Chapter I: January 1st through June 30th, 1936
Chapter I: January 1st through June 30th, 1936
Note: For the first three years, I will do half a year per post until 1939 when I will do a post per month.
The Byzantine Empire on January 1st, 1936
As the sun rose on the morning on January 1st 1936, over the city of Constantinople, many possibilities awaited the empire. What was to be done to train and improve the armed forces? Would war come to Europe, and if yes, then how soon? Nobody could be sure of when war would come or even if it would come, but as the sun rose on that bright sunny morning in 1936, war certainly seemed likely. Britain and France may have been in denial about another war, but the empire and its Emperor, Georgios II Laskaris-Komnenos certainly wasn't. Georgios was sure another war was coming, and he knew the empire had to be well armed and prepared to face it. He also knew that in order for the empire to regain its strength, he would have to choose carefully which side to join. While joining Britain and France may not have been popular among the populace, seeing as how they were seen as traitors for their behavior towards the empire during the last war, it may be far better than joining Germany, and getting dragged into that madman Hitler's crazy wars. Joining the soviets was out of the question. Calling his staff together, Georgios began to lay down his plans. The Emperor was determined that this day would be day 1 in his preparation for the war that he knew was coming.
The Emperor was determined that the empire would have an active spy network. To this end, he decided to allocate most of his spies to watching the nations he trusted the least, mainly the soviet union, Germany, France, and Britain. George had decided that Japan and the United States were to far away to produce a significant threat.
Meanwhile, the emperor turned to his council itself, where he decided that old Constantinos Demertzis was simply not up to the task of running the nation's foreign policy, and he was replaced with the younger and more capable Demosthenes Nicoladis. The other cabinet members were left the same, however they were warned that they could easily lose their positions in the near future, if their performance was not up to par with the emperor's expectations.
The Imperial Cabinet after the changes made by the emperor
The emperor also made it a priority to identify important areas for technological research. New weapons for the infantry were to be researched to improve their ability to fight in heavy combat. The navy would need new weapons as well. Therefore, the Emperor decided new weapons for light cruisers and capitol ships would need to be researched. Roman scientists also began to look at improved designs for submarine engines and torpedoes, to improve the submarine efficiency at sinking merchant shipping. Finally, scientists began to look into new combat techniques for roman infantry, along with the researching of larger medium tanks, to replace some of the light Armour brigades.
The technology screen, showing the new doctrines the emperor has chose for research.
After technological research was discussed, the topic turned to the state of the imperial military. Here, the George found the military was not nearly up to par with his expectations. On paper, the army contained an impressive 8 field armies, and one tank army, but this was misleading. For one thing, these "armies" were really only the size of a corps, and the actual corps level was skipped, and the divisions directly attached to the army hq. The first priority therefore, was to turn these pocket armies into full field armies. As part of military plan 1936, the emperor defined guidelines for various types of divisions, corps, armies, and army groups. The guidelines went along the lines of this:
There would be different types of divisions:
An infantry division would be composed of 3 infantry brigades, and a supporting artillery brigade.
A light tank division would be composed of 3 la brigades, and 1 motorized brigade.
A medium tank division would be composed of 2 ma brigades, a la brigade, and a tank destroyer regiment.
A motor division would be composed of 3 motor brigades, and an armored car regiment.
In 1940, once there were new techs, division compositions would be changed, and new types of divisions created.
There would be several different types of corps.
An infantry corps would contain 3 infantry divisions.
A tank corps would contain 2 light tank divisions, a medium armor division, and a motor division.
A motor corps would contain 2 motor divisions, and a light tank division.
There would be 3 types of armies.
An regular army would contain 3 infantry corps and a motor corps.
A tank army would contain 2 tank corps, and a motor corps.
A motor army would contain 2 motor corps, 1 tank corps, and 1 infantry corps.
An army group would be an ad hoc formation that developed as a situation progressed, combining multiple armies and being named after the geographical it operated.
The emperor believed this system would create a highly efficient army, which got the maximum benefit from the various types of formations, as each army would contain many different types of units.
The various Imperial Armies.
The navy was the only wing of the military that was in a decent shape, being organized into 4 flotillas, and even including an escort carrier. It also had many powerful battleships and heavy cruisers.
The air force was by far the smallest and least developed of the wings, sporting a mere 2 tactical bombers and 2 interceptors, and 1 measly little naval bomber. The emperor noted that this wing needed major improvement, especially if they wanted to compete with the might Luftwaffe.
To acheive this end, each army will have to be brought to strength, and filled with units. Therefore, 1. Stratos Ellenas, or the 1st army, will be the first army to recieve new units.
To facilitate these goals, the emperor ordered the building of 6 new infantry divisions, along with the building of 5 new factories, which would help improve the empire's industrial capacity. Meanwhile, a pair of flak regiments, and 2 new garrison regiments were ordered to be produced. Last of all was orders for the production of 10 units of provincial anti air defenses. IC was allocated mainly to production, although a tiny bit was put into upgrades and consumer goods.
The planned distribution of IC to the various projects.
The emperor was satisfied that his goals were on the road to being accomplished, and the meeting was broken up. Soon, the days went past, and the projects began to develop.
On March the 21st, George was delighted to hear that the first of the projects he has ordered had been completed. These were the provincial AA guns that he has ordered on January 1st, and he immediately had them deployed in cities throughout the empire. It was a major comfort to the people of the empire to have such strong AA defenses protecting their cities.
The new AA guns are completed.
By June 30th, most of the ordered projects were progressing smoothly, and the imperial military was almost ready to deploy the first new infantry corps. With progress going so smoothly, the emperor felt the time had almost come to make his first act of aggression...
Chapter I: January 1st through June 30th, 1936
Note: For the first three years, I will do half a year per post until 1939 when I will do a post per month.
The Byzantine Empire on January 1st, 1936
As the sun rose on the morning on January 1st 1936, over the city of Constantinople, many possibilities awaited the empire. What was to be done to train and improve the armed forces? Would war come to Europe, and if yes, then how soon? Nobody could be sure of when war would come or even if it would come, but as the sun rose on that bright sunny morning in 1936, war certainly seemed likely. Britain and France may have been in denial about another war, but the empire and its Emperor, Georgios II Laskaris-Komnenos certainly wasn't. Georgios was sure another war was coming, and he knew the empire had to be well armed and prepared to face it. He also knew that in order for the empire to regain its strength, he would have to choose carefully which side to join. While joining Britain and France may not have been popular among the populace, seeing as how they were seen as traitors for their behavior towards the empire during the last war, it may be far better than joining Germany, and getting dragged into that madman Hitler's crazy wars. Joining the soviets was out of the question. Calling his staff together, Georgios began to lay down his plans. The Emperor was determined that this day would be day 1 in his preparation for the war that he knew was coming.
The Emperor was determined that the empire would have an active spy network. To this end, he decided to allocate most of his spies to watching the nations he trusted the least, mainly the soviet union, Germany, France, and Britain. George had decided that Japan and the United States were to far away to produce a significant threat.
Meanwhile, the emperor turned to his council itself, where he decided that old Constantinos Demertzis was simply not up to the task of running the nation's foreign policy, and he was replaced with the younger and more capable Demosthenes Nicoladis. The other cabinet members were left the same, however they were warned that they could easily lose their positions in the near future, if their performance was not up to par with the emperor's expectations.
The Imperial Cabinet after the changes made by the emperor
The emperor also made it a priority to identify important areas for technological research. New weapons for the infantry were to be researched to improve their ability to fight in heavy combat. The navy would need new weapons as well. Therefore, the Emperor decided new weapons for light cruisers and capitol ships would need to be researched. Roman scientists also began to look at improved designs for submarine engines and torpedoes, to improve the submarine efficiency at sinking merchant shipping. Finally, scientists began to look into new combat techniques for roman infantry, along with the researching of larger medium tanks, to replace some of the light Armour brigades.
The technology screen, showing the new doctrines the emperor has chose for research.
After technological research was discussed, the topic turned to the state of the imperial military. Here, the George found the military was not nearly up to par with his expectations. On paper, the army contained an impressive 8 field armies, and one tank army, but this was misleading. For one thing, these "armies" were really only the size of a corps, and the actual corps level was skipped, and the divisions directly attached to the army hq. The first priority therefore, was to turn these pocket armies into full field armies. As part of military plan 1936, the emperor defined guidelines for various types of divisions, corps, armies, and army groups. The guidelines went along the lines of this:
There would be different types of divisions:
An infantry division would be composed of 3 infantry brigades, and a supporting artillery brigade.
A light tank division would be composed of 3 la brigades, and 1 motorized brigade.
A medium tank division would be composed of 2 ma brigades, a la brigade, and a tank destroyer regiment.
A motor division would be composed of 3 motor brigades, and an armored car regiment.
In 1940, once there were new techs, division compositions would be changed, and new types of divisions created.
There would be several different types of corps.
An infantry corps would contain 3 infantry divisions.
A tank corps would contain 2 light tank divisions, a medium armor division, and a motor division.
A motor corps would contain 2 motor divisions, and a light tank division.
There would be 3 types of armies.
An regular army would contain 3 infantry corps and a motor corps.
A tank army would contain 2 tank corps, and a motor corps.
A motor army would contain 2 motor corps, 1 tank corps, and 1 infantry corps.
An army group would be an ad hoc formation that developed as a situation progressed, combining multiple armies and being named after the geographical it operated.
The emperor believed this system would create a highly efficient army, which got the maximum benefit from the various types of formations, as each army would contain many different types of units.
The various Imperial Armies.
The navy was the only wing of the military that was in a decent shape, being organized into 4 flotillas, and even including an escort carrier. It also had many powerful battleships and heavy cruisers.
The air force was by far the smallest and least developed of the wings, sporting a mere 2 tactical bombers and 2 interceptors, and 1 measly little naval bomber. The emperor noted that this wing needed major improvement, especially if they wanted to compete with the might Luftwaffe.
To acheive this end, each army will have to be brought to strength, and filled with units. Therefore, 1. Stratos Ellenas, or the 1st army, will be the first army to recieve new units.
To facilitate these goals, the emperor ordered the building of 6 new infantry divisions, along with the building of 5 new factories, which would help improve the empire's industrial capacity. Meanwhile, a pair of flak regiments, and 2 new garrison regiments were ordered to be produced. Last of all was orders for the production of 10 units of provincial anti air defenses. IC was allocated mainly to production, although a tiny bit was put into upgrades and consumer goods.
The planned distribution of IC to the various projects.
The emperor was satisfied that his goals were on the road to being accomplished, and the meeting was broken up. Soon, the days went past, and the projects began to develop.
On March the 21st, George was delighted to hear that the first of the projects he has ordered had been completed. These were the provincial AA guns that he has ordered on January 1st, and he immediately had them deployed in cities throughout the empire. It was a major comfort to the people of the empire to have such strong AA defenses protecting their cities.
The new AA guns are completed.
By June 30th, most of the ordered projects were progressing smoothly, and the imperial military was almost ready to deploy the first new infantry corps. With progress going so smoothly, the emperor felt the time had almost come to make his first act of aggression...
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