[Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

GEC: Discuss gaming, computers and electronics and venture into the bizarre world of STGODs.

Moderator: Thanas

User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:That strikes me as an extremely annoying game mechanic - you literally have the French at your mercy, not being able to demand the whole country be annexed is frustrating.
I mean, I could annex all of France via event cheat but I'd rather not.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Weltmacht Part III - On foreign shores

Image
We had reclassified most of our commerce raiders as screening vessels for the massive troop convoy, which was now assembling at Dunkirk.

Image
The news were still working through the backlog of German victory dispatches over the French.

Image
The French meanwhile concluded an entente cordiale with the Russians. Bah. Nothing will come of it, I am sure.

Image
Good, we need more naval direction.
Image
Next up: Better Naval NCO training.

Image
And finally, our secret weapon to be used against the Americans was finished.

Image
A rousing speech was made by the Emperor while accepting the parade of the invasion forces.
Image
215.000 soldiers from the former French front were loaded into the troop convoy.
Image
Fleet flagship was to be the newly commissioned Derfflinger.
Image
And so, in January 1917, our invasion force left for the west coast of the USA.

At home, things were improving, with more and more people embracing the liberty guaranteed by the German state.
Image
Indeed, we are - thanks to our reforms - the most prosperous, most social and most liberal of all nations.

Finally, after a long trek to the Caribbean to resupply and refuel at our bases there....
Image
"Guten Tag, Massachusetts".
Image
From "Infanterie greift an - commanding Sturmtruppen in the Americas" by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, Stuttgart 1936:
"On April 18th, our troops waded ashore into the fire of the entrenched Americans. It was thought that the US would make a valiant stand and many of my men prepared for the worst. Fighting was very fierce, as our Sturmtruppen and Pioniere who were first ashore took severe casualties.
Image
But as soon as a foothold was taken and we could land the first of our tanks, the poorly-equipped US soldiers, which neither had a lot of machine guns nor any tanks broke. This had to be the first battle in history where one army had stormed a fortified beach, with the enemy having over half a year to dig in, and taken less losses than the defending enemy.
Image
Soon, we pushed into Lexington and then into Vermont and Maine. Canada, which was hostile to the USA over territorial disputes (that US colony smack-dab in the middle of Canada), had closed their border and were silently supporting the invasion. Thus, the US forces in Maine and Vermont were cornered....
Image
....and crushed. Everything above Concord was now occupied by German army units, who immediately worked towards converting the fishing villages of Maine to supply bases.
Image
Meanwhile, on the home front, the economy was booming due to the hard work of our people.

In June, the USA started a counter-offensive in Concord.
Image
One can hardly imagine what the American infantry thought as they, without any protection against gas, were ordered to advance into No-mans land. For we had spent almost three months to prepare for them, with lessons learned on the Russian and French fronts being implemented.
Image
The result was an unmitigated slaughter. Of the 20.000 cavalry participating in the attack, scarcely more than 3500 survived. Of the 32.000 infantry pushing against our machine guns and tanks, less than 5.5k survived. The american advantage in artillery was nullified by our counter-battery fire, which blanketed their artillery positions with gas and destroyed a quarter of the US guns. Thus, the US Army learned the hard lesson the Russians and French had learned - one should not give Germans several months and a huge supply of barbed wire and then attack that position head-on. The USA thus learned that the corrupt Mexican army was not the same as beating seasoned soldiers.
Image
Having lost all their "professional" forces at Concord, it took the USA until October to assemble another army to oppose us, largely by instituting a nation-wide draft. They also transferred the Great White Fleet to Boston to oppose any further landing. Our forces meanwhile had dug in and not wasted supplies in an assault on Boston. For a second wave was coming.
Image
And reinforced by the second wave, A push was made for Boston. It was easily taken, with the US fleet now trapped and shelled by our artillery. On January 10th, the USA had its own Santiago de Cuba while trying to run the German blockade of Boston Harbour with their whole fleet. Torpedoes and mines took a heavy toll, only to have the largely outdated US ships run into this very harsh greeting:
Image
Image[/img]
Germany did not lose a single ship, whereas every US ship was sunk, surrendered or foundered on the rocks of Massachusetts Bay. The US meanwhile had assembled a gigantic army - almost a million strong drafted army - but was not attacking.
Image
For their poor Infantry had no chance against reinforced and dug in Germans. For if push came to shove, we could concentrate over 500k of forces in one battle as a response - and they would have stood no chance. Thus, a stalemate developed, with a huge no-mans-land stretchning from Boston to Albany and Pittsburgh.

Image
By August 16, 1918, the front had not changed.
And on August 17,1918, the third wave arrived.
Image
Image
Long Island, New York and Newark were taken, trapping 567.000 US soldiers in a giant Cauldron. With their supply routes cut, facing constant bombardement from the sea and Winter fast approaching, it was clear that those soldiers would have to break out or freeze/starve to death.
Image
However, on August 30th, the attempted breakout was called off as the German troops had now had two weeks to prepare trench defences - enough to make their positions impregnable against anything but a tank assault - and the USA had no tanks, no machine guns and artillery that was still on civil war level.
Image
With the prospect of a fourth wave arriving to trap the other army in the North - and a fifth wave then marching all over the rest of the USA, President Woodrow Wilson capitulated and made a very generous peace offer, in which the USA was promising to turn all their pacific possessions over to us, including the state of Hawaii.
- End of excerpt.

Image
We accepted, of course.
Image
Construction work at Hawaii and the pacific islands immediately began to turn them into German bases. The USA, now a union of 49 states, meanwhile started a long sulk and reevaluated the reasons for their defeat.

What else happened while the war was raging:
Image
Naval NCO training is good.
Image
And electric furnace is even better.

Image
Ugh, Beatty. What a despicable creature that man was. Vainglorious, permanently having a throatache, treating conquered foes with contempt and being a general ass and sociopath. Poor Jellicoe, having to put up with that glory-stealer who almost lost the battle for the British.
Image
Our Navy now enjoyed bigger and better turrets, while our women now enjoyed Nylon stockings.

Image
Communists seized power in New Zealand. Of course Britain immediately went to war against them.

Image
Image
We went from electric furnace to shift work.

Image
Switzerland was added to our sphere of influence.
Image
We decided not to organize safaris.
Image
Image
Tech work.


While we were in the process of transporting our troops back from the USA...
Image
...Britain crushed the communists.
Image
Meanwhile, the Qing Empire was receptive to a peace offer as they had no chance to really hurt us anyway.

Image
We conducted a new census of our new (formerly American) citizens.
Image
...I wonder if we can build better rifles with that...

And on 7th November, 1919, the last of the troops arrived back home.
Image


[End of this update]



Tl, DR: USA had massively neglected army tech (no wonder, they could crush Mexico with sheer mass alone) and thus could not break through our lines if we had 7 days to dig in.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
phred
Jedi Knight
Posts: 997
Joined: 2006-03-25 04:33am

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by phred »

Do you get aircraft at some point?

Also, all the US pacific holdings, not bad for a couple months sitting around in New England.
"Siege warfare, French for spawn camp" WTYP podcast

It's so bad it wraps back around to awesome then back to bad again, then back to halfway between awesome and bad. Like if ed wood directed a godzilla movie - Duckie
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

phred wrote:Do you get aircraft at some point?
I got some tech like reacon aircraft for ships but I haven't really build any aircraft brigades yet for the army, so no.
Also, all the US pacific holdings, not bad for a couple months sitting around in New England.
Yeah, sometimes I do not understand the AI. For example, Britain has few naval technologies for a naval power. The USA has few land technologies. I fully expected this to be another mass raid instead of a full-blown invasion, but once I realised the USA could not actually dislodge me due to inferior army tech....well.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Dominus Atheos
Sith Marauder
Posts: 3904
Joined: 2005-09-15 09:41pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Dominus Atheos »

The next time you post an update, I'd be really interested in seeing your budget menu, and the production tab of your production menu. (this)
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

I played a bit ahead so I can't really give you one of those for the current timeframe....
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

The Neverending war

Image
With peace finally reigning, our industry could kick into a higher gear.

Image
And the nations of the world chose Berlin to host the world fair again. Hooray.

Image
Pole sitting? But why? A pole tends to squirm if you sit on him.

Image
I hope you all get the reference of that oddball duo.

Image
GTFO of my barracks, fascists. The army is apolitical.

Image
In her case, it really was a problem of papa and penis.

Image
Image
Lovely. More industry, more tech. We need all the industry.

Image
Yes, please. This could be the dawn of a golden age.

Image
Horney's basic anxiety theory was just as important as the polyphase system.

Image
All athletes must come to Berlin.

Image
Long live Tesla.

Image
There was a fascist revolt in Switzerland, which got crushed. And our forces are back to pre-war strength.

Image
The Uk smashed another revolting Indian principality.

Image
FUCK YOU BRITAIN.
Image
Of course...
Image
Yep. Come one, come all.

Image
The war started with our forces quickly teaching the Danish that joining a land war against us was a bad idea.
Russia, weakened by the wars, was a glutton for punishment. "no no, this time it will be different, I swear" probably was the British proposal.
Image
Within two months, we had pushed deep into Russian territory.
Image
At Gomel, a Russian counterattack was defeated.
Image
And an attack to relief the encircled city of Luhansk failed in a hail of shellfire.

Image
Industrial farming was now a standard throughout the empire, thus allowing more farmers to join the army and ensuring our people would not starve due to the British blockade...

Image
After the debacle at Luhansk, the battle of course went even worse for the Russians...
Image
..which the news promptly trumpeted all over the world.
Image
By March, we had taken St. Petersburg, Sevastopol was close to falling and we were already approaching Moscow and the Donbass.
Image
As always, the British send mass reinforcements. Which promptly keeled over and died.

The fascists tried to take advantage of the war:
Image
Better red than brown, so we banned them.

By May, all of Jutland was ours.
Image
Image
We promptly took their caribbean possessions, Greenland and Faroe Islands.

Good bases for our High Seas Fleet, which now had 20 state of the art dreadnoughts.
Image
Image
And we also secured Persia to make sure we had enough oil.

Image
In June, we detached half our army to attack the Russian caucasus...
Image
...while in Ukraine, 10 men were all that were left of 20k British corps.

Image
Thanks to our reforms, our people were the healthiest of all nations. Who knew socialised medicine was that good?

In July, the Russians and British started a counteroffensive, their last attempt to try and break our push.
Image
Image
They lost 3:1 and 10:1 soldiers respectively and called off the offensive within days.

In August, Spain tried to invade Heligoland.
Image
...and lost all their marines.

In October, while our forces were preparing to push towards Omsk, there were some more news, this time from the west:
Image
Oh well.

(continued below)
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

(continued from above)

The french started an attack towards Amiens.
Image
They were much tougher fighters than the Russians and British, I give them that. Nevertheless, they failed to move our lines.

Image
The British meanwhile still lost 10 soldiers for one of ours.

By december 17, we had penetrated deep into southern france as a response to them focusing on the North.
Image
And then the Spanish threw nearly their whole army into the fight. 150.000 of their soldiers attacked 90.000 of ours. It was a most glorious battle, lasting for over 44 days.
Image
Spain lost its whole army to a force half its size. Their entire artillery train was lost and only 751 infantrymen survived the meat grinder. This defeat caused enormous shockwaves through spain.
Image
We quickly offered Spain a deal - Puerto Rico and their pacific island possessions in return for peace.
Image
They accepted.

Image
By February, we had pushed deep into the Caucasus.
Image
At the battle of Chalons, near the site where the great Roman Aetius had stopped Attila the hun, we were victorious.
Image
We decided to not ask for too much, just their bases and colonies in the pacific. We could have taken more french provinces but decided against it, as we were already busy enough with integrating those.
Image
I predict that Vietnam and Cambodia will be great colonies, never giving us any trouble.

Image
By February 1922, the Caucasus was close to falling.
Image
Russian counterattacks failed.

Meanwhile, in Berlin:
Image
The World Fair started. The British and Russian delegations were not able to attend for some reason.

Image
By May, we had penetrated beyond the Ural mountains and were now marching towards the Siberian Taiga.

In response, Britain tried to invade our "soft underbelly" of Savoy.
Image
Image
We lost about 21k men.
Their entire invasion force of 110k men perished.

In Berlin, the world fair came to an end.
Image
Don't you see how much better everybody gets along if you bar the Russians and British from attending?

At the end of May, Russia completely collapsed, having not a single force left to oppose us.
Image
Image
We enacted very harsh terms, forcing them to cede over all their pacific colonies as well as the Crimea, Kharkov, the Donbas and Zaporizhia. In short, Ukraine was now ours.

Image
In good German fashion, we renamed the colonies to something more....tasteful. Yeah, let's go with that. Tasteful. IT IS TASTEFUL.

Image
Hey, critical theory.
Image
Post-colonialism was our next research target.
Image

With the British seeing that they could not beat us - and fearing retribution - we exploited the situation to offer them harsh peace deals as well.
Image
Image
The Indian Ocean and the Caribbean were now German seas.

[End of this update]

Tl, dr: Britain broke the peace to backstab us and got what they deserved.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
Castellan
Posts: 10413
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

......fuck. That's one hell of a result for a war someone else started.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
User avatar
LaCroix
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 5196
Joined: 2004-12-21 12:14pm
Location: Sopron District, Hungary, Europe, Terra

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by LaCroix »

Wow...

By that rate, you'll never get to actually punish them for their transgressions. They always misbehave even before you have applied the spanking you planned for them... :D

Any bets how long they'll wait before they try, again? Put me down for two years...
A minute's thought suggests that the very idea of this is stupid. A more detailed examination raises the possibility that it might be an answer to the question "how could the Germans win the war after the US gets involved?" - Captain Seafort, in a thread proposing a 1942 'D-Day' in Quiberon Bay

I do archery skeet. With a Trebuchet.
User avatar
phred
Jedi Knight
Posts: 997
Joined: 2006-03-25 04:33am

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by phred »

I give them 5. They need time to repopulate their country to the point where they can support another army. They're not Russia after all.

can we get a look at the full map at some point? It would be fun to see just how much you actually own.
"Siege warfare, French for spawn camp" WTYP podcast

It's so bad it wraps back around to awesome then back to bad again, then back to halfway between awesome and bad. Like if ed wood directed a godzilla movie - Duckie
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

LaCroix wrote:Wow...

By that rate, you'll never get to actually punish them for their transgressions. They always misbehave even before you have applied the spanking you planned for them... :D

Any bets how long they'll wait before they try, again? Put me down for two years...
In some way it is impressive - the AI keeps building coalitions, builds up forces etc. Much better than other AI in Paradox games.
phred wrote:I give them 5. They need time to repopulate their country to the point where they can support another army. They're not Russia after all.

can we get a look at the full map at some point? It would be fun to see just how much you actually own.
Yeah I try and take a map screen shot within the next two or three updates. Problem is that I am like 10 years ahead of the update on the LP as I am a lazy bastard. Sorry.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
LaCroix
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 5196
Joined: 2004-12-21 12:14pm
Location: Sopron District, Hungary, Europe, Terra

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by LaCroix »

It'S fun that they do that great a job - in the earlier versions, the biggest threat were the constant rebellions if you got infamy too high. It's refreshing that this game doesn't need to cheat like this, but can actually build coalitions that could work if they were just to coordinate their assaults a bit better.
A minute's thought suggests that the very idea of this is stupid. A more detailed examination raises the possibility that it might be an answer to the question "how could the Germans win the war after the US gets involved?" - Captain Seafort, in a thread proposing a 1942 'D-Day' in Quiberon Bay

I do archery skeet. With a Trebuchet.
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Speaking of rebels....


Image
Sure. More trade is always a good thing.

Image
More immigration and assimilation. Good. I just hope they replace that idiotic sentence with something more suitable.

Image
Of course we will attend. We are guaranteed to be #1 with all the athletes we have.

Image
Yay, new research. Bonus pic: Paris and the German border next to it.

Image
More infrastructure.

Image
Ah, Ghandi. A man full of contradictions. Both utterly creepy and utterly humbling.

Image
The Dutch, Ottomans and French had some squabble over some piece of Ghana. Meh.

Image
Hooray for trade.

Image
Of course we will help the fellow liberals.

Image
At home, our training regimen had already produced 72.000 Panzertruppen.

Image
We quickly sent two brigades to each Korps on the French frontier. Oh, and more research finished. Honestly, this were a few boring years.

Image
Neoliberal Theory was our next target for research.

Image
A great speech.

Watch it in full, you won't regret it.

Image
Our culture is enriched by immigrants from Asia and our new citizens from Eastern Europe. Great.

Image


Image
300 million German citizens. We are now the second-largest nation on Earth (after China, of course).

Image
What? France has lost control of its colonies?
Image
Heh. Part of Senegal freed itself. Somewhat amusing.

Image
The typical structure of a German attack force now.

Image
GREED IS GOOD.

Image
We want to build a mathematical society, a society of science and culture.
Image
Sure....but who is the candidate?
Image
An Ottoman Prince....meh, alright. It will piss of the fascists for sure.
Image
Our diplomats concluded an alliance with the biggest power in South America, Chile.

Image
We had so many immigrants now that we needed to speed up housing construction.

Image
The address to the nation was performed via radio, carrying the voice of the Reichskanzler to every continent of the Earth.

Image
We had pretty much cornered the market on tank production now, with our armed forces using and possessing 90% of the World's Tank Strength.

While we watched the Panzers rolling up and down the square, something happened in our colonies.
Image
A massive rebellion erupted in Deutsch-Südostafrika and Vietnam/Cambodia.
What was even more infuriating was that those rebels weren't even locals for the most part. No, they were conservative/fascist German rebels. A major force immediately set sail for Africa to crush them.

Image
Image
Meanwhile, our research finished and we next researched new army doctrines.

Image
German soldiers meanwhile were beating the German fascist rebels with the liberal application of Senfgas.

Image
Our new colonies in South America meanwhile got their banana production in gear. Hooray.

Image
The Ottomans suffered a major blow when Crete gained independence.

Image
NOOOOOOOOO. Vietnam and Cambodia declared independence. (I love this new mechanic in the mod, for it adds a lot of realism. If you lose territory to the rebels you have to reconquer it within a few months or a new nation arises).

Image
Image
Well, at least we got new army doctrines.

Image
By September 1929 the last rebel stronghold in Africa was close to falling.

Image
Our soldiers meanwhile learned the new doctrines. Good.
Image
"There is no problem that cannot be solved with a liberal application of firepower" - German Artillery Handbook, 1929 edition.

Image
By December 1929 we had managed to close in on the territories in Asia we managed to hold on to, with them having nearly all been taken over by rebels.
Also, research finished. Oh, and you can see the nations that have declared their independence from us.

Image
While our soldiers fought in the jungle, we started researching better artillery.
Image
By March 1929, we had recovered Cambodia, but Conchina was permanently lost to us....for now.
Have I mentioned I really like this rebel mechanic from the mod? It adds a tremendous flavour to the experience of colonial rebellions.


(End of this update)
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Dominus Atheos
Sith Marauder
Posts: 3904
Joined: 2005-09-15 09:41pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Dominus Atheos »

For anyone interested in this game, it's available on steam with all dlc for $10 until January 4th.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/29109/
User avatar
Steve
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9774
Joined: 2002-07-03 01:09pm
Location: Florida USA
Contact:

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Steve »

....I hate you Thanas.

You got me playing this again. And I got sucked right back in... and only had less than five hours of sleep before I had to get up for work. *shakes fist*

Although my game is weird. Russia is a Democracy now (1870s), so is Prussia, liberal revolutions turned Austria into a ConMon and Britain into a Democracy, then a Communist Revolution took over Britain and formed the Worker's Commonwealth, then a Liberal Counterrevolution fired a few years later and restored the democratic Great Britain. Also, Austria lost Hungary in the 1850s from a Crisis where they backed down to France, but has still effectively prevented Sardinia or Two Sicilies from forming Italy, and Prussia - perhaps due to that liberal revolution - hasn't yet even formed the NGF. And they're due for trouble soon as France has claimed Savoy and they're allied to Sardinia... while France is allied to Russia.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Death to Fascists

Image
"Alright, we will lay claim to Tuscany"
"But your majesty, we don't have any claim to that land"
"It was part of the HRE and we are the successor state to it"
"But...the HRE was dissolved"
"That is what a Frenchman would say. Are you a dirty cigarette-smoking frenchie?"
"No, your majesty"
"That's what I thought".

Image
Of course we will want to compete for the seat.

Image
It would be perfect to showcase our new guns.
Image
...and maybe a few new planes?

Image
After a short war, Italy ceded Tuscany to us. Took us less than two months.

Image
Hey, useful news for once.

Now, time to deal with other annoyances before we focus on the great enemy again.
Remember how we told the rebellious South Vietnamese we would be back?
Image
Surprise, rebel scum.

Image
Perfidious Albion protested but they and their Russian lapdogs were too busy getting their teeth kicked in in east Asia. Now Wladiwostok was a chinese city once more.

Image
Meanwhile, Operation Himmelsschlag was going as planned.

Image
But the last one in Berlin was a resounding success. Oh well.

Image
Image
Order was restored. Though now they were no longer colonial subjects, but states.

Image
Somalia accepted our guiding hand and became a member of our Sphere of Influence.

Image
On December 11th, the British public got word of our plans for them.
Image
Let them cower in fear of our new weapons.

Image
We continued to transform our colonies into full states of the German Empire.
Image
The first to be turned into full states were Tahiti and Hereroland, with all citizens having the same rights. Also note our religious toleration, for the old animist faiths are not stumped out but tolerated and still having significant believers.

Image
More useful inventions were made.

Image
Is this the consolation prize for missing out on the world fair? We'll take it.

Image
Image
Image
Now to research more army tech and build a fully functioning Luftwaffe.

Image
France and the Ottomans fought a war over a piece of desert. Let's check what France won...
Image
Lol. You start a war about a worthless strip of desert inhabited by less than 5000 people? Never change France.

Image
Image
This surely must be part of Britain's infidious plan to gain more manpower. Also, Rhodesia...ugh.

Image
Luftwaffe. Not Luftwaffel.

Image
Sure, we will talk to them.
Image
Yeah, there might be "some issues" between our country, what with us taking two thirds of their heartland and all that.

Image
The Ottoman marriage bore fruit. Literally.

Image
Good news. The Netherlands have lost the heart of their colonial empire. We immediately started influencing Java.
Image
Oh yes, heavy artillery will be most useful.

Image
Spain conquered the last independent nation of Africa. The Conquistadors reign supreme.

Image
But to us, Africa was old news. We had better things to do, like...
Image
...furthering the cause of German Culture.

Image
Oh, they will be going out in Britain all right.

Image
Tremble at the might of the fully operational Hochseeflotte, now sporting 71 capital ship (#72 currently in process of being built at Germaniawerft).
And say, can you see Dover from that army assembled near Dunkirk? Good.

Image
On March 1932, the German people chose to oust the Socialists, who had ruled our country for nearly 40 years, and replaced them with a coalition of conservative and reactionary forces. Makes sense, with all reforms passed and the conservatives now being more of a liberal than a conservative party such a change was bound to happen sooner than later.

Image
Meanwhile, our Luftwaffe (not Luftwaffel) was taking shape. 84.000 soldiers were detailed to her, with 28 air brigades being formed.

Image
Image
More culture is needed. MORE GERMAN CULTURE.
Image
This allowed us to make a decision to support precisely that. Also, we could now reconstitute the German order, but why? No need.
Image
These were truly influential. Everybody should know those names or learn them.
Image
Yes indeed. Such progress.

Image
A new school gained prominence in our doctrine. Do I hear the word Blitzkrieg?

Meanwhile, news reached us from the fascist dictatorship of Romania:
Image
Dafuq you do?
....
Not smart, fascists. Not smart.
Especially not when our troops need training.
Image
We shall restore the president in exile who fled your uprising.
Image
Before the first battle was even decided our tanks were already rolling through Bucharest. Turns out killing civilians is a lot harder than killing a Panzer division.

Image
Let's hope he becomes another Bismarck.

Image
Good, good. *rubs hands excitedly*

Image
Turns out when you give people full citizenship and a stake in the nation, they are far less disposed towards throwing stones. Who knew.

Image
Shortly after we took Bucharest, shot the fascists and installed a democracy. Let's hope they do not elect fascists, as that would be self-defeating.

And then:
Image
Our planners finished the plans for the destruction of the British Nation.

The Showdown could start.


(end of this update)
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Steve
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9774
Joined: 2002-07-03 01:09pm
Location: Florida USA
Contact:

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Steve »

I see that insatiable German hunger for conquest still burns strongly even in the most democratic and enlightened soul.... :twisted: :lol:

*Hides maps of the massive Imperium Americana*

Ah. Britain. *shakes fist* East Borneo is mine, you limey tea-slurpers! Just wait until my ironclad fleet gets another few years to finish building, you'll rue the day you crossed me! And your little Iberian dogs too! (Spain and Portugal are allied to the UK).
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
User avatar
Borgholio
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6297
Joined: 2010-09-03 09:31pm
Location: Southern California

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Borgholio »

Luftwaffe (not Luftwaffel)
What's the difference?
You will be assimilated...bunghole!
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

This is a waffel, and waffe is weapon.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Weltkrieg Part I - The East

Image
1932 ended the usual way. We sent a delegation to the World Fair....
Image
...but somehow other nations did not like us.

Image
A look at the Great powers of the world.

It was time to end one of them.
Image
Operation Albion was ordered to be carried out.

Image
Not surprisingly, the ever loyal Russians joined their allies, despite having the greatest military power on earth camped next door. For their part, Britain tried to help them out by assaulting our Black Sea holdings via an invasion.

Image
Maybe they should have picked a time when our strategic reserve was no longer nearby to do that though.

Image
Russia joining the war had a domino effect and soon other nations followed suit.
Image
Including the USA and its satellites. In short, the entire Russian and Anglo-speaking world was united against us.

Image
Finland however soon recognized the error of its was as its entire Navy was caught escorting a troop convoy to St. Petersburg.

Image
The British invasion ended in a bloody disaster.

Image
The Netherlands joined the war against us.
Image
"The Germans got 700k troops camped near our Borders. We got a standing army of 50k. What can go wrong?"
Image
In response, we ordered 336k troops to overrun the Netherlands.

Image
In the east we smashed through Smolensk....
Image
..and started besieging St. Petersburg.
Image
A British Expeditionary Force was finished off.

Image
Superior air power and artillery meanwhile helped us achieve those breakthroughs.

Image
By April 1st, Operation "Seize the cheese" was successful.

Image
In the east, nothing could stop our advance.

From "The War against Britain. Official History of the Armeegruppen Ost", by Erich von Manstein, 1952:
The war in the east was in some respect a foregone conclusion. While our forces there barely had any air cover, each of our Korps had at least two tank brigades attached to it. It were those tanks that caused the Russian inability to resist our advance, for their anti-tank artillery was nonexistent and their tank force in its infancy. Thus while the brunt of the fighting was still borne by the infantry and cavalry forces, tanks enabled us to break through and hold positions at will, with only the Russian mud and winter slowing the advance.
Image
On April 22nd, our northern groups had overrun Byelorussia and were closing on Moscow.
Image
Meanwhile Army Group Centre had taken Kursk and Army Group South was pushing towards the Caucasus.


Image
Image
We finished our cultural research and decided to focus on the Navy next.
Image
German culture reigns supreme
Image
...but not as supreme as the German Eagle over the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg.

Image
The Fins tried to stop the subsequent advance at Tula and were crushed.
Image
A typical German Korps. 2 tank brigades, 2 Pioneer brigades, 2 mobile artillery, 6 non-motorized infantry brigades and two hussar brigades as scouts and flank protection. Due to supply reasons and because of the size and scale of Russia, forces in the east do not carry much heavy artillery and few airplanes. Heavy artillery, motorized infantry and air power is concentrated in the west as we rather trust the individual superiority of German training, drill and equipment against the Russian bear.


With the loss of St. Petersburg, there was no way out for the Russian Navy, which had concentrated in the baltic after the loss of Sevastopol. Having only 16 capital ships to pit against 72, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Image
There were now a lot more shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea.

Britain meanwhile committed large parts of its army again to hold the Donbas.
Image
They were not successful.
Image
They however did start to take over our african colonies, but those were non-essential to the war effort.

Image
We decided to add a bunch of wargoals.

Image
On May 18th, the war in the east was all but over. However, as we were mostly fighting it with unmotorized forces, our advance was slowed by the marching speed of our soldiers.

Image
Oh no. The Seal-clubbers have joined the war. SEAL CLUBS CAN'T MELT TANK STEEL.

Image
We were now beating the Russians where they stood.
Image
In July, we pushed into Karelia and Kola.

Image
As the Brits were not coming out to play, our Navy was getting bored. So we decided to invade Norway to knock it out of the war.

The Front in July:
Image
Image
(ignore the french they are travelling to fight a pointless war with China).

Image
We increased our garrison in Italy to keep the Italians from getting any ideas. Also, tremble in fear of our new tankettes, world.

Image
Fascists in Romania again?

Image
By the end of August Moscow had long fallen and our troops were now besieging the important railway station of Nizhny Novgorod.

Image
Norway had a fleet. Then the Hochseeflotte came and took it away. The End.

Image
After German Sturmtruppen landed in Oslo, Norway quickly was ready to sue for peace and we gave them what they desired - in exchange for Eritrea. (Yes, they really colonized part of it).

By October we had reached the Ural mountains again.
Image
...and after we pushed past them....
Image

Russia completely surrendered.
Image
We did not take any territory from them. Instead we forced them to release their conquests of the past centuries.
Image
Sweden, which had fallen under their sway, was now under our benevolent influence.
Image
Finland, a puppet, was now free - and under our influence as well.

We demanded that Russia end its overlordship over the Cossacks - therefore not only robbing Russia of its most important coal fields, but also of their best cavalry.
Image
We now had some very dependable allies who would be willing to play the rule of our Numidia against their Carthage.

Image
And finally, we gave our partner the Ottoman Empire a big shot in the arm by forcing Russia to release all their conquests to them.

With the east now settled - and with us not being forced to take on new ethnicities for we did not conquer any new land - it was time to look to the west.
Image
Tremble before the might of the fully operational Landing force, perfidious albion.

[End of this update]
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
User avatar
Coop D'etat
Jedi Knight
Posts: 713
Joined: 2007-02-23 01:38pm
Location: UBC Unincorporated land

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Coop D'etat »

Does anyone want to talk about how Canada and Norway came to be considered great powers in this world? Because that seems somewhat remarkable.

Also on that note, is Japan the white flag with the red circle in Canada's sphere of influence? Because that also appears interesting.
User avatar
Borgholio
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6297
Joined: 2010-09-03 09:31pm
Location: Southern California

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Borgholio »

So Thanas, having played Vic2 for awhile, how do you find it compares with CK and EU? Which game do you find to be the most entertaining of the series?
You will be assimilated...bunghole!
User avatar
Steve
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9774
Joined: 2002-07-03 01:09pm
Location: Florida USA
Contact:

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Steve »

Coop D'etat wrote:Does anyone want to talk about how Canada and Norway came to be considered great powers in this world? Because that seems somewhat remarkable.

Also on that note, is Japan the white flag with the red circle in Canada's sphere of influence? Because that also appears interesting.
Looking at the screenshot, they both have fairly high prestige. I'm guessing that between national events and maybe focusing on culture and economy techs that grant prestige, , they accumulated enough to make it into the GP ranks. Although Canada looks to be fairly industrialized, enough that their industrialization score further pads them into the lower tier of GPs.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
User avatar
Thanas
Magister
Magister
Posts: 30779
Joined: 2004-06-26 07:49pm

Re: [Vic2 LP] How Bismarck got his herring - game thread

Post by Thanas »

Steve is right.

Borgholio wrote:So Thanas, having played Vic2 for awhile, how do you find it compares with CK and EU? Which game do you find to be the most entertaining of the series?
Victoria II is IMO the one that is most like taking crack. It grips you and won't let you go. Great fun, but it doesn't last long and the endgame can be very boring unless you take steps to make it more interesting.

CKII Is IMO the best of the series mainly due to the HIP mod, which adds so many things to do that you will never really get bored.

EU is...neither the best nor the worst. The gameplay is IMO worse than Victoria II and CKII, but it lasts longer than V2 and is not as boring as V2 in the endgame.

If I had to recommend one I would suggest CKII with the HIP mod as it is by far the most entertaining out of the series.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------
My LPs
Post Reply