Hearts of Iron IV - SFR Yugoslavia
I've been playing a couple Serbian and Yugoslavian scenarios in
Railroad Tycoon III, specifically the Balkans one and the Serbia and Montenegro one. Both good scenarios, the earlier one takes place between 1878 and 1914, and the latter starting in 1982 (post-Tito). They inspired me to try Hearts of Iron IV with Yugoslavia, which I'd never played before. Thus, setting the stage.
May 24, 1940
The daggers drawn were now in motion; memories of the summer of 1914 were in the air. Events had been playing out in slow motion, yet all too quickly. The only sacred rule seemed to be not to violate Belgium's neutrality. At least one thing had changed.
Yugoslavia had changed as well. Partisans led by Jozep Tito seized power in a bloodless coup, and were determined that this time Europe's powder keg would not be set off by some darn foolish thing in the Balkans. Alas, to observers abroad, that seemed to be just what had happened. On October 12, 1938, Greece had declared war on Turkey. The Megali Idea, long championed by Byzantophiles, had found a foreign backer in France, and together they decided they could make quick work of the Turks, expand Greece, and expand France's colonies as well.
They were mistaken. Turkey wobbled a bit in in the Aegean, but the Turks had soon taken most of Syria from France.
Nine days later, the powder keg exploded again, in Bohemia, as the Germans invaded Austria-Hungary, which also included Czechoslovakia. Austria-Hungary hoped to be a power in Central Europe, but would last barely two months against the German juggernaut. Yugoslavia trembled.
Still, Yugoslavia concluded the sidelines weren't the right place to stand, signed Bulgaria and Albania on as allies, and together joined Turkey against Greece and France on February 21, 1939. Thirty-six days later, Greece would surrender. Western Thrace would revert to Turkey, most of the mainland would go to Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria received the area around Thessaloniki as their prize, disappointing local CivFanatics.
Yugoslavia was not counting its eggs, however, for barely a week after the intervention in Greece, on March 1st, Italy declared war on Albania, soon thereafter landing an amphibious force in Turkey from Rhodes. With forces busy in Greece, helping Turkey against Italy, defending the Adriatic ports, and on the Yugoslav-Italian border, Belgrade made the decision to leave the border with Germany completely undefended.
You can probably predict where this is going... but no, Germany did not join Italy in the invasion, for they had declared war on Luxembourg, and were busy defending the Siegfried Line against French counter-attacks. It would not be until October 5th, demanding Slovenia, that Germany crossed the now lightly-defended border.
Croatia was soon mostly lost, and Slovenia had to be ceded to avoid encirclement, but with all hands put on deck, and recruits-in-training rushed to the lines, the Germany attack was slowed near the Sava. Few expected Yugoslavia to last long after Austria-Hungary's collapse, but days of survival became weeks, which became months. Germany was stronger on paper, but the Yugoslavs had the morale advantage defending their homeland. As the fresh recruits improved their skills, the price Germany paid per meter of land soared.
Then, in March of 1940, Germany launched an attack all across the front, trying to break the stalemate. It was a colossal failure. Seizing on the opportunity, Yugoslavia counter-attacked, pushing Germany back past the Sava, to the Danube, liberating Croatia, and even taking southern Hungary and Budapest itself. Slovenia remained in enemy hands, but the colossus had suffered a setback.
Finally, on May 20th, the Soviet Union demanded Karjala from Finland. Finland refused. The Soviets in turn declared the Summer War on Finland two days later.
But Finland had a secret weapon. The Anti-Comintern Pact, known publicly, was not a military pact
per se. But a secret protocol had been agreed to making it a defensive pact should any country be attacked by the Soviets. Finland was a party. So, too, were Germany, Poland, Latvia, Italy, and Afghanistan. The Soviets, and their military allies in the Lithuanian Independent Soviet Republic and the Kingdom of Romania, had bit off more than they expected.
Thus it is that Europe was a tangle of alliances.
France is at war with Germany and Italy, and also with Yugoslavia, Turkey, and the rest of the Pan-Slavic Worker's Congress.
The Pan-Slavic Worker's Congress is at war with France, and also with Germany and Italy.
Germany and Italy are at war with France, with the Pan-Slavic Worker's Congress, and with the Soviet Union and their allies.
Spain is officially in the Axis with Germany and Italy, but has thus far refused to join their wars, most notably the one against France.
The Soviet Union, Romania, and Lithuania are at war with all the signatories of the Anti-Comintern Pact.
And Poland, Finland, Latvia, and Afghanistan are allied with Germany and Italy against the Soviet Union, but have no quarrels with the Pan-Slavic Worker's Congress or with France.
It's like a bunch of countries signed mutual protection pacts in Civ3 and then things got so complicated you can't figure out who's on which side anymore.
And thus we have our strange situation. Poles and Germans fighting together against the Stalinist menace. France and Italy both trying unsuccessfully to defeat Turkey, but also fighting each other. And Belgium, despite not technically being guaranteed by anyone, somehow maintaining its neutrality this time.
)
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), and had obliterated the Ottoman navy easily, due to superior numbers (14 capital ships to their 12, I also had a far better admiral) and blockaded everything.
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