Let's Play HOI3: The Great Potato War (Completed)

[WhiskeyWolf]

Hey! This is my hood.

 

[Reject_666_6]

Raep incoming. Either that, or France does a quick bust and cripples the Reich enough for you to shorten your defensive border.

 

[Cassidy]

On the matter of armored divisions.

I missed how many times the lone light armor division saved Poland during the 1939s in that HoI2 LP I did. Resilience to soft attacks shouldn't be underestimated. If the country you're playing has huge manpower, a 99.99% INF + HQs "zerg" buildup isn't a bad idea, but in extreme cases of a disproportionatedly high IC for low MP, for example, I learned that building Mountain DIVs and armor works much better. That is how I steamrolled both France and Poland by October 1939 once.

However, when you face a too wide front, like Poland, then it's better to stick to INF.

Also, although I wonder whether it was wise or not, in my LP I focused IC first on upgrading all obsolete 1918 standard infantry divs before the war because those are totally worthless, and I dunno what has changed in comparison to HoI2. Of course having started in September 1938 according to popular vote, I didn't want to risk having to hold a strategic province with 1918 tech infantry.

 

[Sulimo]

Sorry to say this bro, but you're basically fucked. Seeing the battle progresses in the screenshot means your first line of defense will be pushed back, which is basically the only battle you really need to win. Germany will be in Warsaw in 1 month, tops. Also, 0 manpower? Auch. 84% officer ratio? Germany should have 100%+ at this point, so yeah.

Then again, muchos kudos if you manage to actually get a result of some kind.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Update tonight!

 

[Nex]

Good to hear. Please make it long, I like long things!

 

[Cassidy]

Personally I'm more into forsaking Danzig, but not before seizing the rest of East Prussia, encircling whatever is there and then making a retreat to the east of the Vistula, while trying to hold Krakow(something I didn't succeed at in my LP because I underestimated how many DIVs I should have placed in Krakow to hold it) and taking whatever opportunity appears to encircle more Krauts and retake ground.

With the much larger amount of provinces in HoI3, I'm not sure if this still remains a viable strategy, but in HoI2 I managed to, in a 1936 scenario rather than in the game of that screenshot, survive the German offensive and later drive them back to Berlin through this approach rather than trying to defend Danzig and the territory west of the Vistula.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

The Great Potato War

The outset of the war has our forces attacked by the Nazis at multiple points.

The French have no resistance in Western Germany. Our job may be to just hold against the German advance while the French advance.

We begin our advance into East Prussia with next to zero resistance... just one division of infantry along our border.

And the Germans are throwing the kitchen sink at us, but we still have the advantage in numbers.

But the Southern front looks bleak. They moved numerous armored corps down there to force a breakthrough.

The French have advanced somewhat, but the Germans are mobilizing forces to respond. The French should still be able to force a breakthrough there and have a free run of Central Germany.

We make a run toward Konigsberg and Memel to close off Eastern Prussia to supplies.

We suffer our first defeats. We are forced to withdraw a bit, but we have a short line of forts in Northern Poland to mount a defense from.

That one infantry division will cause us nothing but trouble in Konigsberg. We take the time to move a few more troops away from East Prussia to face the German invasion.

Our forces in the North are doing fairly well.

We are getting forced back and the Italians are coming to assist the Germans against the French. Their advance will most likely stop.

The South is going against us as well.

The first breakthrough in our lines. Central Poland is now open to the German invaders.

The North begins to turn against us as well... This is not looking good for the Potato Corps.

The first in our line of Northern forts fall. Could this spell the end for the Land of Potato?

A couple of weeks into the war. We have been forced steadily back from the border.

The gap in our lines widen.

The French advance stops a few provinces into Germany. We can expect no help from them, and the faithless Brits have offered us nothing but moral support in our military endeavor, after starting this war in the first place.

The mighty forces of Potatoland are being pushed back in the South as well. Without assistance, we are destined to be ruled by the Potato-hating Germans.

Our territory is shrinking by the hour, as the relentless German Blitzkrieg routs our forces.

The road to Warsaw is still closed, but we are now on the last line of defense.

We have cleared most of East Prussia... but that provides little help.

Southern Poland is lost.

And the line finally breaks in the North, leaving Danzig to a horrible fate.

The jewel of Southern Poland, Krakow, has been overtaken by Nazis.

The Germans are trying (and succeeding) to encircle a large portion of our Army, which will end any form of resistance in the North.

What follows is a series of Corps shattered and provinces lost.

Their encirclement catches 45 infantry brigades and numerous HQs... The Potato Army is broken.

The Polish warriors fall back to Warsaw in an attempt for one last defense of their homeland...

The Battle of Warsaw goes much like the war... we were woefully unprepared, underequipped, and misled. Warsaw fell... but the might Poles refuse to surrender! They form a government in exile...

The Polish War lasted about five weeks and ended in the total defeat of the Polish Army. Their defense did not lack in enthusiasm, but with poor leadership and an outdated military, they were destined for defeat against the far superior German forces. Receiving no assistance from the aggressors of this war, the British, Poland was split between the Germans and the Russians. The French advance on the Western Front was stalled shortly after it began, partly in thanks to Italian assistance, and partly due to French incompetence.




Before

After

 

[Nex]

Going to try again or is that the end?

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Probably do a different LP, get better at the game, then try again in the future. Basically, I would love to hear from the others what went so wrong. I know that I devoted far too many resources to infantry, and maybe should have put more into forts... The Poles can't hope to win an offensive war, which is kind of what I was playing at. That was my first game as a non-major, and I think it showed. Napoleon I am not.

 

[Azira]

Now that was a short LP. Or are you planning on trying again?

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

I figure the best way to complete an LP is to make it four updates long.

 

[TripJack]

excellent work

short and sweet

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

You did this wrong: Minors are already fucked over in the basic game as well. Less than 12 leadership is a death sentence, as you can't keep up even a decent army much less expand it. You will also most likely lack an air force and have zero chance of ever having a navy. My tentative fix for this has been to add a +50% leadership modifier to anyone who isn't one of the majors. Though I'm going to look into it some more.

You could also wait for For The Motherland, since it's released next week. With it, you couldn't still keep on fighting as the resistance.

Also, playing on Very Easy is pretty much a requirement when fighting against either the Soviet Union or Germany with anyone except Japan, UK or USA.

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Well I'm thinking I'll try France for my next LP, and make it a bit more interactive (with votes on crucial points). Would you Bros support that? They seem to be just a better off Poland.

 

[TripJack]

go for it bro

i played as france a few times in hoi2 (never played 3) and it's not so bad, although using ones foreknowledge to extend and improve the maginot line is a bit boring

 

[Sulimo]

Probably do a different LP, get better at the game, then try again in the future. Basically, I would love to hear from the others what went so wrong. I know that I devoted far too many resources to infantry, and maybe should have put more into forts... The Poles can't hope to win an offensive war, which is kind of what I was playing at. That was my first game as a non-major, and I think it showed. Napoleon I am not.

As I've said. The only way I ever achieved something with Poland on Normal was to turtle myself in, don't add to your army because it's a death-sentence when you have 0 manpower and an officer ratio beneath 140%. Just built forts (try to build em on the river provinces and then just build em south to the easternmost province of Slovakia), you should be able to get level 3-4 forts in every province before the war breaks out. Russia asking for territory must be new, because they didn't do that in my playthrough (early days of SF, if I remember correctly), but even with that it should leave you with quite some VP's, because the Ruskies just straight out annex it instead of occupying it.

Anyway, good show, will read the next one.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Seems I'll have to mod Poland as well, should I be provided with adequete directions. One thing that's important to notice is that the manpower pool for minors is FUBAR (for historical strength, Finland for example needs to start with nearly 600 manpower from get-go), which is not fatal for Finland (due to limited infrastructure in the East), but it is for Poland even with improved leadership. Not even turtling like there's no limit can be sure to stop being defeated easily (and this is only without adding the Soviet invasion from the East). In general, I'd like to improve the representation of Finland, Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Btw, anyone know where the base leadership a country gets is defined (the points that aren't given by provinces)? It'd be helluva lot better to use that than to just modify provincial leadership.

 

[Luzur]

why not ally with Germany against the russians? or is that not possible?

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

I don't think Poland can move that far, especially since Germany can declare war by event. You can avoid war by giving up Danzig, but since the UK declared war and not Germany, I was stuck.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Yea, it's impossible for Poland to drift either to the Axis or the Comintern (these two block the Danzig or War! decision).

 

[GarfunkeL]

Good show chap, short but sweet!