Kriegsgefahr (Impending War) – Germany 1936 AAR – (SF HPP)

[Rensslaer]

Sorry! Overdue feedback again!

quick off-topic question: is there an AAR that I can read to decide whether to buy Vic or not? and if so, which version would the experts recommend?

okay, those where two questions

Misterbean, do you mean HOI 3 or Vicky? In either case, I'd recommend you look at the AARs that recieved votes in the recent AARLand Choice AwAARds. As for which version -- Vicky is soon to get a v1.3 patch, which should be good (unless you mean V1 or V2, in which case I'd recommend V2 unless you're looking for alot of historical accuracy). As for HOI 3 I'd recommend Semper Fi. I'm liking the HPP mod too.

It is entirely possible that Yugoslavia's Neutrality increased. For example, they could have gotten a random event or two.

As for the effect of cores on threat, switching to the new version would invalidate your save since that uses a completely new map. (Alright, not completely, but still.) On the other hand, I could easily provide you with a personal fix for that particular problem

Interesting. Actually, I've "resolved" the issue myself with a little modding. Thank you, though!

Clearly, you're planning for a war with the Soviet Union (I'm not saying you want to invade, but you're clearly preparing for the possibility of conflict with them). Given your tech-heavy, force-light buildup, when would you expect to be ready for such a conflict, if it comes your way?

Correct -- preparing, but not wishing for! I really have no idea when war might come. I need to emphasize that I'm using a "muddling through" approach -- there's no real "master plan" for going to war, especially since I don't know when it will come. I'm building as a man who expects war might come, but tempering my wishes for defenses with the knowledge that building too fast might bring the Allied powers in against me. I don't expect I'll be "ready" for war if/when it comes, but I will have prudently built enough forces that I can cobble together a reasonable defense. I'll take what comes, come what may. I have no doubt I'll be an underdog, but I'll be an underdog WITHOUT the Allies coming in the back door!

Lots of economic buildup, but what does your Wehrmacht look like? Could we get a screenshot next update?

Japan's doing unusually well in your game, although what I see in that 2nd to last screenshot is a good thing. I don't like how that war works in vanilla, where it's decided in the first year. I'd rather see a stalemate or very slow progress, like what you've shown.

Any luck getting Poland into your corner, or do they keep getting pushed away due to cores? If they keep getting pushed away, I can send you a hotfix to stop the problem, as the cores were added by a sub-mod I didn't thoroughly check . When the Soviets inevitably attack Poland, you'll either need to be allied with them or have them in the Axis in order for the supply system to work correctly. I have no clue when the Soviets will actually attack though, but the only time I've seen them do so was in 1942. They're scripted to attack Poland, but only when the AI thinks it's ready, so the timing can be pretty random.

I'll try to accomodate the request for an overview of the Wehrmacht in the next update. Shouldn't be too hard -- I'll just need to go back and re-load a save. I agree about China and Japan -- Japan should win gradually, if at all (of course, historically, they got bogged down, but that's not a foregone conclusion). Fast victory would not be realistic -- I like the pace shown in my game. Thanks for the offer of a hotfix. I'm going to "muddle through" this as well. I have a fix planned. I also have what I consider to be a relatively realistic and clever solution to the situation.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I -think- that projects left in the production queue for too long without IC allocated to them will start to depreciate. If that's the case it's not too exploit-y to leave "reserve" units in your production queue.

Welcome, EnDSchultz! You're correct -- there is a level of degradation that will occur. However, I've found it to be variable, and I think it has to do with the total expense and/or production time of the unit. The Graf Spee got degraded quite a bit, over time, but I have other units sitting almost ready to deploy and they're not degrading. I see it as an effect of reduced efficiency over time, not an overt degradation factor. All in all, it's not too exploitative, because it's been done in real life. There have been units started but not deployed -- you keep the men on a reserve status and keep the equipment together. NATO even tried this by predeploying equipment in Europe so they could fly rapid response troops in to pick up their equipment and go into battle.

what I really like about this, apart from your usual careful explanations as to what you're doing and why, is a feeling of tension. Combination of the HPP mod (that I keep on eyeing up but never actually use) & your unusual strategy leaves a really nice feeling of not knowing how its all going to work out ... unlike a typical German start up where the only differences are around particular force combinations and research priorities.

Thanks! Yes, I love that feeling of tension -- I get it while playing the game, too. I feel a sense of foreboding anytime I do anything that might increase the threat level, and I wonder every 24 hours as the game ticks by, "Is this the day the Soviets are going to do something aggressive?" And once they do something, there's always a fear of what might come next...

More feedback in a little while.

 

[unmerged(105596)]

Subscribing. An interesting approach to a German game.

I'm also currently playing a HPP Germany game, though my way of doing things has been a bit more... usual, to say the least.

 

[unmerged(158570)]

I've been following this AAR since the beginning and am finding it quite entertaining. A very interesting what if scenario had Bismarck's realpolitik dominated in this time.

 

[Rensslaer]

All right… It’s been requested that I supply an update on what the German military looks like at this point, and I was going to do that…

But to be honest, I looked at it, and with very few exceptions it looks exactly as the German military did at game start in 1936. The exceptions are some new artillery brigades that have been attached to my infantry divisions, and there are some mixed light tank and motorized divisions I’ve deployed. I’ve deployed some new air wings – light fighters (HPP’s version of interceptors) and light bombers (HPP’s version of close air support – Stukas). I also have several armored divisions and air wings in my “production reserve” – mostly built, but not deployed – but that’s it. Everything else is the same lean machine we had under Hitler.

I’ll update you on my changing military situation once it starts to change (which it will, later – I assure you! ).

Germany, as maybe you know, is speeding ahead with various technologies that will come in handy militarily, but which are also simply high-tech, theoretical stuff that high-powered intellectuals would have been interested in during times of peace. These include rockets and jet engines, nuclear power, computers (both mechanical and electronic), and general education, industry and agricultural techs. These help my economy, manpower, and research abilities.

As I mentioned before, HPP (the Historical Plausibility Project mod) uses game choices by the player/AI to drive “flag” changes (like setting a switch) that turn on or turn off certain paths of research. For instance, if I choose a doctrine that says tanks should be used for infantry support, then (just as in real life, as that’s how many militaries used their tanks – one or two per company, say) I wouldn’t be able to develop Blitzkrieg doctrines but I could develop special infantry support units with armor.

I continue to follow the paths I’d chosen early on – paths which are singularly suited to Germany’s inter-war strategies, set out in 1936 or 37 by Gen. Heinz Guderian in his book Achtung Panzer! The Armoured Breakthrough tech improves basically all the combat values for armored units (not light tanks) and allows better integration of the motorized forces. Spearhead HQs allows self-propelled artillery and HQ units the ability to slip quickly along behind the tanks, and also improves the flexibility of breakthrough offensives by reducing the Attack Delay. Those two techs, in turn, had been chosen by doctrine decisions I’d made earlier, and now I make two more, choosing this time the Combined Arms focus (to put my infantry at the disposal of the tanks, not the other way around) and Blitzkrieg focus. These doctrines are ahead of their time by about 4 years because of my levels of technology in this area.

Diplomatically, around this time, I’m pursuing several countries, but most particularly Poland (who is being uncooperative), Italy, Lithuania and Hungary. I could have brought Italy into the Axis long ago, but I didn’t want to as a snub for their aggressive war of conquest in Ethiopia (now years past). For a while (don’t know if this is a function of HPP or Semper Fi) they were no longer eligible for Axis membership, and so now they’re coming back again. Italy and Hungary are both held back from membership by their neutrality-to-threat values, which are constantly being drawn down toward that 25 threshold by my spies’ efforts to increase the USSR’s threat to its neighbors.

Lithuania, being a prime target of Soviet expansion plans, has already passed that threshold, and so all that keeps them away is their diplomatic alignment, which is almost in my sphere, just a few points away.

At this time, (note the British and French diplo information) the Allies are mostly concerned about Japanese expansionism, and Germany barely registers with basically .5 and 3.5 threat against the Allied powers, respectively.

One month later – mid-September to mid-October – I have successfully drawn Lithuania into our diplomatic corner, such that they are now eligible to join the Axis. However, I face a problem! For whatever reasons (and I’ve been in contact with the developers of HPP – particularly Slan – to figure out why this is, and they’re working on that), though Lithuania is eligible, it’s “impossible” for them to choose to actually join. This became a problem, over the next few months, with each of those eligible countries – they met the conditions, but just wouldn’t consider actually joining. It was quite frustrating.

At this time I stopped trying to Influence Lithuania and began to work on Sweden.

I’ve mentioned my “production reserve” frequently. Just to show you what’s “in the hopper” I have two regular infantry divisions almost ready (with artillery brigades to fortify them), and two motorized infantry divisions (with compositions as shown in the small popup graphic – two infantry brigades, armored cars and artillery). The artillery brigades would later be upgraded to motorized artillery, but at the time I created them that option wasn’t available.

As part of my slow but steady buildup in the face of threats, I choose to allow the 5th Panzer Division (two medium panzer brigades, plus self-propelled artillery support) to be deployed, which I place on the Polish border east of Berlin. The other SP brigade gets attached to one of those infantry divisions to replace the non-motorized artillery it was created with (which then goes to join another division further west).

I also deploy two new subrons – a submarine squadron. All these deployments are sure to concern the Allies, but they’re keeping it all in perspective. This is a function of the HPP mod – it lessens the effect of deploying individual army/navy/air units on Threat. Britain has now increased about .3 in its threat perception of Germany, and France the same amount.

This low threat-perception allows me to still trade with the Allied powers (I’m not sure to what degree this version of HOI 3 actually greenlights trades with diplomatic friends versus stopping trade with enemies, but I’m sure this is considered somewhat). I am fueling much of my stockpiling through trades with Britain, France, Canada, Australia, etc. – countries who I’m maintaining a good relationship with still in October, 1939, as contrasted with real history. I’m also trading with the USSR – they buy my supplies, which I’m trusting they won’t use against me too soon. Those supply purchases are paying for just about all of my stockpiling, so this is a need I still have.

But then they go and screw everything up!

On October 29th, we heard that Finland was mobilizing – they’d surely sensed something was up. A day later, Estonia also mobilized, being unsure if the buildup was for them or Finland. On November 1, the Soviets invaded Finland over longstanding border disputes. Europe was no longer peaceful!

Suddenly, the USSR’s Threat level increases, which pushes several countries into eligibility for Axis membership. Unfortunately there’s that bug (we’ve determined it was a bug, not some game function) that prevents me asking them to actually join me.

Just 10 days later, doom covers China, as Nationalist China falls, and Japanese troops also begin occupying the Guangxi Clique’s territory. They’re sure to follow quickly.

As I mentioned in a previous update, in HPP Japan uses a puppet government – Wang Jingwei’s Republic of China-Nanjing – to “hold” its Chinese mainland conquests (Mengjiang and Manchukuo still exist).

We’re already embargoing Japan, in retaliation for its aggressive nature. We now add the USSR to that list, and all of our trades with them come to a close. We have most of what we wanted from them, though, and our Money stockpiles have grown to what I consider very high levels, which will allow us to sustain continued stockpile building into the future.

From the screenshot, you can get an impression of how a level-10 Radar/Intel station in Lyck, East Prussia, can see into the heart of Byelorussia, and even into parts of the Ukraine. How long will those units on the Polish and Romanian borders remain idle, I wonder?

An Electronic Computing advance had increased my leadership capacity, and so my research is speeding ahead faster now. We’ve been focusing partly on air combat doctrines – interception, ground attack, installation attacks, etc. Our strategic rocket research allows us to work on flying bombs. Why would a peaceful country want to develop flying bombs? Because we realize that other countries are working on them too, and we need a deterrence capability. If the Soviets get them before we do….

I really like the HPP approach to infantry technologies. By researching man-portable anti-tank weapons (Panzerfaust, bazooka), we improve our Hard Attack for basically all of our units. We continue working on our Infiltration style (like Blitzkrieg, but with roots dating back to the Austro-Prussian War) of combat – this helps us provide artillery support for our rushes through breaches in the enemy lines. As you can see, much of our research is focused on those key industrial and high-tech fields.

We are working, relatively casually, on producing a modern navy, with submarines, cruisers and even a battlecruiser. No battleships yet – too big, too expensive, and would increase the threat faster. I’d also have to research battleship techs, and whereas I’m willing to research cruiser and battlecruiser techs, I can’t research everything naval when the navy isn’t really my focus. I want a force of ships that can slip out and raid convoys. If we wait until we know we’re going to war with the Allies, then we’ll never have them built in time. This is an “in case” construction program.

By the end of 1939, the Soviets have made no moves against the Finns. The Finns rushed forward and started raising havoc in the north. I think the Soviets are just bringing forces in so they can do the invasion right (probably a theater HQ stance issue). I expect action soon.

In the East, the Japanese have wrapped up almost the entire Chinese war by the end of the year. They invaded in August 1937, so this took a little over two years. Nationalist China is dead, Guangxi has just fallen, Communist China has just fallen… All that remains is Xibei San Ma, which will take a while longer still. The war is essentially over, though.

The East has quieted. The North remains uncertain – the Soviets will surely act, but when? This at least gives us time to plan, prepare, and consider. They won’t be knocking the dominoes down in quick succession and then coming for Berlin. We have a little time to prepare. The 4th Panzer is building. We set other units – tanks and air – into production. We aim to be ready when or if they come.

 

[Enewald]

Best time of the day to update?
The mod is full of bugs apparently?

 

[Slan]

Just to clear this up: it is a feature that nations won't automatically join a faction when they can. The game starts with the Allies holding half of the World, while Germany is a second rate power at best. You did very little to show your potential allies that you are worth joining... Unless you get a better Faction Progress, they won't really consider joining you, unless they are already at war (which was the case in China, so they would join had you asked them). This was implemented to avoid new countries join the Axis when they were getting seriously beaten. In a normal scenario where Germany annexes two neighbours before even starting the war, this is not a problem, but in your case, they simply don't trust you to be able to stand up for them.

 

[Rensslaer]

Best time of the day to update?
The mod is full of bugs apparently?

No, just niggling things, mostly. It's actually pretty good.

 

[Rensslaer]

Just to clear this up: it is a feature that nations won't automatically join a faction when they can. The game starts with the Allies holding half of the World, while Germany is a second rate power at best. You did very little to show your potential allies that you are worth joining... Unless you get a better Faction Progress, they won't really consider joining you, unless they are already at war (which was the case in China, so they would join had you asked them). This was implemented to avoid new countries join the Axis when they were getting seriously beaten. In a normal scenario where Germany annexes two neighbours before even starting the war, this is not a problem, but in your case, they simply don't trust you to be able to stand up for them.

I've tested it pretty extensively -- it's more than just this. I don't want to spoil things by explaining just yet, but countries that are at war and otherwise eligible still show "impossible" and even once I became considerably stronger, they wouldn't join. It's a bug of some sort, though I don't know exactly what causes it.

 

[Slan]

Then I stand corrected. Strange...

 

[misterbean]

the world goes crazy and Germany is researching coal efficiency techs

 

[Tallfellow]

I've had the same problem in vanilla HoI3 and SF. So i don't think the mod has anything to do with it actually.

 

[SSmith]

This scenario is shaping up very nicely indeed. I like the way you are playing your hand as a rational and responsible European country. Maintaining good relations with Britain and France should I think be entirely possible with this approach (and so far so good ). It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Soviet Union becomes and whether Italy or Japan take any aggressive steps. I imagine Japan will at least move on to finish off the Yunnan Clique.

I really hope you get to the bottom of the issue with countries joining factions. It is very frustrating to meet the conditions for inviting a country and then to be told it is 'impossible' - and without any explanation!

 

[FedGuard]

This is an interesting approach to say the least.

I wouldn't worry about Japan too much since they will have their hands full once Pearl happens. But I am looking forward to seeing how the polemic Russia-Germany-Allies will play out.

About the "impossible" thing, I seemed to encounter it a few times too with HPP (same with trade, when a country desperately needs something, has surplus money but if you propose trade it is impossible). I just shake my head, accept it as weird and adapt.
Bugs happen, right?

Anyways, nice AAR, subscribed!

 

[Slan]

Just thought of another thing: Threat will adversly effect the acceptance chance of your neighbours if you can't back it up by military force! Although it only starts to be felt when you reach 25 points. But once you reach 75, they will become much more eager to please you, if you are clearly stronger!

 

[Stuyvesant]

It is interesting to see how the world is slowly being wrenched away from the historical path. You're still at peace, while Japan and the USSR are warring with their respective neighbors. I wonder if their threat will get high enough soon enough that France and Britain will aim their wrath at those countries, or if the Soviets will come knocking in your back yard and invade Poland first. If the Allies go to war first, you'll have an enviable position where you get to pick your side... But from previous comments, it sounds like you'll come to blows with Mother Russia over Poland first.

 

[Nikolai]

hehe, this is original. I like.

 

[Dewirix]

What would happen if you got dragged into a war with Russia in the next six months or so? As you've used a lot of the build-up time to increase your economic rather than military capacity is there a risk you'd get squashed by Soviets before you had a chance to get into war-fighting mode?

If you did win the war with Russia would that mean you could annex the USSR without the allies seeming to mind too much?

 

[Rensslaer]

Okay... Continuing my long-overdue feedback!

From an in-world perspective, building, but not deploying units should certainly carry a much-reduced threat impact. It's not much of an immediate threat because you'd have to deploy them and wait for them to organise before you can do anything.

The fact that Poland's started to mobilise in fear of Soviet intentions should also leave you with slightly more breathing space when it comes to international doubt as to your intentions.

I have to say that from your production schedule it certainly looks like you're not planning on a shooting war in the next year or two. You must have a fairly high construction practical by now though.

Yes. I don't think the AI considers the threat felt by others -- like UK won't care if Poland mobilizes (they probably should, but I don't think the AI is that sophisticated). But one thing to consider is this makes Poland more resilient, and so I'm not quite as concerned about the Soviets blowing through them and being in our back yard suddenly. You're right, I'm not planning on a shooting war right away. You posted this before my update about the Soviet invasion of Finland, but so long as they're busy there, and so long as there's no border between Germany and Russia, I'm not all that worried. Not yet. War is in the future, perhaps, but it's not yet on our doorstep.

The Soviets will attack you sooner or later, so preparing your defences is a good strategy. And when they attack and Poland is NOT in the Axis, then you should manually add it in.

I quickly got annoyed by forces in East Prussia being out-of-supply, lack of control over infra/airbases buildup, Polish embargo (which doesn't make sense in that context) and all that Soviet territory in Polish control (you don't have control over occupation policies, either). Moreover, sometimes retreating is impossible because Polish territory is considered to be "foreign". It can be extremely annoying.

Yes, the supply situation can get annoying. I saw how you modded Poland in your game to allow supply. For now, I've built transports enough to keep supply going (not that that one convoy takes alot, but just in case), and also to support my foreign trade. I'll have enough transports to keep trade going even in the face of war, I hope. I've built escorts too. But you're right -- something is going to have to be done once war starts (if war starts).

Hmmm, i'm looking forward to seeing what happens if the USSR attacks Poland, if the Allies will attack, or just sit back and at watch it happen.

Indeed! I wondered for a long time about Poland and the USSR and how the interplay might work. And there's always the question of what the Allies would do... Actually, the whole question is so fascinating -- I've long wondered how this might have played out in real life, and I've long wondered how either HOI 2 or HOI 3 would respond (I tried it in HOI 2, but was always forced into war -- HOI 3 is more flexible).

Subscribing. An interesting approach to a German game.

I'm also currently playing a HPP Germany game, though my way of doing things has been a bit more... usual, to say the least.

Thanks! Welcome, Velko! Yes, most Germany games are. Actually, I'd love to try a traditional Germany game with HPP too.

I've been following this AAR since the beginning and am finding it quite entertaining. A very interesting what if scenario had Bismarck's realpolitik dominated in this time.

Thanks, Plitchie! Welcome to the comments board! Always good to know who's reading, even if you've not commented before. In many ways, Hitler was an anomaly in European politics, just because he didn't think in the same terms as those before him had (WW I was an accident borne out by the Bismarckian system which should have prevented it, and would have except for weird freak circumstances -- I've seen it argued that WW II was brought about by similar freak circumstances). Anyway... Off on a tangent. It's fun to try!

the world goes crazy and Germany is researching coal efficiency techs

Yes, well.... Actually, those coal efficiency techs could be one of the most important military-supportive things we can be researching! My stockpiling strategy is so central to my whole geopolitical strategy that I consider it ultra important. Germany produces enough energy internally that it's a worthwhile research track to make it self-sustainable in that way (not during war, but during peace, and it's certainly helpful during war). Anyway... It's hard for me to do anything but build the economy without increasing Threat, which I don't want to do. It will play out in the end -- I hope!

I've had the same problem in vanilla HoI3 and SF. So i don't think the mod has anything to do with it actually.

Good to know! I was wondering about that -- whether it might be a residual HOI/SF issue, and not something related to the mod. It's probably hard to bugcheck that because this is such a non-traditional approach not a whole lot of people try it.

This scenario is shaping up very nicely indeed. I like the way you are playing your hand as a rational and responsible European country. Maintaining good relations with Britain and France should I think be entirely possible with this approach (and so far so good ). It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Soviet Union becomes and whether Italy or Japan take any aggressive steps. I imagine Japan will at least move on to finish off the Yunnan Clique.

I really hope you get to the bottom of the issue with countries joining factions. It is very frustrating to meet the conditions for inviting a country and then to be told it is 'impossible' - and without any explanation!

Thanks, SSmith! I suspect the AI of the other aggressive powers responds to and feeds off the aggressive moves of other countries, and so it's a little slower than it might otherwise be. That may not always be the case, though. We'll see. I've got a roundabout fix for the issues to make it realistic.

This is an interesting approach to say the least.

I wouldn't worry about Japan too much since they will have their hands full once Pearl happens. But I am looking forward to seeing how the polemic Russia-Germany-Allies will play out.

About the "impossible" thing, I seemed to encounter it a few times too with HPP (same with trade, when a country desperately needs something, has surplus money but if you propose trade it is impossible). I just shake my head, accept it as weird and adapt.
Bugs happen, right?

Anyways, nice AAR, subscribed!

Thanks, FedGuard! Welcome! I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out too. Alot of triggers out there, but not all of them need to be pulled. Interesting to see which ones are and aren't controlled by those others. I've been encountering odd issues with unwillingness to trade, too, but I'm not sure that's isolated to HPP either -- I've seen that with HOI 3 also. There are also perhaps reasons why other countries might not want to trade -- for instance, I turn down trades alot, because I'm building up a wartime stockpile.

Just thought of another thing: Threat will adversly effect the acceptance chance of your neighbours if you can't back it up by military force! Although it only starts to be felt when you reach 25 points. But once you reach 75, they will become much more eager to please you, if you are clearly stronger!

This makes more sense, though I'm 90% sure I have an example that indicates even the 75 point differential doesn't overcome the bug. As Tallfellow said, I think this may be a residual bug in HOI 3, and not necessarily something related to HPP.

It is interesting to see how the world is slowly being wrenched away from the historical path. You're still at peace, while Japan and the USSR are warring with their respective neighbors. I wonder if their threat will get high enough soon enough that France and Britain will aim their wrath at those countries, or if the Soviets will come knocking in your back yard and invade Poland first. If the Allies go to war first, you'll have an enviable position where you get to pick your side... But from previous comments, it sounds like you'll come to blows with Mother Russia over Poland first.

I am certainly hoping that Britain and France will turn their skeptical eyes toward the USSR or Japan, and not at me any longer! If Poland gets invaded, that's going to change things alot! And I presume that will draw the Allies in (and me). But that's only if. Sometimes my expectation of war confounds my "hope" not to go to war, and I start looking at things as if war is inevitable even when it might not be. So.... You're positing that the USSR might get into war with Britain and France.... And that I might then choose to attack the Allies rather than the USSR? Wow -- to be perfectly honest I hadn't even considered that possibility, but it's definitely something to consider!

hehe, this is original. I like.

Thanks! Welcome, Nikolai! Original it is! I think you'll appreciate some of my comments about a certain "agent" in the HPP mod too, which you'll see later. Quite funny, all in all.

What would happen if you got dragged into a war with Russia in the next six months or so? As you've used a lot of the build-up time to increase your economic rather than military capacity is there a risk you'd get squashed by Soviets before you had a chance to get into war-fighting mode?

If you did win the war with Russia would that mean you could annex the USSR without the allies seeming to mind too much?

Well, here's my thought on that -- good question! Because I've been building my economic strength, I'm also increasing my potential to build ALOT of things rapidly. If I'm really on the rocks, then Infantry becomes as important as armor, and Infantry can be built in 90 days or so. I've got Poland between me and them, and so it's my expectation that they would take a little while -- 45-60 days -- munching through Poland while I prepare my defenses, Mobilize and reinforce my army, and otherwise get ready for the wave to hit. I have enough forces, I think, that I can hold the Soviets off capably for a little while in a slow retreat. All these things together will -- hopefully -- mean that I'll have time to get my new troops built in time to make a difference.

I've got other AARs to update, so it may still be a while before I come back around to this one. But there's a slight chance I'll get to it this weekend. If not, by mid-week for sure.

Thanks for reading this! I wasn't sure how popular it would be, since it doesn't quite "jump into the action"! But I appreciate your readership, and especially your comments! Anyone else watching who hasn't said hello yet?

Rensslaer

 

[unmerged(53911)]

Picking up on the theme of the last feedback note: I don't expect the AI to be clever in its strategy or tactics. If the USSR were to declare war against Germany it would likely attempt to plow through Poland - only. I don't think Renns would have to worry about any amphibious or paratroop landings. I think there would be more than enough time to mobilize and then go on the offensive.

 

[Slan]

Picking up on the theme of the last feedback note: I don't expect the AI to be clever in its strategy or tactics. If the USSR were to declare war against Germany it would likely attempt to plow through Poland - only. I don't think Renns would have to worry about any amphibious or paratroop landings. I think there would be more than enough time to mobilize and then go on the offensive.

Amphibious landings no, because the Soviets won't build enough transports (although they do start with some). But don't be so sure about Paratroopers. The Soviets start the game with the Paratrooper tech researched (they started their experiments in the early '30s) and they also start with some Transport Planes already. (Or at least I think the rework of the air OOBs is already done in that version.) And if the AI has the resources, it will use it. Did you ever left your capital empty and in range of enemy Transport Planes?