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

[wautd]

I hope this doesn't count as a tread necro (took me several weeks to read through it) but I thoroughly enjoyed this tread. I assume it's finished and no new updates are a'coming?

[Thanas]

Oh shit.

*embarrassed face*

I thought I had posted the last updates already.

No, there are three more upgrades. Will try and post them by the end of the week.

[Thanas]

Here it is, the penultimate update. Sorry for the long wait. I think it will satisfy the bloodthirsty among you.


Slaying the Giant (Coalition)

With Britain being utterly dependant on us for their external security - due to our influence being the only thing from stopping the Irish from annexing all of Scotland and Wales - and the former British colonies now freed from their overlordship, it was time to face the final obstacle - the Grand Coalition. Led by the USA, France, Russia and Italy it also included a host of smaller countries like Australia, Liberia, Panama etc. But our industrial and military might was more than equal to theirs and it was time to knock all continental rivals out, to make sure German hegemony would never be challenged.

And so, on January 3rd, 1944, the guns once again were the ultima ratio regis in Europe.

We attacked all four nations of France, Italy and Russia at the same time. On the Italian Front we dedicated a total of 480k troops.

Less than 14 days into the war, the Italian Front had already collapsed underour assault.

The same was true for Russia, where our mechanized units executed a giant sicklecut, starting in Kursk and ending in Moscow, trapping the Russian Army in the biggest cauldron in history.
6 days later, the offensive into France started.

Here, we drove from Evraux to Orleans, trapping most of the French mobile Forces in Paris.

Back Home:

The Fascist Party decided to capitalize on the booming industrial production. We promptly outlawed their "union". Better red than brown, especially with so many "subhumans" and "non-Aryans" being German citizens now. We kindly suggested that if the Fascists felt patriotic there were open places in the Sturmtruppen for them. Unsurprisingly, very few took up that offer.

Back to the Fronts:

On February 12th, the last organized Italian Army disintegrated. Italy now became a competition between our Panzerdivisionen on who could reach Sicily first.

In France, the French made a bold strategic move. They essentially sacrificed Paris and pulled all troops from the south to contest the Caen-Le Mans line.

While this led to heavy fighting in the north, it exposed the south completely, a fact we quickly exploited by ordering our Italian and Southern Armies to drive deep into the French South.

On March the 2nd, the Russian Army made its last, glorious counterattack on Heeresgruppe Mitte driving on Moscow.

It was easily thwarted.


On March 5th, Rome fell.


On March 10th, St. Petersburg fell to our Forces, while Moscow was close to surrendering. Our troops were penetrating deep into the Russian steppe alreaddy, with vanguards already reaching Omsk.

On March 19th, the French identified a perceived weakness in our lines and attacked with all their might at Rouen. 123.000 soldiers attacked 70.000 of ours. We promptly responded by....doing nothing. We knew the french forces were largely raw conscripts and old men and those few regiments that were professional ones were deeply lacking in modern equipment. It was decided to teach the French a lesson from which they would never recover.

The meatgrinder at Rouen crushed the French nation. Only 143 men survived it as our modern infantry easily held off their attack while our cavalry and armored brigades encircled and then crushed all before them.


5 days later, Moscow surrendered.


The entire Russian Navy attempted to cross over into neutral nations, but was caught and destroyed by our heavy cruisers.


On April 23 we began our offensive into Finland. At the same time, envoys from Italy and the USA arrived, begging for peace. It would not be granted to them, for we were determined to end all threats once and for all.


On June 6th, 1944, nearly all of France was under our control.


On June 10th, the last French soldier on continental soil surrendered.

As a training exercise, our massive High Seas Fleet, now encompassing 72 superdreadnoughts/fast battleships as well as 192 cruisers and destroyers, found and engaged the Italian Fleet.

The outcome let the USA know what was coming for them.


While war was raging, our research blossomed. Our scientists came up with new economic theories, perfect for a global empire like ours.

Hmm, better economies. Nice.

In October, the German-Russian seperate peace treaty was finalized.
It was the end of the Russian Empire, so to speak. While they were allowed to keep the title and the crown, the territorial changes rendered Russia irrelevant.

Russia had to cede the entire Kursk region, Smolensk, Novgorod etc. Moscow was now a frontier town, less than 20km from the German border. The most significant german conquest however was the former Russian Capital - and their most important port - St. Petersburg.

While the Russians were allowed to keep their nominal independence, they were now dependant on the goodwill of the German empire to be even able to feed their last two large cities, Moscow and Omsk. Now, there were three times as many ethnic Russians living in Germany than were living in Russia.

While Russia was de jure (but not de facto) independent, this was not the case for Italy and Finland. Both lost their sovereignty and had to swear fealty in exchange for not losing any (more) of their territory. In the case of Italy this mattered little for we already had the entire north in our realm.


For Finland, the former Russian Grand Duchy of Finland just became the German Großherzogtum Finnland. The German Emperor added "King of Italy" and "Grand Duke of Finland" to his (very) long list of titles.

Unsurprisingly, neither the French nor the USA were inclined to accept seperate terms and fought on.

So we simply re-formed the Afrikakorps.

While our troops were sweating in the desert, we focused on research.


Long live German commerce.

On May the 6th....

...we decided to practice our Naval invasion tactics.

Liberia fell quickly....

...and the German Emperor became "Protector of Liberia".

Our advance into the rest of Africa was not that quick, mostly due to the logistical and geographical constraints.
Thus, we made other technological advances.



Nevertheless, by October 22....

Colonial North Africa was nearly ours. With Africa nearly secure, we decided to test the reaction time of the US Fleet. We sent a force from Cassablanca to Uruguay (the only country in South America that opposed us).

Our ships were much faster than the US ships and in Montevideo harbour before the US Fleet had even cleared the caribbean. Uruguay was outright annexed, as we needed a base there and the country was ripe for German colonization. (On a side note, some of our footballers started biting people after that conquest. How strange.)

While we slogged another year through various colonial possessions...


...more tech enhanced our might.


Hehehehe.


Of course we shall put our splendour on display. After all, the Sun never sets on the German Empire.

Meanwhile, in South East Asia....

Our Asian forces started the long-planned invasion of Australia. Upon hearing of the mostly Malayan and Papa-guinean soldiers disembarking via landing boats, an Australian named T. Abbott promptly shot himself.

On 17 March, 1946, an important political event took place:

A new party alliance, a coalition between the socialist and the liberal party decided to form a new voting block, becoming the second-largest party in Parliament behind the Zentrumspartei (a socially liberal and fiscally conservative party).


The invasion of Australia continued successfully, if slowly due to the lack of railroad lines.

Meanwhile, in China....

The Japanese Puppet Qinghai expanded, leading us to believe a showdown between Japan and the German-sponsored Anhui clique was inevitable. With stories of the fall of Beijing and the following massacre circulating in our press, we decided to double our support for Anhui.


Nicaragua, the only country opposing us in Central America, was quickly overrun and annexed by our High Seas Fleet operating out of Jamaica.

It became a German province (and not a puppet) for we wanted to build a canal there.

On August 12th, 1946, a revolution (which we favorited) led to the end of French rule in Madagascar.

Still, the French colonies were fighting on.

By November 9th....

Australia turned a healthy shade of grey.

After succesfully researching the modern divisional structure...

...we researched Modern Army Doctrine next.

On April 3, 1947:

The last French possession, the fortress port of Dakar, fell to our Marines. With this, the French flag was no longer flying over a single place.

The total defeat allowed us to dictate the Treaty of Versailles Paris to them.

In North Africa, we immediately took possession of Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt....

..and granted them their immediate independence. French Niger was to be handed over in a few months to us...but the real impact was in Europe.

From: "Geschichte der Deutschen Hegemonialmacht seit 1944" by F. Fischer, Stutgart 2016:
"The treaty of Paris once and for all ended a nation that had existed in its current form more or less since the age of Charlemagne. The terms of the treaty were as follows:
- the surrender of what remained of the French Navy and Merchant Marine
- a prohibition on France, forbidding it to raise any forces and build any Naval vessels over the next five years
- the surrender of all their territories to Germany at Germany's pleasure.
- heavy war indemnities, forcing the French to hand over 25% of their tax income over the next five years
However, none of that measured up to the next German measure. France was to be eternally split, with the entire south becoming a German protectorate and the German Emperor being crowned King of Occitania. This ensured that there never again was a unified French nation able to threaten the German borders."


The war raged on.

By September, Australia surrendered....

...with the Emperor becoming Lord of Australia.

In October 1947, our ally Colombia took Panama...

Thus denying the USA the use of the Panama Canal. Unable to transfer ships quickly from east to west, the USA concentrated its fleet on the eastern seabord, thus leaving the west coast to the tender mercies of the German submarines.

Once again the USA tried to take Iceland...

...once again the entire invasion force perished.


Those experiences caused us to advance our Army technology....

...and modern Artillery was next.

From: "Operation Delphin - Deutsche Unternehmungen gegen die USA, 1944-1948", by Flottenadmiral Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls, Bremen 1954.
"Much of our preparations up to this point had been limited to strikes against smaller nations like Australia and Nicaragua while our main force was building. Nearly every shipyard and factory in Germany was made ready for this task.

A total of 1.5 million men were assembled to be the first invasion wave, with triple that number being held ready to be assembled as soon as the first wave had left harbor.

385 new transport Geschwader were ordered in our shipyards, a total of over 12.000 new vessels built for the singular purpose of supplying that invasion force.

And yet, they were completely unnecessary. For our submarine forces spotted and shadowed the US battlefleet as it was conducting strikes against our Caribbean possessions. The submarine forces, as well as our air forces stationed in the caribbean, heroically delayed and shadowed the US force until our High Seas Fleet could arrive. I personally was in command of the 1st. Schlachtgeschwader, leading the action from the mighty SMS Bismarck. This was the last time the mighty Battleships proved to be decisive, for the next war with Japan was won by our carrier forces alone.

Yet it was a glorious sendoff. The Americans were equal in number, but outclassed in quality by our battleships and far outclassed in light forces and cruisers. Not a single ship of theirs made it back to port, whereas we did not lose a single ship ourselves.

The second, smaller US battlefleet was spotted and sunk in a demonstration of the power of our carrier forces.

Reactions in Berlin were split. Some advocated immediate invasion, others advocated a naval blockade. Eventually, the arguments brought forth by the Admiral in charge of the submarine command, Gr.Adm. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière won the day and it was decided to first give our submarine force of 720 operational U-boats a chance.

And so, on July 7th, we instituted the unrestricted submarine blockade against the continental USA. From August 9th, no ship save a few brave blockade runners left port without being intercepted and sunk. And so we waited, until October, when the US industry had utterly collapsed and bread riots in the streets forced the Government to resign. When the new Government showed no immediate inclination of surrendering to our just demands, the invasion fleet was called in."

The starving and undersupplied US garrisons were no match for our forces.

On October 1948, the USA surrendered unconditionally.

With the victory Helmuth Cordemann became the first Naval commander in History to have overseen the destruction of all competing Naval forces of his time in battle, having triumphed over five grand powers.

Having no desire to break up the USA, the German Government instead decided to leave the USA both independent and territorially intact. However, the USA was forced to:
- surrender of what remained of the Navy and Merchant Marine
- complete demilitarisation
- destruction/transfer of all war industry, including but not limited to all shipyards, armament factories (Muh 2nd amendment) and aircraft factories
- An eternal prohibition on the USA, forbidding it to build any vessels larger than 8.000 tons and to raise any forces larger than 100k total. All heavy weapons, tanks, aircraft and submarines were forbidden.

[Eternal_Freedom]

....well fuck.

That reads like a 1930's German staff officer's wet dream. Smash the Italians, the French, the Russians, and their empires, take Australia for the lulz and then blockade the US into submission. God damn.

[Borgholio]

I like the part about the Next War with Japan. Too bad this game will end in a couple years. Maybe in Hearts of Iron?

[fnord]

Gigglefitting about the Mad Monk's reaction to German Empire forces (mostly Malayan and Papuan) landing in STRAYA.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Is there any particular reason why the Anhui Clique was favored over the other Chinese factions?

[InsaneTD]

Hail herr Thanas, ruler of all? Including my lovely country.

[Thanas]

Is there any particular reason why the Anhui Clique was favored over the other Chinese factions?

Well, we favored it mainly because Beijing was in too bad of a position to win. Tried to help out Beijing with subsidies but no use, they lost rather badly to the Japanese.

[LaCroix]

As of lately, the world is turning into an awful lot of shades of grey...

[Thanas]

All good things must end

Germaniae est imperare orbi universo

Recommended sounddtrack for this part:


Part I: What happened until 1950

"Wenn irgendwo zwischen zwei Mächten ein noch so harmlos aussehender Pakt geschlossen wird, muss man sich sofort fragen, wer hier umgebracht werden soll." - Otto von Bismarck
(Whenever two powers happen to conclude a harmless-looking alliance, one always has to start to question who they intend to murder)

With the handover of the French colonies complete, we set upon freeing them.

First released was Niger:


...then Mali...

Dahomey....

...Ivory Coast...

...and Senegal, followed by the remainder. Not a single former french possession was taken over by us, instead we freed them.

New technologies were invented to prepare us for the unavoidable war with Japan:



And on November 1st, 1948, our allies in Anhui informed us that their German-trained and German-equipped armies were ready. And thus, the great plan to destroy the Japanese Colonial Empire was carried out.

Within less than a month, the Japanese Army suffered a series of setbacks, with over half a million of their soldiers cut off in Qinghai.

The Anhui clique of course needed subsidies to afford the steady stream of supplies landing in their ports. So we generously gave them unlimited credit, to the tune of 7.5 billion a day.

By the end of November 1948, the Imperial Japanese Army had been driven almost completely out of China and the Anhui forces were almost ready to start an invasion into Japanese-controlled Korea, which with Taiwan would be ceded to us according to the terms of the secret treaty between Anhui and us. In desperation, Japan started to think of attacking our pacific possessions in order to stop the flow of supplies, concluding a massive surprise assault on our base at Pearl Harbor, Guam and Samoa would be their best choice.

We were preparing for such a conflict:


With a completely modernized army based on the lessons learned from the previous conflicts, Japan would be quickly conquered.

However, before we sent our Hochseeflotte to our pacific possessions, something happened that required our immediate attention:

France....becoming fascists.

This would not do. The General Staff was ordered to prepare for an invasion and annexation of France.

And thus, on November 11th, with our Fleet having begun a blockade of France, our land forces assembled to complete the takeover of the great old enemy. We decided to allow Japan to attack first, thus bleeding their forces on our fortresses before we would crush them in a massive counterstrike. Considering we held a 12:1 advantage in modern ships, we were certain of victory.

[Thanas]

Part II - The World in 1949

"Die Pflichten des Diplomaten besteht in wechselseitigen und unaufhörlichen Konzessionen." - Otto von Bismarck
(The duties of the Diplomat consist of reciprocal and incessant concessions)

Recommended soundtrack:


Yet as the game winds to a close, let us take stock:

Europe went from

to this:


The middle east and India went from

to this:

(note how half of Ceylon is now German,the other half Japanese....)

Indonesia:

Almost completely held in direct control by us or by our client state, the Netherlands. The only exception being Siam and the Spanish Phlippines, but they were no threat to either of us.


German Australia was still...German Australia. New Zealand remained the only independent state in the region, but they are small and poor. Australia meanwhile has oddly adapted very well to German rule.


Every island in the pacific belongs to us, allowing us plenty of strong, fortified bases to strike at Japan (and the USA, should it be necessary to stomp them again). This was the battleground that would cause the Japanese to waste their offensive strength before we smashed them.


South America was dominated by our ally Chile, which had strong German traditions due to the many German immigrants to it. This went so far that the Chilean army was a direct copy of ours, right down to the command language. Also, we had (former) Uruguay, now renamed Deutsch-Südamerika.


South America and the Caribbean. The former colonial possessions of Britain, the Netherlands and France (plus Nicaragua), now all full member states of the German Empire. Colombia, which took Panama thanks to us, is our most important ally in the region.


North America. The USA and Canada are still angry at each otherabout the US colony in Canada.



Africa. Once filled with colonial possessions, now thanks to our efforts, freed from dominion (with our colonies being full member states) and under the benevolent protection of the Emperor.

Let us take a look at our Titles and possessions:

Germany proper with her client states.

North Africa, with client states (yellow), allies (orange) and influenced states (purple).

South Africa, with our direct member states in bright green.

The Middle East.

India

Indonesia.

Let's take a look at world opinion and diplomatic relations:


We were beloved universally in Europe save for the fascists of France and Romania and the Imperialists of Russia.


In South America we were loved by those who profited from us and hated by those who did not.


India, Asia and Indonesia were pretty much all on our side.



But the greatest success was in Africa, where we were universally beloved for freeing them from the British and French yoke.

[Thanas]

Part III: Money and Power

Recommended soundtrack.


"Jede neue Steuer hat etwas erstaunlich ungemütliches für denjenigen, der sie zahlen oder auch nur auslegen soll." - Otto von Bismarck
(Every new tax is astonishingly uncomfortable for whoever is supposed to pay it).


The grand powers of the world, with us being stronger than the next four combined.


We were debt free and had an astonishingly low tax burden with 28% total tax rate. Nobody in the German Empire suffered hunger or was homeless due to our functioning social system.


Our industrial power. It is a bit misleading because the game splits the Ruhr valley into three regions.
Also,note the investments we have in foreign countries.


Our Government, with fascism and communism being relegated to fringe elements. Also, take note of our policies and reforms. Most advanced state in the world.


The Industrial goods screen. We are pretty much Nr.1. in every Industrial good out there.

Let's take a look at a few strategic goods:

Germany produced 89% of the world tanks....

56% of all airplanes....

28% of all the ships....

...and 25% of all the automobiles.

Lets now look at a bunch of spreadsheets:


The World ranked by military power. MUAHAHAHAHA.

....by industrial score....

...Prestige (holy crap)....

...total population (We are coming for that top spot, China)....

...provinces....(GERMANY BIG. GERMANY STRONK)

...factories (Germany, workshop of the world)...

...literacy....(even the lowliest peasant gets a free education in what it means to be German)

....Number of active brigades..... (China is top spot because they mobilized. If we mobilize as well we crack 2000 brigades easily)....

...Warships....(1000 ship Hochseeflotte ahoy. This face when your navy is stronger than all the other nations combined. Tirpitz approves of this message.)
Honarable mention to spain, who have kept the traditions of the Glorious Spanish Armadas alive.

And the final ranking.

[Thanas]

Part IV - The German Nation

Recommended soundtrack:


"Verfallen wir nicht in den Fehler, bei jedem Andersmeinenden entweder an seinem Verstand oder an seinem guten Willen zu zweifeln." - Otto von Bismarck
(Let's not make the mistake of questioning the sanity or good intentions of somebody who disagrees).
"Gegen die Regierung mit allen Mitteln zu kämpfen ist ja ein Grundrecht und Sport eines jeden Deutschen." - Otto von Bismarck
(To fight against the Government with all means available is a basic right and sport of every German)

Much more than any other Paradox game, Victoria II is about citizenship and the general populace. So how does the German populace look in 1949?


Germany has a total population of 460 million people and given the way it is increasing, we will crack the 1 billion mark in 1970. We are already well on track to supplant China as the most populated nation on earth.

Of those we have 29% farmers, meaning 70% of our population have moved on to the industrial and service sectors of the economy. We already have as much industrial workers as farmers. Of those, 46% consider them ethnic Germans, with the number rising by 1-2% per year.

Let us take a look at the different ethnicities and a few select cases:

(black and light black means ethnic Germans).

Our integration policies in Bohemia and Silesia have been a massive success.

Within 80 years, we assimilated about 30% of all the czechs, who now only hold a majority in Prague. Meanwhile, nearly all the poles in Silesia have been fully assimilated.

Similar success was to be had in Slovakia.

Yet perhaps the most success was in Hungary, as you can see Germans are starting to outnumber Hungarians even in territories that were 100% Hungarian at the start. Especially the younger generations cease to identify as Hungarians/Romanians/Poles and identify themselves as German citizens instead.

This process was especially strong in Slovenia, where the Slovenes were now in the minority.

In Transsylvania, we had great success calling on the traditions of former Saxon immigrants.

Of course, integrating the Russians would take more time, but if the current trends persisted we should have a German majority even in the former Russian and Ukrainian territories withing the next fourty years.

Alas, time is fleeting:



For funs and giggles, I have formulated the title of the German Emperor (lesser titles not shown):

His Imperial and Royal Majesty, by the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, King of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Occitania, Lombardy and Venice, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Poland, Vietnam, Denmark and Iceland, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke in Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Crossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kashubians, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, of Nicaragua, of Deutsch-Südamerika, Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, Lord of Pskov and Grand Prince of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, Finland; Prince of Estland, Livland and Courland, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildesheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau, of Moers and of Trent , Lord and Grand Prince of Nizhny Nogorod, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov,, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfeld, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt, Lord Protector and King of the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Finland and all their possessions, Lord Protector of West marocco, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Ivory Coast, Mossi, Fuuta Jalloon, Liberia, Togo, Dahomey, Somalia and Zambia.
(lesser titles not shown)


HOCH LEBE DAS DEUTSCHE REICH.

Let us celebrate with a Bismarckhering:



End of this LP

[Borgholio]

That was impressive, Herr Thanas. If only you had another century to consolidate your rule over the entire world. Any plans for a Hearts of Iron LP?

[LaCroix]

If he had had another century, he'd have to rename the planet to 'Teuton'.

Good game - And I loved the fluff you came up with.

[Purple]

I just don't understand why you kept releasing the colonies. Surely the proper thing to do would have been to assimilate them all into a world nation.

[Borgholio]

Could be like in EU 4 where it would have required too many Monarch points or could have caused too much unrest by assimilating them too quickly. It would be better to free them now, stay on their good side, then incorporate them at a later date.

[Thanas]

Could be like in EU 4 where it would have required too many Monarch points or could have caused too much unrest by assimilating them too quickly. It would be better to free them now, stay on their good side, then incorporate them at a later date.

No, it was simply roleplaying. In game mechanics, it was a bit of a loss. But I wanted to keep it realistic (well as realistic as such a game could be) and colonies just did not make sense post 1930. Also, the Germans had lost all colonial appetite by the 1910s and it would have cost a lot to keep them controlled.

Besides, if you sell a war to your largely liberal/socialist population as a war for freedom against an evil oppressive Empire, then not actually giving people their freedom would have been bad.

[Thanas]

Please let me know which next LP you want to see.
Vote here.