-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Man, the post-war politics of Yugoslavia (and Albania) are going to be even worse than IRL. At least in Albania maybe you can crown Leka (a toddler at this point) as a stabilizing force while the Brits run the place, as long as Hoxha can be pacified (kinetically, ideally).
I wonder if the Croats are going to end up getting Greater Croatia despite their enthusiastic collaboration with the Germans simply to deny that territory to Tito.
Also, will Hungary end up in the British sphere as well? I feel like Yalta's either a dead letter at this point or Stalin's gonna have to try to roll all the way to the Atlantic.
I wonder if the Croats are going to end up getting Greater Croatia despite their enthusiastic collaboration with the Germans simply to deny that territory to Tito.
Also, will Hungary end up in the British sphere as well? I feel like Yalta's either a dead letter at this point or Stalin's gonna have to try to roll all the way to the Atlantic.
Last edited:
They just have to change the percentages a bit
I thought T&T could maybe hold out another month or two but the fact that Germany doesn't seem to have bothered with defending the area does not inspire hope.
There will be a defence of Bratislava. With actual fighting and everything..
The AI does get confused if two different factions have both occupied the same country. Given this is what actually happened historically it is unfortunate Paradox failed to design the game to cope with it.I suppose the Soviets were only able to ‘liberate’ (ahem) the part of Yugoslavia they controlled? The rest being the British zone?
In any case, the end seems rather nigh. Should only take another year or two of RL to describe the death throes of this corrupt, drunken and incompetent regime of war criminals?
I am also impressed with your optimism, couple of years to get through The End of The End of Slovakia sounds very optimistic.
It might be a cunning plan, after all if Yugoslavia only contains one ethnic group then that reduces the chances of a civil war. It might not work, but giving the various groups their own countries to start with (even if one of them is called Yugoslavia
) sounds like at least a small step forward.You assume someone will survive to bring things back.
There is a bit of a race on to see who gets Albania and on that map the Soviets are winning, the British have got to get through the Germans in North Greece and that is going to delay them. Any 'Greater Croatia' has to contain a lot of Bosnia-Herzegovina, so won't end up being called Greater Croatia. Not unless the British want the Civil War to break out before they've even finished naming the place. However the default post-WW2 British plan was always Partition...
Hungary is pretty split at present, both factions have grabbed at least a bit of the place. Yalta has been superseded by events as they say and I suspect this will be fine. I'm sure Stalin will complain bitterly in public but I doubt he would actually do anything, after all it's not like he had any intention of respecting Yalta and did/will use 'Boots on the ground' to justify a lot of his actions so isn't going to complain too loudly when it is used back at him.
T&T now have the entire Slovak Army back to defend Bratislava? Are you say those mighty forces don't inspire any hope? (They just have to change the percentages a bit
I thought T&T could maybe hold out another month or two but the fact that Germany doesn't seem to have bothered with defending the area does not inspire hope.
)
I am also impressed with your optimism, couple of years to get through The End of The End of Slovakia sounds very optimistic.
Personally, I fully expect Slovakia to go GiE, our beloved(?!) T&T will run away to Berlin, and we spend another 150 pages and 10+ years slowly watching the Red Army crawl toward Berlin while T&T run partisan cells in occupied Slovakia to recover their hidden booze stash.
Well, perhaps "run" is too competent a term...
Is the general plan to hold out to join the British Empire rather than the Soviets?
Or the hope that everyone will not notice Slovakia, if they keep quiet, and rush past on the way to Berlin?
Either way, there seems a good chance Germany will fall first, leaving Slovakia as the leading Axis power in Europe.
Or the hope that everyone will not notice Slovakia, if they keep quiet, and rush past on the way to Berlin?
Either way, there seems a good chance Germany will fall first, leaving Slovakia as the leading Axis power in Europe.
Personally, I fully expect Slovakia to go GiE, our beloved(?!) T&T will run away to Berlin, and we spend another 150 pages and 10+ years slowly watching the Red Army crawl toward Berlin while T&T run partisan cells in occupied Slovakia to recover their hidden booze stash.
Well, perhaps "run" is too competent a term...
We could go on forever...
Even at the current rate of AAR time this thing could be finished with the establishment of a post-Soviet Slovak state in well under 400 years. El-Pip has kids. There is no reason this can't be finished properly with a bit of commitment.
The Axis AI has truly started to death-spiral at this point, not sure anything could be spun out for 150 pages.Personally, I fully expect Slovakia to go GiE, our beloved(?!) T&T will run away to Berlin, and we spend another 150 pages and 10+ years slowly watching the Red Army crawl toward Berlin while T&T run partisan cells in occupied Slovakia to recover their hidden booze stash.
Well, perhaps "run" is too competent a term...
10 years+ though, easy.
The D-Day forces are still in France and the low countries, the Soviets at the gates of Leningrad and mid-Ukraine. Germany is some way from falling. Allied forces Italy however are rampaging through Austria, Slovakia is much closer to the end than Germany.
T&T remain torn between being ignored (Which is the best plan) and wanting to be annexed (because then at least someone noticed they exist).
"There's a mile high mountain at the end of the universe and every 1,000 years a bird flies out and sharpens it's beak. By the time the bird's descendants have worn the mountain down to nothing El Pip still won't have finished Butterfly Effect. But he should have finished Inevitable Defeat." (With apologies to the Demon Crowley)
I admire your optimism. At present it's taken a bit under 8 years to do a bit over 7 months of game. Say we take it to the Velvet Revolution Dec 89. That's a bit under 55 years of game. Which I reckon would take about 750 years of real time at current progress.
Quite the ambitious project, it will mean lasting longer than the Western Roman Empire, but as you say doable with a bit of commitment.
Nonsense. Whenever Slovakia finally falls, in another 3-4 years or so, and T&T retreat to Berlin, you can easily get 30+ pages just from T&T meeting the German cabinet and seeing firsthand the sheer insanity there. All without even advancing the in-game date!
I think decades of Durkansky leading a fake government in exile would be fun
I hope the saga does come to a satisfactory conclusion sometime within my allocated span of years Then maybe we could see what the next project might be ...
Then maybe we could see what the next project might be ... 
I hope the saga does come to a satisfactory conclusion sometime within my allocated span of years
According to the calls of the forum... King Haakon of the Fjords...
Hmmm, that is a tempting option. A quick check reveals that while the base setup of the German cabinet is correct the German AI has made some... interesting... changes.
That is an unconventional definition of fun. But honestly it might be true? Certainly post-war Ďurčanský mixed with everyone (Pope, Kim Philby, Peron, Gehlen and more) so no shortage of interesting characters. If only this was a proper character driven narrative AAR.
This will definitely finish before Butterfly. Beyond that I refuse to be drawn.I hope the saga does come to a satisfactory conclusion sometime within my allocated span of years
Correct. The Lighter of King Haakon shall illuminate the Fjords one last time. At the appropriate juncture, in due course and in the fullness of time.
24th January 1945
24th January 1945
We return to Bratislava where Supreme Vodca Tiso has been woken up early for an emergency meeting in the Command Shed. As he has very publicly had the snake-and-pencil pit serviced, with fresh snakes and newly sharpened pencils, he hopes the cabinet are not wasting his time.
"The British have taken Eisenstadt!" General Kubela announced.
"This is a shocking development." Tuka said.
"That the enemy are now at the gates of Bratislava?" Malar asked.
"No, I've been expecting that for a while." Tuka said. "It's seeing General Kubela managing to convey news quickly and efficiently that is truly shocking."
The Axis defence strategy for the Slovako-Austrian Front is perhaps not working quite as well as hoped.
"This is a most serious situation, what measures have the General Staff taken?" Tiso tried to drag the meeting back on track.
"A new Major Alert was announced." Kubela said.
"Colonel Alert was upset at the demotion, but someone must be held accountable." Malar explained.
Leaving Tuka to scream obscenities at the generals, Tiso contemplated the map. When his colleague paused for breath, he resumed questioning.
"Do we have any forces in the capital?" He asked.
"Just the men of the General Staff." Kubela said.
"Is there actually a plan to defend the capital?" Tiso asked urgently.
"Of course." Malar said reassuringly. "The 2nd (Heroes) of (Paris) Division will launch a spoiling attack on the British, distracting them and allowing time for the 1st to move back to the capital."
This sounded suspiciously competent to Tiso.
"How was this plan developed?" He asked.
"The OKW staff assisted." Baron von Killinger proudly replied.
"Were there any issues with this?" A slightly calmer Tuka managed to ask.
"A few." Malar admitted. Seeing Tuka start to turn red again he hurriedly continued. "Filling in all the German paperwork in triplicate may take a while."
"How. Long." Tuka menaced.
"About 70 hours." Kubela confessed.
Germanic inspired efficiency in action. Jurech's troops may well arrive late but they will have perfectly filed paperwork when they do.
"There is worse news, German Intellgience believe the Allies are attempting to raise a Fifth Column inside Bratislava to undermine it's defence." Von Killinger declared.
Tiso looked sceptical.
"Then why else is France sending spies to Slovakia?" Von Killinger passed over a message.
To put this spy in our dungeons
We followed the trail of onions
His Parisian way
Meant we caught him that day
Once again demonstrating that existentialism's failure to engage with the Morphostatic ontology will always lead to error and epistemological failure.
Strong words (possibly) from Janko Jessneky on the practical and philosophical mistakes made by the latest French spy to have been captured.
"This does look like a concerted effort." Tuka agreed.
"Is there any other news, anything else we should be aware of?" Tiso asked his cabinet.
Junior-Alleged-Deputy Foreign Minister Durcansky looked at the note in his file, but then shook his head. This news was clearly not important.
Meanwhile, in Ulan Bator.
"Excellent news Comrade President." Prime Minister Jumdaagjin Tsendenbal announced. "Our glorious people's army has received a surge of volunteers."
President Gomgchigryn Bumtsend looked contemplative before responding.
"Don't we already require everyone to serve as the state demands?" He asked.
His Chief of Staff General Chimid nodded hurriedly.
"So this measure will in fact make no difference?"
General Chimid nodded again.
President Bumtsend turned to face his Prime Minister.
"You know well the punishment for wasting my time. Comrade Kollontay, take him away to do the necessary." President Bumstend ordered."
Tsendenbal looked around in a panic and then resigned himself to losing his first name.
The mostly lastname-less Mongolian government. Aside from chief name-remover Mikhailovna Kollontay only Foreign Minister Rosenberg had escaped thus far, due to his habit of never saying anything that might offend the President. Some suggested that he achieved this by never saying anything, because he was a long-dead skeleton. These people were never heard from again.
--
Notes:
The war finally reaches Bratislava and the Slovak Army is utterly unprepared for it.
The single named Mongolia government called to me and had to make an appearance. I'm assuming the usual collection of errors and corpses but Mongolia is not a country rich in sources or last names so I've not checked in detail. Rosenberg was Soviet Ambassador to Spain and purged to death in 1938. Kollontay was a Soviet theorist and feminist who was made a diplomat to get her out of the country (because Stalin was not a fan of feminism) though she is at least alive at this point. She was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Mexican President, which is an excitingly named medal to get. Neither she nor Rosenberg ever had anything to do with Mongolia, obviously.
We return to Bratislava where Supreme Vodca Tiso has been woken up early for an emergency meeting in the Command Shed. As he has very publicly had the snake-and-pencil pit serviced, with fresh snakes and newly sharpened pencils, he hopes the cabinet are not wasting his time.
"The British have taken Eisenstadt!" General Kubela announced.
"This is a shocking development." Tuka said.
"That the enemy are now at the gates of Bratislava?" Malar asked.
"No, I've been expecting that for a while." Tuka said. "It's seeing General Kubela managing to convey news quickly and efficiently that is truly shocking."
The Axis defence strategy for the Slovako-Austrian Front is perhaps not working quite as well as hoped.
"This is a most serious situation, what measures have the General Staff taken?" Tiso tried to drag the meeting back on track.
"A new Major Alert was announced." Kubela said.
"Colonel Alert was upset at the demotion, but someone must be held accountable." Malar explained.
Leaving Tuka to scream obscenities at the generals, Tiso contemplated the map. When his colleague paused for breath, he resumed questioning.
"Do we have any forces in the capital?" He asked.
"Just the men of the General Staff." Kubela said.
"Is there actually a plan to defend the capital?" Tiso asked urgently.
"Of course." Malar said reassuringly. "The 2nd (Heroes) of (Paris) Division will launch a spoiling attack on the British, distracting them and allowing time for the 1st to move back to the capital."
This sounded suspiciously competent to Tiso.
"How was this plan developed?" He asked.
"The OKW staff assisted." Baron von Killinger proudly replied.
"Were there any issues with this?" A slightly calmer Tuka managed to ask.
"A few." Malar admitted. Seeing Tuka start to turn red again he hurriedly continued. "Filling in all the German paperwork in triplicate may take a while."
"How. Long." Tuka menaced.
"About 70 hours." Kubela confessed.
Germanic inspired efficiency in action. Jurech's troops may well arrive late but they will have perfectly filed paperwork when they do.
"There is worse news, German Intellgience believe the Allies are attempting to raise a Fifth Column inside Bratislava to undermine it's defence." Von Killinger declared.
Tiso looked sceptical.
"Then why else is France sending spies to Slovakia?" Von Killinger passed over a message.
To put this spy in our dungeons
We followed the trail of onions
His Parisian way
Meant we caught him that day
Once again demonstrating that existentialism's failure to engage with the Morphostatic ontology will always lead to error and epistemological failure.
Strong words (possibly) from Janko Jessneky on the practical and philosophical mistakes made by the latest French spy to have been captured.
"This does look like a concerted effort." Tuka agreed.
"Is there any other news, anything else we should be aware of?" Tiso asked his cabinet.
Junior-Alleged-Deputy Foreign Minister Durcansky looked at the note in his file, but then shook his head. This news was clearly not important.
Meanwhile, in Ulan Bator.
"Excellent news Comrade President." Prime Minister Jumdaagjin Tsendenbal announced. "Our glorious people's army has received a surge of volunteers."
President Gomgchigryn Bumtsend looked contemplative before responding.
"Don't we already require everyone to serve as the state demands?" He asked.
His Chief of Staff General Chimid nodded hurriedly.
"So this measure will in fact make no difference?"
General Chimid nodded again.
President Bumtsend turned to face his Prime Minister.
"You know well the punishment for wasting my time. Comrade Kollontay, take him away to do the necessary." President Bumstend ordered."
Tsendenbal looked around in a panic and then resigned himself to losing his first name.
The mostly lastname-less Mongolian government. Aside from chief name-remover Mikhailovna Kollontay only Foreign Minister Rosenberg had escaped thus far, due to his habit of never saying anything that might offend the President. Some suggested that he achieved this by never saying anything, because he was a long-dead skeleton. These people were never heard from again.
--
Notes:
The war finally reaches Bratislava and the Slovak Army is utterly unprepared for it.
The single named Mongolia government called to me and had to make an appearance. I'm assuming the usual collection of errors and corpses but Mongolia is not a country rich in sources or last names so I've not checked in detail. Rosenberg was Soviet Ambassador to Spain and purged to death in 1938. Kollontay was a Soviet theorist and feminist who was made a diplomat to get her out of the country (because Stalin was not a fan of feminism) though she is at least alive at this point. She was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Mexican President, which is an excitingly named medal to get. Neither she nor Rosenberg ever had anything to do with Mongolia, obviously.
Yet she's a "Man of the People"... which seems about as close as one could get from Paradox, I'd imagine!
The end is near... but first, the paperwork needs to be filled out... What are we if we stop filling out the paperwork? Barbarians? Animals? No. We need to keep the bureaucracy running, it's the foundation of our very civilisation. Then, at least, Slovakia will go out as a 'civilised' nation.
- 1
I love how the Allies destroyed the painstakingly prepared Slovakian defense plan with one maneuver. Would be hilarious if, the two divisions having arrived in Slovakia just in time after racing across the continent, they weren't actually in time to defend Bratislava.
That is a suspiciously competent and sensible spy attempt. I think that is the only spy infiltration that has made sense this game.
Mongolia breaking new ground with an all-female intelligence leadership, as is natural.
That is a suspiciously competent and sensible spy attempt. I think that is the only spy infiltration that has made sense this game.
Mongolia breaking new ground with an all-female intelligence leadership, as is natural.
