Oman

Muscat

Non-Aligned, Despotic

None

Oman is a small middle eastern country. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north and the United Kingdom to the west and north. Its terrain is mostly mountains and deserts.

Historical background[edit | edit source]

From the late 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was a powerful empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar (today part of Tanzania, also former capital). As its power declined in the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom.

When Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid died in 1856, his sons quarreled over the succession. As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of the British Government under the Canning Award—was divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: Zanzibar (with its African Great Lakes dependencies), and Muscat and Oman.

The Hajar Mountains, of which the Jebel Akhdar is a part, separate the country into two distinct regions: the interior, known as Oman, and the coastal area dominated by the capital, Muscat. In 1913, control of the country split. The interior was ruled by Ibadite imams and the coastal areas by the Sultan. Under the terms of the British-brokered Treaty of Seeb of 1920, the Sultan recognised the autonomy of the interior. The Sultan of Muscat would be responsible for the external affairs of Oman.

Muscat and Oman was the object of Franco-British rivalry throughout the 18th century. During the 19th century, Muscat and Oman and the United Kingdom concluded several treaties of friendship and commerce. In 1908 the British entered into an agreement of friendship. Their traditional association was confirmed in 1951 through a new treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation by which the United Kingdom recognized the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman as a fully independent state.

The Sultan of Oman declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939.

National focus[edit | edit source]

Generic national focus tree.

Main article: Generic national focus tree

Oman, 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]

Oman starts with 2 research slots.

Army technology	Naval technology	Air technology	Electronics & Industry
Basic Infantry Eq.	None	None	None
Doctrines
None	None	None

Politics[edit | edit source]

Oman, in 1936 is a Non-Aligned nation with no elections.

Oman has the following political parties:

Political party	Ideology	Popularity	Party leader	Country name	Is ruling?
Democratic	Democratic	0%	Generic	Republic of Oman	No
Communist	Communist	0%	Generic	People's Republic of Oman	No
Fascist	Fascist	0%	Generic	Omani Empire	No
Al Said Dynasty	Non-Aligned	100%	Said bin Taimur	Oman	Yes

National spirits[edit | edit source]

None

Diplomacy[edit | edit source]

Oman may form Arabia if it controls all of North Africa, Egypt, French and British Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Oman and Yemen is not necessary to form it.

Staff and designer[edit | edit source]

Political advisors
Advisor	Type	Effect	Cost
Khalfan bin Master	Captain of Industry	Civilian Factory Construction Speed: +10.00% Military Factory Construction Speed: +10.00% Synthetic refinery Construction Speed: +10.00%	150 pp
Marhoon Muhaid	Compassionate Gentleman	Improve Relations Opinion: +15.00%	150 pp
Abd Allah al-Baghdadi	Illusive Gentleman	Operative slots: +1 Agency upgrade time: -15%	150 pp
Rashid al-Kharusi	Silent Workhorse	Political Power Gain: +15.0%	150 pp
Fouad El-Amin	Communist Revolutionary	Communism Support: +0.1%	150 pp
Ghada Saab	Democratic Reformer	Daily Democracy Support: +0.1	150 pp
Hadi Nejem	Fascist Demagogue	Daily Fascism Support: +0.1%	150 pp

Tank designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Armor Company	Tank Designer	Armor Research Speed: +15.0% Armor: Reliability: +5.0%	150 pp

Ship designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Naval Company	Ship designer	Naval Research Speed: +15.0%	150 pp

Aircraft designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Light Air Company	Light aircraft	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Fighter: Agility: +10.0% Fighter: Max Speed: +10.0% Carrier Fighter: Agility: +10.0% Carrier Fighter: Max Speed: +10.0%	150 pp
Medium Air Company	Medium aircraft	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Heavy Fighter: Reliability: +20.0% Tactical Bomber: Reliability: +20.0%	150 pp
Heavy Air Company	Heavy aircraft	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Strategic Bomber: Strategic Bombing: +10.0%	150 pp
Naval Air Company	Naval aircraft	Air Research Speed: +15.0% Naval Bomber: Operational Range: +10.0% Naval Bomber: Naval Attack: +10.0% CV Naval Bomber: Operational Range: +10.0% CV Naval Bomber: Naval Attack: +10.0%	150 pp

Materiel designers
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Artillery Company	Artillery designer	Artillery Research Speed: +15.0%	150 pp
Small Arms Company	Infantry Equipment designer	Weapons and Equipment Research Speed: +15.0%	150 pp
Motorization Company	Motorized Equipment designer	Motorization Research Speed: +15.0%	150 pp

Industrial concern
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Industrial Company	Industrial Concern	Industrial Research Speed: +15.0%	150 pp

Theorists
Designer	Type	Effect	Cost
Musa al-Saif	Military Theorist	Land Doctrine Research Speed: +10.0% Army Experience Gain: +0.05	150 pp
Fayur Kassis	Naval Theorist	Naval Doctrine Research Speed: +10.0% Naval Experience Gain: +0.05	150 pp
Abdul Rahal	Air Warfare Theorist	Air Doctrine Research Speed: +10.0% Air Experience Gain: +0.05	150 pp

Economy[edit | edit source]

Laws[edit | edit source]

Conscription Law	Economy Law	Trade Law
Volunteer Only 1.5% Recruitable population	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 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.
	Aluminium	0
	Chromium	0
	Oil	2
	Rubber	0
	Steel	0
	Tungsten	0

Industry
	Type	No.
	Civilian factory	1
	Military factory	1
	Naval dockyard	0

Industry: Oman has 1 civilian factory and 1 military factory in the state of Oman. There are no more building slots.

Resources: Oman has 2 oil in the state of Oman.

Military[edit | edit source]

Oman has a small military in the January 1936 start date, and has only 1.54k free manpower though this can be raised through conscription laws and the generic focus tree.

Army
	Type	No.
	Infantry	1
	Cavalry	0
	Motorized infantry	0
	Light tank	0
	Marine	0
	Mountaineer	0
	Paratrooper	0
	Total divisions	1

Navy
	Type	No.
	Destroyer	0
	Light cruiser	0
	Heavy cruiser	0
	Battlecruiser	0
	Battleship	0
	Submarine	0
	Carrier	0
	Convoy	10
	Total ships	0

Air force
	Type	No.
	Close air support	0
	Fighter	0
	Heavy fighter	0
	Naval bomber	0
	Tactical bomber	0
	Strategic bomber	0
	Transport	0
	Total planes	0

Army: Their army consists of 1 Infantry unit that has a combat width of only eight.

Navy: They do not have a navy.

Air force: They have no air force.

Strategies and guides[edit | edit source]

Just don't do it. There is no strategy to win. You are in a barren desert with little resources, little infrastructure, almost no industry, and certainly no hope of winning any conflict. Even if you follow the generic focus tree to get all the free factories and infrastructure you still only have a population that numbers around 400,000. But maybe you think still that you're a pro HOI4 player and can make this work. So you decide to try and conquer Saudi Arabia, only to discover that they'll unleash a cavalry horde not seen since the Mongol Empire with their population numbering in the millions. They overrun you before you can even utter the phrase "We Surrender", so you reload your save and try Yemen instead. You spend a year researching naval technology, marines, and whatever else you think you need to succeed this time around. You naval land thinking this time you'll succeed in recreating the Omani Empire of old, only to find that Yemen has spent that time spamming out low grade infantry divisions since they too have a population numbering in the millions. Their army surrounds, wears down, and eventually crushes what was your expert purpose designed divisions if they are lucky to make landfall. So you reload your save again because you hate yourself and seeing as how you've already put this time in you decide to try Iran because why not. After trying to do a naval invasion strategy just like with Yemen, you discover the outcome is different this time. Your troops will definitely make it to dry land and maybe even capture a tile or two before the Iranian army arrives and crushes your entire army with extreme prejudice. Oh you think that paratroopers might have better luck? Well you're wrong, by the time you can build an air force larger than what Iran has, you'll discover that their army has grown even larger and possibly even angrier than when you tried to roll up on their shores with boats. You reload your save again to try Iraq because at this point you're sleep deprived and hate yourself even more. What are the results? Well you discover Iraq can crush your naval invasion just as easily as everyone else, and if anything have the easiest time at it since they only have to defend their single tile coastline. At this point the constant defeats and repeated attempts have sent you into a daze, but the master strategist in your mind has one last idea. You reload your save and decide to join either Germany or Japan in their factions. If you can't fight anyone on your own make someone else do it for you. This last tattered thread of hope you hold onto goes up in a fireball when you see the outcome. While the path to the outcome may vary based on which faction you choose the result is the same. Your faction fails to send any reinforcements to your territory in time or not enough, and before you know it the British Empire penetrates you hard from both the rear and the front (your western and northern borders respectively). Your last hope ends with a bunch of tea drinking British boys arriving in Muscat and whispering into your ear softly "For King and Country" at which point all of Oman gets to become the newest subject of the British Crown.

This leaves you, the brilliant player who once had dreams of a Greater Oman, with the realization that there is only one strategy. The strategy Oman did in real life during this time period. Join the Allies, declare war on the fascists to defend Britain, and send your few basic infantry divisions (which no matter what template you use won't be able to match against any enemy divisions) to fight on another continent in someone else's war where you will never get enough war participation to receive even the most remote far-flung speck of territory. In other words you will get the HOI4 version of a participation medal, except it's not even a medal its more like crappy ribbon you can buy in a dollar store.

Heed my warning to anyone even thinking about Oman. If you wish to become a complete and wise HOI4 player, one must embrace a larger view of the game. This view is that not every nation, in particular Oman, is playable or capable of being fun to play. There is no strategy for Oman, one must forget the dogmatic view of veteran players who say there is always a way to win for any nation. I have laid out the strategies and their outcomes. Learn to know Oman from this guide and you will be able to save your mind from certain insanity. Use my knowledge, I beg you.

Better Strategy[edit | edit source]

In the hope that the above strategy is a parody of some kind, there are far better outcomes possible. Through focuses it is not hard to grow your industry to a mediocre levels, which can be supplemented by going to limited exports and war economy. Limited Conscription should grant you about 5 12 width divisions. Every few months, you will gain enough manpower to train another division. Like with most small countries, the key ingredient is patience. If possible, put spies in Saudi Arabia and decrypt. By 1939, they usually have about 8 divisions, but they can easily pump out more as needed. You on the other hand, have a small population, so you need to be very careful. In the event Iran gets into a war, you could declare on them, getting a little bit of Iran at the very least. If the UK decolonizes and the Middle Eastern dominions leave the alliance, you will be able to defeat them easily. Yemen should not be hard as long as you decrypt and have air superiority. Depending on how the world situation pans out, you have the option of joining the Allies, Axis, or Comintern. Being non-aligned makes it very easy to go an alternate path. The generic tree should be able to get you far if you play your few cards right. Just like Ethiopia, the challenge is not insurmountable.

Note: If you have the No Step Back DLC and are communist, you can enable Ideological loyalty for your spirit of the Army and get a free weekly +500 manpower boost.

Countries

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