The Complete Guide to the Commune of France

[TomorrowsHerald]

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

I personally avoid them as Germany for that reason, or at least, I only use small numbers in conjunction with an amphibious landing on the same coastal province to represent a more historically accurate airborne landing rather than cheesly landing on one of those shoreless port provinces the AI doesn't bother guarding. In my first game as the CoF, I wanted to replicate the German Case Yellow and grab Liege in an airborne assault. The problem is that it isn't really necessary and that the cost of airborne units plus tanks and everything else is very prohibitive. CoF simply does not have the IC for airborne until after it beats Germany.

One thing I am curious to try is a mobility doctrine UoB based on a strategy of taking Denmark via amphibious/paratrooper assault and then rushing in a mobile force to quickly cut off the German army facing France. The UoB does enjoy more creative freedom in regards to its build order: you can go with an infantry dominated army and slog it out in France, you can go absolutely bonkers with special forces, but I never tried full mobile doctrine as the UoB. Perhaps not even with tanks but just with motorized divisions as Altruist suggested. IC wise you certainly have the potential to be ambitious. You have nearly as much IC as the CoF.

It doesn't cost much to maintain naval superiority (you already start with a strong base for a carrier fleet) Your only real draws on IC are air and land. I have tried to go for strategic bombing for example and while it can be made to work (destroying most of the German IC) it isn't really worth the cost. You start with a few tactical wings and these are generally more useful in ground support, though naval bombers can turn the UoB naval superiority from powerful to insane (and let you pound the German navy in port without risking your own) Infantry doesn't really work so well because the UoB doesn't have a lot of manpower. Mobile is probably better.

 

[J_Master]

One thing I am curious to try is a mobility doctrine UoB based on a strategy of taking Denmark via amphibious/paratrooper assault and then rushing in a mobile force to quickly cut off the German army facing France. The UoB does enjoy more creative freedom in regards to its build order: you can go with an infantry dominated army and slog it out in France, you can go absolutely bonkers with special forces, but I never tried full mobile doctrine as the UoB. Perhaps not even with tanks but just with motorized divisions as Altruist suggested. IC wise you certainly have the potential to be ambitious. You have nearly as much IC as the CoF.

I very clearly remember a UK game back when I was very new to DH (and also a lot younger). I was able to rush a stack of motorized infantry into Denmark after Germany triggered Weserubung and I kept Denmark in the fight, even marches up to to Kiel canal, tho France still fell and I retreated from Denmark afterwards.

I personally avoid them as Germany for that reason, or at least, I only use small numbers in conjunction with an amphibious landing on the same coastal province to represent a more historically accurate airborne landing rather than cheesly landing on one of those shoreless port provinces the AI doesn't bother guarding. In my first game as the CoF, I wanted to replicate the German Case Yellow and grab Liege in an airborne assault. The problem is that it isn't really necessary and that the cost of airborne units plus tanks and everything else is very prohibitive. CoF simply does not have the IC for airborne until after it beats Germany.

For Germany earlier on the best investment might be a air force to cover your navy. Keep the TI air force out, bomb the UoB navy into oblivion, and Britain is basically yours.

 

[Manasian]

After your victory against Germany, what would you do with your SH Art brigades? I would tend to delete them since there is no more fortification to attack then but I can be wrong (you could answer that it would be a waste of IC but on the other hand the -2 in speed is already a good reason to delete them in my opinion).

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

After your victory against Germany, what would you do with your SH Art brigades? I would tend to delete them since there is no more fortification to attack then but I can be wrong (you could answer that it would be a waste of IC but on the other hand the -2 in speed is already a good reason to delete them in my opinion).

Good question. Might keep them as reinforcements for amphibious landings but they should also prove useful against the Austrians, Swiss, and other targets.

Will post the coming update either in a few hours or tomorrow morning. Had to re-load to earlier saves a few times because the AI kept insisting on Germany getting involved in China ahead of my own invasion leaving their forces on the border far too depleted and the scenario too easy for me. I should also note that my broad research priorities are suboptimal on purpose. It's one of the self-imposed limitations I tend to try and give the AI a bit of chairty rather than tech rush.

 

[TemporalAnomaly]

Can you talk a little about how the China situation can shake out?

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Can you talk a little about how the China situation can shake out?

It's more a question of Asia. There are a lot of options but the main ones of interest when playing the European Powers are what event chains can lead or affect the war in Europe. I'd say there are six possibilities that affect Europe the most both intentionally and unintentionally the way the event chains can interact.

1) Qing China gradually reunifies via an alliance with Germany (one possible condition for getting the south) and once it attacks Japan to claim Manchuria it brings Germany into war against Japan sometimes earlier than the European War making Germany relocate most of its forces to that theatre.

2) Republican or Qing China declares war on Germany to claim its provinces, causing the same result, though perhaps on a shorter timeframe.

3) Japan attacks Qing China bringing Germany and/or Russia into the war as Qing allies. Both have intersecting event chains to join the war.

4) Japan reacts to the European War by declaring war on Germany, though this has less effect on the European War as the German AI won't redeploy by then.

5) Japan attacks Russia or Russia attacks Japan keeping both of them too busy with each other to intervene in the European War sometimes.

6) The Entente forces respond to Red India's attack of Dehli and are unable to declare war on the International while that war is ongoing.

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Chapter 6 - The Road To War

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Part 1: Spanish Civil War
& The Swiss Ultimatum​

The first order of business is how to deal with the fundamental shortcoming of the CNT: its industrial inferiority compared to the other factions in the Civil War. While they do benefit from more international support compared to the other factions, the longer the war continues, the more even the slight industrial differences can tell. If left alone, unless a specific event that makes the Kingdom of Spain capitulate fires, the CNT will lose the war (usually to the Kingdom of Spain) Until then, the best measure the Commune can take to keep the CNT in the fight is trading away some divisions to make up for its industrial deficiencies.

I reduced the interceptor orders to 5 in order to coincide with 1940 tech and give me 12 wings to work with.
In regards to the forces for Spain, I reduced the militia order to 3 and expanded the light infantry order.
Militia isn't a particularly useful unit but it can be built quickly to at least give the CNT something to play with soon.
Light Infantry, on the other hand, is fairly cheap and decent for the rugged terrain of Spain. I can also use it if they don't need it.

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Another rather irritating thing the CNT AI tends to do is frequently send alliance requests which we can't accept since they involve a very high chance of German intervention and an early war (as well as a two-front one) I'd rather avoid. The AI, however, won't get the hint and keep sending them which can often lead to accidentally accepting them, especially when moving up the game speed. It's certainly one good reason to save the game often at various intervals to prevent substantial loss of game data. Perhaps twice a month, as well as long term saves every 2-3 months to revert to prior state if things go wrong.

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At the same time as the Spanish AI continues to bother me, my forces have reached the Swiss border and are ready to press our claims on the French Socialist speaking territories. Honestly, I don't really care much for this event chain since Geneva with its 3 IC units is hardly worth the trouble as real-estate goes. As I said earlier, it's mostly the dissent and the slider shifts that make me prefer to go along with it, but if it comes to a showdown with Germany, I'm backing off. I should note that my game style is not to reload if event chains involving me don't go the way I want (though I do reload when other event chains spoil the challenge as mentioned before and sometimes rig the events up to make things harder for me) That means that I normally interact with the events as if the result I get is final.

My forces are fully prepared to attack the Swiss if it comes to it, with a big focus on bringing artillery on their fortified regions, particularly in Turin which has access to most of their territory. I've mostly stationed my newer divisions on the job since they are fully reinforced as I prefer to wait a bit more before I reinforce the rest. That said, with so many mountains and fortifications, they are a tough nut to crack and I'd frankly prefer to avoid such an operation if I can help it.

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Well, that was convenient. I was fully expecting to have to run away with my tail between my legs and take the dissent hit. Funnily enough, from that perspective, once that province becomes a national one I will take a 3 dissent hit anyway through the follow-up event. That said, dissent is easily managed via investment. At any rate, I can now start redeploying my forces back to their war stations. The war can break out well ahead of schedule via events so I will rather be prepared.

At the same time, I've also opted to celebrate the Socialist Republic of Italy's reunification (gaining cores over the North) by assuming direct control of their military. I'll need it if I am going to manage their limited resources in a constructive way, though I do work according to the ground rules that while possible I will not assume military control of the UoB because that would be far too easy. I also occasionally pop into the SRI to get rid of annoying brigade attachments but nothing more. (I mean, come on, artillery with motorized divisions? I consider deleting those brigades my punishment for taking that degree of intervention.)

Another event of note is the creation of the Phalanstere International, or how to reduce Commune IC a peg after crippling Germany. Again, dissent and slider increase successfully deter me from avoiding it, but the good news is that you can pick and choose who to let in for a measly 2 dissent rise per refusal. It's actually not a bad trade to give a little bit of IC over in some cases. Supporting Spain and Italy provides us with stronger allies whereas Bolivia isn't too important.

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Against my earlier statement, getting money is actually getting easier the more the game progresses since the various powers get a flood of it while my increasing tech efficiency lets me produce more tech faster (especially since I am not tech rushing any specific trees against the historical year) I think its mostly because I never had the patience to keep doing all that money trading like I have been this time around (which I can't claim to do as regularly as might be possible)

I have more than enough to cover investment costs to cut this and other dissent increases. One thing worth mentioning is that sometimes it pays to wait for the AI to save up some money. Often times the AI will pay more when it has more money available, especially when it comes to the major powers, and when it does it's worth the wait. A better example is how I dealt with the dissent hit from the integration of Geneva in 1938. I saved up my trade money so I could spend it on mass.

All that cash!
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Part 2: Other International Developments
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Not much else of note happened for most of 1937-1939 and since this isn't an AAR as such, the international developments don't seem to matter too much either so I will summarize and then conclude with our relations & interests in Germany. Firstly, the various civil wars really dragged on, going strong even as I approached my invasion date of 1940. After a few close shaves, however, both CNT-Spain and the CSA pulled through and are well on their way to victory. I ended up contributing 3 militia and 3 light infantry divisions to Spain until things stabilized enough to redirect the remaining production run to reinforce the Italian front.

A pretty standard pattern for the CSA Civil War. There were a few close calls, Chigaco fell a few times, but the CSA is too industrially dominating. If this were an AAR, I'd be glad they are at least reforming along more moderate lines as opposed to their starting Totalist orientation but it doesn't really matter much.

Spain was a bit more static, but once the CNT defeated the Carlists it became a pretty one-sided affair though the Royalists are putting up a stiff fight.
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Elsewhere in the world, the Czechs successfully besieged Vienna and forced the Austrians to sue for peace while remaining neutral, giving me an excellent option for a follow-up encirclement of Bavaria and Saxony once my initial move towards the Rhine is complete using the Czech border as an effective blocker.

The Soviets & China continued their conquests in Asia while Romania, India, and South Africa devolved into Civil War. To save cluttering up the screen with screenshots I will summarize: the Royalists won in Romania, India seems to be going rather red, while South Africa has since rejoined the British Empire. The Soviets have taken Mongolia, the Don Kuban Union, Georgia, Chechnia, Alash Orda, Turkistan, and Transmur (Japan chose not to go to war over it) China has meanwhile taken out those weird orange rebels to its west and a chunk of territory occupied by Mongolia including Xinjiang and Tibet while puppeting the German companies in the south. Serbia, Romania, and Greece ganged up on and defeated Bulgaria. Brazil and Argentina are also at war though it's too soon to tell who's winning. I think there is also a war going on in the Middle East (no winner so far) and that Ireland briefly had some trouble up in Ulster (but is otherwise neutral)

As to what all this means, thankfully, not much. I chose to reload the game a few times because Germany kept getting involved in East Asia too quickly leaving them more vulnerable to my attack than I liked. This time, it looks like the Qing got a bit stuck on the event chain somewhere while Japan seems to be waiting for me. The Soviets are certainly becoming big and scary and I still wonder if they will intervene once I attack Germany. I am still thinking of invading them later on.

The more interesting developments to this AAR, however, naturally involve Germany. Firstly, its industry has been gradually recovering as the Black Monday effects recede, the AI gets on top of dissent, and a few gearing events give Germany a few bonuses ahead of the war. From 190 effective IC at the start of 1938, they climb to 260 by mid-1939 despite scoring a few bad results in Black Monday follow up events. Goes to prove that the player shouldn't count too much on Black Monday.

A few other events of interest follow. Firstly, I neatly managed to avoid an early war with Germany over which I have no control when the AI chose to execute a Syndicalist assassin who killed some German diplomat rather than use it as a pretext to declare war. There were also some incidents of German suppression of the French Socialist speaking population but the more serious event chains that can make the AI respond far more aggressively did not fire (sometimes, you get the option to support rioting workers in Germany and the AI can declare war on you for doing so) As we entered 1939 both Germany and the Commune ran a few drills along the border and since I wanted to delay the war for as long as possible I apologized when a shell accidentally exploded on the German side. Technically, I could already issue the ultimatum for Alsace Lorrain or war in June 1939, but it is possible to wait until 1940 (though I think it might disappear by 41?)

I still took the threat of war very seriously indeed and started moving my incomplete formations to the border as well as finally allowing reinforcement.​

All in all, I'd say the war can start on these dates though dictatorships can just DoW

1936: French response to the suppression of German workers
1937: Over intervention in the Spanish Civil War (by forming an alliance with the CNT at any time before it wins the Civil War)
March 1938: If the German AI uses the assassination as a pretext
Feb-March 1939: Either over French support for German workers, over the shelling, or via the French Ultimatum event
1940: Via the French ultimatum event and possibly if the Soviets attack Germany

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Part 3: Re-armament Continues
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To avoid going through every individual unit completed I will likewise summarise what new units were raised by May 1940. That said, prior to my attack, I will go through the formations again to note how much of what I have available and how I plan to manage it in the course of the campaign.

On the land front, I completed my first batch of artillery with some modifications to the order such as a reduction of the heavy element from 9 divisions to 6 and an increase of 3 artillery brigade bearing infantry divisions to provide another artillery army rather than the smaller corps that would have resulted. I now have one S Heavy army (6 divisions) and four artillery armies of similar size (though the last one awaits the serial production of another 3 divisions in the picture below.

I also started and completed a serial run of 12 tank divisions for the 1940 attack after all and intend to produce more prior to the potential Soviet invasion. While perhaps not exactly optimal, I decided to build them anyway because the Germans do possess a few armoured divisions as well and I'd rather go head to head with theirs with armour of my own. Not sure how that translates in-game terms. Would be curious to know how motorized faces up to armoured. Cavalry wise, I trimmed my build order a bit but ended up with what I wanted: three 6 division cavalry armies with LTs and a corps armed with MTs for rear area support.

Also ran a 3 unit serial run of 4 sub production lines and 6 destroyers for my carriers to ensure naval superiority over the Mediterranean. This was probably my most inefficient diversion of resources in game terms since the Commune really does not need naval power to win but I still felt I should show how it could be managed.

My final run of motorized divisions finished, giving me 3 motorized armies of six divisions (I intend to use armour in four 3 unit corps, one is missing here.)​

Another change of plans was the creation of three mountaineer divisions to reinforce my existing 3 as a shock force for operations in Nancey. This order was followed by orders for infantry without a supporting brigade (better speed) most of which will be completed during the campaign as reinforcements should I need them. The initial light infantry order for Spain produced a 3 unit corps to help hold Italy but I also intend to produce more with police brigades as both reinforcements should I need them but also as occupation troops firstly in occupied regions of Germany prior to puppeting it and later in other areas as well.

On the naval side of affairs, I completed my carriers and destroyers as well as a 12 unit force of modern submarines building first the ships themselves and later a few additions such as ASW and torpedos as the technology became available. I may not have much use of them, for now, so long as the Entente remains busy. There is also a long 7 unit serial run of transports ongoing to give me some amphibious capabilities once I opt to attack National France. ASW and torpedos were built separately and are gradually being to the fleet along with perhaps anti-air and other improvements for the battleships later on.

In the air, I had to cut back on my ambitious interceptor plans to settle for two 6-wing forces with a further 4 1940-model wings in production to raise that to 8. I managed to bring my tactical bomber force up to 8 1938-model wings and plan to build another 8 1940-model wings during the war.

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This chapter concludes our preparations ahead of a full debriefing and the opening stages of the campaign against Germany slated to begin on the 10th of May 1940. While the above does cover most of the formations I possess, there are a few Italian contributions and I'd like to go into more depth in regards to deployment. I can already state that this build has been full of compromises between more dedicated directions. Instead of a 12 unit mountain army, I settled for half, instead of a 24 armoured divisions I settled for half, the increase in my navy and motorized forces came at the expense of my tactical bomber forces. The latter is probably the most serious oversight as I had planned to try and reach the target of at least 12 bomber wings before 1940 but ended quite short of that mark.

That much at least will mirror the original timeline!

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Chapter 7 - 10th of May 1940: Case Red

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Part 1: Weapons, Men, and Strategy.

France will start the campaign with 85 infantry divisions of various types, 30 motorized and armoured divisions, and finally 21 cavalry divisions (+4 Italian motorized divisions). The latter two forming the mobile forces of the army have been concentrated in the north for the drive against Belgium with the immediate objectives of knocking out the German puppet state of Flanders Wallonia as quickly as possible and taking control of Liege before the Germans can reinforce it.

With Liege secure, the mobile forces will split between the motorized and armoured components and the cavalry with the former spearheading the encirclement towards Metz while the latter secure the advance and await the infantry. The motorized divisions will advance ahead of the armour while the tanks act as mobile firepower support for their attacks. 12 infantry divisions stationed in Lille and 6 in Hirson will be tasked with securing Mons, Liege, and Namur.

While for the purposes of the immediate campaign goal these forces represent army group north, I expect the armoured and motorized divisions to be diverted to the south as the war continues for operations against Austria should they intervene. The cavalry, however, will continue to support envelopments in the northeast with the loss of divisions made up by division from Sedan and perhaps Verdun. The main objectives at this point would be Cologne, Rostock, and Berlin.

While the divisions at Sedan will remain on reserve (should the Germans enter Mons in force) The Eastern armies will attack Nancy using their artillery and mountain divisions to breakthrough and complete the encirclement (while also diverting the attention of the AI from Liege) Not counting the armies at Sedan, the Eastern group has some 42 divisions, more then half of them reinforced with artillery. Its main goals following the Nancey breakthrough will be to relive the mobile units for further advances while gradually advancing towards the Rhine and the Weser. Though some divisions may be sent down South to reinforce Italy.

The Italian front for the time being only has limited units defending it though I am bringing some Italian divisions stationed on the coast up to the front since the Entente is too still preoccupied with India to intervene. While the Austrian army on the border is superior to the resources we have present on the front I am not too worried since to some extent I actually want them to get into the Italian interior making my own future envelopment much easier. The only specific goals I have are to prevent the Austrians from capturing any Italian VPs and capture Venice so I can destroy the majority of the Austrian army without fighting. The logic is this, once the Austrian army enters Italy, I defend the VPs while letting them penetrate elsewhere while my mobile forces capture Austria's VPs from the north.

To be clear, Austria has a very high chance of intervening once France gets to the Rhine anyway, but I am making sure that they do for the added challenge.

There isn't much to overview navy or air force wise. The best I can do is use my tactical bombers on specific provincial targets when needed while generally conserving them in the meantime. I have reason to believe that Germany might have a large force of naval bombers from intelligence reports on their construction orders so I am moving all naval elements to Marseilles and starting belated construction of more defences. One interceptor force will also be re-deployed to cover the port while the other provides local superiority for the tactical bombers. Whenever the latter gets too battered, I will exchange it with the former. Some Italian interceptors will be permanently stationed defending the southern coast while their naval bomber force will target Malta mostly to see if there are ships there.

Production-wise I have reduced the infantry cycles I had planned as they don't seem to be needed in such a volume while also adding another interceptor serial run to compensate for diversions elsewhere. Once 1940 Tac technology is available I will start building some of those but most IC will be left free for reinforcement. I've also been trading some tech for supplies in order to have enough to support most of my armies. I recommend trading more when supplies drop below 5000.

The overall plan will try to look something like the map below focusing on encirclements and destroying enemy divisions for a rapid collapse of the front.

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Part 2: The First Month of War

10th of May

In the opening hours of the campaign, we rapidly overwhelm the Belgian defenders while beginning our attack on Nancy

Each army already has orders were to stop, though you should be careful when you make them because the DH pathfinding is rather arbitrary.

11th of May

On the 2nd day of the offensive, German fighters, bombers, and CAS begin to attack my forces from both north and south. No sigh of those naval bombers so far and I am curious if what I saw was a single run or an indication of a larger force still lurking out there? Perhaps my Italian naval bombers will find out?

Brussels falls after one day of fighting and my interceptor formations emerge triumphant from their first taste of a no doubt bitter air war.

More air attacks follow and are repulsed. Meanwhile, Britain joins the fight and will hopefully take some of the pressure off my air units.

12th of May

Army group north's forward motorized elements make contact with the Liege garrison.

The Italian naval bombers find both a fleet and at least some unused air elements on the island. First major interceptor clash between the two air forces between equal formations, though the Germans have the distinct leadership edge in the Red Baron if not in the organisation of the individual wings.

Some damage done to the German ships but none were destroyed.
My interceptors seem to have come worse off from the encounter but not by much.

13th of May

Regardless of the outcome, this interceptor force is pretty battered so I decided to exchange it with the still strong southern group.

With all its VPs under my control, the state of Flanders-Wallonia ceases to exist.

My unfortunate bombers along with some Brits are left exposed to interceptor attack as my forces exchange places.
The bomber force, while still nearly fully reinforced, is taken off operations until my fighters are back in the air.

14th of May

All my mobile forces fall upon Liege while the Battle of Nancy continues to draw in fresh German divisions

A German counterattack, notably employing an armoured division, begins on Mons as suspected. Another infantry army is already on the way. Meanwhile, the British seem to be cleaning the Channel from German shipping. Still, no sign of German naval bombers though I'd prefer to take Malta to take their tacs out of rage.

15th of May

Dogfights continue in the south but don't seem to be particularly noteworthy.

16th of May

The army breaks through Liege and commences its encirclement of the German army in Lorraine.

17th of May

A small German holding action in Luxembourg is quickly overrun.

The success of the operation thus far, especially in our holding action in Mons, convinces me to try and expand the encirclement to all of Alsace-Lorraine. Two of the cavalry armies are ordered forwards to Luxembourg to relieve the departing armoured and motorized forces.

18th of May

Metz falls and with it several hundred German aircraft along with a few of their allies' air wings.
The advanced elements of the motorized army attacks Strasbourg which quickly falls despite counterattacks.

19-20th of May

The encirclement is completed with the majority of the German army isolated in the occupied French provinces. The British attack Denmark.

21st-24th of May

The mobile forces begin to support the Nancy operation after securing their conquests from small counterattacks.

The Battle of Mons ends with a victory for our armies, though one of them is so badly damaged that it is left combat ineffective. #
I briefly considered sending it to Italy but decided against it considering the long-distance involved in sending it there.

The day ends with my own counterattack against the German army beaten back from Mons.
The Germans launch their first serious attempt to retake Strasbourg forcing us to go on the defensive there.

25th of May

Japan declares war on Germany

The line at Strasbourg holds with the help of Italian reinforcements.

26th of May

The Battle of Nancy ends with a staggering number of German casualties (compared with half as many but no insignificant losses of my own)
It appears that what Germany tried to do at Verdun in the First War was accomplished by the Commune in the 2nd war.

Please ignore the weirdness of my head of state fighting on the frontlines. This is Makhno we're talking about, so it makes sense!


27th of May

The first batch of light infantry ready. They are placed on coastal defence duties for now.
The final attack on the remaining German pockets begins on Colmar and Longwy.

28th of May

Arlon falls completing the liberation of Belgium as the German army retreats in disorder deeper into the pocket.

1-5th of June

By the 1st of June, the Colmar pocket surrenders with some 100,000 Germans marching into captivity. Two armies are withdrawn to reinforce Italy. The Longwy pocket soon follows liberating the entirety of Alsace-Lorraine for the first time since 1870! By the end of the battle, Germany loses some 200,000-300,000 soldiers taken prisoner at Longwy. By the end of the first month of the war, Germany loses one million dead, wounded, and prisoners to 200,000 of our own.

Positions of the mobile forces at the end of the campaign plus reinforcing infantry. Tanks and motorized divisions were spread out along the encirclement with the Italian corps used as reinforcement against counterattacks. The cavalry largely assisted the infantry in clearing and defending the provinces above.

6th-7th of June

Movements of the infantry forces as they move to relieve the mobile forces with two infantry armies redeployed to the Italian front.

The next offensive will see another concentration of my mobile forces in Freiburg. The next stage of the campaign will follow a more limited implementation of the red pincers on my strategic plan moving up to the North Sea and isolating the still substantial German forces in the Rhineland. Reinforcements to Italy should prevent Austrian breakthroughs but I will try to get my mobile forces down from the north as quickly as possible.

 

[Manasian]

Good question. Might keep them as reinforcements for amphibious landings but they should also prove useful against the Austrians, Swiss, and other targets.

Rather agreement with the swiss it would avoid losses of men undoubtedly (even if their lack of troop makes that they are nevertheless easy to defeat without SH Art) But for the rest, we can easily replace them with a engineer brigade which is probably more useful in the Austrian mountains (and amphibious landings) since we get an attack/defense/displacement in the mountains a little better than SH Art and especially without the -2 in speed. (if I followed your reasoning)

I don’t really understand producing light infantry with a police brigade. Garrison with police is better, if one wants to eliminate the risk of revolt, with perhaps some infantry to eliminate the rebels if the risk of revolt is nevertheless there.

Otherwise, just out of curiosity, is it possible to do the same encirclement operation without going through Liège ? (for example Nancy-Eupen with armoured/motorized spearhead). It would probably be much more difficult, of course.

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Rather agreement with the swiss it would avoid losses of men undoubtedly (even if their lack of troop makes that they are nevertheless easy to defeat without SH Art) But for the rest, we can easily replace them with a engineer brigade which is probably more useful in the Austrian mountains (and amphibious landings) since we get an attack/defense/displacement in the mountains a little better than SH Art and especially without the -2 in speed. (if I followed your reasoning)

SHA is really only specifically effective against fortifications. Its utility basically ends there since it's tricky to move it anywhere else.
Why do I want to keep it? Frankly, because I can When you see videos of World War era super heavies they are just so cool!

I don’t really understand producing light infantry with a police brigade. Garrison with police is better, if one wants to eliminate the risk of revolt, with perhaps some infantry to eliminate the rebels if the risk of revolt is nevertheless there.

The problem with garrisons is that they aren't mobile. I don't specifically want to eliminate the risk of revolt as such. What I want is to have rear forces to station in vulnerable areas as I advance such as airfields, coastal regions, and inside occupied areas if possible to cover as much ground as possible. Cavalry is probably a better option for the latter job but I am using much of it for offensive operations. Light infantry just seems a good trade off in cost vs capabilities.

Otherwise, just out of curiosity, is it possible to do the same encirclement operation without going through Liège ? (for example Nancy-Eupen with armoured/motorized spearhead). It would probably be much more difficult, of course.

Yes, it is. You could double down on the attack on Nancy and drive through Strasbourg into Freiburg and then follow the red line I had in mind for a follow-up encirclement. It won't be easy to hold such a line against counterattacks, however, as it would be much longer than cutting Germany down one piece at a time. The reason why I wasn't fully committed to a total encirclement of the border at first is that it is sometimes better to focus on killing one army at a time rather than try and trap a lot or even all of them all at once. Even my attempt saw a few powerful counterattacks. Doing the above would be harder.

On an unrelated note, I must say I find the prospect of perhaps jumping into the German player quite appealing for this save at some point. The world is practically painted red at this point, much of the German army is gone, but there is still enough to form a defensive perimeter and rebuild along the Wesser. Something to think about after this guide, perhaps as an AAR. Not sure when I'd cut off though. Any later and the German army stands to be too depleted to be much use even for a player (especially when Soviet entry is rather likely) That said, I would prefer to get into it after Austria is annexed because I wouldn't trust the AI to manage the situation in Italy properly. The question is how do I get that event to fire while still keeping a functional German army. I think I will retain the save of the current situation and replay it to focus on a broad front advance to the Rhine while preparing for a mobile thrust into Austria for when they enter.

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Chapter 8 - June 1940: Die Wacht am Rhein

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10th - 11th of June​

The 2nd month of the offensive opens with bombing raids on my southern coast, but still, no sign of the naval bomber force I am pretty sure does exist. I have decided to start a garrison production run for coastal defence duties to relieve mobile divisions such as the light infantry and the marines for other duties as well as to enlarge the latter. The first order of business for my navy will be to take out that pesky little island of Malta which acts as the staging ground for most attacks.

​

Turns out that my initiative quickly proves unnecessary since the British AI was thinking along the same lines (not that it's helping on the continent all that much!) Most times, the UoB will take Malta and then start probing the North African coast. At any rate, at least we don't need to worry about that base anymore.

12th of June​

The redeployment of most of my forces is almost complete but I feel confident enough to start operations immediately. In the north, I have stationed 30 infantry divisions tasked with holding the front, withdrawing a bit if necessary, so long as they remain ready to support the offensive once the pocket is closed.

I have 12 infantry divisions covering Metz (the centre of the German frontline) with 18 cavalry divisions and an HQ making their way down south.

The entire armoured and motorized force has been concentrated in the south with 12 infantry divisions covering Strasbourg and my mountaineers at Freiburg.

While the original plan was to attack through Karlsruhe (thus avoiding the fortifications at Mainz) Tubingen is much more lightly defended and offers an approach that can envelop both the forces gathering at Karlsruhe and more proximity to the Austrian border should they enter the war. I could also focus on more limited encirclements keeping my armoured and motorized divisions down south while leaving more manageable numbers for my cavalry to deal with alone.

13th-14th of June
​

The Germans make the first move in this part of the campaign with a large counterattack on Luxembourg, exploiting their 4 attack vectors. Reinforcements are already on their way, though I am prepared to pull out of the province to Arlon if the divisions start taking damage as it's a more defensible location and Luxembourg does not compromise my front in any serious way. The AI tends to favour attacks on provinces from multiple directions, making it a bit predictable.

My attack quickly overwhelms the weak defence of Tubingen in a few hours. Meanwhile, my own defence of Luxembourg is certainly proving costly, but I am satisfied to withdraw faltering divisions and replace them with fresh ones before any significant damage is taken for now. No pressing need to retreat just yet.

15th of June​

A German motorized division arrives at Tubingen but is quickly routed after a few hours of fighting.

Tubingen is taken just as I pull out another army from Luxembourg in favour of fresh divisions from Metz. I may have to retreat after all.

16th of June
​

The attack on Stuttgart begins as the cavalry are directed to replace the mobile forces at Tubingen. I am somewhat undermanned infantry-wise in the south. Once again, a meagre German defence crumbles in a matter of hours as the majority of their remaining forces continue their attack on Luxembourg. At the same time, a large action is fought between my supporting air force and the German Close Air Support formations ending in a bloody nose for the latter. The situation in Luxembourg proves untenable prompting me to order a retreat after heavy losses. In hindsight, I should have retreated earlier.

​

17th of June
​

The concentration of the German army in Luxembourg presents an opportunity for the infantry armies to begin a portion of the encirclement much faster than I had planned. With three armies a little bit battered, it is a bit of a risk to attack now, but I've decided to take the chance while the mobile force continues its advance.

The army of Strasbourg is redirected to Freiburg as I opt to push on towards both the Rhine and a limited advance towards the Czech border.

18th of June
​

A mobile corps of 2 motorized divisions and one armoured puts a halt to my advance on Eupen but one I am satisfied to try and push through for now. My mobile forces advance into the German interior meanwhile continuing largely undisturbed apparently catching the AI by surprise (which isn't hard to do)

The Italian Corps advance to the Czech border is completed and I decide to follow it up with an advance into Bavaria to support infantry & cavalry attacks here.

19th of June
​

The German army in Luxembourg has dispersed to try and contain my attacks though so far they seem to be gaining ground. Heavy artillery and other artillery reinforce divisions once again prove their value against the last line of fortifications before the Rhine. I didn't take a proper look at the ETAs for some divisions in Bavaria causing gaps to appear in my advance, with Stuttgart, in particular, presenting a problem (though my cavalry should be there shortly) The Germans retake Nuremberg but as it does not provide the only path of resupply for my forces it isn't much of a concern. I will retake it in short order.

20th of June

The final phase of the Rhine encirclement begins with a motorized dash to the Dutch border and a multi-pronged attack on Karlsruhe.

21st of June​

Attack on Karlsruhe meets substantial German resistance but continues with a diversion of air support to this province. While the defenders of Eupen seem to be mostly spent, Saarbrucken proves to be a particularly tough nut to crack, resisting even the firepower of my super-heavy artillery.

Two tank corps attack Darmstadt in order to complete the envelopment of the German forces in the Mainz area. Another division presses on to Frankfurt. The latter quickly reinforces the former in their attack after finding the city undefended. A defensive action at Belfield temporarily holds up my motorized divisions.

22nd of June​

The defenders of Bielefeld collapse allowing my motorized divisions to continue their advance into the province and complete the encirclement. Eupen also falls leaving a gap I can use to further isolate Luxembourg and Trier and give me more vectors to support attacks from to facilitate a rapid collapse of the front.

Victory at Karlsrune pushes back the German army further into the pocket I have planned for them as the Motorized divisions near Munster.

23rd-24th of June
​

Motorized forces make contact with the Munster defences and complete the encirclement. Darmstadt likewise collapses leaving Mainz exposed.

Meanwhile, my southern forces begin to close the Bavarian pocket as my motorized forces receive instructions to broaden the front Eastwards beyond the Weser river. Since I want the mobile forces to be ready on the Austrian border in fairly short order, a bit more front will help my infantry wrap up the Rhineland offensive.

25th of June​

Koblenz becomes the site of a difficult battle as my infantry divisions try to push the German army deeper into the pocket. Motorized divisions push past the Weser where they will be quickly relocated to Bavaria. Mountain divisions push through the main German army in Bavaria as tanks and Italians attack from Munich.

26th of June​

German armies in Bavaria crumble leaving my cavalry divisions free for further operations as I begin to pull my motorized and tank divisions down south.

27th-28th of June ​

The final attack on the Rhineland pocket begins. I expect Austrian intervention shortly (possibly triggered when I take Cologne and Essen?)

29th-30th of June

German armies in the Rhineland begin to collapse

1st-14th of July​

The German armies in the Rhineland steadily retreat into Mainz in fairly good order forcing an extended and costly siege as I divert my mobile forces south. A German tank division attempts to rescue the encircled forces from the north but is intercepted by my advancing infantry as my forces mop up the pocket.

The pocket finally collapses on the 9th of July leaving the rest of my infantry army free to reinforce the German and future Austrian fronts.

Still, no sign of the Austrians, guess the event chain is simply taking its time. It does not seem to trigger automatically. But I've frankly lost patience with it and am tempted to simply DoW before long if it does not trigger. While I wait for my forces to complete their redeployment and for the Austrians to move, we get our first post-war event titled "the destiny of Flanders Wallonia." There are several such events each detailing the post-war order of an occupied area

France gets four options: the liberation of Belgium in the entire historical territory plus its occupied German provinces. The liberation of Flanders and Wallonia as independent but separate states. The annexation of French-speaking Wallonia and the liberation of Flanders or the annexation of both. If the Dutch are your allies, you can also partition the territory with the Dutch taking Flanders and either forming a greater Netherlands or liberating it (France gets the same option)

Since we're anarchists, it seems to make sense for us to favour as many tiny nations as possible! No imperialism on our watch! That said, it's probably more efficient to either release Belgium or annex the entire territory since otherwise its industry isn't really put into useful use (small puppets can't really do much)

After a bit of a wait, the Austrians finally decided to show up. Our preparations at this point are complete but that will be the topic of the next update!

 

[TemporalAnomaly]

Do you remember off-hand how far north France can get cores? I would assume at least Wallonia and Alsace.

I love the 'socialist speaking communities' joke; it never gets old.

What have the Exiles been up to so far? Do they ever matter to events in Europe?

Thank you again.

 

[MateuszS]

The Red French can get cores on Wallonia, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg and Geneva. Furthermore, they can claim whole Belgium, west bank of the Rhine, Gibraltar, Algeria and Tunisia.

 

[TemporalAnomaly]

The Red French can get cores on Wallonia, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg and Geneva. Furthermore, they can claim whole Belgium, west bank of the Rhine, Gibraltar, Algeria and Tunisia.

Thank you for the quick response.

Am I reading this right: Red France cannot get cores on Corsica, Algeria, or Savoy?

 

[MateuszS]

Thank you for the quick response.

Am I reading this right: Red France cannot get cores on Corsica, Algeria, or Savoy?

Red France already has cores on Corsica and Savoy (dark green with red dots on diplo mat on the first page). No, she can't get cores on Algeria.

 

[TemporalAnomaly]

I have played this game for how long and I never looked at that view of France in the Mediterranean (I must have looked at it a thousand times along the Rhine). How embarrassing.

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Chapter 9 - July 1940: Fall of the Eagles

---

I suddenly developed a window in my schedule and decided I'd invest it in winding down the war in Europe now that I am so close to doing so. First off, while I intend to carry on the war into Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, I am not entirely sure if I will opt to start a war with the Soviets in this playthrough any longer. If they decide to stay out of the Internationale, I will consider it, but if they ask to join I will let them and leave it at that. Timewise, there are other projects including more narrative-focused AARs in DH I'd like to try and carrying this on to war with the Soviets would add quite a bit to this guide's length. I've also decided against writing a simplified guide because there are fewer differences between going full mobility and this game than I expected.

Now, on to this chapter. Our first order of business is to facilitate the rapid collapse of Austria, preferably without confronting the mainstay of their army, via a rapid capture of all their VPs. While in this case, we aren't exactly in a rush to do so since the German army is at this point practically extinct, in my first game as the Commune it was only by facilitating a rapid collapse of Austria that I was able to get myself out of a grinding war of attrition along the Rhine. For newer players, I do think it is worth going over VP capture as a strategy and how to keep an otherwise potentially strong enemy at arm's length. Note that this strategy is harder to implement if the Hapsburgs centralized the empire and that it does not apply to Germany which needs to be fully occupied to trigger surrender.

When the Hapsburg Empire is only in control of its Austrian cores (even if it doesn't fully centralize, it often incorporates Bohemia and Bosnia from time to time), there aren't many VPs to worry about. Two of them are on the Bavarian border and can be taken immediately, while Graz and Vienna need to be taken by a secondary push Eastwards from Salzburg. Ljubljana likewise requires a secondary push to the south while Venice requires a westward offensive, in our case supported by our forces in Italy (it generally remains disunited in most games at this stage) Since the Austrian AI identifies the Italian border as the main threat, most of its forces are stationed there leaving all our targets but Venice pretty easy to capture. If I can, I will try to draw him in without losing SRI VPs.

Remember, if the AI grabs an allied VP, it will stay in the fight even if you take all of its native ones.
​

For this operation, I've gathered my entire mobile force plus 6 mountaineers and another 6 infantry divisions on their way. The rest of the infantry forces will continue their advance into the German interior since the depleted German forces no longer present any real threat or opportunity for encirclement. The plan is for faster-motorized divisions to grab the vulnerable VPs while some of them rush to establish a front near Venice and wait for the rest to reinforce them.

My entire air force is also attached to this operation, though I have forgotten to advance forward the defence detail for the Munich airbase. For now, my slowly advancing HQ will perform a brief stint at facility security since it won't get in position time for the attack anyway (before the Austrians redeploy) That said, the Austrians can often build a decent air force and I don't need tactical for the border targets. My fighter groups will focus on winning air superiority.

I wasn't able to get the pathfinding to target Vienna and the Slovenian capital the way I wanted so some forces will briefly stop at Klagenfurt.

15th of July
​

Salzburg falls pretty quickly whereas Innsbruck needs a bit more convincing from my bombers before it cracks. What Austrian aircraft come up (so far its puppets) are quickly swept aside whereas the German air force repositions a tactical force in Austrian territory. my fighters seem to have had a bad day, unfortunately.

Meanwhile, some remaining German units have snuck into Nuremberg once again, leaving my air force exposed. Rather than redeploy them away from the theatre wasting valuable time, air support capacity, and supply, I've decided to divert one of my armoured divisions until the infantry can come to clean them up. The lesson here is to make sure you have support divisions behind your advancing army and not have to improvise solutions at the expense of frontline troops.

16th of July
​

Weird stand-off between my forces and an Austrian division that seem to be both attacking and defending at the same time. No matter, it is quickly swept aside.

An infantry counterattack, supported by the armoured corps & Tacs (just in case) commences while a motorized army and armoured corps advance on Graz.

Innsbruck is reinforced by two Austrian divisions who as defenders benefit quite a bit from the mountainous terrain. Good thing I have my mountaineers here.

17th of July​

Nuremberg falls for the third time, leaving my Tacs free to support the stalled Innsbruck offensive and for my tanks to continue their advance. Interestingly enough, the Austrians do not seem to be falling for those empty Italian provinces. One my Venice front is formed, I will bring those troops forward either way.

18th-19th of July​

I finally spot the German NAVS making a run for an unfortunate Italian destroyer. I will reinforce my coastal defences only with new Italian INTs for now. Motorized divisions make contact with Udine's defences which they lack the muscle to overcome for the time being, though other divisions are on their way.

Innsbruck's defences fall a second time, though I can see more Austrian divisions on their way. One of my own infantry armies is likewise coming to reinforce.

20th of July​

The Austrians finally take the bait and take a nibble out of Italy. I respond by launching a counterattack to tie down their forces and advance my own.

Udine's defenders break the moment my tanks arrive to support the offensive. At the same time, the motorized divisions reach Belluno.

Another motorized army reaches the Gates of Vienna with apparently sufficient forces to take it, though an armoured corps is on its way if it needs it. Meanwhile, the Italian Expeditionary corps reaches the Slovenian capital and one of the target Austrian VPs needed for annexation. Only Vienna and Venice remain.

21st of July​

An Austrian division managed to cut off my Italian corps just as it entered the Slovenian capital. I've split the corps in two with one force remaining to defend the VP while the other counterattacks with the support of the armoured corps I had slated for Vienna (since my motorized forces don't seem to need its help)

Austrians counterattack my army in front of Vienna (again, the most exposed province via multi-pronged assault) My armoured corps in the area should be enough to reinforce them. The Germans also seem to be making a run for Bavaria so I've ordered one of my cavalry divisions back until the infantry can get there.

22nd of July​

My interceptors manage to catch the German naval bombers which seem to be stationed somewhere out of supply.

The brief Austrian encirclement is also broken allowing the tanks to speed on towards Vienna.

23rd of July​

A bid to try and sneak into a now understrenghed Venice seems to have succeeded with the Austrian counterattack also grinding to a halt as a result.

24th of July​

Vienna garrison falls leaving only Venice's final capture for this operation to end.

25th of July​

Venice falls, and with it, the Austrian component of the Hapsburg Empire, leaving Hungary, Galacia, and Bosnia in the fight. Because of the distances and low infrastructure scores involved, I've decided to leave most of my mobile forces in the south to mop up the Hapsburgs while some press into Germany.

25th-30 of July​

By the end of July, my infantry divisions have regained control of the Weser line and are ready to continue offensives into the Prussian heartland.

August​

With the beginning of August begins my final assault on Germany on the depleted outnumbered and outmatched German army.

While the attack on Germany is ongoing, I've made a rapid advance into Hungary and Bosnia with the intention of taking their capitals. While Bosnia's tiny army poses no challenge, Hungary still has more than 20 divisions left with half of them protecting Budapest. Most of my armoured corps is trying to encircle them.

When the option presents itself to mess up Europe with another tiny state, naturally, I take it!

Bosnia surrenders on the 6th of August as my tanks complete their encirclement of the Hungarian capital and rush to seize the remaining VPs

On the 11th of August, German defences along the Weser river crumble and my cavalry divisions push on towards Berlin.

Hungary falls on the 20th of August followed by Galacia on the 24th. On the German front, my army is now closing on Berlin and the Baltic Sea.

With the war against the Hapsburgs complete, my mobile forces begin to swing north towards East Germany as some remain on the Ukrainian border.

I also get to release Austria and Hungary and opt to cut both a little bit of slack and let them retain some former imperial territories.

I limited some of the Hungarian cores via claims of my own in the interest of avoiding some irritating border gore and keeping Slovakia.

As I was enjoying how much time I'd save by moving my mobile forces through the German East, Poland decided to play dirty and grab bits of it. Can't say I was planning to attack Poland at this stage, but to put it frankly, they are in my way. If they behave themselves, I'll give them an even bigger slice of Prussia.

Poland is one of those states that's potentially very easy to knock out on account of its small and tight number of VPs

And with that, Poland is ready to join the community of free socialist anarchic states societies

Septemeber​

By the beginning of September, Germany is almost entirely occupied with the main holdout focused on Denmark. My super heavies ironically reach Dresden of all places while my motorized divisions rush into Eastern Prussia though much of the mobile forces are busy establishing a front with the eastern clients.

Meanwhile, the CNT finally wins the civil war and join the international. The CSA and the Soviets, however, are still busy with their wars.

By the end of September, all of Germany is in my control and the weaker Baltic puppets are rapidly falling. Denmark, however, is proving to be a rather irritating element in that control of the waterways prevents effective access to Copenhagen. It's the sort of situation paratroopers exist for but I don't have any. Since I want to resolve the borders (without too much gore) ahead of time, I went ahead and triggered the liberation of Poland event before I get to release Germany. The reason is that whereas the German liberation event triggers immediately, the Polish one can take a while to fire. Like in Slovakia, I claim provinces I would like to keep in Germany and leave everything I don't mind the Poles grabbing alone. If worse comes to worst, I can either reload or demand territory.

To access events, you either need to read them via script or a more specialized program such as notepad++. Events can be found in the KR db folder where you can basically alter any event chain to suit your whims in theory (it is a little bit more complicated than that) At any rate, liberation events can be found in the other folder under annexations. For Poland, the event we'll need is pretty straightforward, but in some cases, they can be a bit tougher to find.

And like magic, the Poles are once again free. To think anyone could have been so cruel enough to invade and occupy them for all this hassle!

October ​

When it comes to the liberation of Germany, France is faced with quite a few choices.

1) Create four puppet states (with the UoB gaining control of the North German Federation)

2) Lay claim to the Rhineland (including some provinces beyond it) and liberate the rest. I am not sure you ever get cores over it though.

3) Create a new German Union out of the entire territory.

4) Move the border to the Rhine and liberate the rest of Germany into the German Union.

5) Total occupation.

Now, it is important to note that any decision which creates Prussia includes an event chain that can cause it to revolt against you (if you decide to ban that celebration in which the Germans remember that one swell time in 1870 when the French army was beaten at Sedan) In this case, we don't have too much to worry about as I don't intend to ban the party and nor does Prussia have any potential allies, but if Russia were not Soviet, it could try to ally with them.

I'd say that the best option is a German Union since it gets a ton of industry and can help you (especially against Russia) Small puppets are simply not very efficient, and more to the point, they are much easier to knock out on the account of only having to take a few VPs to do so compared with all of Germany. If you want to see an example of how that can happen, the AAR "One and Indivisible" provides a good example of how to exploit those German puppets. At any rate, being the Anarchists that we are, naturally, we'd like to allow the maximum amount of Germans to experience the maximum amount of freedom away from such systemically violent constructs such as the German state. We do so not out of revenge but because we love Germany so much that we'd like to have four of them!

They aren't like us French socialist speaking peoples who have learned how to manage ourselves in a proper anarchic system in the French Commune, yes, Commune, not a state! I mean, how long can France go without a strike? Five minutes? We French Anarchists know when to tell of the Commune. Whereas the Germans? Far too obedient and vulnerable to state-sponsored violence and oppression, we can't allow them to suffer under such a regime. We'll just have to handle most of their defensive needs ourselves. Is that not the mission of the Commune? To lead the International and the socialist speaking peoples to greatness? Naturally, they shall have to pay their bit in reparations donation as well as some human shields proletariat volunteers for peacekeeping missions.

Nice influx of divisions! Just in time to participate in a peacekeeping mission to facilitate a peaceful transition of power among the Czech people.

​

Shortly thereafter, we are happy to add two new members to the socialist family, Denmark and the Baltic State, because consistency is important. There are so many different types of Germans: Bavarians, Prussians, those guys from the Rhine, and, uh, North Germans. In the Baltics, they are basically all the same! The best thing about forming one single happy Baltic State is that they will be much more able to help us contain the Prussians defend their Eastern border! The same applies to wanting such a big and strong Poland! They gave up so much for the Prussians to keep, the least they can get is a bit of living space.

The real reason I liberated a single Baltic state rather than the separate nations is because Poland's Eastern claims block Lithuania from being formed.

Next time, I will arrange some free and fair elections across Europe and make moves against the Entente powers while considering what to do with the Soviets, ally or fight them. Which reminds me, what the hell are the Soviets playing at? The last time I checked (1939?), they were at war with Turkistan. Oh...

Yep, they couldn't get any other events to trigger during the war over Europe because they were too busy down south.

At least we can say one thing for sure, Europe has finally gotten rid of all of its imperial eagle standards!

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

A second chapter is above. Sorry if the double posting is a bit much. I had some extra time so I decided to take it for this as I am not sure I'll have it later. Still, I expect it will only be a few more chapters until I finish the guide. There isn't so much left to get into that isn't simply painting the world red. If there are any specifics you'd like to see I'd be happy to know, but otherwise, apart from taking out the Entente and possibly the Soviets, there isn't so much left to do in this save. As luck would have it, the cause of global revolution seems to be mostly attending to itself almost everywhere with the exception of South America & East Asia.

Do you remember off-hand how far north France can get cores? I would assume at least Wallonia and Alsace.

As MateuszS said, the CoF can get (or already has) cores for all territory seized after the Weltkrieg plus Luxembourg, Geneva, and Wallonia (though I think it might also be able to get some for Flanders?) In most cases, those start as claims and require a few months after capture to become full national provinces.

I love the 'socialist speaking communities' joke; it never gets old.

Thanks, my way of making fun of various communist friendship treaties and the way terms have to be redefined in order not to be imperialist. The weird thing is that this is supposed to be an anarchist commune that completely opposes the idea of the state (though Makhano did make some compromises with the concept), but we don't really get anything to suggest as such from the in-game events or the way the commune is run. The UoB for example can go autonomist and release Scotland and Wales as puppets. There is no real difference between playing an anarchist, syndicalist, or compromise commune (apart from in-game modifiers) The only directions that are unique are the Jacobian and Sorelian choices (more so the former) Come to think of it, the Sorelians aren't really all that different either.

Still, more choices than most other nations (though Russia has by far the most of those) Do please tell me if I overdo the joke at some point for future reference.

What have the Exiles been up to so far? Do they ever matter to events in Europe?

Grabbing German colonies and trying not to lose India (and doing not too bad a job with it, though it's still looking like a draw with a slight red advantage) Oh! And they also responded to the CNT's victory in the Spanish Civil War by inviting Portugal to the Entente and considering how weak the CNT army is after three years of bleeding, it will be a front I'll have to deploy to when it comes to war. Sometimes, there is an event chain for a monarchist coup in the UoB but I am not sure what triggers it (fall of Paris?) A Jacobian hostile take over of the Commune can also lead to a defection of some of your armies to National France giving them a bridgehead, as well as an early war with you (which the AI generally does not know what to do with) Russia, USA, and Austria can also join it sometimes.

Out of events, they mostly represent an amphibious threat across the Mediterranean both to Southern France and especially to Italy but not one that's of any real concern to a human player (keep some forces in coastal provinces as well as some cavalry in reserve). If the Carlists win the Spanish Civil War, North Italy and Spain can form a new alliance which National France can join instead of the Entente along with Austria (pretty much a Catholic Block) A victorious Germany can also ally with National France by offering it the French mainland but the event chain is a bit weird because you're forced to give up Alsace in the process (and how likely is that?) Canada generally beats the CSA because the latter loses its militia divisions at the end of the Civil War meaning that North America is generally hostile.

Am I reading this right: Red France cannot get cores on Corsica, Algeria, or Savoy?

It can tongue in cheek form a "sister republic" in Algiers you could RP that way, but no, you won't get any cores for it. Interestingly enough, National France does have cores for the territory whereas the exiled German Empire does not get them (even though the former colonial administration did have them) On that topic, one possible development after Germany's defeat is that Germany joins the Entente generally in return for a symbolic transfer of Alsace to National France. Perhaps that is the reason for the automatic province transfer when you ally with them after taking France? Wish it would trigger properly if so.

If Germany joins the Entente, it basically means that short of Lybia and Egpyt, the territory is basically one political block. Which is harder to beat.

 

[TemporalAnomaly]

Finally, some stuff I know the answers to.

A victorious Germany can also ally with National France by offering it the French mainland but the event chain is a bit weird because you're forced to give up Alsace in the process (and how likely is that?)

I have done the give-Paris-to-the-exiles event chain. It requires the French to give up their claim Alsace and accept the 1936 frontiers (they often go for it, but not always)

Interestingly enough, National France does have cores for the territory whereas the exiled German Empire does not get them (even though the former colonial administration did have them)

Exiled Germany does have an event chain to get cores on her African holdings - basically promising independence after the war in exchange for mobilization. Once back in Berlin you can renege and keep the cores at the cost of +50 dissent.

Exiled France loses most of her African Cores after returning to Paris. She keeps cores on the Mediterranean coast. The idea being that is where most of exiles settled after the (first) civil war.

 

[Manasian]

When I read your tutorial, I realized that you don’t use strategic redeployment, maybe to make things a little harder (even if it’s not always the case) but even in peace and/or on your own territory you don’t use it. Why?

It also seems to me that you forgot to say from when or must strengthen his troops to 100% (mi-38 I suppose ?) because I thought to strengthen them early 39 to attack mi-39 (as "historically" in fact) but I was surprised by the Shelling of Bretten event where the German DoW me (he had asked for reparations in addition to apologies and I refused) so that my troops were not 100% reinforced at that time (although it went well afterwards) On the other hand, German had a huge dissent, in the 30% (I took a look at the save to see it, even if I suspected it, since its non-national provinces like Malta had a 35% chance of rebellion) which made things easier.