Getting my new Grey Wolf tank to work was a big problem. Everything about early T-34 sucked, excluding the rather modern angled shape.
Luckily, the Romanian tank engineers already had the T-26 as a model for what not to do, and we were also not under the pressure of war. One by one, the crappy transmission, engine, sights, and so on were being worked on and upgraded.
I wanted 5 armored divisions fully equipped by 1938, plus enough light tanks to provide training, plus armored garrisons in occupied lands and even armored guards in important places like research centers, army headquarters and so on. Reaching 2500 medium tanks and about 5000 light tanks was doable, with some effort and extra factories.
The sunk vessels of the Bulgarian Navy were floated and chopped up for more steel, since Dubrovnik and Albania would need their own coastal forts to prevent a too eager Italy from using its fleet too close to our shores. Also, the Snake Island in Black Sea was also being fortified, getting a few 12 inch gun forts, plus some early radio detection and a torpedo boat base, plus a few seaplanes. The Romanian Navy didn't have an aircraft carrier, but I could build my own version of the Philippine's Corregidor Island.
And in the game menu, a new menu tree had appeared, the Romanian Empire, which would me an Emperor. I have never been an Emperor, but it sure sounded like a fun idea.
At the end of the tree, there was also the option of holding an Imperial Conference that would integrate all territories and puppets into a single super-state.
The first two steps were quite easy, barely a declaration of intent about forming an Empire and then integrating all captured ships and Navies into a single Romanian Imperial Navy, or RAI. The next tree steps would take a lot more time, including sending diplomatic missions to America, Germany and Britain to ensure them of our goodwill, forming an Imperial Air Force and lastly a Romanian Imperial Army that included all armed forces, and paramilitary organizations.
Luckily for me, Italy was rather busy in Croatia with a country-wide insurgency supported with French and British guns, money and spies, since they didn't want a new Roman Empire rising in Europe and threatening the status quo. Of course, the big boys missed the point and focused on the wrong target, and I was quite happy to let them.
My new Romanian Imperial Navy didn't have anything to oppose the large Italian Navy, except suicidal planes or torpedo boats. Reclaiming Rhodes Island for my Greek subjects would have to wait, but in the meantime they got Macedonia as part of Greece which created a frenzy of patriotism and a volunteer surge.
Next on the wish list was Constantinople, and finally chasing Turkey out of Europe after 600 long years. There had been another Balkan War aimed at Turkey in 1912 that tried to do exactly that, but the Balkan nations were not unified, coordinated or equipped with tanks.
Sadly, the Turks knew what was coming too, and were desperately trying to get foreign support, mostly from Germany and the British.
Which is why, the moment the first Grey Wolf division was ready and equipped with Grey Wolf tanks, plus other support companies, they immediately crossed the Southern border and headed towards Constantinople, followed by 3 motorized divisions in their trucks, while Greek and Bulgarian armies also pressured Turkey on the other European fronts.
The Turkish fleet was quite strong, but also locked inside the Marmara Sea, and half of it sank under torpedo bombers and several key kamikaze on the former German dreadnoughts.
It helped that following the Great War the Bosporus area was declared a demilitarized zone, and thus was not prepared for a large attack from land, air and sea.
The demilitarized zone would have been annulled in 1936, and thus I had to hurry.
Even faster than the lightning Bulgarian War, the capture of Constantinople took only 3 days, although clearing out the farther Dardanelles Strait and the fortified Galipolli area would take three months and thousands of lives. Three islands: Imbros, Tenedos and Marmara changed hands, and became part of the Romanian Empire, and will provide extended range for land-based planes.
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With France's unwilling support we managed to obtain a status quo peace guaranteeing our gains, and free transit through the Straits for the Romanian Imperial Navy, while also specifically denying any Soviet or German ships from transiting through Bosporus. To enforce this, the French would build for us a pair of giant forts armed with twin 15 inch guns at each side of the Strait, while they would gain free access to the Black Sea in exchange.
Both Britain and Germany rushed to guarantee the (now smaller) Turkey agaisnt further aggression, but it was a bit too late. Well, I guess the guarantees would help agaisnt the Soviet Union, so not completely useless.
My glory and legend grew again, for doing the impossible and restoring Constantinople to Europe after 500 years, which meant a dozen new chains and medals found their way on my parade uniform. What can you do, win some, lose some, right?
General Gheorghe_Avramescu who led the armored thrust to Constantinople was promoted to Land Marshall following this great but inevitable victory, and I made sure the man would have to carry at least half the decorations I had to. Welcome to the club, war hero!
The infantry would get a new weapon in their arsenal called Renault_UE_Chenillette , to be produced by the Malaxa Company in large numbers. Both as a prime artillery mover, but also as direct fire support for infantry with a machine-gun cupola. I wanted some 100 such tankettes in every army division, basically a light armored battalion to bulk up the fragile infantry and help them lose less people.
At least 10000 of these machines would be needed, not including training and combat loses. The Japanese (would) had used tankettes extremely effectively in China, since being immune to bullets and mowing down people with a machine-gun wasn't hard at all. The things were also extremely light weight, barely 3 tons at their maximum loadout, which basically made them equivalent to a Terminator power armor from another universe.
By 1935, the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople was restored to its original Orthodox denomination, while a million Turks were ferried over the Bosporus in a population exchange with Turkey.
They still had plenty of Greeks and various non-Muslims to get rid-off, and my threat of crucifying 100 Turks for every killed Christian worked much better after a few demonstrations.
It also made me a monster in the eyes of many people, but hey. The other option was to kill all the Turks in the occupied lands, which would have been slightly worse, for them. Three million nails were not that expensive.
Work began to recover the sunk Turkish ships and re-use the steel for more tanks and guns, as well as establishing more airports in the region and fortified the Marmara island in the Marmara Sea, just in case.
The big 15 inch forts guarding the Straits would take at least 2 years and probably 3 years to be complete, but time was on my side right now.
The Imperial Navy was increased greatly by the addition of the Greek Fleet, including 2 old battleships, 2 cruisers, 10 destroyers and 6 submarines.
Sadly the old relic battleships, Kilkis and Lemnos were on their last legs, but chopping them up for steel was not a popular option. So, they were tugged and towed into the Black Sea at the entrance into the Straits, then mounted into concrete islands and painted bright white. The battleships could never sink this way, and still be useful when the time came.