Republican Spain Help

[Gorgo Primus]

I have followed the wiki and tyred my own strats, but I just can't seem to win as Republican Spain in the 1936 Scenario. I've even tried disbanding all forces from the colonies on day one, but the Nationalists always gets 20 or so divisions fro Italy and Germany and I can't hold out longer then a year.

I can't even imagine winning in the 1938 scenario.

Can someone help me out and tell me how they win the SCW as Republicans, cause so far it doesn't look like I can unless things go really ahistorical and the Fascists sit it out and France comes running.

What is REALLY odd is that in the mission scenario I can win with Republicans easily...

PS: I've ONCE won in 1936 by allying France but when I do that I win and lose all of my African stuff to annexation afterwards, PLUS I can't join the Comintern if I do that.

 

[thevaliant]

You can't win the 1939 scenario?
Am I missing something? Republican Spain doesn't exist in the 1939 scenario.

 

[Gorgo Primus]

Whoops. Meant 1936. Big difference.

 

[unmerged(103313)]

When I gave Spain a try I first took out Seville ASAP, which did involve a nasty encirclement of lots of nationalists. I used a strategic bomber to pound the North, which hurt their TC and hence their combat ability. They held out in one of the northern provinces for the winter, but by spring I was able to finish them off.

I then joined the Allies and proceeded to get owned by Germany, in a slow sad pullback from Maginot to Spain. I could probably do better now, as this was ages ago, but it just shows that it's probably best to wait until '43 or so when Russia is starting to hurt Germany to attack.

 

[Gorgo Primus]

Problem with Servile (and I also normally go for it) is that their org seems to be much higher then yours. In addition they get 5 troops there automatically, while you normally have about 4 deployed, all fairly far from there. I try deploying around Seville to encircle and take them out, but their morale and org is just too high for me every time I try. They also like to blitz out of the pocket and up towards Madrid. In addition to the 15 free men they get up north, I can't hold the two fronts for too long.

And yeah, Going with the Allies is suicide unless you win early and then build a huge militia blockade at the Spanish French Boarder. Or so I have heard.

 

[Mico94]

as rep. spain i always try to beat Franco ASAP so that the communist coup occurs and then i join comintern (i ended up conquering Berlin and whole western europe this way)

a gamey way to win easily as the republicans is to stack all your units in 1 corp in Madrid before the war. this way Franco won't get any revolting republican division

 

[bbasgen]

What happens when you follow the advice on the wiki? granted, it is a bit gamey, but stacking all your units in a province and saving everything you built in a deployment queue is a sure fire way to win!

 

[guardian21]

as rep. spain i always try to beat Franco ASAP so that the communist coup occurs and then i join comintern (i ended up conquering Berlin and whole western europe this way)

a gamey way to win easily as the republicans is to stack all your units in 1 corp in Madrid before the war. this way Franco won't get any revolting republican division

I am just not sure if MAdrid is ok, since it may start in nationailst hands... Valencia, Barcelona, Badajoz and or Guadalachara are the choices for me usually...

 

[SeedSnatcher]

Madrid can't start in Nationalist hands, unless I'm (we're all) missing something here.

 

[Gorgo Primus]

Okay I won. The wiki isn't very good for this, but I will tell you what I did to win.

Send all units in mainland to Valencia. Send all ships to Valencia. Send all air to Madrid. Decommission all divisions in colonies and islands (you will need the manpower and they turn anyways). Build as many militia as you can and don't deploy them until colonies defect. When the colonies defect deploy all troops around Seville;abandon the north. Take out Seville asap; it is your only hope. Once Seville is gone send everything north and push! Fight only on the mainland. Keep deploying and researching while you slowly chip away at the north. Use new troops and transports to take unguarded positions on the mainland and make sure that all National ships you find are destroyed. Focus on VP locations and harbours. The minute you are able to annex them do so as they will try to take back a VP.

I won in 1937 and had more [tense] fun then I normally have in the entire war as Germany.

From there wait for the coup and invade Portugal and take everything but capital in peace treaty. Then and do your best to get allied to the USSR. Then build up massive forces on the French boarder, build forts, and wait for 1943 to start pushing. When able to annex Portugal.


To me this worked MUCH better then what the wiki tells you (which is similar but vague and poorly worded).

 

[Sliver]

It just shouldn't require a lot of machinations to beat the fascists, er, Nationalists in the '36 GC. Of course, you have to hold Madrid (Republican from the start in 9 of 10 games I've played), which limits your options somewhat, but otherwise the classic strategies of isolation and defeat in detail always do the trick for me. I always put Seville off till last, btw...it's a lot easier to beat up 1-2 division Nationalist groups in the north consecutively, hold/take Barcelona and keep the fascists from linking Seville into supply as you methodically push them into the northwest and then finally into the sea. Then go south and take Seville at your leisure.
I never build new troops as the Republic, choosing instead to keep my units as reinforced and combat-effective as possible. I've just never needed a ton of help to eventually beat the Carlist dogs. But stack the deck in your favor another way and do lots of small resource trades with the UK from 1/1/36, until you get a +200 relationship, then ask to join the allies until they aqccept you. You'll need them against the fascists, erm, Germans anyway, since they generally declare on a neutral Spanish Republic. Nothing rids the Republic of the fascist scourge like the French Expeditionary Force!

 

[AllThat4Nothing]

how can you refer to Franco's forces as Carlists? im not being condescending, I'm seriously asking... Is there some sort of obscure connection I never read about?

EDIT: Nevermind, I Wiki'd it.

 

[Sliver]

The fine details of the war (among them, the long rather obscure history of the Carlists) are pretty obscure to most of us. I have always been particularly interested in the war, though (see avatar) and I'll happily recommend Antony Beevor's history as both readable and understandable, besting Hugh Thomas's standard on the war for digestability at least.

http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Civil-War-Antony-Beevor/dp/0141001488

It was the Republic's war to win, and they consistently found ways to lose it.

 

[unmerged(58104)]

The fine details of the war (among them, the long rather obscure history of the Carlists) are pretty obscure to most of us. I have always been particularly interested in the war, though (see avatar) and I'll happily recommend Antony Beevor's history as both readable and understandable, besting Hugh Thomas's standard on the war for digestability at least.

http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Civil-War-Antony-Beevor/dp/0141001488

It was the Republic's war to win, and they consistently found ways to lose it.

I've got that one too. IIRC he re-edited this book, so I'd make sure to get the second version as that one was better.

If you think either the Nationalists or Republicans made big mistakes then you should see the lessons some countries learned from this war:
- SU; massed tanks don't work as the infantry can't keep up
- Italy; light tanks work like a charm
- UK/France; the bomber can (still often) get through

etc etc

 

[Gorgo Primus]

If you do that you will lose ALL of your African land and islands to thr UK when the Nationalists lose and are annexed.