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Redrawing Europe, January – April 1939
To the surprise of Mr Chamberlain ... and only to the surprise of Mr Chamberlain ... Hitler's hunger for new territory was far from sated. As the months of 1939 unfolded, the German leader stepped up his policy of threats and intimidation of the Czechoslovakian government.
On March 15, at the urging of Slovakian separatists (separatists who had long been funded with German gold), Hitler issued the government in Prague with an ultimatum: they must accede to German occupation and the establishment of an autonomous Slovakian homeland, or face the prospect of war.
Given only 24 hours to make their reply, and already betrayed once by the Western allies, the Czech government capitulated. The German Reich expanded once more, and the repercussions were felt throughout Europe.
Once more, it was the power-mad Hitler who acted first. He demanded the port of Memel from Lithuania, a demand the tiny Baltic nation had no hope of denying. At last spurred to action by these latest demonstrations of German imperialism, the British government began to consider pledging a guarantee for Poland, which His Majesty's government saw as their last strong ally in Eastern Europe.
Democracy is a slow process, however, and before the British could complete their deliberations, il Duce acted.
"The corruption and tyranny of the self-styled 'King' of Albania can no longer be tolerated!" he informed his eager listeners, "Ancient bonds of friendship between the Italian and Albanian peoples leaves me no option but to demand the King's abdication, and the establishment of disciplined fascist government."
Zog, perhaps no believing Mussolini would risk war, refused the demand, and on March 26th an Italian fleet, laden with troops, set out for Tirana. In the space of a week, they would crush King Zog's handful of troops, and provide il Duce with the vital southern springboard required for Plan 12.
Whether it was this latest flaring conflict, or that they had finally reached a decision, the government of the United Kingdom announced on March 30th that they had made a formal guarantee of Poland's independence. "Any declaration of war against Poland will be taken as a declaration of war against Britain and her Empire." Mr Chamberlain solemnly informed the leaders of Europe.
Mussolini scorned the announcement when he heard it,
"Hitler is a mad dog, and a mad dog knows only how to bite." He opined to Ciano and Badoglio, "Britain and Germany will be at war within the year, and Italy must be ready to seize the opportunity this will bring."
Prelude to War, May – August 1939
For a few months, Europe held its breath. Armed camps were springing up across the continent: Germany and her Slovakian puppet arranged against France and Britain; Italy and her allies poised to leap who knew where, and the great Soviet bear, sharpening its claws in the east. In May of this year, General Zhukov scored a crushing victory over a Japanese force, demonstrating a growing competence and ability in the Red Army; an army that had been gutted by a purge of its officer corps only two years before.
Short-sightedly scorning il Duce's friendship, the western allies attempted to secure terms of alliance with the Soviet leadership. Yet they did so with such obvious disdain and unwillingness that the talks never had a chance of success. For Mussolini, this incompetence was a blessing.
"When war comes, I would share the spoils with as few others as possible." He remarked. "Let the British drive Stalin away. He can sit idly by and gnash his teeth as Italy takes control of Europe."
On August 24th came the news that stunned the west, and elated Mussolini: Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression pact. The German armies need fear no war in the east. This seeming masterstroke of Hitler's diplomacy was, said il Duce, the Fuhrer's downfall.
"The Soviets are backward and cowardly, lacking the valour and modern equipment of my legions. Hitler should have looked for peace with the sons of Rome, not those of Muscovy."
At midnight on August 30th, claiming to have suffered an undeclared attack on one of her radio stations, Germany declared war on Poland. Five hours later, on similar pretext, Italy declared war on Yugoslavia.
Immediately, all hell broke loose.
To the surprise of Mr Chamberlain ... and only to the surprise of Mr Chamberlain ... Hitler's hunger for new territory was far from sated. As the months of 1939 unfolded, the German leader stepped up his policy of threats and intimidation of the Czechoslovakian government.
On March 15, at the urging of Slovakian separatists (separatists who had long been funded with German gold), Hitler issued the government in Prague with an ultimatum: they must accede to German occupation and the establishment of an autonomous Slovakian homeland, or face the prospect of war.
Given only 24 hours to make their reply, and already betrayed once by the Western allies, the Czech government capitulated. The German Reich expanded once more, and the repercussions were felt throughout Europe.
Once more, it was the power-mad Hitler who acted first. He demanded the port of Memel from Lithuania, a demand the tiny Baltic nation had no hope of denying. At last spurred to action by these latest demonstrations of German imperialism, the British government began to consider pledging a guarantee for Poland, which His Majesty's government saw as their last strong ally in Eastern Europe.
Democracy is a slow process, however, and before the British could complete their deliberations, il Duce acted.
"The corruption and tyranny of the self-styled 'King' of Albania can no longer be tolerated!" he informed his eager listeners, "Ancient bonds of friendship between the Italian and Albanian peoples leaves me no option but to demand the King's abdication, and the establishment of disciplined fascist government."
Zog, perhaps no believing Mussolini would risk war, refused the demand, and on March 26th an Italian fleet, laden with troops, set out for Tirana. In the space of a week, they would crush King Zog's handful of troops, and provide il Duce with the vital southern springboard required for Plan 12.
Whether it was this latest flaring conflict, or that they had finally reached a decision, the government of the United Kingdom announced on March 30th that they had made a formal guarantee of Poland's independence. "Any declaration of war against Poland will be taken as a declaration of war against Britain and her Empire." Mr Chamberlain solemnly informed the leaders of Europe.
Mussolini scorned the announcement when he heard it,
"Hitler is a mad dog, and a mad dog knows only how to bite." He opined to Ciano and Badoglio, "Britain and Germany will be at war within the year, and Italy must be ready to seize the opportunity this will bring."
Prelude to War, May – August 1939
For a few months, Europe held its breath. Armed camps were springing up across the continent: Germany and her Slovakian puppet arranged against France and Britain; Italy and her allies poised to leap who knew where, and the great Soviet bear, sharpening its claws in the east. In May of this year, General Zhukov scored a crushing victory over a Japanese force, demonstrating a growing competence and ability in the Red Army; an army that had been gutted by a purge of its officer corps only two years before.
Short-sightedly scorning il Duce's friendship, the western allies attempted to secure terms of alliance with the Soviet leadership. Yet they did so with such obvious disdain and unwillingness that the talks never had a chance of success. For Mussolini, this incompetence was a blessing.
"When war comes, I would share the spoils with as few others as possible." He remarked. "Let the British drive Stalin away. He can sit idly by and gnash his teeth as Italy takes control of Europe."
On August 24th came the news that stunned the west, and elated Mussolini: Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression pact. The German armies need fear no war in the east. This seeming masterstroke of Hitler's diplomacy was, said il Duce, the Fuhrer's downfall.
"The Soviets are backward and cowardly, lacking the valour and modern equipment of my legions. Hitler should have looked for peace with the sons of Rome, not those of Muscovy."
At midnight on August 30th, claiming to have suffered an undeclared attack on one of her radio stations, Germany declared war on Poland. Five hours later, on similar pretext, Italy declared war on Yugoslavia.
Immediately, all hell broke loose.
Nice, Italy should annex all coastal provinces, Hungary have claims on the rest of Croatia and Vojvodina, so they should probably get that. Bulgaria has claims on Macedonia, so that should be awarded to them. The serbian and bosnian lands should be occupied by italian troops until a suitable government is found to rule these lands. The slovenian lands could get the same destiny or be temporary given to the mad man Hitler to calm him down, Germany should however not be allowed to maintain their status as a superpower for long.
I would have play the same way, just looking for spoils. The Balkans is for the Italian to take....
all hell breaks loose huh? what happened? germany dow on you and then the entire balkans follows and the allies dow germany? 
All hell breaks loose. Excellent. The trick is putting it back together as you want it
Really liking this (obviously I'm bias).
If you have any problems or need any bug-fixes, send me a message.
If you have any problems or need any bug-fixes, send me a message.
Excellent AAR! In fact, it inspired me to do an Italian game of my own based on the same concept. Problem was that when Germany DOWed Poland, the Allies just sat on their hands and did nothing. Funny thing was that I didn't pick up on this right away and just went ahead with my own invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece thinking the Allies were otherwise occupied by Germany. I guess appeasement was the order of the day, because the Allies showed about as much care for the Balkans as they did for Poland.
End result: By Late '44, Hitler seemed content with Germany's borders after annexing Poland, and never attacked anyone else. In fact, the only real war was when Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbour in '41, bringing the USA into the Allies and being the sole focus of their combined attention. Ironically, Japan really hasn't lost much territory (even though it's Navy has been thorougly thrashed), possibly due to AI ineptness at co-ordinating an island hopping campaign on the fly. Italy and the ten other countries I've signed on as alliance partners sit bored out of their skulls blissfully at peace, endlessly researching newer and better weapons of war that never get used. I guess it's a victory, but a pretty dull one.
Suffice to say, I'd much rather follow your game and see what happens after "All hell broke loose". Keep up the good work!
End result: By Late '44, Hitler seemed content with Germany's borders after annexing Poland, and never attacked anyone else. In fact, the only real war was when Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbour in '41, bringing the USA into the Allies and being the sole focus of their combined attention. Ironically, Japan really hasn't lost much territory (even though it's Navy has been thorougly thrashed), possibly due to AI ineptness at co-ordinating an island hopping campaign on the fly. Italy and the ten other countries I've signed on as alliance partners sit bored out of their skulls blissfully at peace, endlessly researching newer and better weapons of war that never get used. I guess it's a victory, but a pretty dull one.
Suffice to say, I'd much rather follow your game and see what happens after "All hell broke loose". Keep up the good work!
Liburdi said:
Did Poland not join the Allies? This is the only reason I can think of why war wouldn't break out between them and Germany ... and once that happens, it has always been my experience that a German DoW on the low countries is just a matter of time.
There should be an update by this weekend at the latest, including a (reconstructed) picture of the Balkan situation.
Just a little linguistic note:
il Duce = the Duce
If someone speaks to the Duce, he will surely not say "il Duce, this and this happened", at the same way you dont say "mr. the Prime Minister, this and this happened".
He will say: "Duce, this and this happened", at the same way he would say "mr. Prime Minister, this and this happened"
Thank you
il Duce = the Duce
If someone speaks to the Duce, he will surely not say "il Duce, this and this happened", at the same way you dont say "mr. the Prime Minister, this and this happened".
He will say: "Duce, this and this happened", at the same way he would say "mr. Prime Minister, this and this happened"
Thank you
Trouble in the Balkans, September 1939
Il Duce had calculated that the Allies would not interfere with his ambitions in Yugoslavia. He believed France too weak to act without the United Kingdom's support, and the British too tied to his generous economic treaties – as well as too eager to keep him from alliance with Germany – to expand the war. As for Germany herself, she could not afford a third front: she simply did not have the troops.
In all of these calculations, Mussolini was correct. The UK and France publicly denounced Italy for her "act of aggression", but they had made no guarantees to Yugoslavia and could not afford them now. In Berlin, Hitler even seemed to warm a little toward il Duce. Half of the troops on the Italian border were withdrawn, heading toward the battles in Poland or the quiet front lines in the west.
It was with the minor nations that Mussolini's calculations went awry. He had expected a free hand in Yugoslavia. Plan 12 was predicated on the concept: a four-pronged assault from Italy, Albania, Hungary and Bulgaria, splitting Yugoslavia between them.
Romania's declaration of war on September 1st, less than 24 hours after Italian forces began to march, was a significant blow to Plan 12. The declaration by Greece, three days later, left the plan in tatters.
"What are you going to do about this?" Mussolini demanded of Badoglio. The two men stood in the dictator's office. Il Duce, woken in the middle of the night with the news of the Greek declaration, was still dressed in his silk pyjamas. "Already the governments of Hungary and Bulgaria are telling me that they must abandon their planned offensives! I have had to ship additional men to Vlore just to hold the lines! There can be no offensive from Albania now."
"I understand your concern, Duce." Badoglio carefully kept his expression and tone neutral, though a stiffening in his spine indicated his disdain for the other man's panic, "But I think once you have had a chance to examine the situation, those concerns will be lessened."
Mussolini was not used to being rebuked, even so indirectly. For a moment he bristled. Then he paused and nodded.
"Explain."
Badoglio spread a map on the desk.
"As you noted, our allies have been forced to abandon their offensives. Romania is moving troops toward Debrecen in Hungary and Pleven in Bulgaria. Hungary's army is likely to be pushed back soon. I think Bulgaria could hold, were it not for the Greek attack on their southern border."
"This is doing little to reassure me, Badoglio."
"I wanted to acknowledge the very real difficulties we face before outlining the positives." The General moved his finger to Albania, "Greece has also attack Vlore, but the reinforcements you sent there will quickly halt their advance. Together with the forces that have already advanced into Skopje, they pose enough of a threat to Greece herself that the enemy will need to divert troops to screen against a possible counter-attack. This will alleviate some of the pressure on Bulgaria. The presence of new airfields in Tirana will also aid us. Our air force is much superior to that of our enemies, and we will be able to disrupt their movements."
Badoglio turned his attention to the north.
"But it is in the north that the real questions of this campaign have been asked and answered. I know that the German advance in Poland has been more dramatic than our own, but they are operating in open country, with motorised troops. In light of the terrain we must deal with, our progress is excellent. Our advance into Yugoslavia is proceeding almost as fast as the men can march. Rijeka has fallen and there is virtually no organised resistance to our attack."
Il Duce frowned,
"Sooner or later we will meet the Yugoslavian reserves. How will our advance fare then?"
"The equipment of the units we have already faced is very poor, and their training not much better." Badoglio advised, "Their reserves, and I do not believe they will be large, as they still must guard against attacks by our allies, are not a concern. We will reach the Hungarian border within two weeks, and take Sarajevo within three."
Mussolini stared at the older man, then nodded.
"Very well. The attack continues. But if Sarajevo does not fall within the month, you will be held personally responsible."
Game Notes
The declarations by Greece and Romania came as a genuine surprise. I hadn't expected or planned on them (my only concern had been the Allies). Taken as a whole, Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania are no match for Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, but the disposition of forces gave them a local superiority in several areas. This war proved a lot of fun to fight, as I tried to stymie Greek and Romanian advances long enough for the unstoppable flood of Italian troops in the north to do their job.
Il Duce had calculated that the Allies would not interfere with his ambitions in Yugoslavia. He believed France too weak to act without the United Kingdom's support, and the British too tied to his generous economic treaties – as well as too eager to keep him from alliance with Germany – to expand the war. As for Germany herself, she could not afford a third front: she simply did not have the troops.
In all of these calculations, Mussolini was correct. The UK and France publicly denounced Italy for her "act of aggression", but they had made no guarantees to Yugoslavia and could not afford them now. In Berlin, Hitler even seemed to warm a little toward il Duce. Half of the troops on the Italian border were withdrawn, heading toward the battles in Poland or the quiet front lines in the west.
It was with the minor nations that Mussolini's calculations went awry. He had expected a free hand in Yugoslavia. Plan 12 was predicated on the concept: a four-pronged assault from Italy, Albania, Hungary and Bulgaria, splitting Yugoslavia between them.
Romania's declaration of war on September 1st, less than 24 hours after Italian forces began to march, was a significant blow to Plan 12. The declaration by Greece, three days later, left the plan in tatters.
"What are you going to do about this?" Mussolini demanded of Badoglio. The two men stood in the dictator's office. Il Duce, woken in the middle of the night with the news of the Greek declaration, was still dressed in his silk pyjamas. "Already the governments of Hungary and Bulgaria are telling me that they must abandon their planned offensives! I have had to ship additional men to Vlore just to hold the lines! There can be no offensive from Albania now."
"I understand your concern, Duce." Badoglio carefully kept his expression and tone neutral, though a stiffening in his spine indicated his disdain for the other man's panic, "But I think once you have had a chance to examine the situation, those concerns will be lessened."
Mussolini was not used to being rebuked, even so indirectly. For a moment he bristled. Then he paused and nodded.
"Explain."
Badoglio spread a map on the desk.
"As you noted, our allies have been forced to abandon their offensives. Romania is moving troops toward Debrecen in Hungary and Pleven in Bulgaria. Hungary's army is likely to be pushed back soon. I think Bulgaria could hold, were it not for the Greek attack on their southern border."
"This is doing little to reassure me, Badoglio."
"I wanted to acknowledge the very real difficulties we face before outlining the positives." The General moved his finger to Albania, "Greece has also attack Vlore, but the reinforcements you sent there will quickly halt their advance. Together with the forces that have already advanced into Skopje, they pose enough of a threat to Greece herself that the enemy will need to divert troops to screen against a possible counter-attack. This will alleviate some of the pressure on Bulgaria. The presence of new airfields in Tirana will also aid us. Our air force is much superior to that of our enemies, and we will be able to disrupt their movements."
Badoglio turned his attention to the north.
"But it is in the north that the real questions of this campaign have been asked and answered. I know that the German advance in Poland has been more dramatic than our own, but they are operating in open country, with motorised troops. In light of the terrain we must deal with, our progress is excellent. Our advance into Yugoslavia is proceeding almost as fast as the men can march. Rijeka has fallen and there is virtually no organised resistance to our attack."
Il Duce frowned,
"Sooner or later we will meet the Yugoslavian reserves. How will our advance fare then?"
"The equipment of the units we have already faced is very poor, and their training not much better." Badoglio advised, "Their reserves, and I do not believe they will be large, as they still must guard against attacks by our allies, are not a concern. We will reach the Hungarian border within two weeks, and take Sarajevo within three."
Mussolini stared at the older man, then nodded.
"Very well. The attack continues. But if Sarajevo does not fall within the month, you will be held personally responsible."
Game Notes
The declarations by Greece and Romania came as a genuine surprise. I hadn't expected or planned on them (my only concern had been the Allies). Taken as a whole, Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania are no match for Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, but the disposition of forces gave them a local superiority in several areas. This war proved a lot of fun to fight, as I tried to stymie Greek and Romanian advances long enough for the unstoppable flood of Italian troops in the north to do their job.
Badoglia better be sure of himself. Of course, he should also have pointed out that, if all goes to plan, Italy will be the master of the Balkans.
Great stuff. The declarations by Greece and Romania just mean more territory to conquer for Italy and her allies! To bad Turkey didn't get involved too, you could have been that much closer to a new Roman Empire.
Well at least Bulgaria now get the chance to conquer Dobrudja and greek Macedonia, and Hungary the chance to reclaim Transylvania, but even more importnant, YOU get the chance to annex Greece early!!
I really want to see how the partition of Yugoslavia works out, as you won't be in the Axis so it won't fire. It's a first-come/first-serve battle for the spoils! Let's hope you end up on top
My immediate reaction to the Greek and Romanian DoWs was concern: after all, I hadn't planned for them. But that quickly changed as I thought about the advantages this would bring me: I didn't have to worry about any guarantees made for either country, since they declared on me, I wouldn't take a belligerence hit for fighting them (only for what I did to them when 'terms' were secured), and I could take them out earlier than planned and have an even stronger base from which to take on Germany.
If the Yugoslav army wasn't collapsing so quickly though, it could have been a pretty hairy part of the game. As it was, it was just exciting, rather than stressed
If the Yugoslav army wasn't collapsing so quickly though, it could have been a pretty hairy part of the game. As it was, it was just exciting, rather than stressed
Capellan said:My immediate reaction to the Greek and Romanian DoWs was concern: after all, I hadn't planned for them. But that quickly changed as I thought about the advantages this would bring me: I didn't have to worry about any guarantees made for either country, since they declared on me, I wouldn't take a belligerence hit for fighting them (only for what I did to them when 'terms' were secured), and I could take them out earlier than planned and have an even stronger base from which to take on Germany.
If the Yugoslav army wasn't collapsing so quickly though, it could have been a pretty hairy part of the game. As it was, it was just exciting, rather than stressed
you really have restored italy's fortunes. looking forward to he screenshots of the war
From Belgrade ... October 1939
As bitter fighting saw their allies retreat from Debrecen and Pleven, Italian forces poured south, steamrolling the disorganised Yugoslav resistance. Ljubljana fell; then Split, Mostar and Zenica. On September 27th, true to his promise, General Badoglio entered Sarajevo.
To the north, the German advance into Poland was compounded by Soviet betrayal: the Red Army occupied the eastern half of the beleaguered country, leading within 24 hours to the total collapse of Polish resistance. Hitler announced the incorporation of western Poland into the German Reich on October 2nd.
On that same day, Pristina fell to the advancing Italians. A week later it was the turn of Belgrade, and the conquest of Yugoslavia's capital presented il Duce with an opportunity.
"There are dozens of loyal fascist activists in Belgrade's jails." Ciano presented Mussolini with a long list of names, "Men who have suffered for their loyalty to our cause."
"And what do these men wants from us in recompense?" il Duce asked, with a scant glance at the list.
"They propose to establish a provisional Yugoslav government, repudiating the criminal acts of the previous administration and aligning their regime with the Treaty of Rome."
"So, power."
"It is as you say, Duce." Ciano nodded, "However, they have agreed to a considerable concessions ... here, you will see they have agreed to hand over their portfolio of foreign relations to the direction of the Treaty authority."
Mussolini began to take an interest,
"Do they have enough support to supplant the previous government?"
"I think we can rely on spontaneous demonstrations of support for the new government in Sarajevo and Belgrade." Ciano answered.
Mussolini chuckled, then frowned.
"And the rest of the country?"
"The current administration is deeply unpopular: the populace believes the war lost and no longer believes the government's promises of foreign assistance. If we guarantee the restoration of Yugoslavia's borders, I am sure the people will demand the change of regime."
"You believe we should abrogate our territorial gains, and our claims to Dalmatia, in order to gain this alliance?"
"Duce, our claims to Dalmatia were always more for propaganda than intent. And in truth, we have limited forces to occupy territory. It's true that we have sufficient to garrison Yugoslavia, but there is still Greece and Romania to be dealt with. This offer allows us to secure the land route we needed for Bulgarian forces and adds a new partner to our alliance. I believe it to be the right choice for Italy."
Il Duce nodded.
"Have the treaty drawn up."
... to Bucharest, November – December 1939
Although the coming winter brought an end to major operations in Germany's war, November was a month of considerable turmoil: not content with half of Poland, Stalin forced both Lithuania and Estonia to cede their territory to him. A similar attempt to browbeat Finland was less successful, and on November 16th the Red Army crossed the border at Viipuri and the Winter War began.
Further south, November was a month of constant triumph for Italy. Yugoslav units that had previously fled before the Italian armies now supported their counterattacks on Greece and Romania. Debrecen was restored to Hungarian control; Pleven and Gorna Dzhumaya to Bulgarian.
On November 5th, taking advantage of a break in the weather, an elite corps of Italian infantry waded ashore on Crete, swiftly putting to flight the disorganised cavalry division charged which defending the island.
The loss of Crete was not the end of Greek woes: Edessa fell, followed by Ioannina, and Italian forces began to build up for a final assault toward Athens. However it was Romania which suffered the most as the new year approached. Italian forces poured across the Yugoslav border, overrunning the entire western half of the country.
The focus of the Italian advance then turned to the south, sweeping through Bucharest to the sea as Christmas approached. The beleaguered and all-but-broken Romanian army retreated to the Ploiesti oil fields, where they prepared to make a last stand.
Game Notes
Ploiesti is the last Romanian victory province. All the others have already fallen. The plan once it falls is to offer puppet status, and if that is refused, annex them and install the puppet state that way. It means a dissent hit, and I don't get their IC, but I don't have the manpower or TC to build a huge garrison force, and right now all my IC is focussed on prepping for war with Germany anyway.
That's also part of the reason I offered puppet status to Yugoslavia (the other part being that it keeps my belligerence low, and reduces the chance of war with the Allies).
One thing I should mention is that I have no compunctions about taking military control of my allies. It's the only way to get them to achieve anything useful, in many cases. This means that rather than getting 5 IC out of Yugoslavia, plus the attendant garrison duties, I'll get 25 IC worth of production, and no TC load from additional units and partisans. In fact, I'll be able to use the Yugoslavs as my garrison.
What this means is that (at least in this game) you can expect to see a lot me puppet my enemies whenever I have the opportunity to do so.
Research in 1939
Production Planning, Basic Cavalry Division, Basic Decryption Devices, Improved Computing Machine, Basic Mountain Division, Assembly Line Experimentation, Advancing Computing Machine, Improved Decryption Devices. It was 'all Industry, all the time' on the research front this year. I had my naval and infantry techs up to date, and had no plans to produce armour or artillery in the near future.
Construction in 1939
I built 10 new Infantry divisions during 1939. Five before the outbreak of war, five after it. I also continued to upgrade my existing units. While I fell short of Plan 12's optimistic objective, I did so by only one division. To all intents and purposes the army with which I entered 1940 was exactly the army I had been aiming for. The question now was: would it be enough?
As bitter fighting saw their allies retreat from Debrecen and Pleven, Italian forces poured south, steamrolling the disorganised Yugoslav resistance. Ljubljana fell; then Split, Mostar and Zenica. On September 27th, true to his promise, General Badoglio entered Sarajevo.
To the north, the German advance into Poland was compounded by Soviet betrayal: the Red Army occupied the eastern half of the beleaguered country, leading within 24 hours to the total collapse of Polish resistance. Hitler announced the incorporation of western Poland into the German Reich on October 2nd.
On that same day, Pristina fell to the advancing Italians. A week later it was the turn of Belgrade, and the conquest of Yugoslavia's capital presented il Duce with an opportunity.
"There are dozens of loyal fascist activists in Belgrade's jails." Ciano presented Mussolini with a long list of names, "Men who have suffered for their loyalty to our cause."
"And what do these men wants from us in recompense?" il Duce asked, with a scant glance at the list.
"They propose to establish a provisional Yugoslav government, repudiating the criminal acts of the previous administration and aligning their regime with the Treaty of Rome."
"So, power."
"It is as you say, Duce." Ciano nodded, "However, they have agreed to a considerable concessions ... here, you will see they have agreed to hand over their portfolio of foreign relations to the direction of the Treaty authority."
Mussolini began to take an interest,
"Do they have enough support to supplant the previous government?"
"I think we can rely on spontaneous demonstrations of support for the new government in Sarajevo and Belgrade." Ciano answered.
Mussolini chuckled, then frowned.
"And the rest of the country?"
"The current administration is deeply unpopular: the populace believes the war lost and no longer believes the government's promises of foreign assistance. If we guarantee the restoration of Yugoslavia's borders, I am sure the people will demand the change of regime."
"You believe we should abrogate our territorial gains, and our claims to Dalmatia, in order to gain this alliance?"
"Duce, our claims to Dalmatia were always more for propaganda than intent. And in truth, we have limited forces to occupy territory. It's true that we have sufficient to garrison Yugoslavia, but there is still Greece and Romania to be dealt with. This offer allows us to secure the land route we needed for Bulgarian forces and adds a new partner to our alliance. I believe it to be the right choice for Italy."
Il Duce nodded.
"Have the treaty drawn up."
... to Bucharest, November – December 1939
Although the coming winter brought an end to major operations in Germany's war, November was a month of considerable turmoil: not content with half of Poland, Stalin forced both Lithuania and Estonia to cede their territory to him. A similar attempt to browbeat Finland was less successful, and on November 16th the Red Army crossed the border at Viipuri and the Winter War began.
Further south, November was a month of constant triumph for Italy. Yugoslav units that had previously fled before the Italian armies now supported their counterattacks on Greece and Romania. Debrecen was restored to Hungarian control; Pleven and Gorna Dzhumaya to Bulgarian.
On November 5th, taking advantage of a break in the weather, an elite corps of Italian infantry waded ashore on Crete, swiftly putting to flight the disorganised cavalry division charged which defending the island.
The loss of Crete was not the end of Greek woes: Edessa fell, followed by Ioannina, and Italian forces began to build up for a final assault toward Athens. However it was Romania which suffered the most as the new year approached. Italian forces poured across the Yugoslav border, overrunning the entire western half of the country.
The focus of the Italian advance then turned to the south, sweeping through Bucharest to the sea as Christmas approached. The beleaguered and all-but-broken Romanian army retreated to the Ploiesti oil fields, where they prepared to make a last stand.
Game Notes
Ploiesti is the last Romanian victory province. All the others have already fallen. The plan once it falls is to offer puppet status, and if that is refused, annex them and install the puppet state that way. It means a dissent hit, and I don't get their IC, but I don't have the manpower or TC to build a huge garrison force, and right now all my IC is focussed on prepping for war with Germany anyway.
That's also part of the reason I offered puppet status to Yugoslavia (the other part being that it keeps my belligerence low, and reduces the chance of war with the Allies).
One thing I should mention is that I have no compunctions about taking military control of my allies. It's the only way to get them to achieve anything useful, in many cases. This means that rather than getting 5 IC out of Yugoslavia, plus the attendant garrison duties, I'll get 25 IC worth of production, and no TC load from additional units and partisans. In fact, I'll be able to use the Yugoslavs as my garrison.
What this means is that (at least in this game) you can expect to see a lot me puppet my enemies whenever I have the opportunity to do so.
Research in 1939
Production Planning, Basic Cavalry Division, Basic Decryption Devices, Improved Computing Machine, Basic Mountain Division, Assembly Line Experimentation, Advancing Computing Machine, Improved Decryption Devices. It was 'all Industry, all the time' on the research front this year. I had my naval and infantry techs up to date, and had no plans to produce armour or artillery in the near future.
Construction in 1939
I built 10 new Infantry divisions during 1939. Five before the outbreak of war, five after it. I also continued to upgrade my existing units. While I fell short of Plan 12's optimistic objective, I did so by only one division. To all intents and purposes the army with which I entered 1940 was exactly the army I had been aiming for. The question now was: would it be enough?