The Death Trap - A Yugoslavian AAR

[Ikarases]

Chapter II: Building Up for the Inevitable Part I​

A series of new laws is enacted.

44 brigades are required to obtain the “Regional Power” international status. Garrisons are the best way to reach it; they give some infantry practical and I believe they’ll be useful in defending the long static line!

A bunch of events happen on 2nd January. I’m going for GBP for operational doctrine and infantry doctrine is decided to be SF. Units directly in combat are to be targeted first and in the air attacking bombers is the priority.

I don’t want to change my civil laws, as now I’m given research efficiency, directly influencing my leadership output. I don’t care about my ruling party at all as you can see.

Reorganization of the war ministry is welcomed, as it gives me a nice leadership bonus in a tradeoff for a few IC-days.

On 2nd February, Rhineland is re-occupied by Germans.

I start selling metal, as I’ll always have an abundance of it. No need to run into storing penalties.

On 24th March, the first batch of garrison units is finished.

What is even better that placing these units allowed me to gain additional two leadership points.

April has barely started and some not-so-democratic countries have already antagonized the democratic ones a little.

On 2nd June, Yugoslavia can now call itself a regional power after finishing the training of remaining garrison divisions.

After that, production queue is filled with building fortifications in the north against (currently) Austrian border. On a side note, Ethiopia surrenders to Italy on 11th June.

Summer Olympics took place in Berlin.

More bad news comes on 3rd October, as the Italians signed a treaty with Germany, effectively cementing these countries’ friendship and cooperation.

On 1st March 1937, standing army is finally introduced. It took fairly long to get it going!

On 21st March, the government is proposed a program of increasing the industrial output of the country. This way, Yugoslavia now has 35 IC!

On 28th May, hostilities begin, with the main players in the conflict being Japan and its puppets against Nationalist China and their allies,

That’s it for this one. I hope you enjoyed it!

 

[GermanKaiser]

the divison designer screen looks bad, it seems you can't build many units at the moment.

 

[Surt]

Research is usually a bigger hindrance than IC for minors, so gratz on the progress.

 

[Ikarases]

the divison designer screen looks bad, it seems you can't build many units at the moment.

Don't worry, I'll research AST and SUP(H) later on

Research is usually a bigger hindrance than IC for minors, so gratz on the progress.

Indeed, leadership is something you can never have enough of.

 

[SPIRTO76]

I get so frustrated playing minors. Keep up the good work Ikar and please survive until 1938! :laugh:

 

[Ikarases]

I get so frustrated playing minors. Keep up the good work Ikar and please survive until 1938! :laugh:

Done! I'm in 2nd January 1940 already

 

[SKOTy]

Done! I'm in 2nd January 1940 already

update?

 

[SSmith]

Interesting start. I have to ask if you really want 22 garrison divisions or did you just do that to get to regional power? Wouldn't you be better with more mobile regular infantry even if you are planning to defend a static line? Plans can change. Are you intending to build any fortifications or to rely on the naturally defensive terrain?

 

[GermanKaiser]

Interesting start. I have to ask if you really want 22 garrison divisions or did you just do that to get to regional power? Wouldn't you be better with more mobile regular infantry even if you are planning to defend a static line? Plans can change. Are you intending to build any fortifications or to rely on the naturally defensive terrain?

This

After that, production queue is filled with building fortifications in the north against (currently) Austrian border. On a side note, Ethiopia surrenders to Italy on 11th June.

 

[Surt]

Those Gar would need a lot of static sup and maybe AT/Art to do enough damage to the attackers. What about the Italian border, Yugoland is worryingly open on that flank, not to mention the rest of the borders. The Italian enclave and Albania should be taken out easily, but if Hungary joins up with Germany or Italy before Barbarossa there might be trouble.

 

[SSmith]

Yes, I think everything is going to need support brigades if it's meant to hold a front. The big problem is the length of front you have to cover if you're defending against Italy, Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria, not to mention the Italian position in Albania. It calls for a lot of units but those units also need enough firepower.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

That ^

A mobile defense is better of course, but I like the idea of a small static defense with a large mobile defense to quickly get to where their attacks are strongest. Not sure about the feasibility of that.

 

[Ikarases]

Reading this reply is strongly advised, as it contains detailed numbers and strategy of my plan!

update?

Might do!

Interesting start. I have to ask if you really want 22 garrison divisions or did you just do that to get to regional power? Wouldn't you be better with more mobile regular infantry even if you are planning to defend a static line? Plans can change. Are you intending to build any fortifications or to rely on the naturally defensive terrain?

Those Gar would need a lot of static sup and maybe AT/Art to do enough damage to the attackers. What about the Italian border, Yugoland is worryingly open on that flank, not to mention the rest of the borders. The Italian enclave and Albania should be taken out easily, but if Hungary joins up with Germany or Italy before Barbarossa there might be trouble.

Yes, I think everything is going to need support brigades if it's meant to hold a front. The big problem is the length of front you have to cover if you're defending against Italy, Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria, not to mention the Italian position in Albania. It calls for a lot of units but those units also need enough firepower.

Heavy fortifications to the north, namely Ptuj and Bovec are currently being built to level 7, while Murska Sobota and Nova Gorica have level 3.

I have 81 (plus 9 in queue) GAR brigades just for to defend the line from Trieste to Kanjiza. Some of them will be also defending ports, my capital and some of them will be supressing partisans in captured territory.

84 INF (2 more in queue) brigades will do the attacking, namely taking over Bulgaria and providing some reserve for the garrisons, some of them have AST brigades, which I'm building as much as I can; I currently have 20, so I'll try to use these in harsh terrain and river crossings. INF divisions (with AST) will be used for taking out Bulgaria, everything Italian up to and including Trieste and perhaps later on against Hungary, if the resistance won't be too stiff.

23 CAV + 1 MOT brigades will be used as exploitation units and mobile reserve with no decicated theatre. I think I'll use them from the beggining to help out Greeks if they fail to take Albania themselves to stab the Italians in the back. After that they'll be likely running around Hungary.

Division composition is the following: 3xINF/SUP(H), 2xINF/AST/SUP(H), 3xCAV. I might want to license some SUP(T) though for the CAV.

I'm fairly caught up in the needed technology, I just need loads of officers for my army now...

---

Two issues I have:

GAR doesn't have fort defense bonus. Is that intended?

I'll run dry out of manpower just by reinforcing my units to 50%, as I have loads of IC on my hands, thanks to not building planes and other nonsenses I did the last time, even with all the forts I built. However, I cannot get to "Mobilize for War", as both my ruling party organization and national unity suck. I've noticed I could go for "Extended Draft" if my manpower was less than 1.

Hence, now I'm kind of wondering if I should go to war with 50% strength units and mobilize when Italians attack Greece to at least get the ORG of my units up and get some steady growth of manpower over 500 days after I get attacked myself or go to war already with loads of manpower, though my consumer goods will still be too high to actually reinforce my divisions. I guess I'll stick with the first option though.

 

[GermanKaiser]

My hopes were hopeless

 

[Ikarases]

That ^

A mobile defense is better of course, but I like the idea of a small static defense with a large mobile defense to quickly get to where their attacks are strongest. Not sure about the feasibility of that.

Sorry, I totally missed that post! I was in the middle of multitasking while responding. Either way, all I'd do was just to include you in the quotation ^^

My hopes were hopeless

Yes.

Getting my own tank industry up would drain a lot of my leadership, let alone I'd need at least SUP (T) as well. After all, I still have some kind of mobile reserve; 8 cavalry divisions. The reason why I have so many GAR units is that they use less manpower, have better defensiveness (?) and use a lot less officers.

 

[SSmith]

I'll run dry out of manpower just by reinforcing my units to 50%, as I have loads of IC on my hands, thanks to not building planes and other nonsenses I did the last time, even with all the forts I built. However, I cannot get to "Mobilize for War", as both my ruling party organization and national unity suck. I've noticed I could go for "Extended Draft" if my manpower was less than 1.

That's a lot of units to build with a relatively small IC base - but presumably you've actually done it now and also got the forts built? I'm not surprised you've got manpower problems! If you switch back to drafted army you can obviously call up reserves when you go to war. If I'm reading the rules for extended draft right, you can only enact that law if you have the drafted army flag and you've already called up your reserves. So, if your manpower's spent it looks like you will have to mobilize when you go to war and I would recommend switching back to a drafted system because the standing army recruits come in so slowly and you will need men quickly.

It looks like you will have no air cover? Good luck with that because it's probably going to hurt - but at least you will have the satisfaction (unlike me) of not having invested a lot of IC in building fighters that failed to protect your land forces...

 

[Ikarases]

That's a lot of units to build with a relatively small IC base - but presumably you've actually done it now and also got the forts built? I'm not surprised you've got manpower problems! If you switch back to drafted army you can obviously call up reserves when you go to war. If I'm reading the rules for extended draft right, you can only enact that law if you have the drafted army flag and you've already called up your reserves. So, if your manpower's spent it looks like you will have to mobilize when you go to war and I would recommend switching back to a drafted system because the standing army recruits come in so slowly and you will need men quickly.

Yup, I think I'll just spend all my current manpower (to take advantage of the +5% XP bonus from standing army) and then switch it. I just hope the MTTH won't screw me over!

It looks like you will have no air cover? Good luck with that because it's probably going to hurt - but at least you will have the satisfaction (unlike me) of not having invested a lot of IC in building fighters that failed to protect your land forces...

It proved to be absolutely worthless in my test run. Or rather; what is its purpose when you're losing on land? I've beaten USSR and Germany as a bit larger Poland without it, so unless you're planning on making it more lethal, it's just not worth the investment, at least against the AI anyway. I actually might've built a few wings with all my IC, but I really don't have the leadership to afford them being modern.

 

[guillec87]

Subbed, are you planning some nasty surprise for the Italians or will you let them come?

 

[SPIRTO76]

Subbed, are you planning some nasty surprise for the Italians or will you let them come?

Trieste or Bust!

 

[Ikarases]

Subbed, are you planning some nasty surprise for the Italians or will you let them come?

Trieste or Bust!

Pretty much. I might encircle a few Italian divisions as I capture their ports, but I guess that's it.