General comments:
I did not win using intelligent battlefield tactics, great diplomacy, or brilliant tech decisions. In fact, my performance in all of these areas was mediocre at best; I'll point out some of my errors below.
This is a quartermaster's mod: he who runs the most efficient economy and military will, all other things being equal, win the war. This mod makes life very difficult for those who don't pay attention to supply and oil costs; this crippled the AI (as I will describe in more detail) throughout the game.
--------------
UG = UGROFAZ
GHQ = general headquarters
-------------
January, 1936:
Germany disbands the entire fleet and army. This makes a major difference; maintainance cost of these forces would otherwise have used up more than 24 IC per day.
Truly, this was an easy thing to agree to...
Turning her attention to the world market, Germany sets up 1 to 1 trades for rubber and, as coal resources permitted, for oil. Between 1-1-36 and about 2-20-36, Germany builds up a stockpile of more than 30K rubber this way.
Because it's unkosher to build or research anything until the UG penalties kick in, Germany initially does nothing but make supplies. Doing this in the short period before the National Socialist penalty hits does not make any great difference.
After the penalties hit, Germany switches to tech investment. As soon as she gets Great War Analysis, she prioritizes Combat Unit Transport Procedure. Next comes Basic Electromechanical Computers; it makes a significant difference to tech costs and times.
Throughout 1936, Germany builds land fortresses along the French border, coastal defences in Hamburg, and AA guns in other provinces. While this severely reduces IC, it saves resources for later when Germany will be at war and have less need to spend on social.
In a move that will have grave import later, Germany chooses not to control the militaries of her future allies and puppet states. This closes off a great many possibilities...
February, 1936:
In late February, rubber begins to be actively demanded on the world market. Judging her moment carefully, Germany places 3-to-1 bids for rubber (about 160 units worth), and retains these bids for several years. This gives her a high priority; she will not run out of rubber. Unfortunately, it also means a shortage of spare coal to trade for oil.
Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War:
Germany chooses not to give Franco aid initially. In this mod, this apparently means a difference of 12 to US war entry! However, she gives a positive response to all the other questions, and sends both advisors and pilots to Nationalist Spain.
Mid-summer, 1936:
Germany discovers Basic Electromechanical Computers, and starts researching infantry and artillery theory; applications will come later. She also prioritizes electronic and industrial theory. Armour technology is neglected.
Germany discovers Combat Unit Transport Procedure; she then starts construction of four transports.
January, 1937:
1600 coal, 53K steel, 44K rubber, 52K oil, 48K supplies, 7.3 manpower/month, 264 base IC.
Germany immediately installs Schulenberg as the foreign minister, with instructions to initiate a massive tech sharing program with Japan and Italy. Wirmer joins him in the armament minister position and sets to work mobilizing men.
Germany accepts expansion of the army and gets 12 inf-E. Along with the four transports she's just built, Germany now has a workable expeditionary force.
February, 1937:
Intervention in Spain. Because of German lack of numbers and modern weapons, the war drags on for a year and a half. A number of leaders get a rank increase or point of skill; Guderian and Manstein are now Field Marshalls.
But more important than any contribution of Manstein or Guderian, or indeed Rommel or Hausser, are the unheralded efforts of Behlendorff and Kleinheisterkamp. These are the only engineer leaders Germany has; whenever German troops cross rivers, they'll take command. Another young Turk, trickster Straube, also makes his mark in Spain; he too will contribute in the greatest of future battles.
Remainder of 1937:
As German forces win laurels in Spain, German scientists give the Reich the infantry, artillery, industrial, and electronic know-how it needs to survive.
Because of relative lack of effectiveness and extreme expense of armour and tactical air, Germany puts very little effort into researching either. Throughout the game, she builds not a single tank, and not a single tactical airplane.
May, 1937:
Guderian writes a book and gets a panzer divsion. Happy in his new command, he has just settled down to plan innovative field exercises when a telegram arrives from GHQ:
"This division is hereby dissolved. Accountants will arrive shortly to sell off all these worthless tanks."
Middle 1937:
Germany starts production of a massive fighter force, in excess of 20 squadrons. All the machines built are of pre-war design. To the questions raised by anxious soldiers who ask why Germany is spending so much on obsolesent wargear, the following answer is given:
"It is cheaper - much cheaper - to build pre-war planes and then ungrade them than it is to build the latest models from scratch."
September, 1937:
Rommel writes a book and gets a panzer divsion. He doesn't even bother to buy a new uniform, because, sure as God made little green apples, he knows a telegram will arrive, and that it will say:
"This division is hereby dissolved. Accountants will arrive shortly to sell off all these worthless tanks."
January 1938:
1600 coal, 89K steel, 54K rubber, 55K oil, 86K supplies, 7.3 manpower/month, 281 base IC.
German technicians unveil an amazing plan to boost submarine technology and rapidly build some of the best underwater craft in the world. To their great disappointment, and to Germany's lasting disadvantage, the bean-counters in high command squeal at the cost and terminate the entire project. It is rumoured that a “Russia first” attitude was, perhaps, taken a little far.
o
June, 1938:
The Spanish Civil War is over; Republican Spain is no more.
The German high command has a question to answer: return the victorious troops to Germany, or send them forth on other campaigns, perhaps even to China? The China option is tempting, but in the end it is rejected; Germany needs every man and every ship for war in Europe. So it is agreed; return the troops to Germany.
Or not. Quartermaster-General LM+ steps in and says "Disband them all. And send the transports on convoy duty". And this is done!
January, 1939:
16K coal, 99K steel, 58K rubber, 98K oil, 94K supplies, 9.3 manpower/month, approximately 340 base IC.
Germany prepares for war. She rapidly builds up infantry and motorized divisions. For some strange reason, despite the urgent need for IC, she continues to improve her provinces; some crazy guy has issued orders to improve infrastructure in various places, apparently in an effort to conserve rubber...o
March, 1939:
Germany honors the Munich Agreement. Great Britain and France, reassured of her peaceful intentions, decide not to offer Poland an alliance and not to fight Germany. Nothing the Reich does later will make them change their mind ... until they themselves are attacked.
Germany incorporates lessons learned from the Spanish Civil War, gaining the tech "Early War Experience Analysis".
March 23rd, 1939:
Germany declares war on Poland. With 60 infantry, 20 motorized, and 1 paratrooper division, she is outnumbered by Poland's 89 division-strong army, including 6 tank formations. Poland has better leaders, better planes, and fortresses to rest secure in. However, Germany has a substantial infantry-artillery tech advantage and the initiative. With her combat units costing her 262 supplies per turn the Reich is under pressure to end this war quickly.
Soviet diplomats demand a piece of the action, and so Germany signs the Limited Pact, agreeing only to divide up Poland.
Poland kicks butt in the air, but cannot find an answer to massed German landsers. The war lasts exactly two months, costs Germany a total of 50 manpower in combat, and ends with Germany in control of Poland and at peace.
Nothing remarkable here. Everyone's conquered Poland.
May, 1939:
The event "Polish Occupation" kicks in. 200 manpower gone. This sobers up the German high command considerably; they vow not to annex or occupy any more small nations in Europe until they are sure they can spare the men.
On the plus side, this event does grant one tremendous gift: the tech "Early War Combat Testing". Germany immediately prioritizes the tech "Motorized Logistics Organization", arguably the most important in the game.
War in the West?
With success in Poland, the German leadership debates the merits of war against the Allies. Those favoring war argue that victory in France will make the Reich very much stronger for a war with Russia, and enable the total mobilization of men and industry for victory. Failure to declare war means loss of IC and resources by conquest, an uncertain western border, and continued high social spending.
To this, Quartermaster-General LM+ gives the following response:
"We can win in France if we fight now. But the war will not end in France. It will go on, go on because we currently lack the strength to defeat any other hostile great Power. We lack the supply efficiency, the manpower, and the resources required to fight and win a long war.
Maintainence. Every plain infantry division we field costs us 2/3rds of an IC to maintain. How many divisions do you think will be necessary to defeat all our enemies? The maintainence costs would eat us alive, leaving little to build new formations or keep up in technology.
Manpower. Taking our army and our reserves together, we have just over 2000 manpower. This sounds like a lot. While it is indeed more than enough to conquer France, it is just barely enough to fight the Soviet Union. We cannot spare a man! When the day of reckoning comes with the Bolsheviks, we will need them all!
Resources. Every day, our factories require rubber and anything with engines consume oil. We produce no rubber and essentially no oil, and find it extremely difficult to convert coal. In war, trading is very nearly out of the question. You either have the stocks when the war starts, capture enough to keep going, or starve. Declare war on the Allies now, and I calculate that we will face economic collapse late in 1942. If we take Paris. Otherwise we will not last past 1941."
And so it is decided: disband the army for the third time.
June, 1939:
With the addition of Austria, the Sudetenland, and Poland, Germany has a base IC of nearly 400. However, running her factories full tilt would mean no spare resources to build up rubber and oil reserves. Therefore, Germany deliberately "cools down" her production from this point on, aiming at a sustainable value of about 350 IC.
Resource managers in the Reich have come up with a innovative plan to maximize available resources by the outbreak of war. Because it is so expensive to trade for rubber, and because oil will soon be able to be converted into rubber quite effectively, Germany deliberately puts bids in for substantially less rubber than she needs, and buys oil instead.
But what happens when oil is maxxed out? Store it in tiny foreign nations. When you need the resources, just go pillage.
Because of lack of experience, Germany will make many mistakes. She will choose nations that consume much of the oil before the conquest, attack others too early and lose all the excess, and will be constantly worrying about some other great Power getting to the warehouses first. But in the end this plan will work wonders. After-action calculation indicates that it delayed economic collapse for about a year.
January, 1940:
98K coal, 99K steel, 44K rubber, 97K oil, 92K supplies, 9.3 manpower/month, approximately 400 base IC.
Germany focuses on research and development, with key techs being those that reduce infantry supply cost and infrared scopes. Because of a series of embarrassing mix-ups, fighter research is greatly delayed.o
Germany's armed forces cost her 2.4 supplies per day. Haitian diplomats scoff, noting that they outnumber the Germans 2 to 1.
October, 1940:
To: Quartermasters and Supply clerks of the Reich
From: Quartermaster-General LM+
"Heros of supply, I salute you! Your magnificent efforts towards greater cost-effectiveness have borne the ultimate fruit, an infantry unit that uses no supplies at all!"
"On this day of rejoicing, it pains me to bring up any unhappy note, but needs must: You're all fired."
Gentle reader, you're looking at the secret of victory.
German landsers! They're cheap to build, cost nothing to maintain, fight well and long, and eventually will cost only 7 manpower per division!
October 22, 1940:
Italy invades Greece. Although she expects a short war and easy conquest, this turns out to be the start of a long and terrible conflict, and bring Italy herself to the brink of destruction. For the United Kingdom steps in to protect Greece, France and the Commonwealth join in, and October ends with the whole of the Allies at war with Mussolini.
November, 1940:
Germany intervenes. Not with an open declaration of war, but with covert assistance and rush-built expeditionary forces. British spies send home a brilliant report on a highly suspicious dislike of pasta in certain Italian units, but this apparently makes no impression on Whitehall.
January, 1941:
99K coal, 97K steel, 18K rubber, 99K oil, 77K supplies, 9.8 manpower/month, approximately 400 base IC.
The massive German investment in research is slowly begining to pay off. With infantry techs mostly discovered, and the remaining artillery techs deemed to not be cost-effective, the focus of research has switched to computers, improved interceptors, and land doctrines.
Throughout 1941, Germany remains at peace, concentrating on only three things:
1. Gathering rubber and oil. This has been made much easier by the fact that the Allies are at war.
2. Technological research.
3. Leadership training in Italy.
January, 1942:
4K coal, 95K steel, 71K rubber, 96K oil, 93K supplies, 9.8 manpower/month, approximately 500 base IC.
Germany is anxiously awaiting news from the East. Rumblings of Russian tanks can be heard, and it is anyone's guess as to how long the peace will hold.
War now would come at a most inconvenient time; not only does Germany still have pre-war fighters, she doesn't even have the tech to replace them. Angry shouting can be heard as Hitler and Quartermaster-General LM+ argue over whose fault it was that Germany didn't prioritize fighters earlier.o
The army is also a little thin. Actually, it is a lot thin. With all forces withdrawn from Italy, it amounts to 39 divisions, the 20th largest land force in the world. One particularly unhappy note was raised at a recent staff meeting: The Russians have more tank divisions than the Germans have divisions, period!
But not everyone in Germany is red-faced. Local commanders in Poland have worked hard to build fortresses and antiaircraft guns along the border. Economists proudly declare that German investment in industrial and computer technology has greatly boosted her maximum production, and intelligent buying on the world market has yielded massive stocks of rubber and oil. It is estimated that Germany has gotten her hands on, and stashed away, a quarter million units of oil.
Report on (what will eventually be) the Axis:
Italy is losing her war. Virtually everything overseas is gone, and Naples is currently under British occupation. It sometimes seems to her exasperated German friends that Italy is plotting surrender-by-stupidity; she is forever shifting her troops (including German expeditionary forces), leaving holes for the Allies to exploit. During the course of this war, Italy will lose Rome at least twice, Taranto four times, Naples four times. Native errors, overwhelming enemies, and the withdrawal of almost all German support to the eastern front means that Mussolini is in grave danger.
You idiots! How about guarding some province OTHER than Genoa?!
Japan is doing moderately well. German technological support has been so energetic that Japan has hardly had to research a theory or doctrine since 1936, and she owns almost half of China.
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More of this AAR will appear in a few days.
I did not win using intelligent battlefield tactics, great diplomacy, or brilliant tech decisions. In fact, my performance in all of these areas was mediocre at best; I'll point out some of my errors below.
This is a quartermaster's mod: he who runs the most efficient economy and military will, all other things being equal, win the war. This mod makes life very difficult for those who don't pay attention to supply and oil costs; this crippled the AI (as I will describe in more detail) throughout the game.
--------------
UG = UGROFAZ
GHQ = general headquarters
-------------
January, 1936:
Germany disbands the entire fleet and army. This makes a major difference; maintainance cost of these forces would otherwise have used up more than 24 IC per day.
Truly, this was an easy thing to agree to...
Turning her attention to the world market, Germany sets up 1 to 1 trades for rubber and, as coal resources permitted, for oil. Between 1-1-36 and about 2-20-36, Germany builds up a stockpile of more than 30K rubber this way.
Because it's unkosher to build or research anything until the UG penalties kick in, Germany initially does nothing but make supplies. Doing this in the short period before the National Socialist penalty hits does not make any great difference.
After the penalties hit, Germany switches to tech investment. As soon as she gets Great War Analysis, she prioritizes Combat Unit Transport Procedure. Next comes Basic Electromechanical Computers; it makes a significant difference to tech costs and times.
Throughout 1936, Germany builds land fortresses along the French border, coastal defences in Hamburg, and AA guns in other provinces. While this severely reduces IC, it saves resources for later when Germany will be at war and have less need to spend on social.
In a move that will have grave import later, Germany chooses not to control the militaries of her future allies and puppet states. This closes off a great many possibilities...
February, 1936:
In late February, rubber begins to be actively demanded on the world market. Judging her moment carefully, Germany places 3-to-1 bids for rubber (about 160 units worth), and retains these bids for several years. This gives her a high priority; she will not run out of rubber. Unfortunately, it also means a shortage of spare coal to trade for oil.
Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War:
Germany chooses not to give Franco aid initially. In this mod, this apparently means a difference of 12 to US war entry! However, she gives a positive response to all the other questions, and sends both advisors and pilots to Nationalist Spain.
Mid-summer, 1936:
Germany discovers Basic Electromechanical Computers, and starts researching infantry and artillery theory; applications will come later. She also prioritizes electronic and industrial theory. Armour technology is neglected.
Germany discovers Combat Unit Transport Procedure; she then starts construction of four transports.
January, 1937:
1600 coal, 53K steel, 44K rubber, 52K oil, 48K supplies, 7.3 manpower/month, 264 base IC.
Germany immediately installs Schulenberg as the foreign minister, with instructions to initiate a massive tech sharing program with Japan and Italy. Wirmer joins him in the armament minister position and sets to work mobilizing men.
Germany accepts expansion of the army and gets 12 inf-E. Along with the four transports she's just built, Germany now has a workable expeditionary force.
February, 1937:
Intervention in Spain. Because of German lack of numbers and modern weapons, the war drags on for a year and a half. A number of leaders get a rank increase or point of skill; Guderian and Manstein are now Field Marshalls.
But more important than any contribution of Manstein or Guderian, or indeed Rommel or Hausser, are the unheralded efforts of Behlendorff and Kleinheisterkamp. These are the only engineer leaders Germany has; whenever German troops cross rivers, they'll take command. Another young Turk, trickster Straube, also makes his mark in Spain; he too will contribute in the greatest of future battles.
Remainder of 1937:
As German forces win laurels in Spain, German scientists give the Reich the infantry, artillery, industrial, and electronic know-how it needs to survive.
Because of relative lack of effectiveness and extreme expense of armour and tactical air, Germany puts very little effort into researching either. Throughout the game, she builds not a single tank, and not a single tactical airplane.
May, 1937:
Guderian writes a book and gets a panzer divsion. Happy in his new command, he has just settled down to plan innovative field exercises when a telegram arrives from GHQ:
"This division is hereby dissolved. Accountants will arrive shortly to sell off all these worthless tanks."
Middle 1937:
Germany starts production of a massive fighter force, in excess of 20 squadrons. All the machines built are of pre-war design. To the questions raised by anxious soldiers who ask why Germany is spending so much on obsolesent wargear, the following answer is given:
"It is cheaper - much cheaper - to build pre-war planes and then ungrade them than it is to build the latest models from scratch."
September, 1937:
Rommel writes a book and gets a panzer divsion. He doesn't even bother to buy a new uniform, because, sure as God made little green apples, he knows a telegram will arrive, and that it will say:
"This division is hereby dissolved. Accountants will arrive shortly to sell off all these worthless tanks."
January 1938:
1600 coal, 89K steel, 54K rubber, 55K oil, 86K supplies, 7.3 manpower/month, 281 base IC.
German technicians unveil an amazing plan to boost submarine technology and rapidly build some of the best underwater craft in the world. To their great disappointment, and to Germany's lasting disadvantage, the bean-counters in high command squeal at the cost and terminate the entire project. It is rumoured that a “Russia first” attitude was, perhaps, taken a little far.
o June, 1938:
The Spanish Civil War is over; Republican Spain is no more.
The German high command has a question to answer: return the victorious troops to Germany, or send them forth on other campaigns, perhaps even to China? The China option is tempting, but in the end it is rejected; Germany needs every man and every ship for war in Europe. So it is agreed; return the troops to Germany.
Or not. Quartermaster-General LM+ steps in and says "Disband them all. And send the transports on convoy duty". And this is done!
January, 1939:
16K coal, 99K steel, 58K rubber, 98K oil, 94K supplies, 9.3 manpower/month, approximately 340 base IC.
Germany prepares for war. She rapidly builds up infantry and motorized divisions. For some strange reason, despite the urgent need for IC, she continues to improve her provinces; some crazy guy has issued orders to improve infrastructure in various places, apparently in an effort to conserve rubber...
oMarch, 1939:
Germany honors the Munich Agreement. Great Britain and France, reassured of her peaceful intentions, decide not to offer Poland an alliance and not to fight Germany. Nothing the Reich does later will make them change their mind ... until they themselves are attacked.
Germany incorporates lessons learned from the Spanish Civil War, gaining the tech "Early War Experience Analysis".
March 23rd, 1939:
Germany declares war on Poland. With 60 infantry, 20 motorized, and 1 paratrooper division, she is outnumbered by Poland's 89 division-strong army, including 6 tank formations. Poland has better leaders, better planes, and fortresses to rest secure in. However, Germany has a substantial infantry-artillery tech advantage and the initiative. With her combat units costing her 262 supplies per turn the Reich is under pressure to end this war quickly.
Soviet diplomats demand a piece of the action, and so Germany signs the Limited Pact, agreeing only to divide up Poland.
Poland kicks butt in the air, but cannot find an answer to massed German landsers. The war lasts exactly two months, costs Germany a total of 50 manpower in combat, and ends with Germany in control of Poland and at peace.
Nothing remarkable here. Everyone's conquered Poland.
May, 1939:
The event "Polish Occupation" kicks in. 200 manpower gone. This sobers up the German high command considerably; they vow not to annex or occupy any more small nations in Europe until they are sure they can spare the men.
On the plus side, this event does grant one tremendous gift: the tech "Early War Combat Testing". Germany immediately prioritizes the tech "Motorized Logistics Organization", arguably the most important in the game.
War in the West?
With success in Poland, the German leadership debates the merits of war against the Allies. Those favoring war argue that victory in France will make the Reich very much stronger for a war with Russia, and enable the total mobilization of men and industry for victory. Failure to declare war means loss of IC and resources by conquest, an uncertain western border, and continued high social spending.
To this, Quartermaster-General LM+ gives the following response:
"We can win in France if we fight now. But the war will not end in France. It will go on, go on because we currently lack the strength to defeat any other hostile great Power. We lack the supply efficiency, the manpower, and the resources required to fight and win a long war.
Maintainence. Every plain infantry division we field costs us 2/3rds of an IC to maintain. How many divisions do you think will be necessary to defeat all our enemies? The maintainence costs would eat us alive, leaving little to build new formations or keep up in technology.
Manpower. Taking our army and our reserves together, we have just over 2000 manpower. This sounds like a lot. While it is indeed more than enough to conquer France, it is just barely enough to fight the Soviet Union. We cannot spare a man! When the day of reckoning comes with the Bolsheviks, we will need them all!
Resources. Every day, our factories require rubber and anything with engines consume oil. We produce no rubber and essentially no oil, and find it extremely difficult to convert coal. In war, trading is very nearly out of the question. You either have the stocks when the war starts, capture enough to keep going, or starve. Declare war on the Allies now, and I calculate that we will face economic collapse late in 1942. If we take Paris. Otherwise we will not last past 1941."
And so it is decided: disband the army for the third time.
June, 1939:
With the addition of Austria, the Sudetenland, and Poland, Germany has a base IC of nearly 400. However, running her factories full tilt would mean no spare resources to build up rubber and oil reserves. Therefore, Germany deliberately "cools down" her production from this point on, aiming at a sustainable value of about 350 IC.
Resource managers in the Reich have come up with a innovative plan to maximize available resources by the outbreak of war. Because it is so expensive to trade for rubber, and because oil will soon be able to be converted into rubber quite effectively, Germany deliberately puts bids in for substantially less rubber than she needs, and buys oil instead.
But what happens when oil is maxxed out? Store it in tiny foreign nations. When you need the resources, just go pillage.
Because of lack of experience, Germany will make many mistakes. She will choose nations that consume much of the oil before the conquest, attack others too early and lose all the excess, and will be constantly worrying about some other great Power getting to the warehouses first. But in the end this plan will work wonders. After-action calculation indicates that it delayed economic collapse for about a year.
January, 1940:
98K coal, 99K steel, 44K rubber, 97K oil, 92K supplies, 9.3 manpower/month, approximately 400 base IC.
Germany focuses on research and development, with key techs being those that reduce infantry supply cost and infrared scopes. Because of a series of embarrassing mix-ups, fighter research is greatly delayed.
oGermany's armed forces cost her 2.4 supplies per day. Haitian diplomats scoff, noting that they outnumber the Germans 2 to 1.
October, 1940:
To: Quartermasters and Supply clerks of the Reich
From: Quartermaster-General LM+
"Heros of supply, I salute you! Your magnificent efforts towards greater cost-effectiveness have borne the ultimate fruit, an infantry unit that uses no supplies at all!"
"On this day of rejoicing, it pains me to bring up any unhappy note, but needs must: You're all fired."
Gentle reader, you're looking at the secret of victory.
German landsers! They're cheap to build, cost nothing to maintain, fight well and long, and eventually will cost only 7 manpower per division!
October 22, 1940:
Italy invades Greece. Although she expects a short war and easy conquest, this turns out to be the start of a long and terrible conflict, and bring Italy herself to the brink of destruction. For the United Kingdom steps in to protect Greece, France and the Commonwealth join in, and October ends with the whole of the Allies at war with Mussolini.
November, 1940:
Germany intervenes. Not with an open declaration of war, but with covert assistance and rush-built expeditionary forces. British spies send home a brilliant report on a highly suspicious dislike of pasta in certain Italian units, but this apparently makes no impression on Whitehall.
January, 1941:
99K coal, 97K steel, 18K rubber, 99K oil, 77K supplies, 9.8 manpower/month, approximately 400 base IC.
The massive German investment in research is slowly begining to pay off. With infantry techs mostly discovered, and the remaining artillery techs deemed to not be cost-effective, the focus of research has switched to computers, improved interceptors, and land doctrines.
Throughout 1941, Germany remains at peace, concentrating on only three things:
1. Gathering rubber and oil. This has been made much easier by the fact that the Allies are at war.
2. Technological research.
3. Leadership training in Italy.
January, 1942:
4K coal, 95K steel, 71K rubber, 96K oil, 93K supplies, 9.8 manpower/month, approximately 500 base IC.
Germany is anxiously awaiting news from the East. Rumblings of Russian tanks can be heard, and it is anyone's guess as to how long the peace will hold.
War now would come at a most inconvenient time; not only does Germany still have pre-war fighters, she doesn't even have the tech to replace them. Angry shouting can be heard as Hitler and Quartermaster-General LM+ argue over whose fault it was that Germany didn't prioritize fighters earlier.
oThe army is also a little thin. Actually, it is a lot thin. With all forces withdrawn from Italy, it amounts to 39 divisions, the 20th largest land force in the world. One particularly unhappy note was raised at a recent staff meeting: The Russians have more tank divisions than the Germans have divisions, period!
But not everyone in Germany is red-faced. Local commanders in Poland have worked hard to build fortresses and antiaircraft guns along the border. Economists proudly declare that German investment in industrial and computer technology has greatly boosted her maximum production, and intelligent buying on the world market has yielded massive stocks of rubber and oil. It is estimated that Germany has gotten her hands on, and stashed away, a quarter million units of oil.
Report on (what will eventually be) the Axis:
Italy is losing her war. Virtually everything overseas is gone, and Naples is currently under British occupation. It sometimes seems to her exasperated German friends that Italy is plotting surrender-by-stupidity; she is forever shifting her troops (including German expeditionary forces), leaving holes for the Allies to exploit. During the course of this war, Italy will lose Rome at least twice, Taranto four times, Naples four times. Native errors, overwhelming enemies, and the withdrawal of almost all German support to the eastern front means that Mussolini is in grave danger.
You idiots! How about guarding some province OTHER than Genoa?!
Japan is doing moderately well. German technological support has been so energetic that Japan has hardly had to research a theory or doctrine since 1936, and she owns almost half of China.
------------------
More of this AAR will appear in a few days.