Part 115: Hearts of Iron II: Chapter 13 - Blood in the Water: Aug - Sep 1939

August 1939 - September 1939: Blood in the Water

The conquered Netherlands are granted autonomy and made a client state of Germany, with Waldemar's cousin Otto taking its throne.



Trouble brews in Jadakal, as the Jidligrib nationalist movement, angry with the economic chaos, war and oppression, rise in open revolt against the government.


News from the east herald the fall of Georgia to the Union, opening a new front for the Union aganst Russia and Lithuania.


The Iberian forces around Caen are weak, and Guderian sees a chance to trap some of the Iberian armor corps. An attack on Argentinan and Avranches is followed by a push into Caen, forcing an Iberian armor division to retreat to Cherbourgh where it is quickly surrounded and wiped out.




The main Iberian forces are still marching through Occitain, and a general advance is ordered along the front with the intent of reaching the northern shore of the Loire before Iberia can move more troops across the river.


With the help of newly arrived Scandinavian divisions, the Mühlhausen pocket is finally closed and the Democratic People's Republic of France is formally annexed to Germany.



Another uprising in Jadakal by the people of Tarwajal is followed by a declaration of war on Jadakal by Gustavia, who see their chance to finally bring down their garguantuan neighbor.



The last of the Union divisions defending Italy are surrounded and wiped out in Potenza. The Union seems to have abandoned Italy entirely, focusing its troops to the Balkans instead.


With German and Iberian troops now facing each other across the Loire, intense fighting breaks out as both sides try to advance across the river and are thrown back with heavy losses.


An attempt by the Lombards to attack Iberia's flank also fails, as the inferior Lombard infantry are thrown back by their Iberian counterparts.


Welcome news from Russia arrive - the Lithuanians have reached the Volga! The Russians must be on their last legs to let the HRE advance so far.


Strategic Update
The situation in France at the end of August. An Iberian advance has recently pushed us out of Angers and ruined my plan to create a pocket in Brittany. Bourges is stubbornly resisting any and all attempts to take it and making me wish I built more engineers. Planning to let my troops recover a bit and try again - with Bourges I can punch a hole in the Iberian right flank using all the troops tied up in Dijon.


Italy is pretty much completely in Lombard hands, and should provide some welcome IC for the Lombards to upgrade their crappy '36 infantry.


Things are stable in the Balkans for now. The troops I freed up from France arrived in the nick of time to keep the Union from overrunning Lithuania, and the interdiction missions are helping immensely by keeping Union org low. I'm still slowly losing ground, though.


The Russians are in retreat, probably because the AI seems to be moving everything it has to fight the Japanese (sigh paradox AI).


The Egyptians have been thrown back all the way to the Suez and probably aren't going to be tying up any Union troops anytime soon, but at least they're keeping the Arabs busy.


Ljansitar is kicking Kongo and Angola's rears in South Africa and I might have to take control to keep Kongo from being annexed.


Friland is doing strangely well against North Africa, probably because the latter is too busy taking Morocco.


The Americans are also doing well, although they were even further south a few weeks ago and are being pushed back by a counter-attack.


Union and Indian troops are finally meeting in Persia, with little results on either side just yet.


Very little seems to be happening in Asia, mostly because of a repeating pattern of Japan take crappy province - Russia attack crappy province - Japan retreat - Russia retake crappy province (rinse, repeat).


Overall, things are looking pretty good compared to a month ago. The only real worry is what all the Union armor is up to, as I haven't seen it on either front for a while, and if it were to come rolling up into Lithuania things would go south fast.

Then again, paradox AI.