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[HEADING=2]Entry 13 - Panzerkampf[/HEADING]
This is the situation in the East. The Russians have amassed a staggering quantity of manpower along our border, some 2.5 million men. As regular readers will know, I've been watching the Russians for some time now, and I've acquired some remarkably accurate intelligence on their military strength in the area.
Their army is predominantly infantry. They have some tanks, and while their Light Tanks are the best in the world, they have barely got any. On land, then, as long as I can keep the fuel running, I hold a huge advantage in armour and mobile forces, both technologically and numerically.
On the waves, I can pin down the limited Soviet naval capabilities with large-scale submarine blockades of the Black and Baltic seas.
And, in the air, I can destroy the entire Soviet air force in mere hours with my devastating rocket forces.
Another significant point to notice in that screenshot - the Soviets have not yet commenced their attack.
Only at a handful of points along the border have Soviet forces even started moving. Now, due to the sheer raw coordination of the Wehrmacht, I can actually get my men across the border before the Soviets can.
Other than these key advantages, I have half a million men on their way to the front, and another half million on their way to the Turkish border.
Well. Enough stalling. Let's see which way the dice fall.
All along a 1500 kilometre front, 1.2 million men attack the Soviet border, with Paratroopers landing in the North to seize the area around Leningrad, and further plans for a total Marine offensive.
Back at home, a state of Total War is declared. Every man, woman and child will pull together to defeat the Soviet Union.
Not only do my men stand, but the counterattack on their lines is reasonably (but by no means totally) successful.
After the destruction of the Soviet air force, I bring over 1000 bombers crashing down on the Soviet military.
With the sledgehammer of German might swinging hard into the Motherland, I take Minsk without difficulty.
The initial battle for Leningrad begins. The city is well fortified, and to take the second-largest city in Russia will cost many German lives.
However, in the Orient, the Chinese take Manchuria (and, with the surrender of Manchuria, many Japanese divisions under Manchurian control are destroyed).
Leningrad holds. I hadn't expected an easy victory - I'll bring in extra forces soon and encircle the city.
I land 200,000 men on the Leningrad front.
In Iraq, I begin the destruction of the last British forces between India and Africa. Air recon indicates that the real weak point of the Soviet Union is the poorly defended Caucasus, and they are definitely in no way prepared for what I'm throwing at them.
I take Smolensk. I know I'm making this look almost easy, but the sheer quantity of Soviet manpower means that even strategic German victories produce alarmingly high casualty rates.
Just in time for raids on Soviet cities, I produce a large volume of new V2 rockets, superior in every respect to the older "Flying Bomb" style V1s.
I begin my invasion of Turkey, seizing the obvious strategic advantage of Batman.
[sup]In the likely chance that the text displays too small, click [a href="http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp103/fish-food-carl/HoI3_13-11-1.jpg"]this link[/a] to get the joke.[/sup]
The city of Kiev falls into German hands.
In Turkey, it's not exactly the battle of the century when I take Istanbul.
I completely seal Leningrad off from the outside world, denying both air and sea supply to the garrison. The attack begins with mass-scale bombardment, and soon the streetfighting begins, with 105,000 Soviet defenders entrenched against 205,000 German soldiers.
I begin enormous V2 raids on Moscow.
The Turks fight pretty well, however their Southern border isn't garrisoned, and I drive deep into their soil.
They soon surrender. Now, to move North. The Soviets are already moving into Turkey, but they lack the numbers to do anything practical but wait for the German 3rd and 6th Armies to arrive.
Just to show you the total lack of preparation of the Southern Soviet Union for military action.
While the meatgrinder of the Eastern Front continues, I will force a fairly easy invasion across this border.
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but once again, my strategic predictions back in the earlier entries when I planned this invasion seem to have been correct.
As a disclaimer - I have never played a game as Germany past 1938 or so before, so I really did predict that without prior knowledge. I'm pretty proud of that.
Meanwhile, the Reds have thrown everything they have against my centre. The thinly defended pocket around Smolensk is almost encircled by overwhelming Russian numbers.
Tragedy at Leningrad - the second assault fails to hold any ground, and despite valiant fighting, I take more than 20,000 casualties to just 200 Russian dead.
It must be noted, however, that I have cut off the city's supply lines and destroyed all supply and fuel dumps from the air. The loss of two divisions worth of men is unpleasant, but Leningrad is too important to not continue the attack.
Another blow to the Axis - the Italian puppet state of Ethiopia is taken by British African forces.
The weakened 2nd Army in the centre at Smolensk is completely encircled by a new Russian offensive. They destroy 2 divisions, push back 3 more and unfortunately, the closest Corps are simply too wrecked to come to aid of Smolensk.
However, I'm not one to abandon a bad situation. I take fresh forces from the strong position at Kiev to break the Russian siege.
The situation isn't at all certain, but I do breakthrough long enough to get much-needed supplies to the 2nd Army.
To try to tip the balance in Leningrad, I drop 4 divisions of Paratroopers on the city.
Things are looking good in the South. Supply lines are stretched, but numbers are on my side, as I take the Crimea and Kharkov, moving on Kursk, Orel, Bryansk and Rostov-on-Don.
Once again, despite the Paratrooper offensive, Leningrad holds. In the face of the total destruction of the city's factories, AA capabilities, supply dumps, the fortifications are almost entirely intact.
I'm finally starting to get a grip on the runaway situation in the centre before Moscow. The city of Smolensk held, however, and reinforcements are pushing their way North.
But, once again, this grand game of tug of war persists. Once again, the Russians throw their vast numbers against me.
And, once again, the 2nd Army is smashed along multiple locations, leaving a few pockets of German resistance encircled.
In the Third Battle of Leningrad, after months without supplies, the 100,000 man Russian garrison surrenders to overwhelming German attacks from all sides.
I think, we end today on a positive note. It's rough going, and things are going to get worse all round in the Winter, but in the height of Summer I have managed to push the Russians well back into their Homeland.
It may take some time to break their heavy presence in the North and Centre, but I am confident of victory in the South, coming with a new offensive in the Caucasus.
END OF ENTRY 13
P.S. - Cookie to anybody who correctly guesses the source of today's entry title.
This is the situation in the East. The Russians have amassed a staggering quantity of manpower along our border, some 2.5 million men. As regular readers will know, I've been watching the Russians for some time now, and I've acquired some remarkably accurate intelligence on their military strength in the area.
Their army is predominantly infantry. They have some tanks, and while their Light Tanks are the best in the world, they have barely got any. On land, then, as long as I can keep the fuel running, I hold a huge advantage in armour and mobile forces, both technologically and numerically.
On the waves, I can pin down the limited Soviet naval capabilities with large-scale submarine blockades of the Black and Baltic seas.
And, in the air, I can destroy the entire Soviet air force in mere hours with my devastating rocket forces.
Another significant point to notice in that screenshot - the Soviets have not yet commenced their attack.
Only at a handful of points along the border have Soviet forces even started moving. Now, due to the sheer raw coordination of the Wehrmacht, I can actually get my men across the border before the Soviets can.
Other than these key advantages, I have half a million men on their way to the front, and another half million on their way to the Turkish border.
Well. Enough stalling. Let's see which way the dice fall.
All along a 1500 kilometre front, 1.2 million men attack the Soviet border, with Paratroopers landing in the North to seize the area around Leningrad, and further plans for a total Marine offensive.
Back at home, a state of Total War is declared. Every man, woman and child will pull together to defeat the Soviet Union.
Not only do my men stand, but the counterattack on their lines is reasonably (but by no means totally) successful.
After the destruction of the Soviet air force, I bring over 1000 bombers crashing down on the Soviet military.
With the sledgehammer of German might swinging hard into the Motherland, I take Minsk without difficulty.
The initial battle for Leningrad begins. The city is well fortified, and to take the second-largest city in Russia will cost many German lives.
However, in the Orient, the Chinese take Manchuria (and, with the surrender of Manchuria, many Japanese divisions under Manchurian control are destroyed).
Leningrad holds. I hadn't expected an easy victory - I'll bring in extra forces soon and encircle the city.
I land 200,000 men on the Leningrad front.
In Iraq, I begin the destruction of the last British forces between India and Africa. Air recon indicates that the real weak point of the Soviet Union is the poorly defended Caucasus, and they are definitely in no way prepared for what I'm throwing at them.
I take Smolensk. I know I'm making this look almost easy, but the sheer quantity of Soviet manpower means that even strategic German victories produce alarmingly high casualty rates.
Just in time for raids on Soviet cities, I produce a large volume of new V2 rockets, superior in every respect to the older "Flying Bomb" style V1s.
I begin my invasion of Turkey, seizing the obvious strategic advantage of Batman.
[sup]In the likely chance that the text displays too small, click [a href="http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/pp103/fish-food-carl/HoI3_13-11-1.jpg"]this link[/a] to get the joke.[/sup]
The city of Kiev falls into German hands.
In Turkey, it's not exactly the battle of the century when I take Istanbul.
I completely seal Leningrad off from the outside world, denying both air and sea supply to the garrison. The attack begins with mass-scale bombardment, and soon the streetfighting begins, with 105,000 Soviet defenders entrenched against 205,000 German soldiers.
I begin enormous V2 raids on Moscow.
The Turks fight pretty well, however their Southern border isn't garrisoned, and I drive deep into their soil.
They soon surrender. Now, to move North. The Soviets are already moving into Turkey, but they lack the numbers to do anything practical but wait for the German 3rd and 6th Armies to arrive.
Just to show you the total lack of preparation of the Southern Soviet Union for military action.
While the meatgrinder of the Eastern Front continues, I will force a fairly easy invasion across this border.
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but once again, my strategic predictions back in the earlier entries when I planned this invasion seem to have been correct.
As a disclaimer - I have never played a game as Germany past 1938 or so before, so I really did predict that without prior knowledge. I'm pretty proud of that.
Meanwhile, the Reds have thrown everything they have against my centre. The thinly defended pocket around Smolensk is almost encircled by overwhelming Russian numbers.
Tragedy at Leningrad - the second assault fails to hold any ground, and despite valiant fighting, I take more than 20,000 casualties to just 200 Russian dead.
It must be noted, however, that I have cut off the city's supply lines and destroyed all supply and fuel dumps from the air. The loss of two divisions worth of men is unpleasant, but Leningrad is too important to not continue the attack.
Another blow to the Axis - the Italian puppet state of Ethiopia is taken by British African forces.
The weakened 2nd Army in the centre at Smolensk is completely encircled by a new Russian offensive. They destroy 2 divisions, push back 3 more and unfortunately, the closest Corps are simply too wrecked to come to aid of Smolensk.
However, I'm not one to abandon a bad situation. I take fresh forces from the strong position at Kiev to break the Russian siege.
The situation isn't at all certain, but I do breakthrough long enough to get much-needed supplies to the 2nd Army.
To try to tip the balance in Leningrad, I drop 4 divisions of Paratroopers on the city.
Things are looking good in the South. Supply lines are stretched, but numbers are on my side, as I take the Crimea and Kharkov, moving on Kursk, Orel, Bryansk and Rostov-on-Don.
Once again, despite the Paratrooper offensive, Leningrad holds. In the face of the total destruction of the city's factories, AA capabilities, supply dumps, the fortifications are almost entirely intact.
I'm finally starting to get a grip on the runaway situation in the centre before Moscow. The city of Smolensk held, however, and reinforcements are pushing their way North.
But, once again, this grand game of tug of war persists. Once again, the Russians throw their vast numbers against me.
And, once again, the 2nd Army is smashed along multiple locations, leaving a few pockets of German resistance encircled.
In the Third Battle of Leningrad, after months without supplies, the 100,000 man Russian garrison surrenders to overwhelming German attacks from all sides.
I think, we end today on a positive note. It's rough going, and things are going to get worse all round in the Winter, but in the height of Summer I have managed to push the Russians well back into their Homeland.
It may take some time to break their heavy presence in the North and Centre, but I am confident of victory in the South, coming with a new offensive in the Caucasus.
END OF ENTRY 13
P.S. - Cookie to anybody who correctly guesses the source of today's entry title.
Well, Panzerkampf means tank battle, but I don't know what you're referencing in particular.
...
Alright, I've googled it now, but that doesn't really count, so I'll let someone else have a go.
Overall, another action-filled entry. Nice to see your initial attack go alright. I appreciate the larger overview at the end of the entry, it can be hard to get an oversight otherwise. Let's hope you'll be eating borscht and drinking Vodka soon!
...
Alright, I've googled it now, but that doesn't really count, so I'll let someone else have a go.
Overall, another action-filled entry. Nice to see your initial attack go alright. I appreciate the larger overview at the end of the entry, it can be hard to get an oversight otherwise. Let's hope you'll be eating borscht and drinking Vodka soon!
And don't forget your loyal staff of advisors! : D
Pretty nice, overall. I hadn't realized that your rocket forces would be this effective against airfields, but it makes sense. Do the V2s you're firing at Moskau cause a lot of economic damage? Or is it mostly damage to their national unity?
Where are their industrialized cities? Your IC has really only increased by something like 20 points, despite your territorial gains. Where do you have to attack to really hurt them?
Also, how're the casualties? Your forces in Armeegruppe Mitte really took a beating, didn't they? It might be best to slow the advance their, for the time being.
Though now that your forces in Leningrad have been freed up, and your forces from the middle east are linking up with Armeegruppe Süd, you should be able to push them pretty hard on those fronts. Are you gonna try to gain ground, or smash their army?
Also, were there any particularly heroic divisions in the second army? I'd like to see if I can write up a POV for one of those.
Indeed. The Southern invasion can't come soon enough. The Soviets are starting to hit back in the bubble between Leningrad and Moscow, and they have seemingly endless waves of men.Fat_Hippo said:
Burninator said:
Both. I've heavily reduced their National Unity, and I've effectively flattened the city's industrial districts.
Unfortunately, their industry is spread really thin. What industry there is in cities I've taken so far has been mostly destroyed by the heavy bombing and fighting involved.
Casualties are pretty bad. Partly, battle losses are high from actual combat, and partly because about 40,000 men were surrounded north of Smolensk, and surrendered, leaving my position there extremely vulnerable.
I have no front to speak of any more between Leningrad and Smolensk, but I'm pushing North from Kiev and South from Leningrad hard enough that I should be able to sacrifice a little soil in exchange for time to replace the 2nd Army.
While the 2nd Army still exists, it has ceased (temporarily) to be effective as a fighting force, with large losses and severe lack of supply and organisation.
Well, it's vital that I secure the front South of Leningrad and North of Smolensk before I advance on Moscow. My intention is to primarily reform the front, and then push on afterwards, so you could say that neither of those is my "objective", and both.
Well, a bunch of them surrendered after they were isolated, but I guess the Alpine division that defended the city of Smolensk was pretty praiseworthy.
All of the rest of the Army in the Smolensk pocket was engaged, so I left that one Mountain division behind in Smolensk, and it held the city long enough for supplies to get through to the rest of the Army around Smolensk.
Hmm. Could you exploit the Smolnesk pocket to trap some Soviet armies? Your forces from the north and south seem pretty strong. If they try to push through the gap, would it be possible to trap 'em and cut them off? Or is the open front too risky?
Also, re: national unity, any idea how much lower it needs to go for the soviets to surrender?
re: Industrial capacity, oh well. As long as they don't get to use it.
Any idea how much capacity they have?
And cool, Alpine division. Any other info, insignia, leader, weapons?
Edit: "Smolnesk Pocket" is what I'm callin' the Smolnesk-Leningrad gap in your front. Cause it sounds better than "Shit shit get some guys in there!"
Also, re: national unity, any idea how much lower it needs to go for the soviets to surrender?
re: Industrial capacity, oh well. As long as they don't get to use it.
Any idea how much capacity they have?
And cool, Alpine division. Any other info, insignia, leader, weapons?
Edit: "Smolnesk Pocket" is what I'm callin' the Smolnesk-Leningrad gap in your front. Cause it sounds better than "Shit shit get some guys in there!"
There's definitely potential for destroying some of the forces around Smolensk, but it depends on Soviet strategy. If they push on into the Baltic states, I can cut them in half and let slip the Panzers.Burninator said:
If they hold their current position, encirclement would require a risky diversion of forces from the main goal of securing the front between Leningrad and Smolensk. Possible, but only if I can guarantee no further Soviet advance beyond their current lines.
If they retreat, encirclement will be impossible.
I recall them being about 25% towards surrendering, but that might have been before I took Leningrad, which is worth a lot of Victory Points.
Their Industrial Capacity, I believe, is somewhere between 250 and 300 (less than half of mine).
I'll pop into the game, if you like, and check out the details of the Division.
Sorry, my good man. It's a kind of "Know it or you don't" thing, so a hint won't really help you.ChupathingyX said:
It's not a completely obscure reference, just the likelihood that anybody reading this knows it is reasonably unlikely.
If nobody gets it (without Googling), I'll reveal the not-extremely-exciting answer next entry.
So take Moscow, capture Stalingrad, wipe out their field army, and the war'll be over by christmas? : p
Man, the HOI soviet union's got nothin' on the real thing.
Stalin alone would probably have generated 200 IC.
That would be cool! Or I could just make something up.
Edit: Wait, you already PMed me. Excellent. I shall attempt to create something readable.
Easier said than done...Burninator said:
They do get a "Backs Against The Wall" style bonus to IC during the invasion, like in real life, but for some reason, in my game, the Soviet Union never reached its full industrial potential.
You can say it's stupid AI, or just one of the varying factors that make each game different, but in this game my only industrial rival is the United States.
Cool. Can't wait to read it!
What will actually happen if the Soviet Union surrenders? Would your empire suddenly double in size due to you taking over the entire Soviet territory, or is there some sort of Vichy France mechanic in there that would allow you to occupy the west and keep the east unmolested?Octorok said:
Just a thought, if you do gain possession of the entire Union, I suppose you could (eventually) loop around and invade China to help out Japan, and perhaps launch an invasion of the US and Canada from the West Coast/Alaska.
Hah, that sounds like it would be pretty fun. He has to take India from the British anyway, so he might as well take China while he's at it, right! Germany will conquer the entire world! MUAHAHAHAH!Melon Hunter said:
Unrealistic, you say?! Pah!
Source of last entry title is a song by Swedish metal band, Sabaton, who sing exclusively about military history, named Panzerkampf, regarding the Soviet victory at Kursk. I was seeing them live in London last Friday, which was the reason for my absence.
One of the single greatest things to happen to the genre since Stone Age man first considered the electric guitar. If you like metal/this song, go check out other songs of theirs, but avoid anything on the album Metalizer. It's before they started singing about war, and the songs aren't nearly so cool.
One of the single greatest things to happen to the genre since Stone Age man first considered the electric guitar. If you like metal/this song, go check out other songs of theirs, but avoid anything on the album Metalizer. It's before they started singing about war, and the songs aren't nearly so cool.
[HEADING=2]Entry 14 - Drang nach Osten[/HEADING]
The current situation around Smolensk. The remains of the 2nd Army have been reinforced by large parts of the 4th and 5th Armies from the South.
Half a million men now stand before Moscow.
In the North, 3 lone divisions (the remains of all 2nd Army troops caught North of Smolensk) are trying to push their way back out, as a rescue force comes the other way.
Strictly speaking, they can outrun their pursuers, but they lack the fuel to move at anything faster than a crawl.
Between these two points, rogue Russian infantry and militia are marching into the Baltic states.
Fortunately, they don't have a large density of men in the gap yet. If they had something with wheels, or enough infantry to bear the brunt of my attack and keep the gap open, the results might have been catastrophic.
As it stands, their forces simply lack the mobility to do anything but hope for reinforcements before the Germans get there.
Unfortunately for them, my forces are free from Leningrad. They begin to run South, away from German pressure in the North.
Unfortunately for them again, they're going to run straight into my men coming the other way.
I also attempt a huge Paratrooper offensive North of Moscow.
It would be a lot more effective, but my supply lines are so stretched to cover the sheer scale of this war that I can barely airdrop enough supplies to keep them alive.
In the North, I'm pulling more and more men out from Leningrad, pushing seriously hard on the Russian advance between my lines.
At the same time, in the South, supply problems are so bad that my advance has ground to a halt. I'm not in danger (yet) of losing any ground, but I'm unable to advance further.
Still. I'm content to hold there for now, as the offensive in the Caucasus has begun in earnest, with my men flooding the Soviet border.
The push back is successful, and I plug the gap in my line. Unfortunately, I was unable to save those isolated divisions.
They died valiantly.
All is not well. In the South, where I weakened my position to push North and where the supply situation is worst, the Russians launch a major new offensive behind my lines, punching another hole down towards the Crimea, sealing off my position at Rostov-on-Don.
Unlike those men of the 2nd Army, I can supply Rostov-on-Don by sea without trouble, and with the men from Turkey on their way, I should be able to hold the port.
I begin the Big Push on Moscow.
Obviously, the Paratroopers fail to take the city. But it wasn't my expectation that they should. I just needed to cause panic behind the Russian lines, and to allow me a strong position the second my front arrives at Moscow.
I join up with the Paratrooper army around Moscow.
Russian resistance is vicious, both in the city and in the areas around it. Their fierce patriotism almost compensates for obvious German superiority.
I push straight through the Caucasus, virtually unopposed.
Near Moscow, I trap large elements of the Red Army with my lightning advance and the Paratrooper ring around the city.
Mostly it's just infantry too slow to escape, but here I've got 40,000 men, including tanks, completely encircled.
Defense of the city, by the way, is in the hands of Chuikov. Historically, that was the man who held Stalingrad long enough for Zhukov to relieve it.
I can only hope that his defensive skill will not stand in my way in this battle of battles.
350,000 men have now encircled the capital. The attack begins.
History is being (re)written.
I'm so elated by my success in Russia, that I almost miss this - the British (always the sodding British...) have invaded Iraq through India.
On the success - it's not a magical fairy victory. It's often 50:50 chances, my losses are vast, and even at this stage, the raw power of the Red Army may prove my undoing.
Hell, look at the position in the South. It was my strongest point, with the soil deepest into Soviet territory. Now, it's overrun by Soviet troops, retaking key cities and pushing back my men.
The Russian Army pulls back behind Moscow, having abandoned the city.
They do attack some of my forces, but my strength is so concentrated on the city that they have no option but to retreat deeper and deeper.
Showing the exact quantity of mercy they showed to the 2nd Army, I eliminate all Soviet pockets of resistance on the Moscow front.
I haven't the pictures to convey the scale of the victory. Even the delight in M. Bison's eyes does not measure up to the happiness of me and my fictional German people.
Ladies and Gentlemen - on the 13 of August, 1943, the city of Moscow fell into German hands. Facing dogged resistance, the first men in are the elite 2nd Panzers.
Despite having served for 6 years in France, Spain, Britain, Hungary and Romania, this is their proudest moment.
I give you a toast, readers - To Victory.
At the same time, my fastest forces are tearing across the steppe in a race for the new Head of the Bear - Stalingrad.
The civilian militia of Stalingrad do not stand, and I take the city intact, unlike Leningrad and Moscow (and virtually every Soviet city...) which were flattened by the fighting and air raids.
I also take the city of Vologda. Why is this important? Just watch...
See, the Soviets refuse to surrender without a bit more fight.
At this stage, I'm obsessed with forcing a surrender. I kind of ignore the whole "war" thing (and my own advice), and try to simply keep on taking city after city, so that the game's mechanics grant me victory.
Vologda is the closest airbase I can get, and I use it to stage a Paradrop on the new capital of Archangel.
I'm going to keep on taking each new capital until these dogs throw down their weapons.
The next target is Murmansk. I can't quite hit the city directly, so I land behind enemy lines and slog on.
The wait for the city to fall into my hands is agonising.
At this critical juncture, to lengthen the tension a bit, look at the Allied force in Iraq. It's got Australians, Brits, Americans, Belgians, Dutch and South African troops.
Unfortunately, I threw everything at the Soviet Union. Seriously, if anyone had landed in France or Britain, I had only 6 divisions left in Western Europe.
I needed every scrap to fight the Communists.
This leaves my position in the Middle East a little exposed. I have to *shudder* rely on the Italians to hold the line.
I take Murmansk.
On 11th of October, 1943, just six months after the war began, the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty with Germany.
All Soviet territory West of the Urals now belongs to the German Empire.
I credit this wondrous event to the determination of my forces to win, the precision strikes of my Paratrooper forces on key cities, and the Soviet Union's lack of preparation for an invasion through Turkey.
To show you the scale of Soviet strength, and the war in general, these are the pictures of the shamed, defeated Red Army retreating East to their new domain.
The German Army suffered some 250,000 casualties in this war, to over 2 million Soviet casualties.
It was, without a doubt, the single hardest war I have ever conducted in this game.
Germany.
END OF ENTRY 14
Ahahahayesssssss. Very nice. Bit risky at the end, there! Armeegruppe Süd could really have taken a beating, particularly since they failed to link up with the forces in Turkey. And if the Soviets hadn't surrendered in such a timely fashion, your forces woulda been all over the place.
But oh well. It worked out fine, and very neatly done at that!
Mind you, it doesn't seem to have done your economy much good. Did you just bomb it all to bits, or do the soviets have it all west of the ural now?
Though I suppose Drang nach Osten gave you a nice bonus.
ANYWAY.
I'm thinkin' that it's time to get all of Afrika-Eurasia under your Kraut-eating, Oktoberfest-celebrating thumb. Your southern army group should be well-disposed to defend your holdings in the middle east and drive back the vile British agressors. Maybe deploy half of Armeegruppe Mitte to support them and send the other half to the western front?
Then start consolidating. When you're ready, use the troops on the western front to go after the Scandinavian countries, maybe stage a couple of landings on the remainder of Africa. South Africa in particular is totally asking for it.
Use your troop build-up in the middle east to push back the british forces in India, take their last few territories. With any luck they'll surrender, at that point, and you can move on to the rest of Asia.
Meanwhile, cut down on land armies and try to invest in your economy as best you can. You don't want the US out-producing you in the long run.
Also, would it be feasible to start working on a bit of a surface fleet? U-boats are fun, but I'd love to see Germany and the US fighting it out with aircraft carriers.
But oh well. It worked out fine, and very neatly done at that!
Mind you, it doesn't seem to have done your economy much good. Did you just bomb it all to bits, or do the soviets have it all west of the ural now?
Though I suppose Drang nach Osten gave you a nice bonus.
ANYWAY.
I'm thinkin' that it's time to get all of Afrika-Eurasia under your Kraut-eating, Oktoberfest-celebrating thumb. Your southern army group should be well-disposed to defend your holdings in the middle east and drive back the vile British agressors. Maybe deploy half of Armeegruppe Mitte to support them and send the other half to the western front?
Then start consolidating. When you're ready, use the troops on the western front to go after the Scandinavian countries, maybe stage a couple of landings on the remainder of Africa. South Africa in particular is totally asking for it.
Use your troop build-up in the middle east to push back the british forces in India, take their last few territories. With any luck they'll surrender, at that point, and you can move on to the rest of Asia.
Meanwhile, cut down on land armies and try to invest in your economy as best you can. You don't want the US out-producing you in the long run.
Also, would it be feasible to start working on a bit of a surface fleet? U-boats are fun, but I'd love to see Germany and the US fighting it out with aircraft carriers.
I've never actually played this game, but I've been following your Let's Play for a while just out of curiosity. This has been a most interesting story so far and I'll definitely keep watching.
I had a couple of questions about the game, if you don't mind;
1) How's the difficulty/learning curve?
2) How long is the campaign length; how long is a turn and all that jazz?
3) Relating back to 1) how complicated does it get?
Oh and how winnable do you think your current campaign is?
P.S what is your actual goal as well?
I had a couple of questions about the game, if you don't mind;
1) How's the difficulty/learning curve?
2) How long is the campaign length; how long is a turn and all that jazz?
3) Relating back to 1) how complicated does it get?
Oh and how winnable do you think your current campaign is?
P.S what is your actual goal as well?
1) The lurning curve is brutal at first, but you get used to it over time. Seriously, your first 2 or 3 hours (at least) will be spent adjusting to and learning about the interface.RuralGamer said:
It's simply a matter of the game's depth. There's so much in the game, it kind of boggles the mind at first.
2) Well, the game runs in real-time. That's what's so special about Paradox games - the entire globe is always running.
No loading or anything, the AI is constantly moving. As for length, you can play the game at one of five different speeds, so that you can "fast-forward" during the more dull parts when you're not at war.
The way it tends to work is, you pause the game a lot to examine the situation, but run on quite a high speed. This means that the "length" of a game is determined by the speed you play at, how long you spend paused (to issue loads of orders, build things, check on research etc.) and to your P.S.
See, there's no real "end", exactly. There's a time limit (the end of 1946), and each faction has 15 Victory Conditions to meet before that time that determine the winner.
However, you basically set your own goals. There's nothing stopping you from playing a game starting in 1939 as Britain, where you just want to put down Germany, and ending the game in 1942.
Since the game doesn't give you measurable goals, except for the Victory Conditions, you're free to fight wars when and where you so choose. And, nothing has to happen the way it did historically.
3) Extremely. As I said, you do get used to it over time, but the sheer quantity of data available to you (for instance, it's not necessary, but you can check air pressure and humidity before sending out a squadron of planes) is overwhelming at first.
My advice is - don't try to learn it all at once. The tutorials are useless, and the manual is huge and complex. Just start up a game as someone not involved in WW2 unless they choose to be (like the United States), and try to learn the basics, like building units, moving them about, research trees, the diplomacy system etc.
I've played about 110 hours of the game so far, and the Army Organisation system (of Division/Corps/Army/Headquarters) still frightens me.
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to ask.
I was searching for something similar. Thankyou for getting the right thing.ChupathingyX said:
I guess my plan now is, "Ahahahaha, screw you, The World! Oh, yeah. The United States too."Burninator said:
They're my only genuine obstacle. Even the combined forces of all the other nations of the world don't measure up to mine.
By the way, regular readers - Burninator just messaged me the first chapter of his story about the Battle of Smolensk.
Recall, the division that held the city against rather unpleasant odds, basically allowing the resupply of (most of) the 2nd Army, which in turn allowed me to press on Moscow before Winter set in?
Well, it's turned out brilliantly, armed with a gift for a nice story and details about the battle (courtesy of Your Beloved Author, naturally), it looks to be a tense read about a key event in the destruction of the Soviet Union.
I look forward to its posting, and its future chapters.
Recall, the division that held the city against rather unpleasant odds, basically allowing the resupply of (most of) the 2nd Army, which in turn allowed me to press on Moscow before Winter set in?
Well, it's turned out brilliantly, armed with a gift for a nice story and details about the battle (courtesy of Your Beloved Author, naturally), it looks to be a tense read about a key event in the destruction of the Soviet Union.
I look forward to its posting, and its future chapters.