Winning in Prussia, Restoring Kaiserreich Tentative Guide
I've seen some people asking how to achieve a majority in GTS and managed to do it twice in a row, so I figured I would type it out for the interested. There are probably ways to achieve faster/easier.
Game start
We are going to keep our advisors the same until we have achieved a DVP-CVP coalition after the 1932 elections, and we are going to spam the following actions until we get Stergerwald elected as Z leader.
- Westarp: Negotiate with DVP and Zentrum. After Stergerweld is elected, I either fundraised or used the cabinet card, depending on what was needed.
- Jung: Reach out to Catholics (This increases our vote share of Catholics and (I believe) also moderately boosts our relations with Z)
- Lambach: Organize workers
- Class: Lean on Pan-German League, Agitate for union with Austria.
We don't have much to do prior to Westarp's election as Chairman in particular, but we want to be sure to have one resource left over for the princely estates referendum. Here is what to pick for party affairs, I don't know that any of them are a must other than Party relations (but we have time to pick up enough of those).
- Campaigning : Workers
- Pan-German League: Agitate for Union OR Fundraise if you need cash
- Ideology: Christian Social
- Stahlheim: Free agitation
- Landbund: Promise protectionism and/or lobby leadership
- Women's Committee: Attack morality.
When we can pull the referendum campaigning card, campaign with bourgeois parties.
Sideline Hugenberg after the leadership election
We can now take actions with the Lander.
Thuringia: Appease agricultural interests. Repeat until you have integrated the RLB. After, prosecute KPD (repeat)
Wurttenburg: Apply the lessons of the Schwarz-Blau Coalition (necessary for CVP). After, wait until the Z leadership election to negotiate a Concordat with the church (also necessary for CVP). ONLY AFTER THESE TWO HAVE COMPLETED, crackdown on SPD newspaper repeatedly.
Mecklenburg: Invite the Grand Duke back. After, prop up rye prices until you have integrated RLB. After, crackdown on agricultural unions.
Bavaria: Bavaria starts with an agenda already active. After it has completed, make a pledge of federalism to the BVP. After, Stahlheim cooperation.
If we have done everything right, we should get the option to save the Luther cabinet. Let it fall. It is difficult to meet our government burdens with the low number of ministries we are allowed, handicapping us electorally.
The Arbeitsgemeinschaf should pass narrowly without us ever having to spend resources on DVP relations.
When asked, Join Heldt's Saxon Government. Spam repeatedly Reichsbanner repression.
The Unity List may lose in Thuringia, I won in one playthrough but lost in another.
We will now be prompted to join the Marx Cabinet. Take the following ministries:
- Labor
- Interior
- Economic
- Agriculture
Government priority:
- Primary: Agrarians
- Secondary: Labor and Mittelstand
There are a couple unique cards/options we need to take here.
Labor Affairs: Support the 8 hour workday
Agriculture: Impose Price floors (-1 budget)
Beyond those, here's what to do for our other government cards:
Labor: Strengthen unemployment once, then encourage Christian unions.
Interior: Promote nationalist education.
Economic: Support heavy industry if you have the budget, if not, deregulate small and medium businesses.
Agriculture: Restructure estates if you have budget, if not enact voluntary resettlement program for as long as it is free.
I NEVER click the Reichswehr pressure card, just leave it there.
When the Nuremberg Rally triggers, we should be the largest party in the polls.
We will lose the Bremen elections, but should do well enough that the SPD and DDP are forced to coalition with the Hausbesitzer.
Reich School Law
When prompted, call for new elections. The RLB should be integrated prior to next election.
Only fund one battleship.
You should be able to form a Center-Right Coalition after the elections, not a Burgerblock.
Take all of the same ministries as last time, adding Foreign.
We Monarchismus triggers, choose "we cannot win elections off of nostalgia"
When the Prussian Elections Occur, we should be able to form a Center-right coalition. Give the leadership to Stergerwald.
Wurttenberg Elections should end in a Burgerblock.
Prussia Actions: Allow Imperial flag, Protect right-wing student organizations, purge police.
This is a good place to save ahead of our leadership election. Lambach must be elected. If he is not, reload until you pull an ideology card and use advisor action to build up the movement instead of organizing workers.
For foreign, sign the customs union with Austria and befriend Fascist Italy. After, keep a card handy to gain territory when you are able.
I also recommend saving AFTER the leadership election. If stergerwald is not elected soon after the DNVP contest, see if you can't reload and improve relations further to get him.
After Stergerweld's election, Hugenberg will likely split. Oh well.
We should win the Mecklenberg Elections.
When the Young Plan is triggered, be sure to have 3 resources to launch a referendum against it.
Baden: You mayyyy be able to lower SPD support enough to force Z to let you into the Zentrum-led government, they had a majority of 50.1% in my playthrough, but its fine if not, we will get Baden soon with the CVP anyway.
Thuringia: On both of my playthroughs, I lost this election, but as I am making this I just got a Landbund-led coalition with NSDAP toleration when I had forgotten to integrate the RLB so... maybe don't integrate them? Not sure if its the right strat beyond this one election.
Push for the Corporatist Plan and implement it when you are able.
Be cycling through Party Cards to hold the Monarchist Convention. Once it has been held, we should be able to negotiate the CVP. As far as I am aware, the actual terms of the unification are irrelevant, but I always make sure to push for Lambach as leader.
Keep your eye on the Foreign Affairs card, we should naturally be able to unify with Austria without us supporting the Reichswehr ahead of the presidential election.
Try to unify with Z ahead of 1932 election. You should win the presidential election handily.
The reichstag election mayyy be a little more difficult. On one playthrough, I had to have new elections twice. The other, I was able to secure a majority in the first. The Kaiserreich event should trigger automatically. This leaves you a little less than two years of in game time to focus on bringing the other territories into the fold.