How to get achievement "The Pope? How many Divisions does he have?"(ENG)

The guide was translated into English by the author of the same Russian guide. This is the first guide (on my guesses) to getting an achievement from the new DLS for our favorite strategy. The author describes his gaming experience, game mechanics and how to save time for those who want to get this achievement. The achievement itself refers us to a phrase attributed to Joseph Stalin, said at a conference with the French Foreign Minister. When asked about the possibility of easing religious pressure in the USSR for Catholics, the Great Leader answered in his characteristic ironic manner (with a pretense of thoughtfulness). The phrase itself carries the idea that only that has weight, behind which there is real power. The achievement itself depicts a soldier of the Swiss guard, the protection of the Pope (recognizable by striped clothing), fighting against a Soviet tank with a halberd. “Absurd,” the players will say, but the guardsmen really have only the remnants of a medieval arsenal from their weapons.

The essence of achievement

Achievement has only one condition - the capture of Rome by at least one division for the USSR. At first glance, there is nothing complicated about it. Make the landing or from the start make your way to the borders of the Duce. But, as you know, the devil is in the details: firstly, Italy is impossible for a sea landing (the Bosphorus is blocked by Turkey), secondly, Italy is too far away for an airborne landing, and thirdly, the new mechanics of Comrade Stalin's paranoia anyway requires the destruction of the army, which, together with the new supply system, will not allow waging a long war, fourthly, most of our neighbors have guarantees from strong powers, which is why they cannot become bridgeheads for landing in Italy (or rather, they can, but we are looking the easiest and safest way). It remains either to wait for the strengthening of the power of the USSR until 1945, or to use one trick from this guide ...

Starting conditions and stages of the game

We start the game, of course, in Ironman. We leave the historical tricks so that our well-oiled path is not spoiled by some regular monarch with claims to world domination. The achievement gives us the opportunity to change the government in the Land of the Soviets, but we will not do this, since it is long and unnecessary. The USSR is already ready militarily and industrially to carry out the landing in Italy, it remains only to get a foothold.
The main stages of the game:

1) Pre-war preparation
2) War with Bulgaria
3) Airborne operation to Italy
4) Implementation of the disembarkation plan

I Stage. Pre-war training or everything for the Airborne Forces

The first stage is characterized by the necessary preparation of the army and aviation for the implementation of an airborne assault on Italy. To do this, we perform the following actions:
1) According to national focuses, we choose political branches to smooth out Stalin's paranoia. This mechanic leads us to the actual elimination of the army for some time, but we do not allow any invasion of the military. You can destroy any commanders offered to you in the events, they are not particularly useful to us. Maintain a consistently low paranoia and do not purge the army.
2) In terms of technology, focus on infantry equipment and production.
3) An important position: in production, put 15 military factories on fighters and 5 factories on transport aircraft. Without them, our landing will not work. You can distribute the rest evenly (I left the emphasis on infantry equipment).
4) Once you have accumulated 50 political power, start preparing the target of the war against Bulgaria (it takes 250 days).
5) Disband all mountain rifle divisions and start training airborne forces.

II Stage. War with Bulgaria or Bulgaria under protection

Bulgaria is a very convenient country for landing in Italy. Since she is neutral and has no guarantees from other countries, her capture will not be difficult even on an autoplane. Allocate 10 divisions for the naval landing (take 1 tank, 3 cavalry and 6 infantry) and start preparing a naval invasion from Odessa to the upper port of the Kingdom. At the same time, start preparing an air landing at the lower port (transfer fighters and transport planes to an airport closer to Bulgaria). Do not start the landing of the Airborne Forces (do not click on the green checkmark in the plans). Transfer any 20 divisions to Sevastopol as the main forces of the offensive against Bulgaria. Activate the Black Sea Fleet for a naval invasion. Once the target of the war is ready, start the war. Immediately start preparing a pretext for war with Italy. It will save you extra minutes.
Our troops are sent to take the seaport, survive the forced offensive from the commander and wait for the enemy's approach to the defense of the port. As soon as you notice the departure of the guard of the second port, activate the landing of the airborne forces. The paratroopers quickly seize the lower port and begin to hold back the counterattacks of the Bulgarian army, transfer 20 reserve divisions to the bridgehead. In general, now you can safely attack across the country. Bulgaria is not yet strong, because its forces are too weak for our kulak.
According to the peace conference, you can make Bulgaria a puppet (then you will have to call her to the war with Italy) or take its territory for yourself.

III Stage. Airborne operation to Italy or the search for a needle in a haystack

Now the most difficult operation in our party remains - the landing of the Airborne Forces in Italy and the capture of Rome. Try to reform the Airborne Forces template by adding additional battalions (up to 9 per division). Transfer aviation to Sofia, direct it to gain superiority. Crucial: Try to maximize the presence of aviation in the Italian region, as Italians will join the alliance with Germany, which leads tounnecessary problems in the skies. ... Through trial and error, I found the most convenient landing site - it is shown in the screenshot. It is an airport near Naples. In general, you can immediately send your troops to it or carry out several distracting landings deep into the enemy's territory (I lost up to 20 divisions while looking for the vulnerability of Mussolini's defense).

IV Stage. Implementation of the landing plan or who is the pope?

The matter remains with the fulfillment of our achievement - the landing in Rome. As soon as our paratroopers reached the Italian airport, slow down (so as not to miss the moment of the attack) and transfer the transport planes to the airport. You should have enough time to deploy aircraft and prepare a new landing, but this time in Rome. In my case, the Airborne Forces went to carry out an operation under enemy attacks. You may not be able to do this the first time, so try a combination of landings or create distracting landings to divert enemy forces. Do not surrender after the destruction of paratroopers or aircraft, but still try to seize Rome at any cost (in the case of the USSR).
Total: we got the achievement in just two in-game years.

Completing the achievement

Under the wise leadership of Comrade Stalin, the fraternal Bulgarian people received liberation from the tsarist dictatorship, the great purges did not affect the army, the Soviet paratroopers instilled fear throughout Italy, and the Pope himself was (apparently) taken to Moscow for a personal conversation with the Leader. Now Stalin can rest, knowing that there will be one legitimate head of the church in the world ... And the history books will include this story about how the Father (of the Nations) defeated the Pope (of Rome).

Conclusion

Thanks for watching my tutorial. The author asks to indicate in the comments all the inaccuracies of his guide, suggestions for improving the guide, and most importantly - whether you received an achievement for it.

[Nurgle]

Nice guide. But your family remains in gulag for selling potatoes

[Gun Metal Grey]

@ocodes
>Buchanan <- Bukharin

am*rican moment

[Fredericks]

The path for Bukharin is interesting. But we are in favor of accuracy (and spit on statistics)

[ocodes]

Made Buchanan the leader of the soviets, went to war with german empire, during which they assassinated Musolini. Was able to push into Europe and got the achievement day one of the dlc. Still haven't gotten any of the other new ones tho :P

[Fredericks]

Serve the Soviet Union

[BirdyRaven]

You're made Comrade Stalin proud!!

[Fredericks]

Thanks for checking

[Gun Metal Grey]

This worked perfectly, thanks a lot!