Lithuania
Lithuania is a minor power in Northern Europe on the coast of the Baltic Sea and is one of the three "Baltic states" in-game. Historically, it was invaded and occupied along with the other Baltic States on the 14th of June, 1940.
Usually left alone until mid-game, a skilled player could turn it into a moderate power in Europe, and possibly even more!
Historical background[edit | edit source]
Lithuania broke free from the collapsing Russian Empire in 1918, along with the other Baltic States and found itself quickly in conflict to defend its newly gained independence.
Lithuania fought against the Russian SSR (precursor to the 
Soviet Union) alongside Poland and the other Baltic States and was able to stop the Russian grand offensive of 1918-1919. After beating back the Bolsheviks, Lithuania, along with the other Baltic States, fought an internal war against the West Russian Volunteer Army (essentially a leftover of the Imperial Russian Army) which had officially joined arms with Alexander Kolchak's White Russia in the Russian Civil War (Which opposed Baltic Independence). After exterminating any remaining Russian military units on its territory, Lithuania found itself at war with newly-independent Poland. The reason for the war was a territorial dispute, the Vilnius region had been assigned to Lithuania by the Russians in the peace treaty they have signed after the Baltic Wars of Independence, but later it was occupied by Poland. In 1926, Antanas Smetona took authoritarian power during coup d'etat.
As part of the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Eastern Europe was divided into spheres of interest by the 
German Reich and the Soviet Union. Lithuania was initially in the German zone and was forced to cede the Memel area and later was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. This occupation was interrupted by Operation Barbarossa when Germany occupied the area, reorganizing the Baltic States into the "Reichskommisariat Ostland". The area was re-occupied by the Soviet Union in 1944-1945, Lithuania was annexed into the Soviet Union, and reorganized into the Lithuanian SSR along with the other Baltic States after the end of World War II.
Geography[edit | edit source]
Lithuania is in the Baltics which is part of Northern Europe. It is made up of three states: Kaunas, Šiauliai, and Memel. They have a land border with Latvia, Poland, and Germany. Lithuania also has a small coast on the Baltic Sea.
Lithuania is mostly Plains (at 56% of all provinces), with 32% Forest, a small number of Hills and one Urban province.
National focus[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Lithuanian national focus tree
Lithuania, along with the other Baltic States, gets a unique national focus tree as part of the 
No Step Back expansion. Without the expansion, Lithuania utilizes the generic national focus tree.
The Lithuanian national focus tree can be divided into 3 branches and 5 sub-branches:
- Rejoin the Railways Branch
- This shared Baltic branch upgrades the industry and military of Lithuania. The left side requires investment from a
Fascist or 
Democratic major.
- Restore the Worker's Republic Branch
- This shared Baltic branch allows Lithuania to turn
Communist and either become a Soviet puppet or independent. It also allows expansion to the other Baltic states and Scandinavia.
- Reconvene the Seimas Branch
- This gives the decision to set Augustinas Voldemaras free, causing Lithuania to organize the Iron Wolf partisans and turn Lithuania fascist. It also allows the formation of
Greater Lithuania and gives cores and 
War goal against surrounding countries.
- Lithuanian Preservationism Sub-branch
- This
Non-aligned sub-branch modifies the Seimas and can make Lithuania a Military Dictatorship.
- A King for Our People Sub-branch
- The Monarchist sub-branch enthrones Karl Gero von Urach as Mindaugas III, King of Lithuania. It creates a
Personal Union with 
Poland, gives claims on former Greater Lithuanian territory, and creates the 
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It may also create the 
Kingdom of Livonia.
- Formalize the Baltic Entente/ Beyond the Baltic Sub-branch
- This shared Baltic branch allows Lithuania to ally with the other Baltic countries and gives bonuses to manpower and industry to all allied Baltic country and decide whether or not to unite the Baltic States. It also allows Lithuania to ally the United Kingdom or any other Democratic faction.
- Integrate the Opposition/ Rastiki's Military Reforms Sub-branch
- This sub-branch has no ideology preference requirements, but it has focuses that allows Lithuania to become Democratic. It also can give political advisors and improves or hurts relations with Poland, Germany or the Soviet Union.
- Prepare for the Inevitable/ Appease the Russians/ Appease the Germans Sub-branch
- This allows Lithuania to build up its industry and army after it has capitulated or appease the Germans or Russians and become a puppet.
Technology[edit | edit source]
Lithuania starts with very few researched technology.
| Army Technology | Air Technology |
|---|---|
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Diplomacy[edit | edit source]
As a non-aligned country, Lithuania has good relations with other non-aligned countries (+10). Especially with its neighbour Latvia (+20) for also sharing the same ruling party. Lithuania has (-10) relations with Poland because Poland owns the state of Vilnius, which is a core state of Lithuania. Otherwise it's a mostly isolated country, with all diplomacy values revolving around "Different Ideology" (-10), "Same Ideology" (+10) and "Same Ruling Party" (+20). They also have a land border with 
Latvia; Poland and German Reich, and have coast with two Naval Bases (both Lvl. 1). However, Memel is usually seized by Germany.
Alliances[edit | edit source]
Lithuania has no alliances at the start of the game. However, they may join the Międzymorze if created by Poland.
Events[edit | edit source]
Lithuania has an event named "German Demand for Memel"; with options to decline (likely will lead to war) or to accept and cede the state. It also has an event where the Soviet Union will demand subjugation after justifying claimed states of all of Lithuania.
Politics[edit | edit source]
National spirit[edit | edit source]
With the DLC No Step Back enabled, Lithuania starts with the following national spirits in 1936:
Recruitable Population Factor: −15%- Daily Command Power Gain: −0.05
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.05
- Conscription Laws Cost: +10%
- Recruitable Population Factor: −50%
- Consumer Goods Factories: +3.0%
- Factory Output: −20.00%
- Army Leader Cost: +50.0%
- Daily Command Power Gain Multiplier: −50%
- Land Doctrine Cost: +25%
Lithuania must deal with the Iron Wolf, a paramilitary group lead by Augustinas Voldemaras, if the player follows the Reconvene the Seimas Branch. The following national spirits are in order of how it increases/decreases when a LIT_iron_wolf_up_effect or LIT_iron_wolf_down_effect happens. If a LIT_iron_wolf_up_effect happens when Lithuania has the 
Iron Wolf Military spirit, it will get +10.00 base 
Stability. If a LIT_iron_wolf_down_effect happens when Lithuania has the 
Impending Iron Wolf Uprising spirit, Lithuania will start a Fascist civil war.
- Recruitable Population Factor: 10%
- Daily Command Power Gain: +0.15
- Conscription Laws Cost: −20%
- Recruitable Population Factor: 5%
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.05
- Recruitable Population Factor: −15%
- Daily Command Power Gain: +0.05
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.05
- Conscription Laws Cost: +10%
- Recruitable Population Factor: −25%
- Daily Command Power Gain: +0.10
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.10
- Conscription Laws Cost: +25%
- Recruitable Population Factor: −50%
- Daily Command Power Gain: +0.15
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.20
- Conscription Laws Cost: +50%
- Recruitable Population Factor: −75%
- Daily Command Power Gain: +0.30
- Daily Fascism Support: +0.35
- Conscription Laws Cost: +75%
Ideology[edit | edit source]
Lietuvių Tautininkų Sąjunga(Non-aligned, Oligarchy)
Can force government of another country to adopt the same ideology.- Can puppet a country.
- Generate war goal tension limit: +50%
- Lend-lease tension limit: +40%
- Send volunteers tension limit: +40%
- Guarantee tension limit: +40%
- Join faction tension limit: +40%
- Ideology drift defense: —30%
Political parties[edit | edit source]
Antanas Smetona of the non-aligned Lietuvių Tautininkų Sąjunga (LTS) is in power with less than half of the government in its control in both scenarios, holding 40% popularity.
| Id. | Party name | Popularity | Leader | Country name | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lietuvos Krikščionių Demokratų Partija (LKDP) | 30% | Kazys Grinius | Republic of Lithuania | 
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Lietuvos Komunistų Partija (LKP) | 15% | Antanas Sniečkus | Lithuanian People's Republic (Lithuanian Independent SSR if puppeted by the Soviet Union) |
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Geležinis Vilkas | 15% | Augustinas Voldemaras | Iron Wolf Lithuania |
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Lietuvių Tautininkų Sąjunga (LTS) | 40% | Antanas Smetona | Lithuania | 
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Laws[edit | edit source]
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This is a community maintained wiki. If you spot a mistake then you are welcome to fix it. |
| Conscription Law | Economy Law | Trade Law |
|---|---|---|
 Limited Conscription
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 Civilian Economy
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 Export Focus
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Staff and designers[edit | edit source]
These are choices of ministers and design companies for Lithuania.
| Portrait | Name | Trait | Effects and Conditions | cost ( )
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Antanas Snieckus | Communist Revolutionary |
|
150 |
|
Augustinas Voldemaras | Militant Minister |
|
150 |
| Fascist Demagogue |
|
150 | ||
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Kazys Grinius | Democratic Reformer |
|
150 |
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Stasys Raštikis | Veteran Minister |
|
150 |
|
Vladas Jurgutis | Captain of Industry |
|
150 |
|
Leonas Bistras | Compassionate Gentleman |
|
150 |
|
Mykolas Slezevicius | Prince of Terror |
|
150 |
|
Mečislovas Gedvilas | Marxist Fundamentalist |
|
150 |
|
Vladas Mironas | Priestly Prime Minister |
|
150 |
|
Antanas Venclova | Revolutionary Poet |
|
150 |
|
Vytautas Alantas | Fascist Demagogue |
|
150 |
|
Ernestas Galvanauskas | Staunch Anti-German |
|
150 |
|
Vytautas Petrulis | Agricultural Capitalist |
|
150 |
|
Aleksandras Stulginskis | Agricultural Nationalist |
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150 |
|
Jonas Staugaitis | Backroom Backstabber |
|
150 |
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Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas | Patriotic Socialist |
|
150 |
Economy[edit | edit source]
 2 Military Factories |
 0 Naval Dockyards |
 5 Civilian Factories |
 Oil |
 Rubber |
 Steel |
 Aluminum |
 Tungsten |
 Chromium |
| 0 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*These numbers represent the available resources for production at start of the game. In the bracket are the resources exported for trading.
Military[edit | edit source]
Manpower totals 17.61K, with 22 Free Manpower.
Army[edit | edit source]
3 Pėstininkų Divizija
|
|---|
| 5Vastybės Sienos Apsaugos Skyrius
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1 Artilerija Divizija
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Total: 9
Manpower Used: 16.62K
Lithuania starts with 3 Infantry Divisions of 9 Infantry Battalions each, 5 mixed divisions of 2 Infantry Battalions and 2 Cavalry Battalions, and 1 Artillery Division with 3 Infantry Battalions, 3 Line Artillery Battalions and a support artillery company.
[edit | edit source]
No  Ships
|
|---|
Total: 0 Ships
Manpower Used: 0
Air Force[edit | edit source]
| 48 Fighters |
|---|
Total: 48 Planes
Manpower Used: 0.96k
Strategies and guides[edit | edit source]
The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Lithuania. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.General[edit | edit source]
Lithuania is one of the most difficult minor nations to play, as it is a target of both the German Reich (who claims Memel) and the Soviet Union (who claims everything else). This makes Lithuania's position very precarious, as it cannot fight either power on its own. Since the USSR is by far the greatest threat to its survival, Lithuania must seek to ally itself with either the Axis or the Allies until it can stand on its own two feet.
Some things to know before starting:
- If Lithuania becomes Communist, the people may ask to integrate into the Soviet Union. If accepted, the Soviet Union will annex Lithuania, ending the game for the player.
- All the Formable Nations involving Lithuania require you to control Memel. Therefore, a strike swiftly will be needed if the player wishes to increase the country's core territory before Germany claims Memel.
Iron Wolf Lithuania and Forming the Baltic Unitary State[edit | edit source]
By far, the best path for an aggressive Lithuania (as with most other minor powers) is to go Fascist. At the start of the game, the player should blitz the Political Branch of the National Focus Tree until he reaches the "Militarism" focus. Next, he should begin to work on the Industry branch. As soon as the player has enough Political Power, he should get a Fascist Demagogue to quicken the change to Fascism. Performing Anti-Communist and Anti-Democratic Raids will help by slightly increasing stability in the long run as well as reducing the stability loss from the Non-Aligned party's weakening hold over the country.
Once the ruling party becomes Fascist, the player must justify a war goal against neighboring Latvia. To successfully conquer Latvia, its highly recommended that the player would have at least five or six Infantry Divisions, equipped with Engineer Companies, and have one or two more in training. Once a flanking manoeuvre is executed through western or central Latvia, the AI's tendency to rearrange its forces will likely kick in, allowing the player to occupy Latvia's three cities and force its government to capitulate.
The next target ought to be Estonia. As soon as you are at war with Latvia, begin justifying a war goal against Estonia. Estonia's limited population will prevent it from deploying more than three or four divisions (although these could potentially be 7 Infantry and 3 Artillery monster divisions). A smart player can outflank these forces with the more numerous Lithuanian divisions and force Estonia's capitulation in less than a month.
At this point, if Waking the Tiger is enabled, and the player still controls Memel, the player may take the decision Unite the Baltics, which grants cores on all the Baltic States and forms the Baltic Unitary State.
Greater Baltic Unification[edit | edit source]
To reclaim Vilnius from Poland under the Baltic Unitary State, significant luck is required. First, Poland must go down the "Poland First" branch of its focus tree, or else you will end up fighting an unwinnable war against the Allies. Next, Germany and the Soviet Union must not sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (this is not necessary, but it will make it much easier to take Vilnius without fighting the Soviet Union ). Start by joining the Axis and aiding Germany during the invasion of Poland. When the peace conference occurs, claim Wilno and any neighbouring states possible (states right next to the Soviet Union are not recommended as they will only lengthen the border you must defend). After the peace conference, the player may take the decision "Move the Capital to Vilnius", moving the player's capital to its rightful location. From here, the player can prepare for the inevitable war with the Soviet Union, and, in the event of victory, turn on whoever controls Memel and the rest of Poland to unite the entire Baltic region under one banner.
Non-Aligned Lithuania[edit | edit source]
One of the hardest challenges is trying to keep Lithuania Non-Aligned and trying to survive and even win the war without switching ideologies.
This run is very heavily dependent on luck, as Soviet AI's decisions can ruin your game early, and in some cases, the allies you choose (either Japan, or Allies or Soviet Union) cannot defeat Germany in time. If you have access to 
La Résistance, a less luck based strategy of signing NAP's with Germany and/or Soviet Union can be used. See a more detailed NAP descriptions below.
Going down the political branch of Nationalism without ever changing your government is enough to get "Militarism" focus and wield a substantial force. The composition of the force should depend on your plans, and specifically on the nations you are planning to face.
Getting enough Army XP[edit | edit source]
A short relation improvement later, you can easily send an Attache to your favorite side in the Spanish civil war, granting you a handful of Army experience you can use to set up your ideal divisions for your wars. This usually gives in excess of what a "Military Theorist" advisor can generate in the same time, but hiring him as well is an option, provided your strategy can spare the political power.
Opposing German demands for Memel[edit | edit source]
Whenever Germany does "Reassert Eastern Claims" focus, Lithuania gets an event demanding for Memel. If you have high relations with Britain or France, there's a good chance of getting a guarantee whenever you deny the German claims. Germany will declare war soon after. Depending on your goals, you can either join the Allies or remain a single state at war. If you manage the forces well, and make use of the general abilities, pushing at the German port can allow you to cut off German forces from supply allowing you to capture Ermland-Masuren and Königsberg states - this is very tricky to achieve, and might require multiple attempts. (Having many divisions in your army can sometimes be counter-productive as then the German AI can delay the start of the war and bring more troops over to your border, decreasing your chances or success considerably)
In this scenario German events concerning Czechoslovakia usually lead to Czechoslovakia joining the war and potentially raising the world tension to 50% opening your options by allowing justification of war-goals.
Sometimes, if the Allies are making good progress, this strategy leads to Germany delay the attack on Poland, or even forgo it entirely, which can spiral to Soviets attacking Poland in a couple of years, causing an Allies-Commintern conflict, that you can sometimes stay out off.
Having a good relation with Soviets sometimes gets you a few volunteer divisions against Germany (as the war for Memel usually starts before the Molotov-Ribentrop pact, and Germany and Soviets still don't have good relations) which also serves as an early warning-system for an impending Soviet attack. (They cannot declare war as long as you have their volunteers)
Baltic Unification as Non-Aligned[edit | edit source]
(requires justifying a war goal, so might be incompatible with seeking Alliance with Japan or Alliance with Soviets)
As the world tension reaches 50% (allowing justification of war-goals as non-aligned), and your luck is good, justifying on both Latvia and Estonia before Soviets send their ultimatums can allow you to reform the Baltic Unified States early (sometimes the Soviets start their justifications on Baltic states early, and their event forces the small nations to choose annexation with 100% certainty, robbing you of a chance to even declare war). It would also get Latvia and Estonia joining Axis as you declare the attacks. If you wish to join Allies, remember to start the justification first, as otherwise being in a Democratic faction can limit your war justification targets considerably. Conquering Latvia and Estonia can be done with a handful of 3-sized cavalry divisions (the template for which could be used for resistance suppression later) that prioritize going for victory points.
Seeking Alliance with Japan against Germany[edit | edit source]
(requires justifying a war goal, so might be incompatible with seeking Baltic Unification or Alliance with Soviets)
Justifying a war-goal on one of inner high-manpower provinces in China and declaring a war, can lead to Japan sending you a faction invite, potentially drawing Japan into a war against Germany together with Allies. Depending on Japan's success, this could be a very strong alliance, or a really bad one if Japan capitulates earlier than you do. If you have token divisions to spare, sending them to japan to gainin a small percentage of war-score could even land you a single Chinese province in a peace deal, which, with high enough compliance or through colonial templates, could improve your glaring manpower issues.
Seeking Alliance with Allies[edit | edit source]
By far the simplest option to go for- having a good relation with Britain or France gives you a high chance of getting a guarantee. Whenever you have a common war, the faction invite will come. Even when they don't guarantee you, holding out until the Allies join the war, would achieve the same thing.
Having an Alliance with Allies, also allows you to become a Government in Exile should you lose, but that strategy is not highly effective nor recommended.
Seeking Alliance with USSR[edit | edit source]
(requires justifying a war goal, so might be incompatible with seeking Baltic Unification or Alliance with Japan)
Justifying a war-goal on Finland and declaring war can get Finland joining axis, and if you time the start of your war just as Soviet-Finald war starts (since Soviet AI can vary on the order of events, this is an issue of luck) you can get a common war with Soviets, and in turn join the Comintern.
USSR Aggression[edit | edit source]
Whichever side you are on, the USSR will get claims on your cores. Should their faction be busy with other wars, you might not get justified against, but usually it happens sooner or later. Having a "Prince of Terror" advisor can make Soviets prioritize justifying on Latvia or Estonia. Holding back USSR without a backing of another faction is nearly impossible, especially if you are already at war. Very luck dependent. It is better to seek out a NAP, if you have access to La Résistance, or try to go for a membership in Comintern by declaring war at Finland.
German War With Poland[edit | edit source]
There is no fool-proof strategy on helping Poland hold out against Germany, and their loss is near guaranteed. However, if you are not a member of Allies, stationing a few troops at Kaunas-Vilno border, and pushing with them just as Poland capitulates can net you Lithuania's Former capital before the Soviet union claims their share. Wilno comes with a small boost to your manpower and (usually) a single civilian factory - if you join the Allies after getting Wilno, you get to keep it until he end of the war, provided you can hold onto it.
After Poland capitulates, holding the line against Germany until USA joins the war is your best bet. Since Soviet Union gets half of Poland, this leaves you with two potencial frontlines against germany. The first can be achieved by holding the German advance at Königsberg,, where there's a three-province border, or retreating inward, along the five provinces next to river Nemunas (six provinces, if you managed to get Wilno after Poland capitulation). If you have good army composition (including some source of penetration and hard attack to deal with German tanks, especially at later dates), holding out for a while while fortifying is an option.
Non Aggression Pacts options with La Résistance[edit | edit source]
This strategy can be applied not only to the Non-Aligned Lithuania, but is most useful for the Non-Aligned ideology, as both Fascist and Communist Lithuania are better served with an agressive start.
Successfully done it allows to safely wait out until the world tension reaches 50% and getting ability to justify war goals yourself, as well giving back control over when Lithuania can enter the war.
To gain some breathing room with Lithuania one should prioritize doing a few couple of civilian focuses of the generic tree before getting the military factories. "Construction Effort" and "Construction Effort II" coupled with changing mobilization laws to "Partial Mobilization" is just enough to have 5 required factories for establishing the secret service. (Getting five secret service upgrades or getting the "Illusive Gentleman" could increase the operative count but that is optional unless you plan to make extensive use of the operatives, and the factories are arguably better spent improving the economy).
Using your operative, coupled with a short improve-relations action, can get you NAP's with Germany and Soviets. Best time to start working on the NAP with Germany is soon after Anschluss, and with Soviets it's better done before Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (it's important to this before modifiers for aggressive goals directed at Lithuania kick in). In this case, when Germany demands Memel, Lithuania can safely decline as the NAP will hold the Germans back. For as long as Lithuania has enough troops stationed on German-Lithuanian border the NAP will hold. This delay in German aggression also ensures a near-certain getting of guarantees from France and/or Britain. Getting a NAP with Soviets before Poland is attacked gets you a shared border before the Soviets can cancel the NAP, and keeping troops on the Lithuanian-Soviet border ensures that the Soviets cannot start justification on you, protecting you from the Soviet Ultimatum event.
If you need a better deterrent against breaking a NAP, remember that division size doesn't matter and stacking your border with 1-size divisions increases the amount of divisions Germany or Soviet Union needs to bring to your border to break the NAP.
The best moment to break the NAP would be at the start of German-USSR war. Joining Axis is a lot easier, since at that point USSR controls one of your cores, and being at war, your justification on Wilno would only take ~15 days, and barely cost any political power, allowing you to attack Soviets ~15 days after Germany does, leading to a near-guaranteed invitation to Axis. Mind, that at this point you do not need to join the Axis-Allies war, even as you will be constantly bombarded with invitations to that war from Axis members.
Achievements[edit | edit source]
| North America |
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| South America |
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| Africa |
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| Oceania |
