Developer Diary | Historical Germany

Guten Tag oder guten Abend depending on when you’re reading this!

Me, Paradox_Danne and ManoDeZombi will guide you through the big boi; the myth, the legend, the one and only - the German Focus Tree. Yes, you read that right (and probably expected as much), Germany is getting a (much-needed) facelift. But what does this mean? It means that most of the old base Focus Tree is getting yeeted out, and replaced with a reworked version. Now, before we go any further, please remember and keep in mind that this is very much a WORK IN PROGRESS, which means, but is not limited to, missing icons, placeholder texts, and weird modifiers. Things might and will change, so feedback is very much appreciated so we can make the best possible German content possible. We know you’re eager to delve into this, so let’s get moving!

Quick Historical Recap

I think we all know this part of history pretty well, but let’s quickly recap where Germany was at the beginning of 1936 and what it's gone through. After the defeat in the Great War, harsh stipulations were put on Germany, with the Treaty of Versailles causing resentment and economic hardship. Hyperinflation and political instability defined the early 1920s, and the Great Depression in 1929 led to rising support for extremists like the Nazis. By 1936, Hitler had become the absolute ruler of Germany and started to rearm, breaking the Treaty of Versailles.

The country select screen for Germany, a TL:DR for the historical context

What’s that? New National Spirits and Focuses?! Oh, we’ll get to the new Focuses - either in this Dev Diary or an upcoming one, don’t you worry ;) But let’s start with the political situation in Germany in 1936:

The Political Situation for Germany in 1936

As you can see, the Führer himself got a facelift as well. But what might be more interesting are the new National Spirits:

The National Spirits in 1936 for Germany

Out of all of these, the reworked MEFO Bills might be the most interesting one, but it’s also the one we won’t be discussing today; that’s for another day and another Dev Diary about German Systems, so stay tuned. What I will say is that Germany was nowhere near ready for WW2 when they invaded Poland, and we kind of want this to be better represented. You now have to build up your strength, and this means that Germany is receiving quite the nerf without actually getting that many negative modifiers. Other than that, what might jump out is the new military Spirits, which have been split into three separate entities; Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine. They all have different maluses, representing difficulties they battled with.

Germany initially saw great success with their Bewegungskrieg doctrine (popularized as Blitzkrieg) when they invaded Poland and France and subjugated both nations in lightning-fast campaigns. But as they tried the same tactics yet again against the Soviets, the vastness of Russia soon put a strain on German logistics they never really overcame. The German High Command had misjudged the sheer size of the Eastern steps, and the resistance they would face.

The Kriegsmarine never saw a truly major, direct engagement with the Royal Navy - but when they did fight, the Germans mostly lost. The Battle of the Atlantic saw initial German success, but they suffered heavy losses. They lost most of their heavy-hitting ships, such as Bismarck, Tripitz, Admiral Graf Spee, and Scharnhorst in various engagements.

The