Belgium

From Hearts of Iron 4 Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Belgium
Belgium.png
Capital:
Brussels

Government type:
Democratic, Conservative

Faction:
None

Belgium is a located in Western Europe and is run by a democratic regime. Surrounded by other nations of the Benelux including the Flag of Netherlands Netherlands and Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg as well as Flag of France France to the south and the Flag of German Reich German Reich.

In-game, the nation is divided into 2 states that have the perfect geography for tanks - Vlaanderen is mostly plains, while Wallonie is mostly forest. King Leopold II set the scene for 19th century neo-imperialism and kickstarted the Scramble for Africa. Eventually Belgium proper gained control of the region, a favourable chunk of the continent, to the dismay of Britain and Portugal. This region, the Congo, contains the releasable country of Flag of Zaire Zaire as well as Burundi and Rwanda.In Africa almost entirely jungle while the state of Leopoldville is mostly forest.

Historical background[edit | edit source]

Since independence in 1830, Flag of Belgium Belgium had retained a policy of staunch neutrality similar to that of Flag of Switzerland Switzerland. However, this neutrality was not respected by others and Flag of Belgium Belgium neutrality was violated by the German Empire, after an invasion, in 1914 causing the Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom to declare war on the German Empire. The Germans initially steamrolled through most of the country and Northern France, and by the time trench-warfare kicked in the frontlines had completely stagnated leaving Flag of Belgium Belgium a shadow of its former self. The war caused serious devastation to the Belgium countryside and economy all for a war they were forced into. Because of this, Flag of Belgium Belgium left the war seeking revenge and so annexed the border region of Eupen-Malmedy but much like Flag of France France, they were dissatisfied with the Versailles settlement believing that Germany could have been treated harsher.


Unsurprisingly, still not content Flag of Belgium Belgium became a major participant of the occupation of the Ruhr from 1923-25, in a naive attempt by members of the now all but dismantled Entente to force Germany to pay their reparations. Despite this brief hiccup Flag of Belgium Belgium continued to pioneer its neutrality well into the 1930s, angering Flag of France France who wanted to use the country as a staging-ground to counter possible German aggression. While on the other hand the Flag of German Reich German Reich sit eager to launch an invasion through the country to get to the French capital of Paris.


All this leaves Flag of Belgium Belgium with paramount weight on its shoulders as its involvement, or rather lack of involvement, could sway the ever closer war to one sides advantage. The argument for some is between neutrality or sovereignty.

National focus[edit | edit source]

Generic national focus tree.
Main article: Generic national focus tree

Flag of Belgium Belgium, lacking a unique national focus tree, uses the generic national focus tree instead.

The generic focus tree has 5 main branches:

Army Effort branch
Gives army experience and research bonuses to army research.
Aviation Effort branch
Gives air experience, builds air bases, and research bonuses to air research.
Naval Effort branch
Gives navy experience, builds naval dockyards, and research bonuses to navy research.
Industrial Effort branch
Builds civilian and military factories (usually even if building slots are already full), infrastructure and grants extra research slots.
Political Effort branch
Gives the country choices on which political path they will take.


Technology[edit | edit source]

Belgium starts with 3 research slots.

Army technology Naval technology Air technology Electronics & Industry
  • Infantry Eq. I
  • Motorized I
  • Engineer Company I
  • Recon Company I
  • None
  • Interwar Fighter
  • Fuel Storage
  • Fuel Refining I
Doctrines
  • None
  • None
Infantry & motorized techs
Type 1918 1936 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944
Infantry Equipment Mauser M89 Mauser M35 Mitraillette 34 FN mle30 Type D
Armor techs
Tech year Amphibious Man the Guns Light (TD/SPG/AA) Medium (TD/SPG/AA) Modern (TD/SPG/AA) Heavy (TD/SPG/AA) Super-Heavy (TD/SPG/AA)
1918
1934 NA (SA 47mm / SA 76mm / NA )
1936 CLR T15 (T13 B1/B2 / NA / NA)
1939 ACG-1 (T13 B3 / NA / NA)
1941
1943
1945
Artillery techs
Tech year Anti-Air Artillery Rocket Artillery Anti-Tank
1934 Canon de 75
1936 47mm Model 1931
1939 Canon de 75 mle GP III
1940
1942 Canon de 120mm L mle 1931
1943

Politics[edit | edit source]

Belgium is a democracydemocracy with elections held every 4 years. With the next one coming in for November 1936.

Belgium has the following political parties:

Political party Ideology Popularity Party leader Country name Is ruling?
Catholic Block democracy Democratic 83% Hubert Pierlot Belgium Yes
Kommunistische Partij van België communism Communist 6% Joseph Jacquemotte Co-operative of Belgium No
Parti Rexiste fascism Fascist 11% Léon Degrelle Rexist Belgium No
Non-Aligned neutrality Non-Aligned 0% Generic Leopoldian Belgium No

National spirits[edit | edit source]

None

Diplomacy[edit | edit source]

Belgium, because it is between Flag of France France and Flag of German Reich German Reich, may be invaded by the Germans to get around France's Maginot Line. Belgium may form the Flag of European Union European Union if democratic or Flag of United Netherlands United Netherlands if it is able to annex the Flag of Netherlands Netherlands and Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg.

Staff and designer[edit | edit source]

Notably, Belgium has two unique tank designers, that are better than the generic armor company.

Political advisors
Advisor Type Effect Cost(Political Power)
Paul van Zeeland Silent Workhorse

Political Power Gain: +15.0%

150
Paul-Henry Spaak Captain of Industry

+10% Civilian factory Civilian Factory construction speed
+10% Infrastructure construction speed
+10% Refinery construction speed

150
Gaston Eyskens Armaments Organizer

Civilian to Military Factory conversion cost: -20 %

150
Julien Lahaut Communist Revolutionary

Daily Communism Support: +0.10

150
Joris van Severen Fascist Demagogue

Daily Fascism Support: +0.10

150
Achille van Acker Democratic Reformer

Daily Democracy Support: +0.10

150
Tank designers
Designer Type Effect Cost(Political Power)
Renault.png Renault Mobile Tank Designer
  • Armor Research Time: -10 %
  • Armor:
    • Max Speed: +5 %
    • Reliability: +10 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Idea generic tank manufacturer 2.png Vickers-Armstrong Medium Tank Designer
  • Armor Research Time: -10 %
  • Armor:
    • Reliability: +5 %
    • Soft Attack: +5 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Ship designer
Designer Type Effect Cost(Political Power)
Generic naval manufacturer 1.png Cockerill Ship designer Naval Research Time: -10 % 150
Aircraft designers
Designer Type Effect Cost(Political Power)
Generic air manufacturer 2.png Avions Fairey Light aircraft designer * Air Research Time: -10 %
  • Fighter:
    • Agility: +10 %
    • Max Speed: +10 %
  • Carrier Fighter:
    • Agility: +10 %
    • Max Speed: +10 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Generic air manufacturer 2.png Renard Constructions Aéronatiques Medium aircraft designer
  • Air Research Time: -10 %
  • Heavy Fighter: Reliability: +20 %
  • Tactical Bomber: Reliability: +20 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Generic air manufacturer 2.png Heavy Air Company Heavy Aircraft Designer
  • Air Research Time: -10 %
  • Strategic Bomber: Strategic Bombing: +10 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Generic naval manufacturer 2.png Naval Air Company Naval Aircraft Designer
  • Air Research Time: -10 %
  • Naval Bomber:
    • Operational Range: +10 %
    • Naval Attack: +10 %
  • CV Naval Bomber:
    • Operational Range: +10 %
    • Naval Attack: +10 %

By selecting this Design Company it will permanently affect capabilities on all equipment researched while they are hired.

150
Materiel designers
Designer Type Effect Cost
Artillery Company Artillery designer
  • Artillery Research Time: -10.0%
150 pp
Motorization Company Motorized Equipment designer
  • Motorization Research Time: -10.0%
150 pp
Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre Infantry Equipment designer
  • Small Arms Research Time: -10.0%
150 pp
Industrial concern
Designer Type Effect Cost
Industrial Company Industrial Concern
  • Industrial Research Time: -10.0%
150 pp
Theorists
Designer Type Effect Cost
Jules Pire Military Theorist
  • Land Doctrine Research Time: -7.0%
  • Army Experience Gain: +0.05
150 pp
Georges Deffontaine Naval Theorist
  • Naval Doctrine Research Time: -7.0%
  • Naval Experience Gain: +0.05
150 pp
Fritz Löb Air Warfare Theorist
  • Air Doctrine Research Time: -7.0%
  • Air Experience Gain: +0.05
150 pp

Economy[edit | edit source]

Laws[edit | edit source]

Conscription Law Economy Law Trade Law
Volunteer Only.png Volunteer Only
  • 1.5% Recruitable population
Civilian Economy.png Civilian Economy
  • 35% Consumer Goods factories
  • –30% Factory construction speed
  • +30% Factory (type) conversion cost
  • –40% Fuel gain per oil
  • –25% Fuel capacity
Export Focus.png Export Focus
  • 50% Resources to market
  • +5% Research speed
  • +10% Factory/Dockyard output
  • +10% Construction speed
  • +20% Civilian intelligence to others
  • +10% Navy intelligence to others

Industry and resources[edit | edit source]

Resources
Type No.
Aluminum.png Aluminium 0
Chromium.png Chromium 0
Oil.png Oil 0
Rubber.png Rubber 12
Steel.png Steel 48
Tungsten.png Tungsten 3
Industry
Type No.
Civilian factory Civilian factory 12
Military factory Military factory 6
Naval dockyard Naval dockyard 0
Industry
The majority of Belgium's industry is in the Belgian mainland with 7 Civilian Factories and 5 Military factories in Vlaandered and 1 Military factory and 4 Civilian Factory in Wallonie. In the colonies, Leopoldville has 1 civilian factory.
Resources
Vlaanderen has 48 steel while in the Congo, Stanleyville and Central Congo has 6 rubber each and Leopoldville has 3 tungsten.

Military[edit | edit source]

Although Belgium has a small military compared to France or Germany, it possesses the largest army in the Benelux region, with the pacifistic Netherlands and a defenseless Luxembourg in the region.

Army
Type No.
Infantry cropped.png Infantry 8
Cavalry cropped.png Cavalry 2
Motorized cropped.png Motorized infantry 1
Light tank cropped.png Light tank 0
Marine cropped.png Marine 0
Mountain cropped.png Mountaineer 0
Paratroop cropped.png Paratrooper 0
Army experience.png Total divisions 11
Navy
Type No.
Destroyer.png Destroyer 0
Light Cruiser.png Light cruiser 0
Heavy Cruiser.png Heavy cruiser 0
Battlecruiser.png Battlecruiser 0
Battleship.png Battleship 0
Submarine.png Submarine 0
Carrier.png Carrier 0
Convoy.png Convoy 0
Navy experience.png Total ships 0
Air force
Type No.
CAS.png Close air support 0
Fighter c.png Fighter 20
Heavy fighter.png Heavy fighter 0
Naval bomber.png Naval bomber 0
Tactical bomber.png Tactical bomber 0
Strategic bomber.png Strategic bomber 0
Transport air.png Transport 0
Air experience.png Total planes 20
Army
7 of Belgium's Infantry composed of 9 infantry units and an engineer company are fully trained. 1 Infantry unit is placed in the Congo, composed of 6 infantry units. It has 2 cavalry units of 6 cavalry, an engineer company and recon company. Its 1 motorized unit is composed of 4 motorized units.
Navy
Belgium has no navy.
Air force
It has 20 interwar fighters on the Belgian mainland.

Strategies and guides[edit | edit source]

Strategy The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Belgium. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

WORLD CONQUEST WITH NO DLC.

Belgium lies in a rather fortunate position between an alliable Germany Pacifist Netherlands and rather pathetic Luxembourg.France could provide a formidable foe but more times than not simply won't put troops on the border even when you are actively justifying against them. To take advantage of this one should immediately begin by selecting political effort and hiring the Fascist Demagogue while waiting one should choose the industrial focuses although infrastructure effort should be saved for after the impending civil war. Any upgrades to the army would be wasted as the enemy in the civil war would gain the same bonuses.You should be able to turn fascist by 1937 at the latest. After you have turned fascist you should begin the production of Transport planes fighters and CAS. Immediately justify the Netherlands and Luxembourg and join the Axis.When at war with the Netherlands simply paradrop into The Hague Amsterdam and Rotterdam to capitulate them For your focus tree go down the nationalist path for man power. You should focus mostly on mils at this point but it is up to you.Mobile warfare is the best doctrine.After getting the Netherlands and Luxembourg annex them but puppet the east indies and request their garrison report.Take care not to call in the Germans as they will steal all the land in the conference.When you feel you are strong enough (and when France has joined the allies) then justify a war goal on a British puppet such as British Malaya. Wait for an event where they will move troops from your border and lose their entrenchment such as Italy joining the axis or Nationalist Spain being victorious in the civil war then declare war.Call in the Germans as it should’t matter as they can’t penetrate the Maginot. Push onwards to Paris and capture it thus capitulating France.Don’t worry if you capitulate as the Germans should liberate you and then capture the French lands in the name of your country.After this send around a full army group (24 divisions) to guard all the ports in your empire.You should have enough planes to gain superiority over the south of England if you have focused well and if not it's only a matter of time.Feel free to declare war on any non major country if you think you can capitulate them or if you can’t but their landlocked or very far away ( They should capitulate after the UK does as the UK is the only major but be wary nevertheless ) try not to declare war on any american nation as the US guarantees them due to Monroe Doctrine. Once you have ample air superiority in southern England then paradrop into an undefended city on the south coast that has a port Portsmouth is usually good.Once you have taken it send across one or more army groups across the channel.Bombing their navy may be a good idea to stop them intercepting the crossings.Once the army groups are across conquer them as quickly as possible .In the peace deal take the eastern most states of Canada and puppet the rest. Creating a lot of puppets is advised for the troops they will survive. The Axis should be in a much stronger position by now but still only join Operation Barbarossa if you feel you can take down the Soviet Union. When you feel ready you can justify on the Philippines and invade the USA from your Canadian lands.Rush their victory points and you can win easily. Puppet  them and use their navy to invade Japan (as long as they are still fighting China ) invade them with around 2 army groups. At this point you can invade everyone you want from the protection of the axis. After this simply leave the axis and conquer them when you are powerful enough.

A historical background[edit | edit source]

Modern Belgium broke away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in discourse over religion, language, and other matters. In 1885 in the Berlin Conference, it acquired the Congo as a private possession of its king (of which notable memes have been made about) and by 1908 the Congo became a colony of the country. Invaded as part of the German Empire's Schlieffen Plan, it resisted fiercely and eventually won as part of the Entente. Now, with that 20 year armistice after World War One drawing to a close, the player may take control and guide Belgium in the years to come.

With Waking the Tiger DLC, Belgium has the ability to reform the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (along with Netherlands and Luxemburg). As a founding member of the European Steel and Coal Community, it can also form the European Union, meaning it has the potential to become an industrial powerhouse.

Repudiating the Treaty of London (of 1839) with a brown ideology and allying the small moustache man[edit | edit source]

Belgium has some advantages over the Netherlands. Although it still has no focus tree (as of the final versions of Update Barbarossa, most recent DLC being No Step Back), this can become a strength as Belgium is unhampered by negative national spirits, and the generic focus tree allows for a quicker ideological switch and nearer industry focuses. Without Together for Victory DLC, Belgium would also have some advantages in the military; however with the DLC, a player Netherlands can draw upon the (potentially million) manpower of the Dutch East Indies with Colonial templates; fortunately, the AI does barely makes use of this.

As with practically all minors, the player should choose to swing away from democracy (and non-aligned) and choose between the Fascist ideology or the Communist. Now with No Step Back DLC, communism has some merits with the Officer corps Army spirit that can give weekly manpower; however, the Fascist variant gives bonus political power %, so it may still be ideal to turn to the brown ideology, especially as the premier brown party borders Belgium, of which an alliance with would not be a waste. The player can focus on switching ideologies with some haste and conquer the Netherlands early, before World Tension increases and causes the Allies to start guaranteeing independence of nations, allowing Belgium to puppet (satellite) the East Indies and thus maintain a premier source of Rubber and some Aluminium and Oil, along with the provinces actually owned by the Netherlands that also produce some resources. With this in mind, aircraft technology can be a primary focus of the player's military modernisation.

The Netherlands is hobbled by their national spirit that reduces factory output by 25% and construction speed by 50%, meaning that Belgium could mass a larger, fully equipped force and defeat the Dutch army without much trouble when Belgium switches its ideology away from Democratic and can justify wars. There is no difficult terrain apart from rivers that could hamper an offense, the Netherlands being almost entirely plains. Close air support, aerial superiority and support artillery in Belgium's starting templates should be more than sufficient to breeze through.

Allying with Germany means they cannot declare a war upon the player, which is ideal for a quieter game that does not aim for the European Union. France should fall easily to Germany with the cooperation of the player.

Going Red, and/or going after the Fascists first instead for the eventual European Union[edit | edit source]

By going Communist and allying with the Soviets, the player can potentially form the European Union faster as they go to war with Germany and Italy without the hassle of joining and leaving the Axis, meaning they can potentially occupy 2/3 of the majors earlier, and without necessarily being at war with the allies. Unfortunately, getting a good war participation would be a steep hurdle to overcome; The United Netherlands cannot overcome the full might of the Axis alone, and calling the Soviet union in almost guarantees a reduction in the proportion of war participation given the Soviet AI's predisposition to hurl their unready but massive army in wasteful offenses, racking up casualties and thus their participation. However, the player can instead just not call the Soviets in, and defend themselves alone; allying with the Soviets this way still takes some pressure off as the German AI will garrison their Soviet border. When the enemy has been thoroughly weakened, a co-ordinated push could drive into Germany. With the appropriate (insert_name_here) DLC, the player can choose to puppet Germany and then annex them later through the autonomy system, negating a costly occupation at the price of 300 political power and time spent lowering their autonomy.

Depending on what happens, the French or the Italians may capitulate to one or the other; this can be the basis of one more war in order to take all the remaining states. Finally, the player can swing back into Democracy and thus gain the option to form the EU.

And then the player could immediately swing back into another ideology and go for a world conquest.


Achievements[edit | edit source]

Forge of Victory icon
Forge of Victory
Have 50 factories as Belgium.



Europe

Albania.png Albania Austria.png Austria Belgium.png Belgium Bulgaria.png Bulgaria Czechoslovakia.png Czechoslovakia Denmark.png Denmark Estonia.png Estonia Finland.png Finland France.png France Free France.png Free France Vichy France.png Vichy France German Reich.png German Reich Kingdom of Greece.png Kingdom of Greece Kingdom of Hungary.png Kingdom of Hungary Ireland.png Ireland Italy.png Italy Latvia.png Latvia Lithuania.png Lithuania Luxembourg.png Luxembourg Netherlands.png Netherlands Norway.png Norway Poland.png Poland Portugal.png Portugal Nationalist Spain.png Nationalist Spain Republican Spain.png Republican Spain Romania.png Romania Slovakia.png Slovakia Soviet Union.png Soviet Union Sweden.png Sweden Switzerland.png Switzerland Turkey.png Turkey Republic of Ukraine.png Republic of Ukraine United Kingdom.png United Kingdom Yugoslavia.png Yugoslavia

North America

Dominion of Canada.png Dominion of Canada Costa Rica.png Costa Rica Cuba.png Cuba Dominican Republic.png Dominican Republic El Salvador.png El Salvador Guatemala.png Guatemala Haiti.png Haiti Honduras.png Honduras Mexico.png Mexico Republic of Nicaragua.png Nicaragua Panama.png Panama United States.png United States

South America

Argentina.png Argentina Bolivia.png Bolivia Brazil.png Brazil Chile.png Chile Colombia.png Colombia Ecuador.png Ecuador Paraguay.png Paraguay Peru.png Peru Uruguay.png Uruguay Venezuela.png Venezuela

Asia

Afghanistan.png Afghanistan Bhutan.png Bhutan British Malaya.png British Malaya British Raj.png British Raj China.png China Communist China.png Communist China Netherlands.png Dutch East Indies Guangxi Clique.png Guangxi Clique Iran.png Iran Iraq.png Iraq Japan.png Japan Manchukuo.png Manchukuo Mengkukuo.png Mengkukuo Mongolia.png Mongolia Nepal.png Nepal Oman.png Oman Philippines.png Philippines Saudi Arabia.png Saudi Arabia Shanxi.png Shanxi Siam.png Siam Sinkiang.png Sinkiang Tannu Tuva.png Tannu Tuva Tibet.png Tibet Xibei San Ma.png Xibei San Ma Yemen.png Yemen Yunnan.png Yunnan

Africa

Angola.png Angola Sultanate of Aussa.png Sultanate of Aussa Botswana.png Botswana Kingdom of Egypt.png Kingdom of Egypt Ethiopia.png Ethiopia Liberia.png Liberia South Africa.png South Africa

Oceania

Australia.png Australia Melanesian Federation.png Melanesian Federation New Zealand.png New Zealand Tahiti.png Tahiti