Part 114: Hearts of Iron II: Chapter 12 - The Partition of France: Jul - Aug 1939

July 1939 - August 1939: The Partition of France

The Amsterdam pocket is quickly closed and four French divisions captured. The last division in Groningen is practically doomed.


Most of the airforce is redirected to Ukraine with orders to run interdiction against the advancing Union troops.


The German advance through France continues, the French falling back in Flanders and German armor standing outside Paris.


Waldemar sends directives to the Lombards to go on the offensive, with Lombard and German troops joining in an attack on the Ferrara pocket.



Paris falls and Guderian moves up to create another pocket.


The Baltic fleet begins running convoy interdiction against ships heading between Britain and Iberia, sinking dozens of unprotected transports.


The Iberians launch an offensive into Lombard-controlled Occitania, routing two lombard divisions in Lyon.


Romania finally falls in mid-July, the way into Ukraine now open.


The Luftwaffe continues to run interdiction in occupied Romania, bombing roads and supply dumps to delay the Union advance.


All of France north of Paris is securely in German hands, with Iberian troops continuing to advance up through Occitania.


The Iberians continue their relentless advance on Lombardy and troops are pulled back to the Torino-Genua line. The Union is in full retreat in Italy, seemingly having withdrawn most of its troops back to the Balkans.


Iberian troops close the distance to the German lines and the first clash between Iberians and German troops occur on July 20th, as a German advance pushes the Iberians out of Troyes.


The DPRF fleet, fleeing their fallen ports, encounters the German Baltic Fleet. The French capital ships are turned to scrap one by one in the brutal exchange of fire that follows. Four German cruisers are also sunk.


An attempt to close the Mühlhausen pocket on July 30th fails, as the remnants of the French army continue to offer desperate resistance.


A stable front has been established against Iberia, with Paris and the industrialized north securely under German control. The Mühlhausen pocket is all that remains of the DPRF, the remnants of its fleet and its leaders having fled to Africa.


The Lombards have dug in around Genua and are advancing through Italy, a German division just about to enter Rome. It seems odd that the Union would give up Italy so easily, but perhaps they expect to retake it after crushing Germany.


Austria is holding, but despite reinforcements hastily shifted from France, the Ukrainian-Polish front is wide open and only Krakow stand between the Union and Germany proper.


The Russians have initiated a counter-attack in the north, retaking Moscow and pressing the Lithuanians hard.


The Egyptian offensive has also stalled, bogged down against Arab troops.




Strategy Update
Things are not looking too good. I don't know where Russia got their second wind from, but it's putting a big dent in my plans. I have some Scandinavian troops being rushed to Poland, but the stubborn refusal of the Mühlhausen pocket to die is tying up a lot of divisions. My new infantry divisions won't be ready until late September, either. The advice to run interdiction was a good one, though I'm finding myself wishing I had some strat bombers to take out infrastructure with.

Only glimpses of light are Italy, and the fact that the Iberians are committing most of their divisions against the Lombards, which means I can advance down into Occitania and hit them in the flank.