The Soviet leader and Comrade Mao shook hands for a long time. A very long time. The General Secretary’s greeting was deliberately quite slow and, clearly he knew how to play the role of a statesman. A wonderful actor.
Leaders and allies
With Chairman Mao Zedong in the driving seat, your Soviet policy will make or break his movement. Take advantage of stoking national conflict, Machiavelli style! Or are you more of a crusader, sick and tired of these dangerous demagogues whipping up fear and hatred wondering what you can do? Wonder no longer, time for action!
The importance of Focus
As you set upon your quest for geopolitical grandeur, remember that the most important task each timeline is the selection of a theater and a domestic interest that during the coming years will be your administration's focus.
Equally important is which theaters will not benefit from your choice. With resources displaced to your focus, friendly units in non-focus theaters can defend and attack but lack the means for opening up new warzones. With an Arms Race in China and for our set up today, this will not be an issue as Comrade Mao is already waging what he calls the “War of Liberation”. As we do not aim to involve Soviet forces in a more direct invasion, relying on decisions put forward by our domestic political Elites should be beneficial, especially for deploying intelligence.
National and Proxy Forces
In any conflict, the benefits of having friendly boots on the ground is essential. In Terminal Conflict, it denies your opponent's possible local proxies the capture of the region by the positioning of a dominant regional military force. Deploying a friendly Army Command, Fighter Command or Bomber Command undeniably increases your handle on a local conflict. A fair warning though, deploying friendly units in Warzones exposes them to potential defeat and destruction as well as expose you to mission creep. A term used to describe how a simple, well-framed mission moves beyond its initial goals, swallowing men and resources stopping only when it all comes crashing down coming back to haunt you.
From the Balkans to Greece, from the Middle East to Indochina, the Latin America and Africa. The historical examples are many of what committed armed forces by the superpowers can or cannot do in warzones as long as they remain to fortify a region from falling. Yet, armed forces will never win the peace and as soon as they are destroyed or disarmed to Command Reserves, the region’s influence is all that matters. What your forces have guarded for decades can unravel in the fate of one single turn.
Military Campaign Orders
Put forward only by interests of the Elites, Military or Government these decisions in of themselves do not provide a net gain of resources. Proxy forces usually advise a course of action yet you can order otherwise. There are three directives you can chose between, as long as they meet conditions on the ground.
- ADVANCE and assault [strong against HOLD]: At least 2 influence in any friendly adjacent land region
- HOLD and capture [strong against RETREAT]: Always availabl
- RETREAT and counter-attack [strong against ADVANCE]: At least 1 influence in any friendly adjacent land region
Your opponent will face similar tactical options and costs, where allies usually dislike careless use of their men, though they sure like claiming fame if successful, the Military dislikes being ordered to hold and the Elites dislike retreats.
Best course of Action
Glory to the Soviet Union! We have all the options available so now let us consider the options of our American friends. By putting our agents to good use, we unveil that Espionage mission shows enemy Interest of the current selected Focus.
Considering the positions on the ground, this means that the USA proxy forces of Chang Kai-shek in Inner Mongolia, are limited to a single RETREAT and counter-attack and are unable to mount an ADVANCE due to lacking an adjacent friendly region with at least 2 influence. They shall not prevent us from gaining Control (3 USSR influence) and finally achieving Domination (5 USSR influence) in that region.
Here is where you have to make a judgement call. How cunning is your opponent? What choices have they made so far? Any novice can play but it takes skill to master the art of judgement of character and play-style. No choice is a guaranteed victory this time but at least you gained an upper hand in information and should they RETREAT, you know you have them trapped for next time. I suppose these slippery weasels will take every chance to flee! HOLD steady!
Sweet victory! Safe to say, the Elites are planning silk robes for the palaces of culture by the next 1st of May celebrations.
Historical plausibility and outcomes
These sets of decisions can naturally be entirely avoided if you select focuses with Finance or People interests, as they will pursue different policies. Alternatively, you might chose to opt out of ever focusing on the East Asia Theater or theaters it affects. As long as your opponent does the same, worldly matters on the ground will go on fairly historically, if that is something to be desired.
For all seeking to awake the dragon, your goal is not to be passive but to make the enemy passive. Happy Easter holidays to you all!
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我草，毛爷爷
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