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Hearts of Iron IV (HOI4) is a critically acclaimed grand strategy video game that debuted in 2016. Immerse yourself in the tumultuous era of the Second World War as you assume the role of a nation’s leader and steer its destiny towards either triumph or defeat. Among the nations that played a significant role in the war, Poland emerges as a poignant example, valiantly defending against German aggression before succumbing to the joint assault of the Germans and Soviets. Will you rise above historical precedent, leading Poland to a resounding victory and unfurling its flag in triumph? Discover the possibilities in this compelling article as we delve into the strategic maneuvers and decisions required to reshape the history of Poland in Hearts of Iron IV (HOI4) and win the war with Germany and the Soviet Union.
Poland Starting Position in HOI4
Poland is in a unique position in Europe. Bordering both the resurgent German Reich and the ever-threatening Soviet Union, Poland HOI4 players will have to divide their attention to defend both fronts. Due to a lack of resources, unlike its neighbors, the Polish military will take longer to modernize and successfully prepare for total war.
Likewise, there are a number of debuffs for Poland in HOI4, such as The April Constitution, the Looming Peasant’s Strike, and the Right and Left Sanation Opposition. The former will make it harder to gain political power, appoint political advisors, and change both the economy and trade laws.
Technology-wise, Poland remains focused on infantry units, as both Infantry Equipment and Infantry Equipment I are already unlocked. Some notable unresearched technologies are trucks, radio, and construction.
Even more damaging is the Embargoed Economy trade law, which does not grant any research, output, or construction bonus. Combine this with the 5% in consumer goods factories, and our hands are even more tied up.
There are also only a few military staff members available, with only Sosnkowski for Chief of Army at the start and four possible Military High Command officers.
Opening Moves
To start off, Poland HOI4 players need to get rid of the Embargoed Economy trade law the country starts off with. Take the Clamp Down on Danzig focus, followed by Ban the Nazi Party, and Integrate Gdansk Industries. If you need to reduce the resistance in Danzig, take all the necessary decisions to do so.
Following this, we need to rush the Agrarian Reform focus to get rid of the Looming Peasant’s Strike, or else the economy will be massively hobbled. Once we’re done with that, give the Polish School of Mathematics and National Defense Funds a go as the former will give us an extra research slot and the latter will help our construction speed.
Poland starts off with 40 divisions in HOI4, most of them infantry. It would be best to change all units to the Dywizja Piechoty template. Feel free to train them in order to gain the needed XP to fill your doctrines and army spirits.
Poland has great steel production, and in order to fully maximize this, you can just produce infantry equipment instead of infantry equipment I as the former costs less. At this point, we need as many men on the field as possible, rather than the most modern army.
The Dictatorship Paths for Poland in HOI4
In this tree, we’ll follow the April Constitution focus and keep the Sanation government in place. Rush down the tree until you’ve completed all Left and Right Sanation focuses. Take the Draft a New Constitution rather than the Codify the Camp of National Unity focus due to the former proving better for a civilian and peacetime government.
If you wish to boost the economic capacity of the nation and go democratic, you can take The Left Chairman and the Common Organization of Society focuses. Else, take the Second Man of the State for the military bonuses and proceed along the Sanation Right tree.
The Sanation Right
Taking the Triumph of OZN focus will lead to Edward Rydz-Smigly taking charge. His military focus in HOI4 will allow Poland to choose to move to fascism or remain non-aligned. Out of all leaders, Rydz-Smigly is the only one who can unlock the Polish Revanchism path, which allows Poland to reconquer its old border by force.
Between fascism and non-aligned, it is better to keep Rydz-Smigly on the non-aligned side, as it gives good bonuses that can be stacked. Weirdly enough, choosing fascism will keep Rydz-Smigly’s bonuses, including the non-aligned support, which will prove to be a pain in the rear.
The Sanation Left
Completing the A New King in the Castle focus will see Walery Slawek take control of Poland in HOI4. His path will allow Poland to remain non-aligned or go democratic. Like the previous issue mentioned above, remaining non-aligned will see the weekly democratic support prove an annoyance and vice versa, but this is much more manageable than the fascist path.
There are no exclusive paths here, but Poland HOI4 players can either enter into an alliance with Romania or join the Allies at the end of this path.
The Dictatorship Remains
The weakest out of all three possible paths, continuing the dictatorship gives no bonus whatsoever to the leader and follows the same path as the Sanation Left.
The Monarchical Paths for Poland in HOI4
In this tree, we’ll go through all five different monarchical paths. To start off, before doing the starting focuses, take the Assemble a Regency Council and the Fulfill the 5th of November Act focus to finally decide on a monarch. Once the latter is complete, you’ll have the following options:
- The Commonwealth Candidate
- The Habsburg Candidate
- The Romanian Candidate
- The Cossack Candidate
There is a fifth path, but the candidate will only appear when all other candidates have been declined twice. And who is this candidate? Anastasia Romanov.
It’s also worth noting that if Germany goes the monarchical path, a Polish monarchy can ally with them.
The Commonwealth Candidate
King Friedrich’s path focuses on uniting with Lithuania and restoring the Commonwealth. This would most likely lead to war with the Soviet Union due to the fact that most of their old territory is now in Soviet hands. A good strategy is to wait until the Baltic countries finish some industry focus so that when you take over, you gain those factories as well.
The Romanian Candidate
Most likely the easiest path out of all, this should be fairly simple with the annexation of Romania. Combine the two industries and manpower, and you should be able to focus on the Soviet Union while it is still weakened by the purges. You can offer Danzig to the Germans to give you more time to focus on Russia, but this is more of a personal choice as to whether you prefer a challenge or not.
The Habsburg Candidate
This path focuses more on dealing with the Germans first and then the Russians. You can ally with or subjugate both the Hungarians and Czechs to reform Habsburg control of Central Europe. This will be a harder challenge than most thanks to the Germans having the best military in Europe. Still, with easy micromanaging and a couple of desperate defense abilities, victory may be in the bag.
The Cossack Candidate
The only path to a possible fascist puppet state, the Bermontian path, is a path of near chaos and conquest. Germany is the main foe here, as the puppet focus does not grant any bonus apart from the roleplaying value. A good strategy here is to finish the The Between the Seas Concept focus, gaining allies, and focusing on outflanking the Germans on a lot of fronts.
The Romanov Candidate
A genuine easter egg, this path will see Poland take over Russia in HOI4 and recreate the Russian Empire with Empress Anastasia at its head. A key note in this path is to attack the Russians while they are down but not capitulate to them if you have not claimed Russia (the Claim Russia focus), because if they surrender before you take that focus, you will be locked out of the later paths.
Dealing with the Germans – How to Defeat Germany as Poland in HOI4
Unfortunately, dealing with the Germans as Poland in HOI4 won’t be easy, as between them and the Soviet Union, they are definitely the harder nut to crack. Especially since their military is more technologically advanced than ours.
Start off with Plan West. This focus is key to fighting off the Germans, as we’ll look to beat them in a game of attrition and micromanaging. The key here is to build forts, defend them behind rivers and other natural obstacles, and then push carefully when possible.
Obviously, the key here is to finish Plan West. Ideally, if we can take East Prussia, it would erase a huge burden off our flanks, but the Germans will defend this territory fiercely, so again, be cautious as to not give the Germans any advantage.
The best line of defense would be to start from Katowice and go to Bialystok. Poznan and Danzig would be too hard to defend, as they both offer flanking opportunities for the Germans. Again, build as many forts as you can and keep holding the line until an opportunity for a counterattack or small flanking movements emerge.
Dealing with the Soviets – How to Defeat the Soviet Union as Poland in HOI4
Admittedly, the easier of the two to deal with, thanks to their debuffs during the Great Purge. The goal here for Poland to win in HOI4 is to slowly wear down the Soviets, then launch encircling attacks at their flanks to get rid of their divisions. Taking Plan East is a great start.
The best strategy here is to get rid of the Soviet Union before dealing with Germany. Playing non-historical can help here, as there may be a revolt inside Russia that can greatly improve our chances of beating the Russian colossus, though this can cause some issues with your achievements.
It’s also likely that you can take the offensive against the Soviets, as if their debuffs bring even their stability down, it’ll be a lot easier for you to break them.
If you require a defensive line to fall back upon, it may be wise to abandon Wilejka and some of the open plains tiles. Since we do not have rivers to fall back upon like in the West, we will need to utilize the forest, hills, and any forts we have built to hold the Soviets back.
And that is all you need to know about how to fight and surive as Poland in HOI4. Check out other interesting HOI4 guides and articles:
- HOI4 (Hearts of Iron IV): Ethiopia Guide – How to Win
- HOI4 (Hearts of Iron IV): How to Naval Invade
- HOI4 (Hearts of Iron IV): How to Unlock Papal States
