Chapter 4: The Unification War begins.
Your nation is primed and ready for war, but don’t declare just yet. There is 1 thing left to do, and that is to mobilize.
Before you do, make sure to read the tooltip and check how much Manpower mobilisation will require. This number varies on the troops you have, both in numbers and type of unit, and on your mobilisation laws. Because Romania allready had 3-Year Draft, and a small army, we only need 63.2 MP.
I always prioritize reinforcements, to automate the sliders. This way, I am certain that my needs will be met, and that I don’t have to fiddle with the sliders on a daily basis.
It takes about a month before I am fully mobilized and all my divisions are in their right positions. I declare war on Hungary on 27 November 1936 and change laws to their wartime prime.
It immediately becomes apparent that this particular attack is going nowhere. That’s ok. You might remember that I had anticipated that. What’s more, the function of this attack is not to win the fight, but to make sure that the Hungarian defenders cannot interfere while my real focus is right next door, in Debrecen, where there is a VP to be had. These guys will eventually get reinforcements from the divisions heading to outflank the Hungarians in Nyiregyhaza.
Hungarian bombers are having a field day because my interceptor can’t reach them from my capital. I could have build an airfield closer to the Hungarian border, but with only limited IC, I decided against it. The men will just have to weather the storm for now. As you can see, the real attack is going well enough. Even on the first day of the offensive, the first VP province is almost ours.
As a sidenote, the Mountaineer brigade I was building to fill out the 3rd Mountaineer Division is finished. I place them just inside Romanian borders on their own, since they don’t have any Organisation yet. I will attach them after Hungary has fallen.
And while the enemy is focusing on our left flank, my cavalry and armour and advancing unopposed towards Pecs and Budapest. Debrecen is ours. It has an airfield, so I can rebase the interceptor there. Note that rebasing takes away a lot of organisation and requires some time before the planes have recovered.
The Hungarians managed to sneak a division into Budapest before my tanks could take the city. What’s more, they have twice the number of interceptors than I do. My attempt at air superiority will go nowhere fast, and I send the planes back from where they came.
Remember when I told you last time that tanks are not some miracle cure? Urban combat is not what they are designed to do. What’s more, my tanks are crap and their Piercing equals my Armour (both are a feeble “2”). I knew that was the risk, but I wanted to show you that a good defense in prime defensive terrain can hold out for a long time. As you can see, more Hungarian divisions are on their way. I continue the attack for as long as I possibly can, because, while they are defending Budapest, they can’t move to engage me elsewhere.
Such as Pecs, the 2nd VP province to fall into our hands. Here, the cavalry can ride in completely unopposed. Note the surrender progress on Budapest has, in those 4 days, gone from 5 to 2. The infantry is on its way en masse, however, on both flanks of the tanks, with only a single division on either side to stop them.
Never assume that the war has been won until they have actually surrendered. It has taken me 3 weeks, but the plan is working as intended. With Budapest now under attack from 4 sides, it is only a matter of time before the city falls. The rest of my army is busy keeping the Hungarians away. In the north, 4 divisions have been cut off, while in the south, my cavalry has spread out to provide additional cover in case of unexpected developments.
No plan survives enemy contact intact. In this case, a single Hungarian infantry division managed to sneak up to the border, but my infantry and cavalry drove them off in no time.
A more detailed look at the battle of Budapest after 5 days. From the original 4 divisions, only 2 remain and they have been hammered silly from all sides by Dumitrescu’s men. The city will fall 6 hours later, a perfect Christmas present for the king of Romania. With all their VPs occupied, I just have to hold them until midnight.
Romania annexed Hungary on Boxing Day and Romania doubles in size.
Your laws will automatically revert to peacetime laws when you’re no longer at war, but demobilisation has to be done manually. I was going to do just that. With Hungary falling so soon, I had time until spring to let my MP recover. Or, at least, that was the plan.
I just happened to see this and it changed everything. Austria has less 52% NU. They have nobody guarding our mutual borders. Score!
As you can see on this picture, they have a total of 12 VPs. That means I only have to grab 52% of them to win. Vienna, just 2 provinces away across the border, is worth 6 VPs. Graz, also 2 provinces away, is worth 2. Together, they equal 8 VPs, which should be enough to get them to heel. Salzburg and Innsbruck, on the German and Swiss borders, are the other VPs Austria has; Both equal 2 points.
A quick plan was hatched. The Armour Corps will secure the area north of Vienna and seal it off from the outside world. One full infantry corps would secure Vienna, another one Graz. The Mountain Corps would secure the southern flank of the attack on Graz, while a third infantry corps would connect the two. If, by some twist of fate, it would not be enough, we would march on Salzburg.
As you can see, the area where I want the tanks is mostly plains, while the mountaineers will get the high Alps. What’s even better, is that Hungary was kind enough to provide us with an airbase within easy striking distance if we need it. It is 2 levels big, allowing me to maintain 2 wings there.
Second Army will provide Anti-partisan duty in Hungary with my 3 cavalry divisions and the remaining 3 infantry. Everyone else is assigned to the First Army, commanded by Antonescu.
I stop sending spies into the Soviet Union, primarily because I need to save Leadership. We are 1 year into the game, and we have hardly managed to research 3 techs (agriculture and both Armoured Car techs). That can’t last.
My research page. Education is almost up-to-date, as is Small Arms. With Hungary under our control, we now have 7.05 LS and a peacetime IC of 53.
There is 1 danger to keep in mind, though. Our own threat. Right now, Germany and UK both still consider the Soviets the biggest threat to peace and security. We’re not fooling the Soviets themselves, though. With a threat of 10.2, we are beginning to get uncle Joe’s attention and it will only get worse.
Make no mistake, guys. The Major Powers are primed to watch Germany first and foremost, but if our threat becomes too high, they can DoW us instead of Germany.
And there we have the first Nationalists, rising up right on top of our Armour Corps HQ. No matter. The Cav will take care of them easily enough.
Small Arms and Education finish in a matter of days and are replaced with the 2 artillery techs.
By late Fabruary, everything is ready. I have replaced a couple of skill-1 generals with new generals of skill 3 and 2, that have graduated from officer school. On the 20th, we declare war on Austria.
I had a bunch of screenshots to show you my advance, but to be honest, this wasn’t a war. It was a training course. Vienna fell on the 5th of March, Graz on the 6th, Austria surrendered on the 7th.
I am going to leave you with this picture of Romania, as of March 1937. Isn’t it pretty? See you next time!
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