CORE 0.5 Germany Normal/Agg/Hard-CORE
Barbarossa
Industry is running at almost 700, no problems there, but the tech tree has been so well adjusted that I am even a bit behind historically seen.
PZKWIV's are just rolling out, but the push east will be done with PZKWIII's 30mm. All upgraded to the latest techs though.
I opted to "steel" resources from Vichy, they had nice stacks of rubber in Madagascar and North Africa, all is transported to feed the German Industry, craving for more more more.
Steel is max, because 200 units surplus daily, rubber goes down by 300 a day, so that reaches rock bottom soon, the 15000 oil units from Roemania come in handy and are really needed now.
I guess I can keep running like this to December 1941, then coal/oil and rubber shortages will probably greatly reduce output.
Manpower is dangerously low, to around 400 now, new units on the way, but I need reserves for the east.
Global situation, March - October 1941;
- Italy has annexed Egypt/Syria/Libanon. UK is being pushed down into Africa, but seems to hold a steady line now with some fresh units arriving finally. Italy seems to struggle with supplies, often units have 0 org. No help needed by Germany unfortunately
- ComChina had been pushing fast east and west in China, but have been greatly pushed back, occupied territory by ComChina that was NatChina turns Japaneese after the Japs take those territories. ComChina still holds about 8 provinces.
- I declare war on Greece and push into it, but marching times are slow and my schedule for Barbarossa is screwed up. I land on Krete with 2 parachute divisions and annex Greece. One whole army was marched back north by me already, but they march through Bulgaria and Roemania, so I can't strat redeploy them, this mistake takes 12 infantry divisions away from Barbarossa, STUPID!! In the end, I march them to Yugoslavia and they enter Barbarossa about 1 month later, after their org has recovered.
- During the Greek campaign, I see a big square pinkish spot in the Greek Islands, my guess is a squadron of small Greek ships that has a GFX part missing, the ships are displayed, but in a very big pink square.
- On the 22nd of June I force myself to declare war on the USSR, although I'm not completely prepared.
Initially, the forces on the border scare me, 20 divisions in Lvov and around 10 in the rest, the extreme south seems barely defended.
After I give my marching orders to Lvov with everything available there, they suddenly shrink to 10 divs. Breaking through there reveals some sovjet reserves behind the Dniepr. (Kiev area)
It's not easy in the north, but I keep pushing and finally break in a huge battle the russian forces in Minsk. During this, I pocket about 50 divisions in total in 3 pockets, but those battles hold my general advance and take a month in total to clear.
After that, late August, I resume the general push east and cross the Dniepr in the middle and south, take Smolensk, but get repeatedly pushed back in the north until I achive a break though which brings me 1 province before Leningrad.
A big battle for Stalino just fails, the dniepr dam breaks and advance grinds down there, Kiev and Charkov are taken.
General frontline 1st of October 1941, Talinn/Smolensk (Vitebsk still Sovjet)/Kiev/Charkov/river Dniepr (not Rostov)
I can't do much in the north, the marching time to Petsamo is 3.5 months!!, my 4 divisions arrive with only 20 org and get quickly repelled. The military "waffenbruedershaft" agreement with Finland turns sour for the Finns, they fail to make a single advance and the sovjet troops are before Helsinki and have taken 2 more provinces in the north, so I can't see if there are troops in Leningrad, but there are plenty of russian divisions and plenty of T34's.
The Great Patriotic War kicked in June 26th, and I checked the save file, but the USSR is very low on coal/oil and rubber. Steel is at 50000. I have adjusted their resources up with 30000, except steel.
- Persia was annexed in 2 days by Russia
- All the supply routes have been opened by the Allies, but judging the low russian resources, not much or too little is getting through........
- Russian build queue is with about 15% militia, but seems very good for the rest, some paratroopers (will they ever use those for paradrops?), plenty of infantry, some with antitank/artillery, plenty of panzers and mechanized/motorized and new bombers/fighters, although russian airstrenght seems weak.
No idea how this will penn out, I am seeing a lot of rain around and it's early October now, I need to push into Vitebsk and then drive to Moscow. Panzers are in good shape, but spaces are getting wider and distances bigger..........Probably no more pockets............
Of my 700+ IC industry, I spend ;
consumer ; 120 (to get the 8% dissent down, russia has 6%)
supplies ; 400+ (big one, I have too many motorized divs, and partizan tech of course)
research ; 105
production ; 120
So, more or less the only unhistoric thing is again Italy going crazy in NA, they pocketed (the AI pocketing the AI
) 8 Egyptian divisions in Port Said and then send 9 divisions south and use their motorized to get the mid-east. They seem weak, but there are just NO UK divisions around
more tomorrow, I can't wait to get home.............
