The AI has a percentage chance and thus gets random mixes of bonuses and often inferior ones, or sometimes even negative, while you as a human player stack and stack more.
It's not just not fair, it completely destroys the challenge early on and this is why the player constantly surrounds large formations in Belgium area in every game very easilly no matter what happens in all AArs.
Worse, when you know dissent events are happening, you can mold your strategy around them, the AI can't, as it starts every game in a fresh state.
This may sound a bit mean, but I don't mean it that way.
I think the best way to experience this kind of mod is to play it blank once, like I did, never reload and accept everything that happens.
And then, probably never play it again. Now thats a true adventure. Though it is indeed a very well done mod so I understand why people keep playing it.
I imagine in multiplayer it would be an absolute blast.
Its a way for me to play one of my favourite nations in my head without having to play Kaisereich.
I know a lot of people love this mod and as a kid I probably would have too.
But people should know that these stacking bonuses absolutely overpower you vs the AI. This is the problem with any of these mass-event mods. The only one I know in this regard that's not like this is Fallout Doomsday as it more causes things to happen to everyone rather than individual countries.
The AI has a percentage chance and thus gets random mixes of bonuses and often inferior ones, or sometimes even negative, while you as a human player stack and stack more.
It's not just not fair, it completely destroys the challenge early on and this is why the player constantly surrounds large formations in Belgium area in every game very easilly no matter what happens in all AArs.
Worse, when you know dissent events are happening, you can mold your strategy around them, the AI can't, as it starts every game in a fresh state.
This may sound a bit mean, but I don't mean it that way.
I think the best way to experience this kind of mod is to play it blank once, like I did, never reload and accept everything that happens.
And then, probably never play it again. Now thats a true adventure. Though it is indeed a very well done mod so I understand why people keep playing it.
I imagine in multiplayer it would be an absolute blast.
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Main reasons for building them is that Germany is building its own panzer divisions and I already have the tech for it, but the most I can manage in time is about 12 divisions, well below the 24 I usually have when I go mobility and even that takes tons of IC. another reason to avoid tanks is that my infantry army is not as large as I want it to be with all the manpower I posses. I am thinking of starting a massive infantry build up once the tanks are finished in march, perhaps of light infantry for the faster build time, or even militia with artillery. Still, I think I will stick with tanks simply because I want them not only against Germany but potentially also against Russia as hard hitters against their masses (though motorized and armoured will be operating separately to exploit the former's speed)
The mobile component will be big enough, but not big enough to defend itself with its own resources. Apart from covering the German border I don't have infantry to spare and what I really want in the north is mass rather than quality to plug up holes in the advance. I haven't had time to build tacs yet, so I doubt I will manage more than 2 if even that before I attack and I would prefer to have at least one large bomber force against tough targets (my 2-1 interceptor ratio is a new development though, I'd be interested to see how that works out). All in all, this build is rather suboptimal to my firepower and mobile ones. Perhaps combining the two plus naval power wasn't such a good idea. Next time I play manpower I might go with motorized infantry without tank divisions as you suggest.
There is a chance I might have to go for a smaller encirclement at first followed by another towards Bavaria ending at the Czech border (Spoiler - Austria's war isn't going well and unless they join Germany I might be able to exploit their neutrality) I'll then have to satisfy myself with a defensive perimeter along the Rhine or the Weser while my mobile forces rush into Austria rapidly collapse the Hapsburg Empire from behind (Italy doesn't seem to have the sense to build much infantry even once unified and I don't have the forces to spare to protect it properly at least in a static sense) It actually reminds me of my first game as the Commune back when I was a noob though unlike then there is no chance of me running out of manpower, anarchists plus manpower really is OP for the Commune.
Interesting stuff in the rest of your posts, I admit I don't know enough about the game's mechanics, which is a point that prevents me from being fully efficient.
I had two such encounters with the Commune and I think two I can recall with Germany. Never played Japan, but I am looking forward to doing so at some point. I lost to Russia both as Germany and as France, though in the former case it was actually more because of the Commune while in the latter I did nearly manage to pull off my strategy of baiting the Russians into the French interior where I could destroy them in detail, but Austria's entry into the war once I advanced combined with the Russian recovery proved too much for me to handle manpower wise. The Commune really needs to watch it unless you game the bonuses.
My biggest success was in a game when Russia was already at war with Japan, though in my defence, Japan had been almost evicted from its continental holdings by then (I purposely waited) Russia deployed almost its entire army against me whereas it was the Germans who held back in the East (they have a strange tendency of over-protecting costal regions sometimes) By the time I was finished sucking in the Russians into my encirclements I was able to destroy practically their entire army and unlike the prior game they didn't have time to recover. Japan had landed in force in Transmaur forcing them to divide their efforts.
As Germany, if you are fighting both the Commune and Russia, you really have two choices - fortify the French Border along the Meuse (abandoning Flanders-Wallonia) and concentrate on Russia, or buy space for time with your Eastern clients and concentrate on a quick knockout of France. I am not sure which one is a better option, but I lost when I tried the former and won when I did the latter, though I think I undermined the Commune in the first one and then took too much out of the Russian front to compensate losing my momentum on that front to get back forces that couldn't come back in time to salvage the situation.
I still think taking out Russia first may be more doable than the Commune for the simple reason that the Commune's manpower reserves are finite while Russia's are infinite. It's easier to grind down the Commune so long as the defence remains sufficient to the task of holding them. I'd consider investing in border fortifications in such a game and it isn't too costly to do since the Meuse border doesn't meet a lot of provinces and Nancy is a mountainous province while very exposed can be defended (especially if held by mountaineers) If properly reinforced, the border with Russia is quite close allowing for a rapid advance to its VPs.
The only bonus I really used effectively in this guide was the manpower stuff, and I'd say that it mostly makes France meet everyone else on equal ground rather than suffering an inherent (if well deserved) weakness there. What really overpowers a player against the AI in DH is that the AI will generally assume a broad front approach whereas a human player can concentrate their forces. It's thus possible for the player to overwhelm the AI practically at will.
I will grant that is true, especially in KR, because the manpower system is so prohibitive. It took me a year to recover when I bled my reserves to zero in my first game as the commune, all the while cannibalizing some divisions to maintain others at that. France especially suffers from manpower problems but they are endemic in DH to all powers in the sense that what you generate is really what you get, no mobilization events like vanilla, though you do get a few hundred out of events. Its also very easy to encircle the German AI because it doesn't know it needs to defend Belgium or its border with Belgium for some reason. Liege is practically empty if you get there fast enough and the most I see the AI bring there are about 3 divisions, certainly not enough to counteract a serious invading force.
True enough, though I will grant that it's tougher to do with Russia and Germany. In the latter case, its especially a case in which you have to make cost alternatives, oftentimes deal with dissent or deal with coups in your vassals. The main exploit for Germany is that war is actually a god-send after Black Monday, you get so much of your IC back I'd say Germany has a vested interest in picking as many fights as possible (so by all means little vassals, rebel!) The only real cases I'd say can be rather messy are Ukraine and Africa, both of which provide quite a lot of divisions you won't be able to replace as easily.
My way is to self-impose various limitations and ground rules. For example, in this case, I am doing a rather suboptimal build order (though not entirely on purpose) I know what sort of army can defeat Germany but for this guide I've settled for showcasing different possibilities as opposed to going all-in on one specific way. In another game, I might build paratroopers because I know the IC investment of doing so is very prohibitive and will leave my forces much more limited (that's the main reason I failed in my first game, paratroopers simply aren't worth it as the Commune, though they are worth their weight in gold as the UoB)
There are many ways to play DH, the gamey ways have specific methods of building the best fleet for example (massed submarines or small carrier fleets), but it's also possible to settle for a role-play builds including battleships that aren't really worth much conventionally. I tend to combine roleplay with gamey elements or go entirely roleplay nowadays. Sure, I win much more than I lose, but my limitations tend to provide more of a challenge. I especially like to wait before invading as the Commune to let the German AI build a little bit more with its full industrial potential. Game-wise, invading in 39 is the best time to attack.
The next update will be up this weekend.
They're also the absolute cheesiest way to take out any Britain as any Germany in whatever scenario possible. But rejecting a Second Peace with Honour gives you plenty of time to build them as Germany, and to bomb the British fleet into submission
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