• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Looking forward to the AAR. If I may suggest, get a strong garrison force (Ie units who are to defend and take hit, not actual garrison brigades). I often do 2inf+1AT brigade for numbers. I was able to get about 40 or so of these divisions for the Soviets at the beginning with the TFH mod. However, how did you mod the files to make Lithuania, Lativa, and Estonia one nation?
 
Fabletastic.

I find your comments somewhat insufficient lately (I noticed it in the other AARs too). Get back the German flag and make juicier comments! :p

Btw. Fable is a game if I´m not mistaken. I hope you didn´t tried to tell me my AAR "feebleastic"! :mad: :D
 
Looking forward to the AAR. If I may suggest, get a strong garrison force (Ie units who are to defend and take hit, not actual garrison brigades). I often do 2inf+1AT brigade for numbers. I was able to get about 40 or so of these divisions for the Soviets at the beginning with the TFH mod. However, how did you mod the files to make Lithuania, Lativa, and Estonia one nation?

I will see if I´ll side with Soviets or Germans. The first would be "Fortress Kaunas - Hold Until Relieved" and the second "Moscow or Death - Down with Communism". But relations with SU are ice cold, whereas Germany is quite friendly.

About divisions: I think I´ll end up with a load of manpower. Baltic Union has 13 IC and 12 MP total (couning off-map 5 IC and 1 MP) and that´s quite a low IC number compared to MP I think. Too many speculations; I think I´ll go with 4xINF as usual :D And I hope you tried to suggest me carrying in mind this is HPP :)

You just need to be a half-decent modder to unite them. I can surely post here a link with a .rar file, but I guess I´m better off posting it after the AAR than before it. Nevertheless, don´t be shy to ask about it; I forget a lot of things! :)
 
How come you are not using any horse towed support brigades?
 
Alright. Just thought I suggest a group that has a good hard attack and toughness to deal with tanks. But i suppose you could always reorganize units to receive AT support if needed.
 
Alright. Just thought I suggest a group that has a good hard attack and toughness to deal with tanks. But i suppose you could always reorganize units to receive AT support if needed.

Its not just the hard attack, if your piercing doesn't exceed the enemy armour you do much less damage to them.
 
Its not just the hard attack, if your piercing doesn't exceed the enemy armour you do much less damage to them.

Alright. Just thought I suggest a group that has a good hard attack and toughness to deal with tanks. But i suppose you could always reorganize units to receive AT support if needed.

FtM :) Only Softness is relevant here.

EDIT: I got ninja´d on my own AAR :D
 
Ah - now I have the time to make you a reply you can't refuse to like ;)

Creating a Baltic Empire is a very nice idea indeed. It will, however, be one of the hardest nations to play, since it doesn't have Poland's "luxury" of being threatened by only the Germans. And there are already surprisingly little successful Poland AARs out there. If this is historically plausible, both the Soviet Union and the Reich will be seeking to conquer you - unless you make peace with one of them, which will instantly put you onto the front lines of a greater war where you'll have to rely on your bigger brother. I advice against joining any faction for this reason and for RP reasons.

And if you're lucky, you'll only recieve one DoW by a far larger nation!

Then - what to do? First of all, hope for a Mol-Rib pact. You really don't need a lengthened border with Germany. If the pact is signed, the small Prussian front will allow you to focus most of your defense on the Soviets. Remember two things:

1: The Bear has an unlimited horde of infantry.
2: Soft Attack is still 50% effective on tanks.


The net result of these two is easy to see: On a large scale, not using AT but instead using another, cheap, support brigade with high Soft Attack will pay off.

Now, I don't want to spoil you too much, so I'll give you some tactical advice later...
 
Ah - now I have the time to make you a reply you can't refuse to like ;)

Great! :)

Creating a Baltic Empire is a very nice idea indeed. It will, however, be one of the hardest nations to play, since it doesn't have Poland's "luxury" of being threatened by only the Germans. And there are already surprisingly little successful Poland AARs out there. If this is historically plausible, both the Soviet Union and the Reich will be seeking to conquer you - unless you make peace with one of them, which will instantly put you onto the front lines of a greater war where you'll have to rely on your bigger brother. I advice against joining any faction for this reason and for RP reasons.

I´m dumb, please tell me what is a "RP reason" :D

It´s easy to say "don´t join any faction" but do you think I have any other choice? If I fight the SU alone, when it comes to annex me, I´m better off not being annexed (lol) and join the Germans as fast as possible. Joining Comintern is out of the question, unless I find some cheesy way to do it like DoWing Germany and then waiting for Barbarossa to fire and then hold Kaunas. Allies might be an interesting choice though.

And if you're lucky, you'll only recieve one DoW by a far larger nation!

I was kind of expecting it :D

Then - what to do? First of all, hope for a Mol-Rib pact. You really don't need a lengthened border with Germany. If the pact is signed, the small Prussian front will allow you to focus most of your defense on the Soviets. Remember two things:

1: The Bear has an unlimited horde of infantry.
2: Soft Attack is still 50% effective on tanks.


The net result of these two is easy to see: On a large scale, not using AT but instead using another, cheap, support brigade with high Soft Attack will pay off.

Have you ever seen me using AT in my AARs? Me neither! :D

I´ll see what I can do, I see I have a crapload of opportunities to play this game. Axis, Comintern, Allies, neutral vs SU, neutral vs GER... Oh my! :eek:

Now, I don't want to spoil you too much, so I'll give you some tactical advice later...

No problem and thanks for posting! Finally a lenghty commentary! :) The game isn´t even started out yet anyway.
 
Baltic Union Military Office
Tactical Report

I'll just go ahead and spoil you now. Otherwise, you'll just play all the way to 1945 anyway without writing a single chapter ;) By the way, RP means role-playing. It is an essential part of any narrative - if you are trying to depict a realistic situation, your actions should not be too gamey. But, on to the breach, shall we?
There are, as far as I can see, four tactical scenarios for war against the Soviet Union or Germany. All depends on the Molotov-von Ribbentrop Pact.


1: War against the Soviet Union. The Pact is signed.

Estonia_zps971bd327.jpg

Yellow stars: Vital VP areas
Apparently, image length is regulated on this forum so the image got scaled...


The very worst situation.

With Eastern Poland in Russian hands, it is nigh impossible to defend either Latvia or Lithuania. So, the only remaining option is to dig in in the Estonian forests. The first picture depicts a possible first line of defense. However, this line is very wide, and thus your troops will be very spread out. Keep some reserves to make sure you can make an organized retreat (the keyword when defending as a minor) to the second line. This line is much more compact, and also completely in the forest, but since one of the vital VPs is on the front line this is your last line of defence!

A situation may very well arise where the Soviets gain the upper hand. In the Retreat out of Estonia section I will explain how to pull back in good order. I strongly advice getting Sweden or preferably Finland on your side; they will be able to help you and you can retreat your troops to their territory.


2: War against Germany. The Pact is not signed.

Lativa_zpsc3713b7f.jpg


All of Poland is in enemy hands and once again you will find yourself defending deeper inland than you had wanted. Riga is just one province away, but defending it means sacrificing your troops and thus your line. However, the river line in the first picture does make for an excellent defence. The only achilles heel of this position are the plains on the Eastern side of the line. Then again, you are fighting AI, so you probably don't have to worry about that. If something bad were to happen, though, you can always retreat to your secondary line, which is in the same forests as the anti-Soviet line.

When fighting Germany, join the Allies. Simply because there is no reason not to.


3: War against Germany. The Pact is signed.

South_zps89fb7b70.jpg


Although you could very well go for the Riga line again, the sheer amount of IC and VPs in the Southern Baltic is most certainly worth defending. This particular river line is right on the border, and therefore you will not lose any ground - if you hold the line. This frontline is 7 provinces long, so your troops will be stretched to the limit. Just remember that whenever the pressure on your line becomes too great, you should retreat before it is too late. Every division should always have the strength left to retreat to the next line of defence.


4: War against the Soviet Union. The Pact is not signed.

southriver_zpsb832b7c2.jpg


You lucky bastard.

Just look at that line - it's five provinces, behind a river, and all are either forests or urban territory. I really do think you'd be able to hold this line. However, since this is the only option where you won't end up in Estonia, I'll quickly explain the retreat mechanics for you here.

Whenever you think a province isn't going to hold (Act at that moment! If you are too late, the entire line will be overrun!), slowly start peeling off the Eastern side of your line, until you have a vertical line from Riga to Seduva. At that time, you can strategically redeploy all your forces to either Riga or Memel. Extract the Memel troops to a friendly port immediately (TPs!), and try to hold Riga while you are at it. When those troops are secure, you can start extracting the defenders of Riga - first the divisions that are at breaking point, and then the strong ones.

This is also where Finland, Sweden and/or the Allies come into play. Whenever you need to retreat, you have some place to put your troops.


X: The Estonian Retreat

Evac_zpsb2a496b9.jpg


When things are not going as planned, you need a place to retreat to. You need Northern Estonia, and some TPs.

At this point, Tartu and Tallinn will be the only VPs you have left. Tallinn is safely behind the lines, and you should be able to retreat your troops before the enemy captures it. However, in order to hold Tartu, you'll need to sacrifice some troops. Preferably 2 GAR divisions. These will not be needed to buy time for the divisions guarding the northern approach (behind the river, 1). You should extract these first. In the meanwhile, retreat all your divisions but the Tartu garrison to the port of Pärnu (2). This will be the Dunkirk of the Baltic Empire. From here, you can retreat the main bulk of your army, while the Tartu garrison gives their lives for the greater good.

I hope you learned and enjoyed :)
 
Wow! I guess you have nothing to do! :D

Baltic Union Military Office
Tactical Report

Interesting...

I'll just go ahead and spoil you now. Otherwise, you'll just play all the way to 1945 anyway without writing a single chapter ;)

I tend to do that, yet you haven´t offered me how to avoid it :p

By the way, RP means role-playing. It is an essential part of any narrative - if you are trying to depict a realistic situation, your actions should not be too gamey. But, on to the breach, shall we?

Gamey... I consider gamey playing vanilla! :D

There are, as far as I can see, four tactical scenarios for war against the Soviet Union or Germany. All depends on the Molotov-von Ribbentrop Pact.

Seems reasonable, I´ve already posted it before that it´ll end up somewhat like that.


1: War against the Soviet Union. The Pact is signed.

Estonia_zps971bd327.jpg

Yellow stars: Vital VP areas
Apparently, image length is regulated on this forum so the image got scaled...


The very worst situation.

With Eastern Poland in Russian hands, it is nigh impossible to defend either Latvia or Lithuania. So, the only remaining option is to dig in in the Estonian forests. The first picture depicts a possible first line of defense. However, this line is very wide, and thus your troops will be very spread out. Keep some reserves to make sure you can make an organized retreat (the keyword when defending as a minor) to the second line. This line is much more compact, and also completely in the forest, but since one of the vital VPs is on the front line this is your last line of defence!

A situation may very well arise where the Soviets gain the upper hand. In the Retreat out of Estonia section I will explain how to pull back in good order. I strongly advice getting Sweden or preferably Finland on your side; they will be able to help you and you can retreat your troops to their territory.

Hold on, that´s Latvia! Remember I´ll have units of all these three nations combined right off the bat! :)

I think I need 2 VPs all the time, since the whole Union will have 7. Although I´m not quite sure how should I side with Finland. And being bogged-down in Tallin all the time isn´t quite my style neither :p But maybe Germans come to relieve me...

2: War against Germany. The Pact is not signed.

Lativa_zpsc3713b7f.jpg


All of Poland is in enemy hands and once again you will find yourself defending deeper inland than you had wanted. Riga is just one province away, but defending it means sacrificing your troops and thus your line. However, the river line in the first picture does make for an excellent defence. The only achilles heel of this position are the plains on the Eastern side of the line. Then again, you are fighting AI, so you probably don't have to worry about that. If something bad were to happen, though, you can always retreat to your secondary line, which is in the same forests as the anti-Soviet line.

When fighting Germany, join the Allies. Simply because there is no reason not to.

Expeditionary forces from Britain, right? Let´s hope I´ll get them sooner before the Europe turns red...

3: War against Germany. The Pact is signed.

South_zps89fb7b70.jpg


Although you could very well go for the Riga line again, the sheer amount of IC and VPs in the Southern Baltic is most certainly worth defending. This particular river line is right on the border, and therefore you will not lose any ground - if you hold the line. This frontline is 7 provinces long, so your troops will be stretched to the limit. Just remember that whenever the pressure on your line becomes too great, you should retreat before it is too late. Every division should always have the strength left to retreat to the next line of defence.
This one looks the best! Expeditionary forces from Britain once again? :D

4: War against the Soviet Union. The Pact is not signed.

southriver_zpsb832b7c2.jpg


You lucky bastard.

Just look at that line - it's five provinces, behind a river, and all are either forests or urban territory. I really do think you'd be able to hold this line. However, since this is the only option where you won't end up in Estonia, I'll quickly explain the retreat mechanics for you here.

Whenever you think a province isn't going to hold (Act at that moment! If you are too late, the entire line will be overrun!), slowly start peeling off the Eastern side of your line, until you have a vertical line from Riga to Seduva. At that time, you can strategically redeploy all your forces to either Riga or Memel. Extract the Memel troops to a friendly port immediately (TPs!), and try to hold Riga while you are at it. When those troops are secure, you can start extracting the defenders of Riga - first the divisions that are at breaking point, and then the strong ones.

This is also where Finland, Sweden and/or the Allies come into play. Whenever you need to retreat, you have some place to put your troops.

Why not? Germany should start rolling their Panzers ASAP :)

X: The Estonian Retreat

Evac_zpsb2a496b9.jpg


When things are not going as planned, you need a place to retreat to. You need Northern Estonia, and some TPs.

At this point, Tartu and Tallinn will be the only VPs you have left. Tallinn is safely behind the lines, and you should be able to retreat your troops before the enemy captures it. However, in order to hold Tartu, you'll need to sacrifice some troops. Preferably 2 GAR divisions. These will not be needed to buy time for the divisions guarding the northern approach (behind the river, 1). You should extract these first. In the meanwhile, retreat all your divisions but the Tartu garrison to the port of Pärnu (2). This will be the Dunkirk of the Baltic Empire. From here, you can retreat the main bulk of your army, while the Tartu garrison gives their lives for the greater good.

Extended cut for the first possibility. It looks nice!

I hope you learned and enjoyed :)

I did! You´ve a piece of military strategist in yourself and (apparently) a lot of spare time to move around with counters :D Great analysis! :)

P.S. But I may do a totally different scenario and literally screw you over :) And I think I´ll do it, I´m not sure though. But it will get veeery interesting too and I´m sure you´ll find out what I mean.

Btw. I just noticed you´re running vanilla. There also might be more differences.
 
Last edited:
Introduction Chapter III: Debating Internal Matters

“What are we going to eat?” Kviesis asked Päts after he returned from the kitchen, where he asked chief about the food for our trio.

KP: “We´re going to have the food our deputies have earlier this day. It is the Kartuliporss, a traditional Estonian dish.”

Kviesis and Smetona looked at each other at silent astonishment, since they aren´t Estonian food specialist nor consumers.

KP: “You´ve never eaten potato piggies before? Don´t worry, they´re delicious!”

After just a few minutes, the dish was served. They got a king´s portion (president´s in this case) of this Estonian food. But how did it look like? Here is a historical photo of Kartuliporss, taken on the meeting.

kartuliporss.jpg

If you look closely, the upper dumpling really looks like a piggy!

During the dish, nobody has spoken, since they were all busy eating and talking during the food isn´t twice polite neither.

After they finished eating, Kviesis and Smetona had to agree that this sample Estonian cuisine is really tasteful. But they have not forgotten about their assignment. They decided to continue the discussion after they return to the conference room.

AS: “Alright, I think we can head onto politics. I think I should be the man, who will lead the Union.”

Argue has started immediately. This wasn´t a flag, this wasn´t a name, this was a power struggle. Luckily, Kviesis found out that this argue won´t lead anywhere. He taught a draw would be a fair and the only reasonable solution. AK and AS weren´t too happy about that but they knew this was the only possible solution too.

They cut three pieces of paper; two were blank and on one there was written “President”. After that they put them into a black sack.

The lottery was stressful. Can you even imagine lottery for a president?

Konstantin Päts was the first to take his chances, because he won the rock-paper-scissors thrice (out of five tries) both against Smetona and Kviesis. He grabs a piece of paper from the sack and...

“I´m the new president of the Baltic Union! I can´t believe this!”

Smetona and Kviesis ceremonially took also their pieces of paper from the sack. To their (small) surprise, there were two “Presidents” as well...

If this would be just a few centuries back, it would turn into a western-style movie, which our trio shooting at each other, covering behind comfortable chairs. Fortunately, Päts wasn´t too emotive and he admitted that this vote can´t be accounted as valid, yet he still retained the right to go as the first in the next round.

Päts goes to the sack first, he´s grabbing the paper and...

This time he holds a blank paper. With a quiet dignity, he leaves to the background (possibly to toilet; to ease the tension).

Now it is a 50/50 chance. Kviesis has a better mutual score against Smetona, so he goes second. He reaches the sack and pulls out the paper from it...

This one is blank too. Smetona started his celebration dance, while Kviesis ran out of the room, on the edge of crying.

After Smetona finished his celebration dance, he walked confidently to the sack and pulled out the last paper. To his surprise...

“Is it blank too?!”

Before he turned red (author´s note: he should be of fascistic ideology in game), he suddenly realized: “Oh, what a silly mistake! I forgot to check the opposite side of it!” He found his desired “President” here.

The meeting has ended, since Kviesis was nowhere to find, therefore they couldn´t discuss anything about future Union. It was getting late anyway. Päts accompanied Smetona outside Riigikogu and then they arranged a meeting in Kaunas. They´ll let Kviesis know at what time and where the meeting will be set up later on.

P.S. This is getting out of hand :D
 
P.S. But I may do a totally different scenario and literally screw you over :) And I think I´ll do it, I´m not sure though. But it will get veeery interesting too and I´m sure you´ll find out what I mean.

Feel free to disregard my advice at any time. I guess I'll do another one of those comments when I find out what your plan will be.

And you're completely right - this is getting out of hand! A Union like this without a Ministry of Silly Walks is not only completely insufficient, it is also very much prone to riots and uprisings by the local Nordic Walking clubs! Oh, and this way of selecting a president might be a tad unorthodox as well...
 
And you're completely right - this is getting out of hand! A Union like this without a Ministry of Silly Walks is not only completely insufficient, it is also very much prone to riots and uprisings by the local Nordic Walking clubs! Oh, and this way of selecting a president might be a tad unorthodox as well...

My creativity went through the roof. I hope you don´t expect more updates like this. But it would be a shame to leave my creative genius without notice :) I hope I´ll get somewhere further in the next chapter, four intro chapters are too much! :eek: And I also hope Kviesis will return at some point...