[Adm.Lee]

This is a campaign I'd wanted to play/run, 'cause I always wanted to see who would emerge on top in Poland. The first run of Poland modules actually hooked me on Polish history, it's now habit for me to root for the Poles whenever possible.

I've stared at the "Return" modules long and hard, but by the time they came out, my group had long dispersed, and soon the end of the Cold War drained away the enthusiasm. "White Eagle" seemed the best starting place for such a campaign. When reading "Black Madonnna" the possibility of a King touched a romantic nerve. Then I read about him going nuts-- oh, well. The sentimental favorite would seem to be the People's Army, with the Black Madonna, gaining the power of Krakow and the trade league there to win. Even if they could defeat the King and keep the Czechs at bay, would they then be strong enough to hold off the rest?



IMO, what would happen is that political groups would build around some cores, like Krakow, Silesia, and whatever local powers rose up, including marauders. Warlords would be the common term, and their power base would be their wartime commands, plus any foreign mercenaries they could get their hand on.

The Soviets would melt away as a threat on their own, I think. Some divisions had already started to melt away as men deserted, I could easily see a lot of men just deserting to try to go home. Small or large bands of these could become mercenaries for whoever wanted to rule an area. Some Soviet generals might decide to become warlords, like their Polish counterparts. Any Soviet forces still listening to orders, or higher HQs, would likely walk out sooner or later, as the NATO threat to the homeland diminishes.

Given that neither side retains much capability to mount a real ground-gaining offensive, and about half of the Americans and nearly all of the British are leaving the Continent in the winter of '00, NATO is at least as crippled as the Soviets. It certainly would seem unable to press all the way to the Soviet border. Were I a Soviet front commander, I would say, "job done," and go home.

Hmm-- here's a thought. One or more Soviet higher-ups get the idea to talk cease-fire with the Germans, say, a Front commander. If he can tell the troops around him, "I've ended the war, let's go home!" he would be fantastically popular with "his boys." And with the local Poles, whom he could badger for a one-time gift of food and fuel, to enable their withdrawal. But not with any KGB hard-cases, if there are any left. That sounds like a game-- the PCs are NATO (or German or Polish) operatives tasked to keep Marshal Popularov alive, at least until he goes far away.

Anyway, as I see, Poland is depopulated, both sides' armies are going home, so the new Poland will coalesce around several centers, that will have to jockey for position against one another. Foreign mercenary soldiers will be important, as local men might be preferred to settle on the land. Some of the mercenaries could be paid off in land, as well, after a suitable term of service (5 years? 10? If they live that long).

Edit: I'm probably going to be thinking on this again for a while today, time to break out the maps again!