If Japan were to go the military centralist route, and eventually end up losing the 2WK to a combination of China, the US, and a victorious Germany, what would be Japan’s political and economic future?

I doubt that Japan would be directly occupied, but odds are that they would lose basically all of their colonial holdings.

KR lore says that Japan had a military government in the mid 20s to ward off a syndicalist revolt, but eventually it became unpopular and was replaced with civilian govt, would this happen again?

A little fiction from the world of Kaiserreich. Sorry for bad spelling or grammar a bit dyslexic hope you all enjoy.

Yoshi accepted the cigarette from the small man in the mud-brown uniform, with leaves attached to his Commune-style helmet. The new smooth kind without the decorative flourish of the kind worn by the old regime in the Weltkrieg. Yoshi sat with about a dozen other men from the regiment, the Captain had a thousand yard stare, most of the other men like Yoshi just sat stunned, as the road next to them was filled with the constant drumming of feet. Every minute it seemed another company of the KMT passed. They were all clothed in mud brown uniforms festooned with foliage for camouflage. They were armed with every make and model of weapon under the sun. American Springfields, German Karabiners, British SIR’s, Commune MAS. Every squad toted a light machine gun, mostly German or British make. Yoshi saw mortars, heavy machine guns, and plenty of ammunition. The last squad in each company carried or pulled boxes of ammo on carts. Wagons and trucks followed each regiment with even more ammunition, and with them came the heavy artillery pulled by horses. Yoshi was stunned to see the well-maintained Krupp guns and even more stunned when he realized most were copies. He looked back to his comrades all that was left of the 7th Regiment of the 23rd Division of the Kwantung Army. 

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The Empire had aircraft and tanks and artillery, and the best soldiers in the world. Shenyang had fallen faster than anyone had expected sure, but there had only been a token Japanese garrison there with most of the army in the Philippines finishing the occupation. The 23rd and 15th Divisions had deployed as a holding action until more divisions could be moved over. No one expected the Chinese to put up serious resistance. It had not gone as expected, the KMT were harden by years of guerilla warfare, and tempered by Commune and British training and advice. They struck hard at night all along the line, there Companies Yoshi watched marching past moved seamlessly as regiments, battalions then as platoons and squads infiltrating and penetrating. It seemed each platoon had a radio, Japan had one per company. The Japanese army had not been able to respond. The KMT tore the divisions apart and defeated them in detail. Yoshi and his company had held their position all night, the dead had piled high on their wire. Then in the morning the looked out to see the rest of the division gone, and the red Chinese streaming past them towards the Yalu and into Korea. Some men wanted to Banzai charge, the lieutenant had shot himself, the Captain ordered the rest of the men to surrender. “You can live in shame.” he said, “but you will live.” 

Yoshi watched as a car came up the road with a white flag and another white and red one on the hood. The marching columns had no problem letting it past. The car pulled off the road and several people got out. Yoshi was surprised to see familiar gray of German and Green of American Marines from his time stationed in Shanghai. They moved to talk with some KMT who looked like officers. 

“Your ride.” The young man guarding them said in perfect Japanese. “The international zone is taking all Japanese prisoners for repatriation.”

Yoshi turned to the man, “Where did you learn Japanese.” 

The man Yoshi’s age…no younger maybe only 16 to Yoshis 24. 

“In school, in Seoul where I am from and where I will see the rising sun burn!” The young KMT solider said

Yoshi was taken aback by the intensity.

There was a roar overhead and Yoshi looked up to see hundred of planes with the White Sun a odd mix of European and American even a few Japanese, but all with the blazing White Sun. 

“Happy 1939 liberation is at hand.” The young guard said as Yoshi was left to stare at the wrath of an awakened giant.

In most of my games, now that the AI can handle Black Monday without crashing the economy, the Commune and the Russians still get steamrolled. The AI is downright brain-dead—they fight like World War I-era French and Italian generals, getting bogged down and massacred outside places like Kiev and Nancy. The British aren’t much better, barely surviving because the Germans keep throwing themselves into a second Battle of Jutland. Really hoping the new update brings in smarter strategies to make the war feel more dynamic.

LKMT has a focus that creates "New Economic Policy Zones" in four cities, which boosts local construction. If I take the focuses while one of the cities is occupied, and then I retake the city later, can I add the state modifier to the state afterwards?

Considerations & Reminders once 2WK has begun, Comments on German Republic Run, and Weltpolitik information for my strategy of maximizing Foreign Alignment with Reichspakt

As always, any questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged! Be advised that this guide is organized as a step by step walkthrough, not separate buckets to consider individually. Links to other parts listed below.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The Weltkreig Tree:

Upon Start of the Second Weltkreig, immediately shift you focus to the Weltkreig tree to reduce the remaining Lacking Preparedness National Spirit as fast as possible. Once you have completed the following sequence, you are free to complete focuses at your preference.

1. Wartime Mobilization (Reduced time to remove Lacking Preparedness)
2. Relocate Industry (can be skipped if you’re confident you can hold the starting frontline/or don’t care about losing your Western Rhineland Industry to the French)
3. Combat Defeatism (Reduced time to remove Lacking Preparedness)
4. Restore the Notaibur System (10% Recruitable Population Factor)
5. Anti Sedition Laws (Reduced time to remove Lacking Preparedness - additional decisions to improve war support and stability for PP cost are likely not necessary, at least in the first year of the war when we likely still have to fill out our military staff)
6. Prevent Turnip Winters (Reduced time to remove Lacking Preparedness)
7. The Talents of Riefenstahl (Reduced time to remove Lacking Preparedness)
8. Conversion of Civilian Industry (Required for next focus - gives civ to mil conversion cost reduction which can be especially useful for Republic Germany)
9. Fremdarbeiterprogram (Gives 1% Recruitable Population and 5% Factory & Dockyard Output)

Wissell Plan:

While not a required focus at all, fully completing the Wissell Plan give some crazy boosts and adds ~20 civilian factories. I recommend completing the focus (if you didn’t already) after completing the Weltkreig Tree and outlying Final War Preparation focuses listed at the end of Part 4 of this guide. Eventually you will have more PP than you know what to do with so it’s a good side project to have.

Constitutional Review Committee:

As we all know, you need to complete the Constitutional Review Committee focuses before the end of the Second Weltkreig. There’s no benefit to starting them before the wart starts, just be sure you complete them before ending the war. Make sure to keep an eye on your coalition loyalty and take loyalty increasing focuses as necessary. You don’t want all your hard work pre-War to go to waste and get the failstate during the war.

Optional Planning for a German Republic Run:

There’s nothing additional you need to do for a German Republic run besides obviously getting it to trigger. Best Strategy is to immediately pull back to the Elbe river and let 3I walk in before your allies can swarm in and bog them down. Delay Austria Joining the war as long as possible. Be sure to hold the Russians at the rivers in the east and preferably focus a majority of your Air Force there as well in order to make it impossible for them to cross.

The best reminders I can give you are not to build at all in the states West of the Elbe river (though you will also need to likely lose control of Hannover as well in order to get over 50% surrender progress). Let your ~100 or so military factories catch up and build a second Airforce (that initially only has to defend the North Germany air zone) and plenty of tank divisions for a counterattack once the revolution has fired.

Foreign Policy Alignment & Interactions (Weltpolitik):

If you wish to put in the effort to stack the deck in your favor before the first shot is fired in the Weltkreig, below is my personal summary of what I believe is the best for how/when you should press your thumb down to tip the scales.

Poland:

As stated previously, always be selling Polish Assets on cooldown for the extra PP. For the Eastern Railway event, take the PP hit instead of losing influence as the influence loss is of greater PP value. Poland exerting economic independence isn’t a direct issue for Germany, and should Poland have the People’s Republic path just let them go as you won’t waste PP trying to get them back and you will still have military access to them regardless even if Austria doesn’t join the Weltkreig right away. If they remain loyal, don’t fund their nationalist circle and promise them independence once the war starts.

The Baltic Dutchy

Spend the 70PP to ensure they remain loyal. It’s worth it, and you will be out of the negative PP pit before the end of 1936 anyway.

Ukraine

Spend the 40PP to ensure the revolution fails. You will lose the same amount if the revolution succeeds anyway and you have to renegotiate treaties, plus Ukraine has greater benefits for you with the current status Quo.

Lithuania:

I personally don’t know if allowing them to circumvent Memel/Riga has any direct impact on whether they stay loyal or not (If someone is aware of this answer let me know). Assuming it doesn’t, you’re better keeping the agreement as you’ll have more of their civilian industry.

Greece:

Sanction them to the dark ages, you can’t get Greece in your faction if you have the Ottomans, and we will be making quite the effort to do so.

Indochina:

Nothing extra to do here beyond Taking the indicated focuses (Colonial Budgets & East Asian Regiments) and Taking the Indochina Intervention Force decision. If you want to be even more involved, then send them material support.

Mittelafrika:

If the Hardliner’s stay in control, send for their arrest. You can’t take the 100PP hit and the stability hit Mittleafrika takes won’t cause them to collapse unless you’re near disaster (even triggering the Republic doesn’t immediately cause them to break apart).

League War:

Second Expedition to China will give us 25PP if League wins. This is a no brainer, and keeping a possible Japan friendly China Tag or the LMKT from taking power is a plus.

Argentina:

Always press for the better Argentina Trade deal (you can save scum if you want) since a 10% reduction is WAY better then 3% reduction to consumer goods. This also means we want to at the very least ensure Argentina survives at least until the Weltkreig starts with our volunteers. (Best strategy is to hold two supply hubs in the south and the one in the west-central near Chile’s capital.)

Spanish Civil War

A non-Red Spain is the main objective, preferably the Kingdom (even with the risk they remain neutral, though it’s not worth taking the focus to confirm they won’t be) but if they are capped, then immediately jump to the Carlists.  (Best starting strategy is to try and take the southern two supply depots and possibly reach Valencia in the first few months of the war.)

*4*^(th)* Balkan War

You are basically railroaded into supporting Bulgaria, as refusing in the events costs you war support and PP which we can’t afford. Even if they have the possibility of joining the Moscow Accord, it best to just kill the Belgrade Pact as it confirms Romania is a non-factor for the rest of the game.

2ACW

As long as they are not a Macarthur that abandoned DC, it usually best to support the feds and try and take Pennsylvania from the Reds quickly. Otherwise, stall for time with them to keep the war going as long as possible.

Ireland:

It’s true that the cheapest way to guarantee an Ireland puppet is to do nothing until there are 70 days left (there will be a notification), then do the decision that costs command power (20 days) three times. For those who can handle it, it’s actually more beneficial as DU Germany to get as much investment into Ireland as possible (usually with guns) while keeping the Neutral/Status Quo balance as you will get back 10PP for each time you invested when the crisis is over, and Ireland remains neutral. This is EXTREMELY hard to manage with everything else going on but can easily get you another 150-200PP if you pull it off.

Costa Rica:

There’s a small event chain to get you as free 20PP by offering Costa Rica your protection (guaranteeing them) and then handling their dispute with Panama. Offer to sit down with Panama and if necessary, go back to Costa Rica with the compromise. If Costa Rica does end up getting invaded, there’s a white peace event should they capitulate.

Cuba

If Cuba asks to join your faction, take them, as you will later on get a military coordination event that offers you some free xp.

Haiti

Not entirely necessary, but in most cases when you support the legitimate Haitian president, they will win and give you docking rights. They can also eventually join your faction.

Italian Unification

Biggest objective is capping the Socialist Republic of Italy. However, if Rome/Two Sicilies has pushed them mostly back to the far north (and the ANI is in power in the former Italian Republic) it’s not worth it for you to attack any further (Italian State can potentially Join Moscow Accord if Reds are gone before 2WK). Keep up with your Air Volunteers though, as you can get some serious xp in Italy.

Burma

Give Burma the Guarantee if they request it, giving you 20 PP and opening up a second front on Siam to blunt the blow to GEA if Siam joins the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

India (Princely Federation)

Make a decent effort to have Princely Federation/Hyderabad unify India (focus on getting them control of Bengal). If they are successful, take the focus/decision for Berlin-Deli alliance as they have never denied it in my experience, and while you lose Ceylon and it’s rubber producing regions, having a united India is WELL worth it for dealing with both Japan and Russia.

Ottoman Empire (& Azerbaijan)

Win them the Desert War (best to leave Iran last, get control of Suez as soon as possible) and make sure you already have Azerbaijan in your faction and they should always accept when you take the decision to settle disputes. They rarely need any direct help during the 2WK, especially if you’ve been pushing through Mitteleuropa reforms.

Denmark

While there’s no way I’ve found to guarantee it, offering to accept a neutral Denmark (with slight pro-Germany leaning) is completely acceptable and better off the trying to demand they join your alliance and you end up pushing them to the Internationale.

I hope you've enjoyed this guide and that it assists you in your future DU runs. Show them no mercy and blast "Die Wacht am Rhine" as you roll your tanks down the streets of Paris, London & Moscow. The Empire is inevitable, and shall establish a new order that will last a thousand years...

title

If the fengtian clique manages to unite China and break off Japanese influence then what might China under them be like since at least of fengtian is ruled by a group of political parties which adhere more to personal interests rather than any particular ideology and once they don’t need to work together that’s gonna create some political chaos. Then there’s their leader, zhang zuolin a politically flexible person and was the lynchpin that held the fengtian clique together through propaganda, political maneuvering and much more but could he rule China a give some form of civilian government or will he rule as an absolute leader similar to savinkov? What do you guys think?

Research & Production Focuses, Finalizing War Preparations & Status of Armed Forces in Early 1940

As always, any questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged! Be advised that this guide is organized as a step by step walkthrough, not separate buckets to consider individually. Links to other parts listed below.

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

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Finalizing Research & Tech and Maximizing Preparedness (Focuses):

Now that we’ve passed the War Preparedness Act, we’re in the final stretch to prepare for the 2 WK. The biggest objective now is staying ahead of the Demand for Action timer while also getting as many research/production bonuses as we can. We will also continue passing Mitteleuropa reforms and crossing off the last of the requirements to reduce the Lacking Preparedness modifier.

Start with (39) Social Housing Program for more Industrial Projects if you have PP to spare (if we complete 10 total projects it further reduces Lacking Preparedness, but this is a luxury and PP is honestly better spent elsewhere).

• If Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Social & Economic Equality of the Sexes focus instead.
  • If taking this focus will cause Zentrum loyalty to drop to zero and leave the coalition with less than the required seats to form a government, switch it out with Restrict Protective Custody in Prussia

Move next to (40) Panzer Divisions for the reduction to Org loss when moving and for a new Medium Tank Template (and 2 free Tank divisions) that you can use as the foundation for your tank build.

Then take (41) Raketenwerfer for another support artillery research bonus. You want to use this for the Improved Anti-Tank upgrade I for unlocking the improved medium cannon for your Medium Tanks, so be sure to begin researching Anti-Tank II before completing this focus.

**Note: the fifth Mitteleuropa vote term will end on June 20***^(th) 1939, you will want to make sure the Bank of Central Europe or Europamark reform passes this term (whichever reform you didn’t pass in round four)

Next will be (42) Social & Economic Equality of the Sexes to push back the Demand for Action timer and 5% extra PP gain and Recruitable Population.

• If taking this focus will cause Zentrum loyalty to drop to zero and leave the coalition with less than the required seats to form a government, switch it out with Restrict Protective Custody in Prussia
• If Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Arbeitsgericht focus instead

Following this we will take (43) Develop Mechanized Infantry that gives a 1 year ahead of time reduction and 100% research bonus for mechanized infantry, which should be researched immediately to add to your tank divisions.

Next take either of the two (44) Naval Doctrine Focuses (whichever is your preference) followed by (45) Towards A single Market to get the last directly beneficial Mitteleuropa Reform Forming the Common Travel Area.

Then take (46) Arbeitsgericht to push back the Demand for Action timer and take a 10% Production Efficiency Cap and 5% Production Efficiency Base Increase.

• If Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Restrict Protective Custody in Prussia focus instead.
  • If Restrict Protective Custody in Prussia focus has already been taken, then pick between Municipal Socialism, Wissell Plan or Social & Economic Equality of the Sexes so that it will not cause your coalition to fall apart (if possible)
  • If the above is not possible, then pick any of the remaining three and play damage control based on remaining coalition loyalty and Demand for Action Timer

Now we will take (47) Reform the HWA Ariel Section, giving another Aircraft research bonus, but more importantly a 5% production cost reduction to all plane types for a year. Be sure you have your 1940 planes established and already in production before completing this focus, preferably earlier.

**Note: the sixth Mitteleuropa vote term will end on December 17*^(th)* 1939, you will want to make sure the Common Travel Area reform passes this term. This will be the final required reform we need.

Finaly, to complete the last requirement to maximize the reduction to the Lacking Preparedness Modifier, take (48) Vanquish French Forts for an additional 10% ground attack factor and breakthrough bonus against the Commune of France (always better to deal with them first).

*At this point, Lacking Preparedness reduction has been maximized outside of keeping Black Monday debt under 150% (not guaranteed) and completing 10 industrial projects. The 200 PP needed to complete the additional 5 is better used elsewhere.

Final War Preparations (Focuses):

At this point, February 14^(th) 1940, nothing is guaranteed in terms of world tension or maintaining a working coalition depending on what your RNG has been for relationships in the coalition. I will list out the recommended path to take in terms of focuses under the assumption that you are able to delay the 2 WK to beyond August 1^(st) 1940 (latest possible) and maintain your coalition’s majority in the Reichstag without having to use focuses to boost coalition loyalty.

If you can’t do this, don’t worry, as at this point the beneficial focuses are just extra bonuses if they are completed prior to the start of the 2 WK. It is FAR more important not to enter a failstate by failing the Demand for Action mission or losing your Reichstag majority.

Should the Second Weltkreig begin, your first priority is to complete the necessary focuses in the Weltkreig tree. Any focus title below with a * included should eventually be taken after completing the Weltkreig tree in not already completed

Take (49) Restrict Protective Custody in Prussia to push back the Demand for Action timer and take a 10% Stability Bost and 5% increase to Social Democracy Party Popularity. If Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Municipal Socialism focus instead.

Next take *(50) Infantry Motorization for a 20% reduction cost to trucks and 10% reduction to mechanized infantry for a year.

If it’s possible, take (51) Russo-German Investment Consortium to bring WT under 75%. You would likely need Civilian Intelligence researched and a strong Spy network in Russia to pull this off. If this isn’t possible replace this focus with Footsteps of Seect

Then take (52) Municipal Socialism for the final required delay for the Demand for Action timer. If Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Wissell Plan focus instead.

If not yet chosen, take *(53) Footsteps of Seect to open the Reformist Military Tree and access the decisions to increase Reformism control. The one that costs command power and gives free army xp is a must.

The Second Weltkreig has likely begun (or about to) by this point. It best at this point to wait for the war to kick off and then start the Weltkreig tree. The last reaming important focuses to come back to once this is done are the following:

• *Expand the HWA Automotive Section: 100% Armor Research bonus, 25% reduction in Armor Research Speed, and a 10% Armor Reduction Cost for a year
• *Mechanized Wave: 10% armor Division Attack, 100% Armor Design Cost Reductions & 100% Research Bonus for Armor
• While it’s not necessary, you might want to work to complete *Thorough Education of the General Staff to fully remove your Victor’s of the Weltkreig National Spirit.

Status of your Military:

By conservative estimates, your military situation should look something like this at the start of 1940:

• 125 Military Factories
  • 55-60 for planes (Fighter, CAS, Naval Bombers)
  • 25-30 for Tanks (Medium, Flamethrower, SPAA) – I add one SPAA company to my defensive infantry divisions (the base template) for better defensive stats
  • 10 for Mechanized Infantry (Tank divisions only)
  • 10 for Artillery
  • 10 (at least) on Guns
  • Remaining mixed between support equipment, Trucks, Trains and towed AA/AT
• 120 Frontline Infantry Divisions (6 armies of 20) – 20 more divisions in training
• 4-6 Tank divisions – Likely still being upgraded with latest equipment due to recently unlocked mechanized infantry. Target should be 12+ modern equipment ones by end of year
• 2000 Total Fighters (600+ 1940)
• 1800 Total CAS (500+ 1940)
• 1000 Naval Bombers (150+ 1940)
• 2-3 Army Doctrines
• 5-7 Naval Doctrines
• 7+ Air Doctrines
• 15 Naval Dockyards
• Fully built starting navy (including ships partially built/queued in production)
• 600+ Convoys

I propose that the six year plan for the LKMT navy be changed from a 1 year 150% boost to naval dockyard construction speed to a 6 year 50% increase to dockyard output or ship cost, considering building a 150 shipyards as China is still gonna pose a lot of problems with materials, for reference I ended up with a 1500 iron deficit trying to build a competent fleet in a reasonable timeframe to conquer Japan. Changing this to a dockyard output not only better simulates a concerted efffort to build a navy in said six years instead of simply permanently increasing your ability to build ships, it also makes it reasonable material wise for China to catch up with modern ships to the other great powers instead of having to use half the GDP to fund iron inputs, massively halting your growth compared to others

There is a hidden political path for Ukriane that I don't think many people (including the devs) know about.

To access this path, you need to start as Germany, get the SPD in control, and also set Ukraine to fall to a syndicalist take-over in the game rules. When that happens you'll get a decision to declare war on Ukraine and an event where the previous government of Ukraine petitions their reinstatement (note: you have an option to replace it with a more conservative government instead, but this literally does nothing). This will most likely lead to the start of WK2 as Russia will refuse your ultimatum and also invade Ukraine. Now, unlike Poland's syndicalist coup, Ukraine won't join 3I, so once you and Russia have capitulated them you'll get a peace conference. Russia sees Ukraine as a breakaway region so they'll never release a puppet from the territory they take, but you can. And because Germany is SocDem this new Ukrainian People's Republic will have access to their SocDem/SocLib political branch again AND will still have access to the syndicalist branch of the tree. You can then tag switch over to them and reap the rewards of both branches. If you manage to win the war with Russia you then get access to Ukraine's German-aligned post-war tree, thus allowing you to break free after the war.

Now, this most likely was not intended by the devs, and is likely due to an oversight of the syndicalist branch not checking if Ukraine is actually still syndicalist once it's unlocked. However, intended or not, I think this is very thematic for Ukraine's situation when you get access to both branches. At this point, Russia has likely annexed everything east of the Dnipro and is attempting to push further west. Meanwhile, Ukraine has now gone through its second regime change in the last 2-3 months and needs to rebuild its army fast to bolster the German defenses. In this precarious situation, with Ukraine as a concept hanging in the balance, it makes sense that the new/reinstated Ukrainian government would choose to work with the remaining socialist elements to get whatever edge or boon they possibly can. "We can shoot each other over what the nation will be tomorrow once we've ensured there will be a nation tomorrow."

For this reason, I don't want the devs to "fix" this oversight. It requires such a niche scenario that I don't think its exploitable, and it feeds into the flavor of a desperate fight for survival where nothing is held back. I'm not asking the devs to make this an official path or anything, since it is so niche, just that they don't "fix" it. The only thing I would suggest tweaking (if any devs are reading this) is to make a special "Fate of Ukraine" event for Germany when this happens based on the "Intervention in Ukraine" event (i.e. you have the option to release a Ukraine with a same government it had before the socialists took over, keep the republic but put SocCon leaders in charge, or reinstate the Hetmanate). That way that event can actually have a follow through, instead of just doing nothing.

It was when Europe trembled under the treads of a Tank in the Weltkrieg that unparalleled value of Crude became visible to the world, and with it, the Latin-American nations of the northern Andes found themselves as much the beneficiaries of their immense Oil wealth as they were victims. The heirs to Simon Bolivar soon became the targets of the ever-avaricious demands of the global powers in their thirst for the fuel to fund their ambitions.

Venezuela, the spare to the heir to Gran Colombia, sits at the center of this increasingly volatile scramble to secure the world's Oil supplies as the world inches closer to a Second Weltkrieg. The Syndicalist revolutions in France and Britain were joined close behind by the Socialist revolutions in Mexico and Chile. With the United States influence weakening due to their internal issues and In a mad dash to secure a firm foothold over the Oil reserves in the Caribbean, the gun boat diplomacy and subsequent naval blockade of Venezuela by the German Empire forced an early end to the former's burgeoning democracy in favor of the military junta of General Marcos Jimenez, forcing Venezuela into an uneasy alliance with their Prussian benefactor, becoming the seat of German influence in Latin America.

With a ruthless military dictatorship at the forefront, the machinations of the Reichspakt, Entente and Third International scheming in the background and an increasingly resentful population caught in the middle, the situation in Caracas is becoming untenable. With increasing reliance of the German on Venezuelan Crude combined with unsettling reports of economic instability in Berlin, it is not going to take much to set the torch to German ambitions in the region, with many proud Venezuelans to be caught in the crossfire.

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My apologies for my admittedly wordy premise for a Venezuela rework, but I feel like, among many of the different nations in need of a real touch up (Yes, Hungary, we all know), the nations of the northern Andes are woefully out of date and can do with a little expansion.

I wanted to focus particularly on Venezuela because I feel that Germany becoming vested in expanding it's influence in having a defined Pro-German nation in Latin America, just as the Entente have in Canada and the West Indies or the 3I have in Mexico and Chile. The national populist regime in Argentina might have pro-German elements to it, but given the need for Oil for the Germans to run their Empire in tandem with the need to keep a regional buffer against either the Entente or the 3I, Venezuela would be too tempting for Berlin to not force into it's sphere.

This will only intensify after Black Monday and the onset of the American Civil War, where the recovering Germans 'formally invite' the Venezuelan's into the Reichspakt, stationing a Kriegsmarine fleet in Maracaibo and a (perhaps permanent) military mission in Merida.

The outrage sparked by this blunt violation of sovereignty sparks protests across Venezuela, setting the stage for a national confrontation that will alter the course of not only Venezuela's history, but the geopolitical make up of the whole of northern Latin America for all time.

Tried Qing for the first time. After pushing Japan out of China and peacing them, The united front dissolved but now i have a rule that my country cant declare war. How do i unify china now? The non aggresion pact ran out. Is there something i missed? Is there a timer for when i can declare war again?

The Brunswick Front, Agrarian Dilemma, Stage 2 Military Preparedness & the War Preparedness Act

As always, any questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged! Be advised that this guide is organized as a step by step walkthrough, not separate buckets to consider individually. Links to other parts listed below.

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

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The Brunswick Front (Minigame):

On October 28^(th) 1937, Brunswick Front Mission will finally begin. Your Government Paralysis should be at most 30% (if it’s higher you many have problems successfully resolving the issue depending on your current coalition and/or status of Schleicher as Prussia’s MP) and (to be safe) you should try to have at least 80PP saved up. If you have only spent PP outside of events on Early Mobilization, the four industrial projects, getting Schleicher as MP of Prussia and Summits for Peace to this point, then you should be fine if you’ve been selling Polish Holdings.

Be sure to take the three decisions to form the Front for Defense of Democracy as soon as possible, as the earlier you can form the front, the faster we can shut down the Right’s “Rebellion”.

Schleicher’s Stab in the Back:

With Schleicher as Prussia’s MP, he will stab us in the back and join forces with the Brunswick Front, causing Government Paralysis to jump and extra 10%. While his betrayal does suck, he can be dealt with quickly by taking the Topple the Schleicher Cabinet decision and removing him from power for a “Second” time will grant you a free 5% Stability boost for your troubles.

The bigger prize is the Prussia Civil Service Reform Decision that is unlocked only by removing him, with the only requirement being the completion of the Democratization of the Service Law focus (that we’ve already completed by this point) and costs no additional PP. Completing this decision will give us a 10% reduction to Government Paralysis, 75PP (basically refunding you all the PP you spent getting Schleicher back into power and then removing him again), another 10% Stability boost and adding another 120 days to Demand for Action**!!!**

*If Zentrum is in your Coalition:

Once again, if Zentrum is part of your coalition, Franz von Papen will kick up a fuss and align with Brunswick, causing another 5% increase to government Paralysis and reducing Zentrum loyalty by 10. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about this besides keeping it from getting worse and thus we should immediately take the decision to expel him before he can further reduce Zentrum Coalition loyalty. We will get a 5% Stability Increase for our troubles.

Maintaining Front Organization:

Make sure you stay aware of your front organization (need 30 to reduce Government Paralysis), especially in the beginning where you may need to spend additional Front Org. to remove Schleicher and von Papen. Remember than countering the Activity of the National Opposition will cost you 10 Front Org. each time and the All-Democratic Front reducing Government Paralysis will cost you an additional 10 Front Org. for each reduction.

When you need to increase front organization, consider taking the Hold Nationwide Rallies decision (reducing stability by 2%) first to defer from having to spend PP (especially since we are getting so much stability boosts from removing Schleicher and/or von Papen). If you absolutely have to spend PP to have enough Front Organization, take Push out Reactionary Civil Servants for 10 PP.

Remember that you should wait to counter Activity of the National Opposition until there’s less than 20 days remaining in an All-Democratic Front turn since that is the amount of time it will remain dormant after being countered.

Front Events:

Where you receive any of the three Democratic Front Events, you should make your decision based on the following:

• Disagreements within the All Democratic Front: Always take the bottom option unless Zentrum is in your coalition and has Coalition Loyalty less than 30 or SPD-Left Coalition Loyalty is less than 30. If either of these two options are true, then you should probably take the top option.
• Tensions between Neo-Revisionists and Leftists: Regardless of Coalition, the first time you receive this decision, you should take the top option to spend 10 SPD-Left coalition loyalty for an extra 30 days in Demand for Action. Should you receive it a second time take the bottom option that does the reverse. Keep flipping back and forth between options so you always have either 30 additional days for Demand for Action or zero additional days.
• Street Clashes: Nothing to determine as there’s only one option.

Item 126

Event you get near the end/after fall of Brunswick Front. Gives 75PP and increase to Social Democracy Popularity at the cost of 10 Zentrum, Minority, and Agrarian Loyalty. As long as Zentrum Loyalty is 30+ (as well as others but Zentrum should be the only real danger at this point if they are in your coalition) then it’s safe enough to take. Otherwise keep the loyalty.

Collapse of the Brunswick Front:

The front will officially collapse on July 20^(th) 1938, with the event Breakdown of the “National Opposition”, which will reduce government paralysis by 10%. If you’ve been diligent in reducing Government Paralysis, and depending on timing and Coalition status, you will either have already gotten Government Paralysis to zero or are at 5%.

Note the date, and if you have yet to get Government Paralysis to zero be sure that you don’t waste PP or stability trying to get the last reduction yourself as the event will do it for you.

Also remember that once you’ve received The Rebellion in the Civil Service Ends event, should Activity of the National Opposition pop up, you do not need to act on it.

Agrarian Dilemma (Minigame):

While you are dealing with the Brunswick Front, the Agrarian Dilemma will come around somewhere in December 1937. You should be able to resolve the immediate issues quickly with the PP we have banked.

The most efficient way to deal with the Disorderly Agrarian Policy National Spirit, and it’s .4% weekly reduction to stability, it to immediately take the Revitalize the East & Reform the Rural Credit Market decisions.

Picking these options out of the 5 are best because they trigger the Revitalization of the Vistula Vally Event which gives us a free 25PP that we can use to immediately take the decision to Invite the Agrarian Parties.

If you’re curious as to why we should spend the PP to bring them in when this setup only has them bring 2 seats to the coalition, it’s because having them is a good buffer for the Relationships in the Coalition timer as it gives an additional option for the RNG event to lower Coalition Loyalty away from the more important Coalition members like Zentrum or LVP.

**While it is unlikely that we will ever use the rest of the Agrarian policy decisions before the 2WK begins, there is a potentially helpful scenario where we could take the Crack Down on Profiteers decision (40PP) which pared with the Cartell Busting Focus that we will be doing later gives us an additional 10 Coalition Loyalty for both LVP and Agrarians and 3% Stability. This would be useful in an emergency where you need to regain LVP loyalty instead of needing to take a 14 day focus

Military Preparedness Stage 2 (Focuses):

While dealing with the Brunswick Front, we will enact the following to continue furthering our military preparedness.

We shall take (24) Expand the Krigsschulen for the extra research slot (and 50 Army xp), followed by (25) Deutsche Reichsbahn. The second focus will satisfy our railroad nationalization requirements for reducing the Lacking Preparedness as well as set us up to take Cartell Busting once the Brunswick Front forms.

**Note: the second Mitteleuropa vote term will end on December 27*^(th)* 1937, you will want to make sure the Consultative Assembly reform passes this term

*You will also want to take the fifth round of “Sell Polish Holdings” (if you have enough influence and you haven’t yet already done so) upon selection of the Deutsche Reichsbahn focus.

The next focus will be (26) Establish the W-System for both unlocking the War Industrialist advisor (we will get him after dealing with the Brunswick Front) and opening the rest of the military tree. For a status check, Black Monday’s final turn should complete while this focus is progressing, and like I said earlier in this guide, you have a reasonable chance to be below 150% debt and should definitely be below 180%.

Following this, we will take (27) Maneuver Warfare Textbooks to immediately hire Ludwig Beck for free as our military theorist for a 15% reduction in Maneuver Warfare Land Doctrine Cost (Don’t start working down the Land Doctrine research tree until after completing this focus).

With the Brunswick Front battle in full swing, now it’s time to take (28) Cartel Busting for a 10% reduction in Government Paralysis. We will follow up this focus with (29) Parliamentarisation of the Conference (requires Consultative Assembly reform passed) to continue progressing down the Mitteleuropa Tree.

Next, we will take (30) Develop Self-Propelled Artillery for the Support Artillery Research Boost. Preferably, you should already have begun researching or complete researching Artillery II and both Anti-Tank & Anti-Air upgrades before completion of this focus. By the time this focus is completed, you should have defeated the Brunswick Front.

**Note: the third Mitteleuropa vote term will end on June 25*^(th)* 1938, you will want to make sure the Principle of Qualified Majority reform passes this term

*Status check: You should have 260 or more days left in Demand for Action if you’ve done things correctly upon the completion of the previous focus (140 if Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia)

Completing the War Preparedness Act (Focuses):

Now that the Brunswick Front is gone, we can take a good deep breath and place all of our focus on meeting the requirements for the War Preparedness Act, unique to the DU and further assists with reducing Lacking Preparedness, which fires in the first week of January 1939.

First, we will select (31) Military Mission to Constantinople, this ensures that we have the ability to manually get the Ottomans into our faction should they win the Desert War with our assistance. It MUST be taken before the Desert War begins and in my test runs will be completed before the earliest possible beginning of the war.

*Note: Don’t forget to invite Azerbaijan to your faction with the unlocked decision for 10 PP, as if you don’t there’s a very good chance the Ottomans will Complete the Russo-Ottoman convention with Russia

Next, we will take the (32) Shattering Swords Air Doctrine focus followed by (33) Dominate the Skies to give us a 100% research bonus for fighter planes. The goal here is to have already started researching Engine III for planes and using the research bonus on the 1940 Small Airframe. You can then follow up by completing the other important aircraft items like Cannons I and heavy MG II to have all required tech to build your 1940 fighters by mid-1939.

The following focus should be (34) Organize Cartelization of the Economy, for the additional Industrial Projects (if Schleicher was not made MP of Prussia, then take the Social Housing Program focus instead). We need to complete one more Industrial Project to reach the 5 required for passing the War Preparedness Act. You can choose any of the three decisions, any of which are fine as they all build buildings and/or resources east of the Rhine. If you took the Social Housing Program focus instead, the same logic applies to picking any of the 5 decisions for an Industrial Project.

The next two focuses will be in the Mitteleuropa tree to access more reforms. First will be (35) Principle of Qualified Majority (requires Principle of Qualified Majority reform to have passed), followed by (36) Europa Mark Project which gives us two new beneficial reforms to choose before the upcoming voting deadline.

Next, we will take (37) Operation Eulen to give the Commune of France the Catholic Resistance Debuff. Know that you will need some additional intelligence to take this focus, but it should be fine if you have your spies create a decent intelligence network in Metropolitan France. I’ve found this to be the absolute latest that this focus can be taken as the Commune will complete their focus to lock it in January 1939.

**Note: the fourth Mitteleuropa vote term will end on December 22*^(nd)* 1938, you will want to make sure the Bank of Central Europe or Europamark reform passes this term

Finally, we will get the event regarding the War Preparedness act in early January, right before we take the (38) Industriewerke Network focus, which should be the last requirement needed to take the War Preparedness Act decision. As soon as the focus is completed, take the decision and give yourself the free upgrade to Partial Mobilization. War support should be at least 25% by this time, but at worst it might be barely enough so you will have to watch it carefully so that you aren’t forced to demobilize.

Foreign Policy, Civil Service & Mitteleuropa Reform, the Prussia Crisis & Stage 1 Military Preparedness

As always, any questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged! Be advised that this guide is organized as a step by step walkthrough, not separate buckets to consider individually. Links to other parts listed below.

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

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Returning to the World Stage (Focuses): 

After completing Expand the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, we will move back to the foreign policy tree and select (12) Demand Renewal of the Treaty of Metz. I’ve found this to be the perfect spot to take this focus as it fits in between the start of the Spanish Civil War and the Fourth Balkan War. It's at this point where you really need to start addressing rising world tension (its most likely 17-21% at this point), and you’ve likely just started getting positive PP back and have not yet selected the “Summit for Peace” decision to reduce WT, or just took it recently.

*You will also want to take the third round of “Sell Polish Holdings” if you haven’t yet already done so upon selection of this focus.

In a majority of my test runs, you will get the “Commune Resists” option upon completion of the focus, which gives a boost to your war support (though it isn’t necessary) and reduces their war support (to possibly delay them advancing their mobilization). In the rarer case where they accept, then you can just take the automatic reduction in WT as a way to “delay” taking your first “Summit for Peace” decision for about a half year and save 20PP in the process (it they accept WT decreases by 5).

Next, we will take (13) Form Additional East Asian Regiments (be sure you have 1000 guns stockpiled) for the additional level of xp tick and to further assist German East Asia with the Indochina uprising that has launched by now (if it’s going to happen). Even if the uprising hasn’t happened in your game, it’s still a good idea to take this focus for additional support against Japan and the xp tick.

The last focus before we take a detour to the DU political tree is (14) Ostwall, which is both a step to open us its subsequent focus for later, but also for the decisions to build fortifications is the east and give buffs to Germany’s eastern sphere for building fortifications. You should not select these decisions before mid-1939 as the PP is better used elsewhere before then.

Civil Service & Mitteleuropa Reform (Focuses):

It is only after completing Ostwall that you should finally choose to begin working on the DU political tree and select (15) The Victory of Democracy. As you should have not spent any PP yet outside of event options or the "Summit for Peace” decision, you will likely have 150PP (or close to it) from the completion of this focus and should immediately move to Early Mobilization.

The following focus should be (16) Foundations of the Welfare State, as on March 29^(th) 1937 Carl Severing should Point out the Inefficiency in the Prussian Civil Service if you have been following this guide up to this point.

*If Zentrum is part of your coalition:

The Unhappy Prussian Zentrum Event should fire shortly afterward, take the option to demand that they restrain their peers (specifically von Papen), as we can afford this, and we don’t want what will come of the second option that will reduce Demand for Action by 45 days

Next you should take (17) Restore the Interfaction Committee. We get 10 coalition loyalty for all current members for a 21 day focus, can immediately access the focuses to add more loyalty if needed to escape a fail-state risk (though this guide will assume we won’t need to do this, it’s better safe than sorry as the RNG with Relationships in the Coalition is totally random)

*If the LVP is NOT part of your coalition:

You should take the decision to restore the DU with the LVP for 25PP. Having the LVP in your coalition is necessary to deal with the Prussia Crisis efficiently (which we will describe in detail in the next section). Be sure to take this decision before completion of Civil Service Reform Mission

When the decision to start negotiations with the LVP to join the government pops up, take the middle option with a 95% chance of success, where the LVP will join with 40 Coalition Loyalty due to us selecting the Stand Joint Candidates with the Left-LVP decision (if you prefer the 100% guarantee you can take them with 30 Coalition Loyalty)

At this point we will take (18) European Brotherhood followed by (19) Democratization of the Service Law to allow us to correctly time both the first Mitteleuropa reform (which shall be Create the Directive System) by the June 30^(th) 1937 deadline, and Complete Civil Service Reform before it times out and gain an additional 5 Coalition Loyalty for all current members.

*You will also want to take the fourth round of “Sell Polish Holdings” if you haven’t yet already done so upon selection of the Democratization of the Service Law focus.

The Prussia Crisis (Minigame):

The Event Sequence for the Prussia Crisis Budget Failure in the Prussia Legislature should fire in Early July 1937, with the actual decisions to deal with it appearing in Mid to Late August 1937. Regardless of what coalition you started out with, 3 victories with 100% success can be achieved using one of two methods:

First things first, enact the Schleicher Plan. Having an “ally” in Schleicher as MP of Prussia is helpful in securing 100% success chances. He will have approximately an 80/20 chance of being successfully appointed (instead of 70/30 base) due to taking Tilo von Wilmowsky as his vice-chancellor in the previous coalition building minigame.

*If your Coalition is the LVP-Minority Coalition

1. Should Schleicher not be appointed MP, you will not have success trying to get him in via the Prussian House of Representatives election (even if you were to secure support of national liberals - NLP).
   • This doesn’t mean you can’t successfully deal with the Prussia Crisis, you just won’t have a 100% RNG guarantee, and will be at a timing disadvantage for the rest of the game
   • There will be notes for what to do to address this divergence later on, or you can save scum
2. With Schleicher Appointed, negotiate with National Liberals and give them concessions. 100% Success Chance
   • (This 30 day reduction in Demand for Action is fine since we artificially increased it by over 30 days by letting “The Victory of Democracy” & “The Liegnitz Program” time out)
3. With Schleicher Appointed, negotiate with the Agriculture Lobby and appease the agrarians. 100% Success Chance
   • Concession is fine since LVP and SPD Left Loyalty should be 65+ at this point
4. With Schleicher Appointed, enact a Prussian House Boycott and pull out all the stops. 100% success chance
   • A 5% increase in Government Paralysis shouldn’t matter
   • If you want to hoard more PP, you can take the alternative option with a 90% success rate, which will also make the Brunswick Front easier to deal with

*If your Coalition is the LVP-Zentrum Coalition or the Minority-Zentrum Coalition that added the LVP

1. Should Schleicher not be appointed MP, you should always have success trying to get him in via the Prussian House of Representatives election (40PP) regardless of the choices you make. It’s best practice to take options that strengthen left candidates and don’t upset the Minority Bloc if they are in your coalition
2. With Schleicher Appointed, negotiate with National Liberals and give them concessions. 100% Success Chance
   • (This 30 day reduction in Demand for Action is fine since we artificially increased it by over 30 days by letting “The Victory of Democracy” & “The Liegnitz Program” time out)
3. With Schleicher Appointed, Recruit Konrad Adenauer and simply let him do his work. 100% Success Chance
4. With Schleicher Appointed, enact a Prussian House Boycott and pull out all the stops. 100% success chance
   • A 5% increase in Government Paralysis shouldn’t matter
   • If you want to hoard more PP, you can take the alternative option with a 90% success rate, which will also make the Brunswick Front easier to deal with

Military Preparedness Stage 1 (Focuses):

You will run through four focuses while the Prussia Crisis events are dealt with and during the lead up to the formation of the Brunswick Front, with the main focus centered on reducing the Victors of the Great War National Spirit.

First things first though, we will take (20) Military Missions to Central Asia for another level of tick xp and to prolong Russia’s securing of Central Asia for as long as possible. Any non-socialist Russia by this point (July 14^(th) 1937) has either not yet begun the war or declared war within the last two weeks, leaving all the countries to benefit from the bonuses this focus provides.

Following this focus we will take (21) Yearning for Cannae & (22) Second Einkreisungstheorie back to back to greatly reduce the Victors of the Great War National Spirit from a 75% xp reduction to 25%.

*If the Indochinese Revolt is still going on, it should be at this point that you take the decision for the Indochina Intervention Force, as your xp reduction is now only 25% vs the 75% it was until recently.

The last focus we will take right before the formation of the Brunswick Front will be (23) Introduce Commission Directives for a permanent 5% factory output for all Mitteleuropa Members.

Which path or country follows his teachings as closesly? (Three Principles of the People)

I mean there is so much there. I got to 1947 and there was still stuff to do. I quit then because I was against Japan, US and India. But I’m going to give it a go again and liberate Asia. Not sure who to back though RAC or PAC any suggestions?

The Starting Setup, the 1936 Election, Coalition Building, Black Monday, Ousting Schleicher & the Ruhrkampf

As we all know, DU Germany is one of the most complex and tedious nation paths to play in Kaiserreich to this point. You are completely on your toes until the 2WK actually starts. Until then, the biggest headaches all centered around correctly timing missions, events and focuses, while also managing several minigames from 1936 to 1940. This doesn’t even include more basic Hoi4 mechanics like template design, production, construction, research, etc., so it’s no surprise that things can sometimes slip through the cracks during your runs.

As someone who really enjoys playing Germany for the challenge the 2WK gives the player, I know that balancing all these extra mechanics before the war even kicks off can be quite stressful and sometimes demoralizing if you mess one up on accident.

If the above resonates with you at all, perhaps what I have listed below will be somewhat welcomed. After being inspired from the wonderful guides from fellow Kaiserreich enthusiasts Yularen2077 (Germany Rework), A_Fucking_Octopus (Soc Dem Ukraine Min-Max) & RoyLiuzya’s Schleicher Germany Guide, I give you what I believe to be the “Skeleton” Min-Max Guide to DU Germany.

What I’m going for here is a foundation that will not require much adjustment for the rumored (and confirmed) upcoming Reworks of Germany’s Main Adversaries (Russia & the Internationale) and be malleable enough for any additional reworks that might influence Germany (direct or indirect) in the future like the Gateway to the Atlantic Mechanic for Ireland or the Denmark Constitutional Crisis.

The Main Objectives of this guide are:

1.      Ensuring no Failstate (DU coalition collapse or Demand for Action time out) before 2WK

2.      Minimizing debuffs of Lacking Preparedness National Spirit as much as possible

3.      Passing all beneficial DU Mitteleuropa reforms prior to the start of the 2WK

Secondary Objectives accounted for in this guide are:

1.      Covering all foreign policy decisions (that you can control) to make the strongest Reichspakt

2.      Suggestions on focus priority once the 2WK begins

3.      Review of what has worked for me when trying to get a German Republic run

We know that the Kaiserreich world is fluid and as such there is no “Perfect” step-by-step process that comes with maintaining one’s status as Masters of the World when the rest of the world is actively working towards your downfall. Thus, we will foundationally prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised when things work for the better.

I've spaced out the guide into several parts to make it more digestible, and so I don't cover too much content in one sitting. This shall also help with addressing edits/suggestions if anyone believes the guide can be better or thinks I'm missing something. Be advised that this guide is organized as a step by step walkthrough, not separate buckets to consider individually.

• Part 1: The Starting Setup, the 1936 Election, Coalition Building, Black Monday, Ousting Schleicher & the Ruhrkampf
• Part 2: Foreign Policy, Civil Service & Mitteleuropa Reform, the Prussia Crisis & Stage 1 Military Preparedness
• Part 3: The Brunswick Front, Agrarian Dilemma, Stage 2 Military Preparedness & the War Preparedness Act
• Part 4: Research & Production Focuses, Finalizing War Preparations & Status of Armed Forces in Early 1940
• Part 5: Considerations & Reminders once 2WK has begun, Comments on German Republic Ruin, and Weltpolitik information for my strategy of maximizing Foreign Alignment with Reichspakt

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The Base Setup (Focuses):

We will start by selecting the Focus: (1) Master of The World to unlock the rest of the Foreign Policy Tree. Additionally, you should select the decision “Sell Polish Holdings” before unpausing. (This perspective on the German-Polish dynamic was shown to me by RoyLiuzya when he provided us with his Meta Schleicher Guide for Germany. You get an extra 37.5pp for each round you take this decision, leading to a total of 150-187.5 extra PP depending on the number of rounds you take, which is HUGE for DU Germany that needs a lot of PP for its minigames. An economically independent Poland isn’t a direct issue for Germany.)

The following Focus should be (2) Expand Colonial Budgets for two reasons: you are already unable to utilize your civs during the debuff’s effects on us because of Black Monday, and the colonies will get a massively beneficial modifier INDEFINATELY. (This is one of three indirect actions we will take to give German East Asia it’s best chance at crushing the Indochina revolt, which is a major victory for Germany.)

While the April Election mechanics are firing, we will continue down the Foreign Policy Tree in the following order: First select (3) Buying Time with Spies, this option is important because it allows for perfect timing of selecting our first Black Monday Focus as soon as they become available. Also the free agency upgrade and extra operative early on is beneficial for early intelligence networks. For the next focus, choose (4) Second Expedition to China. It will now be accessible, and you should have already sent volunteers to Nanjing for some free XP. This focus is also helpful because we get a free 25 PP if Nanjing wins the League War with our help.

April Elections for the SDP (Minigame):

In Mid-January, the event chain(s) related to the upcoming election will start, we will choose to support the SPD and immediately follow up by selecting the following three decisions:

• Consolidate the Saxon Stronghold: This decision will directly strengthen the SDP’s seat numbers the most, which has impacts/benefits for us later on
• Socialist Popular Front in Rhur Industrial Districts: This decision will directly strengthen the SDP’s seat numbers the most, which has impacts/benefits for us later on
• Stand Joint Candidates with the Left-LVP: This decision is especially important as it will strengthen the left wing of the LVP and have additional benefits on coalition loyalty once the SPD conducts the Vote of No Confidence on Schindler

After choosing the above decisions, there will be four events that come before the election that can further strengthen your future SPD coalition either directly or indirectly:

• Federalist Bloc –> Don’t support the pacts: this will tank Guelph support that can be gained by the SPD or potential allies for coalition support
• Resignation of Reichskanzler Dirksen -> Germany needs a cabinet above party politics: subsequent event “Deadlock in the Bundesrat” will increase SPD & potential ally coalition support
• City Council Elections in Berlin -> Elect Otto Ostrowski as mayor: will increase SPD & potential ally coalition support
• On Ecumenism -> strengthen the Left Zentrum: this will increase SPD coalition allies and will also have additional benefits on coalition loyalty once the SPD conducts the Vote of No Confidence on Schindler

SPD Coalition Building (Minigame):

If you have followed everything up to this point, you have guaranteed that after two rounds of the SPD finding more allies in the Reichstag the third round will always be the motion of no confidence vote. In my test runs, I have never found a way to make an option for only one round before the no confidence note, but the reality is you actually don’t want to have such a thing happen anyway. This way, the only variance is WHAT you coalition will be rather than WHEN & HOW you get the coalition, and in the case of DU Germany, timing IS a major factor.

The only additional important item to be aware of during Schleicher’s Term as Chancellor is picking Tilo von Wilmowsky as his vice-chancellor: this has both a short and long-term benefit as his appointment doesn’t block the SPD from making a connection and will have an additional benefit later on during the Prussia Crisis.

Addressing Black Monday (Focuses):

After completing the Second Expedition to China, the following seven focuses (excluding Ruhrkampf Suppression which we will take mid-sequence as soon as it’s possible to do so) will be taken for the sole purpose of setting us up for success in the Black Monday Card game to win each round.

First, we will take (5) Renew the Rathenauplan followed immediately by (6) Renew Operation of War Economic Offices.

I know some of you are probably thinking why don’t we just skip both Rathenauplan and Tarnow-Baade options and immediately go for the research slot? My argument is two-fold, this sequence gives us an additional 10% production efficiency cap and 10% factory output after each respective focus, which is big when they are implemented this early with another 3.5-4 years of boosted production before the Second Weltkreig. Additionally, by getting the extra reform card “Economic Planning Authorities” which boosts work creation card investment & stability by 750 each, a player with some luck can still achieve <150% debt (which helps reduce Lacking Preparedness). I have succeeded in keeping debt under 150% in almost 1/3 of my test runs and have never exceeded 165% (though we know the next debt threshold is much higher).

Following these two focuses we will take (7) Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst which times almost perfectly with the DU’s Vote of No Confidence to oust Schleicher. You will also want to take the second round of “Sell Polish Holdings” if you haven’t yet already done so upon selection of this focus.

Now that Schleicher’s been thrown out, the “Main in the High Castle” focus will bypass and we immediately take (8) Ruhrkampf Suppression to end that issue (more specific details on dealing with the Ruhrkampf are listed in its later section).

Following the successful resolution of the Ruhrkampf, we will take the focuses (9) Sekretariat Fur Arbeitsbeschaffung, (10) Mitteleuropa Trade Links & (11) Expand the Kaiser Wilhelm Society to grab the extra research slot and the remaining cards useful for resolving Black Monday’s card game as soon as possible. By the end of these three focuses, you will have successfully completed the first four rounds of Black Monday (Economic Health should be at -6) and waiting for Round 5 to complete.

**And additional note for the four Industrial Project Decisions that are opened from the completion of Sekretariat Fur Arbeitsbeschaffung*,* they should all be taken preferably before the Prussia Crisis begins, but after you have used PP for Early Mobilization**

Zentrum Chairmen Elections (Minigame):

In May of 1936 (during Renew Operation of War Economic Offices focus) the Zentrum Succession Crisis event chain will start. The goal of this event chain is to get the progressive DU aligned candidate Carl Ulitzka elected chairmen, which will have benefits for Zentrum coalition loyalty and other things in the future.

To open up the Chairmanship, click the options for Stegerwald to stand firm against the conservative opposition but then for the rightist federalists to cause chaos in the conference.

Schleicher Vote of No Confidence (Minigame):

If everything had gone correctly, the “Schleicher Removed in Vote No Confidence” should fire on July 14^(th) 1936. At this point, you will have assembled one of the following three Coalitions in the Reichstag:

• SPD & Far Left, LVP (Left), and Minority Bloc                     The LVP-Minority Coalition
  • Starting Seats: 237
• SPD & Far Left, LVP (Left), and Zentrum (Left)                  The LVP-Zentrum Coalition
  • Starting Seats: 289
• SPD & Far Left, Minority Bloc, and Zentrum (Left)           The Minority-Zentrum Coalition
  • Starting Seats: 247

Due to our decisions thus far, if the LVP is in our coalition, their base loyalty will be boosted from 50 to 60 due to selecting the Stand Joint Candidates with the Left-LVP decision we took earlier, additionally, if the Tensions between Coalition and LVP event fires, LVP loyalty will only drop the usual 10 like it does for other parties instead of 15

Similarly for Zentrum, our decisions thus far to strengthen the Left wing of the party and plant Ulitzka as chairmen will boost starting Zentrum loyalty to 65 if they are in our coalition, and if the Tensions between Coalition and Zentrum event fires, Zentrum loyalty will only drop the usual 10 like it does for other parties.

It is important that you DO NOT select the “Schleicher Removed in Vote No Confidence” right away. Instead, you want to wait for Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst to complete and then bank 9 days before selecting Ruhrkampf Suppression (which you technically won’t be able to do yet anyway). After finally selecting the event to remove Schleicher, waiting one day will bypass the “Man in the High Castle” focus and allow you to select Ruhrkampf Suppression with 10 days already having been completed. You will also want to let the following events “The Victory of Democracy” & “The Liegnitz Program” time out on their own, as this will delay the starting of the Demand for Action Timer for as long as possible, and getting these “extra” days will be beneficial later on.

The Ruhrkampf (Minigame):

The Ruhrkampf will begin June 30^(th) 1936. No action needs to be taken until the DU has already ousted Schleicher.

The first domino to drop will be the “Social Democratic Unions Oppose the Rhur Strike” event. This will reduce the intensity by 10 and is triggered as a result of the DU being in power.

The second domino will come at the same time that you select the Ruhrkampf Suppression focus (the timing of which we mentioned above). Here you will select any two of the one-time use decisions that will reduce intensity by 15 after 20 days.

The third and final domino will be the completion of the “Blood on the Rhine” event chain in the following manner:

• When “Blood on the Rhine” fires, take the option: We will reimburse the families of the victims
• When Magnus von Levetzow Criticizes Government Policy: Make a show of force to appease the right (this will activate mission we want to complete that requires us to have 6 divisions in Eastern Rhineland province)
• Completing this sequence will net us a 20 point intensity reduction and an extra 10% base stability while only costing 50 manpower (a no brainer)

Having accomplished the above three tasks, the decision to “End the State of Emergency in the Rhineland” will become available two days after the Ruhrkampf Suppression focus is completed (August 14^(th) 1936).

Currently in WW2 as UoB, the French front was originally okay and at least could hold up, but then Mussolini getting capped ruined everything adding with a united Austria and every Italian faction ganging up at us commies. The CSA won the ACW but doesn't seem to be joining the war anytime soon when they are probably our last hope.

I'm currently dumping my divisions to try and fix the dying CoF front, who somehow collapsed at seemingly a random instant by the flooding Kaiser goons (I still don't know how is that possible). Savinkov is not doing shit at the eastern front either, he actually got pushed back away from Kyiv.

The only advantage the internationale still hold is that I still dominated the seas with my fleet I spend 3 years designing and building, and praying USA would fucking join asap. The first motive now is to not lose Paris for me, because after we lose that I think the internationale is cooked.

Add: Entente and Reichspakt actually reached an agreement in Halifax, they are all ganging on us.

Add2: Commie USA declared and almost capped Canada, but they didn't join our faction, wars. Things are still dire af.

Update: The line somehow got flooded again with extra Austrians after they defeated the Belgrade gang.