The Winter War
Hampered by the poor weather and strong Finnish resistance, Soviet offensives slowed into December. The beating that Tuckhachevsky took in Sortavala proved the Soviets would not have their ‘blitzkrieg’ that Stalin desperately wanted. Instead they choose battles they knew they could win. The Red Banner Baltic Fleet, under Grand Admiral Viktorov, secured the waters off Mariehamn in preparation for a Soviet invasion. There they came under attack from the Finnish fleet on December 8th in Aelands Hav. The Soviet fleet, with the Battleships Gamgut and Marat easily chased the Finns back into the Mariehamn port. Upon securing the island, the Moscova Defense Corps managed to capture the badly damaged cruisers Vainamoinen and Illmarinen on December 10th, along with 2 destroyer flotillas and a submarine flotilla as well.

Blucher found a weakness in the Finnish front, and invaded Mikkeli with the 10ya Armiya and the 1st Armor group. The Finns were able to re-enforce their garrisons before Blucher could arrive in Mikkeli, doubling the size of the force he thought he was up against. Still, the Soviets outnumbered the Finns nearly 4-1 in troops, and after several days of intense Finnish defense, Mikkeli fell to Blucher on December 22nd. Blucher dug in and secured the province while waiting for Tuchachevsky to mobilize towards Mikkeli in preparation for an offensive into Helsinki.

In the north the Western Air Command was upgraded with two more SB-2 Tactical Bomber squadrons, and launched a month of constant bombing raids into Finland, concentrating on Petsamo in preparation for an invasion by the 7ya Armiya in mid January.

Research
In December Soviet scientists developed ‘Improved Electromagnetic Computers’ which decreased both research costs and time and the Army developed ‘120mm+ Howitzer’ increasing the attack capabilities of the infantry.

Germany’s Western Front
By November 30th, Belgium was occupied by German forces, after the last of Belgian resistance fell in Antwerpen, leaving their forces to scramble across the border in preparation for the defense of France. The forests around Chaumont helped slow the German offensive into France, and the German forces were repulsed back into Belgium the next day. By December 12th, however, the German offensive around the Ardennes Forest had captured almost every French province east from Seine River, and threatened Paris. Reims fell on the 27th, and as the French mobilized their forces in defense of her capital, Lyon fell to the Italians on the 29th. Only the intervention of Yugoslavia would prevent the fall of Paris in December.

The Yugoslavian Struggle
Yugoslavia struggled to remain neutral through the beginning months of the war; however on December 6th they succumbed to German pressure and signed the Tripartite Pact, aligning them with the Axis Powers. Three days later, however, an anti-axis military coup overthrew the government, claiming the throne and declaring war against their former allies. German forces were forced to divert forces from the French front which caused a disastrous push into Paris to crumble to fierce French resistance. Italian forces were forced to mobilize east as well after pushing into Lyon in the south of France. As both Axis superpowers diverted attention to the upstart Yugoslavians, France was able to collect her breath and reinforce positions south of the Seine River.

While the Yugoslavs were not able to mount an offensive against the Germans, they were able to invade Italian controlled Albania, freeing Tirane. By January, however, the Yugoslavians had lost Ljubljana to a combined German-Italian force, and were in a fierce defensive struggle against the German/Italians from the West and Hungarians and Bulgarians from the East.

African War
Although the Italian navy was able to score some successful victories against the Royal Navy, the British continued to roll over the Italian armies in northern Africa, taking Aujilla on December 9th. With Yugoslavia joining the Allies, the Italians and Germans were forced to pull forces back to protect their boarders, leaving no reinforcements for the African divisions. Five days later Bengazhi fell to the Allies, leaving the Axis with only 1 port in Africa at Tripoli. Having lost almost all her empire to combined French, British, and Yugoslavian invasions while the Germans were invincibly annexing provinces from those same nations, the Italians suffered even greater embarrassment when the UK successfully invaded Sicily on December 26th, capturing Siracusa.

Sino-Japanese War
The Japanese forces moved quickly to reclaim Tainjin, before winter set in putting a halt to all offenses during December. A Nationalist Chinese counter-attack failed to stop the offensive, and in mid December they reclaimed the province that the Nationalist forces had liberated months before. The Chinese were now completely land locked by Japanese occupation.

Chapter Five: The Patriotic War (1940)

By 1940, the Soviet industry was fully committed to war, and no infrastructure or new industry projects were initiated. However, territorial claims on Poland and Romania as well as occupation of Finland had increased their IC to 490. Although they had not achieved the quick victory over Finland that Stalin wanted, the Red Army had secured notable victories in 1939, both in Finland and China. The Germans had quickly shown the world the "new mobilized war", and the Soviets reaffirmed their commitment to building up their Armor divisions and strengthening their infantry for the coming year. The Germans had also surpassed the Soviets in Army Size in 1939, although the Soviets had a larger armor force.

1940 Almanac

Stalin made one minister change, replacing Minister of Security Genrikh Yagoda with Sergej Uritskiy (Crime Fighter) to deal with the growing dissension within the USSR.
Dissent -3%

National Army Comparison
Soviets rank 2nd, 102 Infantry divisions, 4 Cavalry Div, 3 Motorized Div, 19 Armor divisions, 11 Mountain Div, 139 Total divisions.
Top 5: Germany (165), Soviets (139), France (127), UK (116), USA (111)

National Navy Comparison
Soviets rank 5th, 3 Battleships, 6 Cruisers, 10 Destroyer Groups, 18 submarines flotillas, 6 transport flotilla.
Top 5: USA(114), UK (113), Japan(93), Italy(49), Soviets (43)

National Air Force Comparison
Soviets rank 7th, 8 fighter squadrons, 4 tact bomber squadrons
Top 5: USA (62), Japan (35), Germany (34), UK (34), Italy (27)

Economic Information
Total IC: 490.0
Daily Production for:
Coal: 1337.0 units
Steel: 725.0 units
Rubber: 0.0 units
Oil: 246.0 units

Manpower: 348.0 units

Has anyone else found airpower to be all that important in this game? Beyond a few fighter squadrons for home defense, I've not seen the airpower be of much use.

Lokugh

I think airpower was all too powerful when the original version was released, but they have got it right about now. Tactical bombers and dive bombers are great for military support. Start bombing a couple of weeks before your attack, and the target will be soft by the time your forces get there. I also believe that navy bombers and dive bombers can score critical hits on ships, so they're very useful in naval combat (don't quote me on that though). Strategic bombers are useless IMO, due to their high cost and their low defense. Still a combined strategic bombing campaign could bring a smaller nation to it's knees.

The Winter War

The Petsamo Disaster
After a month long bombing campaign against Finnish defenses in Petsamo, the 7ya Armiya marched into Petsamo on January 16th. Expecting to find only the scattered remains of the Finnish forces, they were instead meet by an intense winter storm and sizeable Finnish resistance. The Finnish forces were battered from the constant bombs, but were still organized enough to put up a difficult defense, and along with the poor weather had caused enough damage to the Soviet planes, that the bombing raids had stopped a couple of days leading up to the invasion.

General Apanasenko’s troops were not adequately prepared for the battle. While the Finns were scattered and suffered heavy casualties in the bombing raids, they had superior winter training and equipment. With the SB-2’s on the ground, the Finns gained the upper hand on the invading army, although they were outnumbered over 2-1, and Apanasenko found his army devastated in the opening days of the invasion by the weather as much as the Finns. Apanasenko made a desperate plea for the bombing campaign to continue on January 18th, to which it did, but it was not enough to save the invasion and on January 20th, Apanasenko limped home with barely 1/6th of his army intact.

The Invasion of Helsinki
The crux of the Finnish army centered their defenses around Helsinki, with enough anti aircraft batteries that a bombing campaign was useless, never mind suicidal for the Soviet pilots. Blucher had absorbed Zhukov’s 2nd Armor Group into the 1st Northern Army in preparation for the advance on Helsinki. Still pockets of Finnish resistance remained scattered throughout the country, and Blucher was concerned about his supply lines if he continued to advance towards Helsinki. The disaster in Petsamo showed the Field Marshall that even with sizeable odds in the Soviets favor, the Finns were proving difficult to handle. A repeat of the Petsamo invasion could spell total collapse for the Red Army.

Blucher requested more divisions from Moscow, including adding another Armiya to the war to protect his flank. Stalin was furious. He had already committed more bombers from the East, and even a few newly created divisions that he had wanted elsewhere, and refused Blucher’s request. Stalin wanted the war over and not by throwing the entire Red Army at the ‘pathetic’ Finns; he wanted it done by superior weapons and techniques. Unfortunately for Blucher, it was the Finns that held the superior weapons and techniques.

Blucher once again proved too crafty for the Finns though, despite his difficulties. Blucher moved the 10ya Armiya and the 2nd Armor Group towards Helsinki from Mikkeli while the 5ya Armiya under General Eremenko moved towards Helsinki from the south of Viipuri. Had the Finns attacked south from Juensuu or Sortavala, they would have easily overrun the Soviet supply lines, and the Helsinki invasion would have stopped dead in its tracks. However Blucher made Tukhachevsky mobilize towards Sortavala in a feint maneuver while the 1st Armor group mobilized towards the East of Sortavala. Instead of attacking the Soviet weak spots, the Finns mobilized in preparation for the attack on Sortavala, which would never come. On January 26th, Tukhachevsky pulled his 3ya Armiya back just as Blucher was entering Helsinki, and the Finns had lost the advantage.

The swift pincher-like attack closed in on the strong Finnish defenses around the city, and by the end of the 1st day of fighting, the Finns were forced to pull back into the city. They were seriously outnumbered by the Soviet forces, and the terrain and weather offered no advantages as it had in previous encounters. Zhukov’s 2nd Armor Group with the T-60’s plowed through Finnish defenses and on January 28th, captured the city and government, followed closely by the 10ya and 5ya Armiyas. Of the 6 divisions that defended the city, only 2 remained at 1/3 strength. The Soviets finally had their decisive victory.

In light of the destruction and fleeing Finnish forces, the Finnish government capitulated on January 30th.

Effects of the War
A pro-Soviet government was established in Helsinki and it joined the Cominterm as a puppet regime. The Soviets had annexed the provinces they originally requested at the beginning of the war, namely Petsamo, Viipuri and Sortavala. Mikkili and Helsinki were returned to Finnish control.

The 3 month war had shown the Soviets the weaknesses in their Red Army; that the separate armor divisions continued to prove their value, although their effectiveness was lost in the rough weather and terrain; that the Soviet Armies needed effective winter training; and that the air force was in a serious need of upgrading. However, they had won the war, and by mid February had assumed military control of the Finnish forces. Stalin no longer needed to worry about an offensive through Finland in the north.

Great read, Klayman. Just wanted to let you know!

This got me to buy the game. Now if I could figure the damn thing out. Oh well.

Thanks Sach. :)


Feel free to ask any questions. You can also check out the Paradox HoI-FAQ to answer many questions.

Research
Following the war, the Soviets embarked on several technological breakthroughs. In January the air force completed 'Early War Combat Testing' allowing advancement on new air warfare doctrines, while the armed forces developed 'Combat Medical Service', modernizing medical services to the front lines. By February of 1940, the Soviets had developed 'Assault Guns & Tank Destroyers' (allowing for more advanced tanks), 'Improved Decimetric Radar' (further advancing radar), 'Basic Aviation and Anti-Air Radar' (combining air warfare and radar), and 'Basic Tank Gun Ammunition' (specifically designed armor piercing ammunition).

Invasion of France

South of France
As the Italians had watched their empire crumble in the late winter months of 1939, they pushed west against the French to exact their revenge. The French army was seriously depleted in the south, as by January 1940, their main concern had been the defense of Paris. The Italian Mountain troops were able to push through the Maritime Alps as far as the Rhone River, taking Lyon on December 29th, and Marseilles, Toulon, and Grenoble in early January. However, once past the Alps, the Italians faired as poorly as they did in the African desert, and a French counter-offensive had pushed the Italians back to the Alps, retaking Marseilles and Lyon by mid February.

North of France
The Germans had reached the Seine River by December 1939, but found taking Paris to be a whole other matter. The need to divert troops to the Yugoslavian uprising, caused a poorly manned offensive into Paris to be crushed by superior French forces in late December. The German offensive reorganized, and another attempt was made on Paris in late February, but it proved just as ineffective in the late winter. The only territorial gains the Germans were able to accomplish through the first three months of 1940 was capturing Chaumont. The early success of the German’s offensive around the Ardennes had come to an abrupt halt.

Yugoslavia vs the Axis Powers
By late January, the Yugoslavs had pushed the Italians out of Albania, capturing Vlore on January 22. The Germans had redirected their air force into the defense against British bombing, and as such the Yugoslavians and French forces were able to achieve air superiority over the weakened Italian air force, scoring several key victories. However, by early February, the armed forces redirected from the French front began securing territory against the Yugoslavs, capturing Rijeka, Zagreb, and Osijek by February 1st. The Yugoslavs prevented an offensive into Split and held back the Hungarians at Beograd in early February, but a combined German/Italian forced pushed south capturing Banja Luka and Split by the end of the month.

The End of the African War
By January the British had the Italians on the run, making their last stand at Tripoli. Days before, the UK forces ran over Makale, the last remaining Ethiopian province in Italy’s possession. On January 14th, the British removed the remaining pieces of the Italian army, destroying several Italian divisions in Tripoli. With the African War over, the British forces looked to an invasion of Italy itself.

The Italian conflict
With half of Sicily already secured, the UK made an amphibious assault on the beaches of Napoli on February 4th. The invasion was a complete disaster, throwing the British back into the Mediterranean Sea and seriously jeopardizing the gains they had made. The Italians launched a quick counter attack against Siracusa, poor only in it’s execution and were thrown back, however reorganized and by the end of February were able to mount a successful operation to reclaim Sicily from the British.

The end of Latvia and Estonia
After the Winter war, the 2 northern armies were dispersed along the Polish/USSR border, with a majority of the forces in the northern Baltic region. After several border clashes (instigated by the Soviets), the Soviets mobilized against Latvia and Estonia, claiming the two nations had set up a secret anti-Soviet military alliance. After tense negotiations both governments of the Baltic provinces resigned, and the Soviets annexed them into the USSR. On February 19th, 1940, the Soviets held national elections in both countries where each had only one Soviet sponsored candidate running, and as such each became constituent republics of the USSR.

Sino-Japanese War
Although the Kwantung Army was stopped in the north by Communist Chinese and Soviet forces, the Japanese forces in the south of China continued to score success after success against the Nationalist forces. On January 24th, they pushed north capturing Zhengzhou, and by early March had captured Hengyang and Guilin from Nationalist forces. As the winter ground thawed, the Japanese forces began mobilizing West in an attempt to remove the Nationalist from China.

By March 1940, the prospects of winning the war were shaky at best for the Axis Powers. The Kriegsmarine had been eliminated by the Royal Navy, and the Luftwaffe was too busy defending Germany from British and French bombing to poise any offensive threat. The German invasion of France had stalled at the gates of Paris, as the French threw in everything they had to stop the German war machine. The Italians had watched their empire crumble in a few short months of war, and were now occupied with the sole purpose of keeping Allied troops from landing in Italy.

The Soviets, secure in their non-aggression pact with Germany, remained indifferent to the European War. Stalin had no love for Nazi Germany, but he also didn’t want the Allied powers combining to defeat the Germans as well, knowing that he would more than likely be their next target.

By the summer of 1940, however, that would all change…

storm clouds on the horizion...

The End of Yugoslavia
The Yugoslavs had put up a brave and unexpected defense of their country. They withstood both the Hungarians and Bulgarians from the East, but by March had felt the full wrath of the German Army placed upon them. On the March 13th, the Germans took Sarajevo, the Yugoslav capital, and the Yugoslav Army moved into a state of perpetual retreat. By the end of the month, Kraljevo, Nis, and Novi Pasar had also fallen to German control, and it looked certain that the Yugoslavian Army would not hold out past April. The Yugoslavians mounted an all or nothing defense in Podogrica, and withstood the Germans for several weeks of intense fighting, but by April 19th, the Germans proved victorious, and by May 3rd, had liberated Italian Albania from the Yugoslavs, annexing Yugoslavia into Germany.

A week later, Hitler gave Croatia their Independence in accordance to the Croatians policing the Serbs and Chetniks in the former Yugoslavia, and on May 8th, Croatia joined the Axis Powers, joining Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Italy.

The Fall of France
By early March, the French counter-offensive on Italy had run out of steam as reinforcements were continually shuffled to the defense of Paris. When the Italians broke the Southern Front again, re-taking Marseilles on March 22nd, there were no reserves to throw the Italians back into the Alps as happened in 1939. By late April the Italians had pushed through Nimes, Montpellier, and Rodez, and were threatening Toulouse.

In the north the Germans continued to lay siege outside of Paris, unable to break the French Defenses. In late March, a southern offensive secured Troyes, and by May the Germans had taken Nancy and Dijon, cutting off a sizeable French force still patrolling the Maginot line. On May 21st, the French won a decisive battle in Saint Etienne, stopping the German offensive southward, but the Germans turned north, and on June 4th took Auxerre. After over a bloody week of fighting, the northern push marched through Paris on June 14th.

Paul Renaud resigned after the fall of France’s beloved capital, and Henri Petain, the French hero of the Great War, replaced him. On June 17th, Petain sued Germany for an armistice to prevent further destruction to France. The price was heavy, as the German’s occupied all of Northern France, and Petain’s government set up with Vichy the capital of unoccupied France. The Vichy France government followed a principle of cooperation with the Germans and joined the Axis Powers, although Italy refused to return the territory they had captured in the south.

The Italians
The Italians had evicted the British from Sicily in late February of 1940, but with the Italians thoughts on the spoils of French territory, the British were able to secure Siracusa once again in late March, much to the disgust of Mussolini. As the war in France came to a close, Mussolini could devote his full attention to Sicily, but constant invasion attempts in Taranto and Roma by Commonwealth forces based in Africa prevented reinforcements from arriving on the island, and by late August, the British had captured Messina, securing the entire island.
Mussolini’s failure in Africa quickly became a problem for Vichy France as well. Not only were the Commonwealth countries basing their attacks on Italy from Africa, they were now free to move into French African territories in order to liberate them, with little or no resistance.


Sino-Japanese War
What was once thought as a quick victory for Japanese forces was coming around to its 4th year of conflict. The Kwantung could not penetrate the mostly Soviet forces in the Communist held northern China, while the southern army’s advance on the Nationalist forces was turning out to be a slow and laborious affair. In March, Stalin ordered the Soviet forces on the move in an attempt to break the standoff. Mao objected, insisting that they had the upper hand in the battle of attrition, but Stalin won out and the Soviet forces invaded a weakly defended Zhangjiakou on March 14th. By the 22nd the quick attack turned east, and Jinzhou had fallen to the Soviet offensive, and China was connected to the sea once again. Throughout April, the Soviet forces came under heavy counter attack as the Japanese tried to retake the port unsuccessfully. The Kwantung army was no match for the superior Red Army.

However, on May 17th, things got suddenly complicated for Stalin and his dreams of a communist Chinese ally. The US threatened the Japanese with an oil embargo unless they withdrew from China. The Japanese refused to withdraw, and President Landon called for a “quarantine against the disease of international aggression.” The Japanese turned to Europe for relief, and found a sympathetic ear in the form of Nazi Germany. A couple of weeks later Japan and Manchukuo joined the Axis and declared war on the Allies.

Stalin was furious. He did not want to see the countries on his opposite borders forming an alliance of any kind, and Landon had forced their hands together. The full might of the Red Army could have expelled the Japanese from China, but that was no longer possible without involving the Germans. By June 18th, the Japanese had coerced Siam into joining the Axis powers as well and had invaded Vietnam.

With the Japanese now concerned with the British in the Far East, the Soviets took advantage, using their Communist Chinese forces to invade Manchukuo. By late August, the 1st Army and the CEF had pushed into Harbin, capturing the Manchukuo capital of Changchun in the process. The Red Army had easily rolled over Manchukuo defenses, but a lack of support by the Communist Chinese forces, forced the Red Army back to cover its supply lines. Gudymenko split his 1st army to cover the territory, while the CEF under Romanenko continued to push forward. It was to prove to be a fatal error. The Kwantung, reinforced and reorganized pushed forward on Soviet weak spots, nearly destroying half of the 1st Army. A forced retreat to Jinzhou came under constant attack, and Gudymenko launched an ill advised counter attack to relieve the pressure, but it only added to the 1st Army’s casualties. By August, Manchukuo forces had recaptured the territory gained by the CEF, and the Japanese forces were threatening the 1st Army in Jinzhou.

In September, Stalin ordered the Soviet forces back into the USSR. The lack of support by the Chinese forces left him little choice as he needed to defend his northern borders against Japanese aggression. He had fulfilled his objectives in the Sino-Japanese conflict, and had managed to turn an estimated 1 year Japanese victory into a 4 year standoff. There was little doubt that this move signaled the end of China however.

With the withdrawal of the Soviet forces, the Japanese were free to roam against the Chinese forces. By October they had reclaimed Zhanjiakou and Junzhou, and had launched a successful invasion of Hong Kong. Only the coming winter stalled their invasion further.

By July of 1940, the words “Operation: Barbarossa” were being mentioned around the military circles of the Red Army. Barbarossa was a supposed invasion of the USSR by German forces. Stalin dismissed the intelligence reports as rubbish, refusing to believe that the Germans would turn their attention on the Soviet Union. The Germans had reinforced their front, increasing their army strength in some areas over 4 times the size, while the Soviets armies along the front remained static. The military commanders pleaded with Stalin to move the reserves up to the front lines, but he declined saying there was nothing to worry about from the Germans.

Under German influence, Bolivia (?) joined the Axis powers on July 26. Four days later, the Axis powers declared war on the Netherlands. The massive German armies along the Soviet border dispersed and Stalin looked to be correct.

Netherlands
The Dutch had little chance once the Germans had turned their attention towards them. After serious damage inflected by the Luftwaffe, the German armies ran through the Netherlands in a matter of 18 days, capturing Amsterdam on August 18th. The Dutch government continued to run their territories in exile.

Denmark and Norway
On October 13, the German army turned its attention towards Denmark and Norway. The Danish forces lasted 13 days before capitulating and allowing the Germans to annex Denmark.

The invasion of Norway took longer, since the Royal Navy impeded the Germans advance. But by November 29th, they had established a beachhead on Mo i Rana, and by January had captured Roros, Narvik, Alesund, and Hammerfest.

1940 Presidential Election
The dominant issues were the war in Europe and the US economy. The President had abandoned parts of the New Deal programs but the US economy was improving. Smith started out attacking the administration for abandoning the New Deal and hiding budget deficits by fiscal means but as the campaign went on Smith was more and more pressed and suggested new large New Deal programs. President Landon remained aloof ignoring his opponents until Smith blundered into suggesting that the majority of the American wanted higher taxes. Then he attacked the Democratic Party for trying to implement socialist policies and pledged to keep the United States out of the World War. Landon (Popular Vote: 25775345/Electoral Vote 389). Smith (Popular Vote: 14747221/Electoral Vote 142)

Research (1940)
In March, the Soviets developed new doctrines ‘Combined Arms Warfare Doctrine’ (increasing the armed forces organization, especially motorized and armor divisions) and ‘Combat Training Team Doctrine’ (providing better coordination for fighter squadrons). They also applied ‘Arctic Warfare Equipment’ (increase winter attack/defense) to the infantry, lessons learned from the Winter War. By April a more advanced tank was in the works with the development of ‘Improved Gear’, ‘Improved Suspension’, and ‘Improved Engine’. The Army had also applied ‘Desert Operations Equipment’ (increasing desert movement) to their armor divisions. The air force developed the ‘Airborne Warfare’ theory, allowing for innovative uses of combined air and land forces.

During May, Soviet scientists developed ‘Penicillin, DDT and Mepacrine’ (increasing commando organization), ‘Blood Transfusions’ (increasing the armed forces organization), ‘Infantry Gun 100mm+’ (leading to bigger infantry guns), ‘Medium Mortar’ (increasing infantry ground defense), ‘Improved Decimetric Radar Warning Sites’ (decreasing surprise chance), and a ‘Basic Medium-Range Bomber Prototype Tests’ (leading to more advanced tactical and navy bombers).

In June the ‘Motorized Logistics Organization’ (increased organization) doctrine was applied, as well as ‘Basic Decimetric Anti-Air Artillery Radar’ (increased flak power) and ‘Basic Decimetric Airborne Interceptor Radar’ (increased fighter night attack and detection) being used. The plans for a ‘Basic Short-Range Bomber Engine’ were completed as well as the use of a ‘Anti-Air Gun 70mm+’ (increasing infantry’s air attack and flak power).

In the summer months of July and August, Soviet scientists developed ‘Commando Warfare Equipment’ (increasing commando organization), a ‘Field Artillery Gun 150mm+’ (increasing artillery brigades attack value), ‘Improved Man Portable Radio Sets’ and the ‘Carpet Bombing Doctrine’ (increasing bombers organization). As well the first flights of the ‘Basic Air Transport’ (Lisunov Li-2) and the ‘Basic Tactical Bomber’ (Ilyushin Il-4) took place in August.

By the fall, the now friendly government of Finland had shared their ‘Corps Long-Range Reconnaissance Doctrine’ (increased infantry organization) and ‘Naval Battleship Gun 350mm+’ technologies with us. Soviets scientists also uncovered ‘Front-Line Medical Station’ (increasing defense and organization), ‘Basic Ordinance and Equipment’ (leading to advancements in heavy aircraft), ‘Basic Medium Tank Prototype Tests’, ‘Improved Vehicle Radio Sets’, and ‘Forward Area Logistics Organization’ (increasing attack and organization).

In November, the ‘Basic Light Bomber Prototype Tests’ (leading to torpedo and dive bombers) took place while scientists developed ‘Improved Long-Range Radio Sets’, ‘Improved Fighter Engines’, ‘Advanced Light Tank Prototype Tests’ and ‘Self-Propelled Artillery’.

Closing out the year, the Soviets developed ‘Basic Radio Navigation’, ‘Dive-Drop Bomb Shells’, ‘Light Tank Destroyer (30+mm), ‘Paratrooper Warfare Equipment’ and ‘Basic Medium Tank (40+mm)’ (T-28)

Note: The game uses BT5/BT7 model designation for the medium tank, but the BT5/BT7 models were more or less light tanks, and the T-28 is more or less the predecessor of the T-35 which would be next in line. So I'm using the T-28 instead. My game, my rules :)

T-28...sweet!

Glad you agree Comrade Sachmo :)

Chapter Six: The Patriotic War (1941)

As tensions grew between seemingly the entire world, the Soviets continued to gear for war. Through territorial conquests and claims, their IC climbed to a monstrous high of 533.0. They had spent the better part of 1940 removing the dissent in the population caused by the Winter War, and now that it was stabilized pushed the industrial base even more toward war manufacturing and research.

By late 1940, the Soviets had addressed the short comings revealed in the Winter War. All their fighter squadrons had been upgraded to the new MiG-3 models, and by January the first of the IL-4 Tactical Bombers were rolling off the production lines to replace the outdated SB-2's. The last T-60's were produced in November of 1940, and the assembly lines were being retooled for T-28 production. Despite the lull in armor production, the Soviets still commanded the 2nd largest Armor force in the world (2nd to the Americans).

1941 Almanac

Stalin placed Litvinov back in charge of the Foreign Ministery in an effort to offer more communication between the Comintern

National Army Comparison
Soviets rank 2nd, 137 Infantry divisions, 4 Cavalry Div, 10 Motorized Div, 26 Armor divisions, 11 Mountain Div, 188 Total divisions.
Top 5: Germany (193), Soviets (188), USA (147), Italy (110), Japan (109)

National Navy Comparison
Soviets rank 5th, 3 Battleships, 6 Cruisers, 10 Destroyer Groups, 18 submarines flotillas, 6 transport flotilla.
Top 5: USA(119), Japan(99), UK (81), Italy(44), Soviets (43)

National Air Force Comparison
Soviets rank 7th, 11 fighter squadrons, 3 tact bomber squadrons
Top 5: USA (78), Germany (46), Japan (44), UK (34), Italy (26)

Economic Information
Total IC: 533.0
Daily Production for:
Coal: 1427.0 units
Steel: 775.0 units
Rubber: 0.0 units
Oil: 246.0 units

Manpower: 371.0 units

Through the opening months of 1941, tensions remained high on the Soviets western border. The Germans continued to amass troops along the border, doubling and in some cases tripling their size from what it was just a year ago. Stalin refused to believe that the Germans would launch an attack, but constant prodding by the Generals convinced him to at least bring the Armies up to full strength. Straight through until April, the Soviets matched the Germans in buildup; man for man, tank for tank. Worrying about provoking the Germans seemed pointless when the Soviets were looking across the border at 20 Panzer Divisions.

As the fears of a German invasion increased, Stalin started throwing the weight of the Red Army around, first claiming Kars from Turkey in January, and then all of Lithuania in March.

The War in Norway got off to a great start, but soon ran out of steam and slowed in the winter months. The Germans got to the gates of Oslo, but couldn’t penetrate the city’s defenses, and instead laid siege for the winter. To the north, the Soviets were secretly supplying the Norwegians with technology and supplies through Finland, and it was enough for the Norwegians to hold on to the northern territory of Vardo through the winter. The German invasion had reignited fears of a northern invasion of the USSR through Finland, and accordingly Stalin reorganized the Finnish Army to protect Soviet interests.

In southern Spain, the Germans launched a successful invasion of Gibraltar in early January, capturing the strategic gateway to the Mediterranean. Another invasion at British held Benghazi, in an attempt to regain a foothold for the Axis powers in Africa, was not as successful, and the British continued to hold Northern Africa with little problem.

In the Far East, the Japanese relied on German Strategic Bombers to pound the Nationalist Chinese into submission. The Japanese already had the Nationalists on the run, but supplies of Soviet made anti-air craft guns found their way through Mongolia and Communist China into the hands of the Nationalists, and the bombing runs became increasing more difficult for the Germans. Despite the Nationalists stubborn attitude, their army was for all purposes defeated, and only the rough terrain of the Chinese interior was slowing down the Japanese offensives.

Japan meanwhile had its hands full with the British in the Far East. Although they had securing Hong Kong late in 1940, they were not able to secure ports in Singapore, and the UK moved against Siam in early January. While the British were dealing with the Japanese coming from the north, and the Siamese coming from the east in Burma, the Japanese marines were able to land in India, and by March had taken the Indian capital of Bombay. They were able to secure parts of New Guinea from the Dutch, and made an invasion attempt on Australia in late March that was not successful. The Japanese invasions pushed the US to pass the Lend-Lease bill, providing American munitions and supplies to British forces. The first shipment arrived in the UK on March 12, 1941.

Research
By January, the Red Army had developed ‘Paratrooper Warfare Equipment’, (increasing Paratrooper organization), ‘Improved Infantry Weapons’ (opening up new infantry advances), ‘Air-Land Battle Doctrine’ (increasing the org of fighters, dive bombers, and tactical bombers) and completed tests on ‘Basic Dive Bomber’ (IL-2).

In February they continued advancement in the air force, developing ‘Basic Medium Range Fighter Engines’ and ‘Basic Long Range Fighter Engines’ while also adding the ‘Tank Gun 50mm+’, ‘Improved Tank Gun Ammunition’ (increasing Armor attack values), ‘Multi-Barreled Anti-Air Guns’ (increasing air attack and flak power), and a ‘Anti-tank Gun 70mm+’.

The ‘Light Tank Destroyer (40mm+)’ was produced in March along with ‘Basic Electromechanical Decryption Machines’, ‘Bulldozer’ (increasing the defense of engineers), ‘Anti-Air Gun 80mm+’ (increasing flak power), ‘Basic Submachinegun’ (increasing infantry attack and defense values), and ‘Basic Magnetic AT Mines’ (increasing infantry defense values).

On April 3, 1941 the Germans broke the non-aggression treaty and declared war on the Soviet Union and her allies. The rest of the Axis powers quickly followed suit, and for the second time in the century, the world found itself at war.

Soviet OOB
Western Front

information in brackets is
a) the number of brigades attached (A-Artillery, AA-Anti-Aircraft, AT-Anti-Tank, E-Engineer) or
b) class or model of division/flotilla

Crush those facist bastards into dust!

Give 'em hell, Klayman!

Don't expect any quick victories. F!@#'n Germans declaring war early, they've caught me about 2 months behind where I wanted to be. Not to mention, my entire transport fleet was in the water shuffling troops around, and just got back to port days before. A week or two earlier, and things could have been very bad. Er...not that I knew they would declare war or anything :D

Soviet OOB
Western Front

Soviet OOB
Western Front

Soviet OOB
Eastern Front

I just noticed this question. The answer to your question is Yes. You can change your government with the editor.

I've only found two bugs with the editor:

1. If you give yourself technologies that have a specific benefit (like 40mm tank gun, which allows building tanks with 40mm main guns or some of the warfare doctrines that have organizational bonuses) you do not get that benefit. You do get to build later techs, though. This is not a big deal with some techs, but with those that give org bonuses (which are VERY important), it is a problem.

2. I have not found a way to give territory (like making a scenario where the Germans won WWI and thus own all of France in 1936...something like that).

But, you can change governments, change dissent, resources, industry, you can even add military forces. Er, but trust me on this, Canada sucks (in the game). I invaded it once, and it just is not a fun place to be (lack of infrastructure, especially in the north, is a real problem).

Now, a question for Klayman: Your Army Group North. Is than an actual unit, or are you just stacking all those? I've not been able to figure out how to group groups together, which means the largest unit I can organize is a 12 division force under a Field Marshal (yeah, I know I could add more units, but they have that command rating of 12 units).

David

(oops, sorry for the double post)

Just a dynasty reference and flavor. The actual Group is spread out among several provinces with no single stack having more than 12 units, as are all the Army Groups.

Great dynasty! Just happened to check it out, I'm horribly about checking out the dynasty board...but I'm caught up now.

Man, now I want to go home and re-install HoI, I haven't played it since pre-1.05 patch, sounds like it's been fixed up real nicely.

Off topic here, and don' mean to change gears, but this seems like a good place to ask. Has anyone here played Strategic Command that Battlefront put out? I've been reading a bit about it lately and have heard good things, but I'm curious if anyone here has played it and what they thought? It seems to definitely focus in more on the actual combat, but still on a grand scale.

Anywho, great work with this. I have an urge to play through the campaign with Poland now, that sounds like fun....work needs to end!

I bought Strategic Command and played it a couple of times. I didn't like it as much as I did Clash of Steel, but I too have heard that they have made many improvements with patches. Maybe I'll give it another shot.

Thanks for the replies.


The Soviets main concern was an attack through the north were most of the German forces lay. A break through the northern front would lead directly to Leningrad and soon after Moscow, so the Soviets countered with the bulk of their forces there. The weakest line in the front was in the south, were the Soviets had succeeded in temporarily keeping the Romanians out of the war. Without the Romanian troops aiding them, the Germans would not be able to sustain the front and drive into the plentiful resources of the south Ural Mountain areas. Army Group Center main purpose was to shift forces in accordance with the German attack and to support whichever Army Group came under attack. Had the Army Group Center come under attack, they were to fall back to the Dniepr River, giving up the marshlands, and counter attacking behind the German lines. Stalin was also obsessed with capturing territory in the Far East, despite his generals protests, had partitioned a large amount of forces for the campaign. In that regard, the Far East was very secure from Japanese invasion, and the Communist Chinese provided a large buffer for the Soviet Union. No longer fearing getting sucked into a war against the Japanese now that the Soviets were at war with them, the Soviets finally offered the Communist Chinese into the Comintern, to which the Chinese accepted.

The first shots of the war would not be by Japanese or German aggressors, it was actually the Soviets who launched a bombing campaign into Manchukuo controlled Nenjiang with the Far East Bomber Command. Two weeks later, the 1st Army under newly promoted Field Marshal Romanenko invaded and conquered the Manchurian troops.

Occupation of Memel
Up against the bulk of the Red Army in the north, the Germans sought to push through the less defended southern front, even without Romania in the fold. It would prove to be a mistake for the northern front. As the Germans reshuffled their forces, mass tie ups and delays along the railway lines in Poland led to confusion along the front, and for several days, Memel was left vastly under garrisoned by the Germans. Field Marshal Tukhachevsky took quick advantage of this error, and moved the 3rd and 5th armies into Memel along with the 3rd Armor Group from AGC, seizing the German province in the opening week of the war. The Germans made a quick counter-attack that prevented the offensive from proceeding past Memel, but the damage had already been done, and the Soviets grabbed the first victory of the war.

Hammerfest Invasion
The Finnish 1st Army under Mannerheim moved quickly into German occupied Norway, entering Hammerfest on the 18th of April. They came up against a small, but technologically superior German defense, and after several days of fighting were forced back into Finland.

The Air War over Europe
The first German-Soviet Air battle of the war took place in the early morning of April 5th, when MiG-3s from the Leningrad Fighter Command engaged German BF-110G2s over the forests of Siauliai. The MiG-3s, outnumbering the German fighters over 3-1, effectively threw back the Luftwaffe. More damage was done to the German fighter command, when 3 squadrons of BF-110G2s were intercepted above Siauliai only days later. With most of the Luftwaffe in Norway, that left the Ju-88’s without any fighter escorts, and the MiG-3s scored victory after victory in the opening months of the war, destroying several squadrons of Ju-88’s. Only one squadron made it through the defense cover of anti-air guns and MiG-3s to bomb Stalingrad, and was destroyed on its way back to Germany.

While the MiG-3s were proving the superior air fighter over Europe, the IL-4s were suffering horrible losses against German anti-air fire. The Western Bombing Command was almost decimated in its first mission; disrupting German maneuvers in Poland. As a result, although the Soviets enjoyed air superiority for the opening month of the war, they could do very little with it. At the invasion of Lwow, the Western Bombing Command was called to bomb the invading German Army, and suffered over 80% losses against anti-air brigades, forcing it out of the Western Air Theater for many months.

The Battle of Seishin
The Japanese had garrisoned a large force in the mountains of Seishin, threatening Vladivostok. The Soviets move quickly in the opening months of the war to attack the Japanese position there. The Far East Fighter Command protected Vladivostok from Japanese bombing and as the 2nd Army and 1st Mountain Infantry Group invaded Seishin, the Far East Fighter command intercepted several Japanese attempts to disrupt the army’s movements. The MiG-3s proved successful in every encounter, and in mid April went on the offensive, attacking JIAF bases in Kanko. By April 21st, the JIAF had lost 8 full squadrons (6 Ki-30 Dive bombers, and 2 Ki-43 Fighters) while the Soviets had suffered minimal MiG-3 losses.

With the air superiority gained by Air General Rydnagov, the Far East Bomber Command was able to make a crucial intervention in the land battle for Seishin. While the 1st Mountain Infantry Group had suffered minimal losses against the JPA, the 2nd Army was unprepaired for the rough terrain and suffered heavy losses. The timely round-the-clock bombing raids by the IL-4s weakened the Japanese position in the mountains, and the Japanese were forced to retreat against the Soviets superior numbers.

Southern Offensive
The Germans had reorganized their front for a massive southern invasion at the beginning of the month. This led to the loss of Memel, but the Soviets were slow to match the Germans reorganization, and on April 10th Lwow was invaded by the German Army. The 4th Army and 1st Armor Group held the defenses while Field Marshal Shaposhnikov moved the 14th Army north from Beltsy to assist. After over a week of heavy fighting, the Western Bombing Command was called in for strikes against German held positions, but the superior German anti-air craft guns inflicted heavy casualties upon the bomber group, and it was ineffective at stopping the offensive. By April 18th, Shaposhinikov ordered the 4th Army and 1st Armor Group to retreat, and called for reinforcements from Army Group Center to help plug the now serious hole in the Soviet Front…

An update.

I'm just finishing off midterms this week. I've played through the end the year and should have a writeup soon.

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've just been under a pile of homework and midterms lately and when I had some free time last weekend I couldn't connect to the board. I should have some free time this weekend to post some updates though.

Bizzump. Hope midterms went well, but it's time to tell a story. :)

Sorry Sach. I haven't been able to get caught up yet. Hopefully next week shall be better. In the meantime, it's not much, but here's the start of the writeup...

With the fall of Lwow, the Soviet Generals pushed the panic button with Stalin, convincing him of the deadly serious threat the Germans had now created. In the resulting chaos, Stalin ordered the industrial base of the Soviet Union moved to the Urals and Siberia. That which could not be used was intentionally laid to waste.

Romania enters the War
As the Soviets scrambled to solidify the front against the Germans, the Romanians seized the opportunity to reclaim their lost territory, joining the Axis powers on April 25th, and declaring war on the Soviets the very same day. The front now stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, a front that the Soviets could not possibly maintain.

By the end of April, the Soviets had abandoned Chisinau to Romanian forces, and fled Beltsy on May 1st after a German invasion of the province, slowly falling back to the Dniepr River.

The Battle of Norway
A shift in Soviet tactics changed the fortunes of war against the Germans in Norway. While the Allies were unable to gain a foothold in the country and the Finns had been beaten back at Hammerfest, the Norwegians kept up a stoic defensive of their country. The Germans had been unable to capture Oslo, and now found reinforcements being shipped to the Soviet front instead. The Germans continued to battle the terrain and weather in the north as well, where a sizable chunk of the Norwegian armed forces remained.

The Arctic Fleet under Vice Admiral Oktyabrskij patrolled the Norwegian ports in the beginning of April, and laid to waste any German shipping they encountered. By the end of the month, Oktyabrskij’s subs had done serious damage to the German transport fleet, and the German offensives in Norway slowed as the German supplies became scarce. A German invasion of Oslo failed miserably against the fortified and well supplied Norwegians in early May, and any plans of a further attempt on the Norwegian capital were put on hold indefinitely.

The Norwegians were now optimistic in their battle for freedom as the German armies slowly starved to death in the battlefields of Norway. In was all just a matter of time. However, it would be all for nothing if the Germans were able to continue to push through Eastern Europe claiming Soviet land, and unfortunately for the Norwegians, that was exactly what was happening. As the May rains began to fall, paving the way for summer, the Germans mobilized for an offensive push into the very heart of the Soviet Union, and the Soviets looked incapable of stopping them...

DID THEY STOP THEM?!?!?! :)

A game event occured where aliens take over the world and the humans are all enslaved. :)

Sorry for the lack of updates :(

Soviet Research
With the war now in full flight, Soviet interests shifted more to manufacturing instead of research. Through April and May of 1941 they did make some significant breakthroughs, however. The 'Portable Military Bridge' improved attacks across rivers, while the Communist Chinese shared 'Desert Warfare Equipment' with us improving organization in desert environments. 'Modular Assembly Construction' led to new construction techniques and theories and the 'Resonance Magnetron' was the first step in long range radar, while the 'Tank Gun 70mm+' and 'Self-Propelled Artillery' provided more punch on the battlefront.

The Liberation and Occupation of Norway
With the Germans unable to relieve the naval blockade of Soviet subs off the coast of Norway, the German invasion force quickly fell apart. By May 5th, the Norwegians had secured southern Norway by liberating Kristiansand and Bergen. The Germans were able to reorganize and throw back the Norwegian offensive at Hamar on May 10, but from that point on it was just a waiting game for the Norwegians. On July 18th, a reorganized Finnish 1st Army crossed the Norwegian border once again at Hammerfest, exactly 3 months to the day of their first failed invasion, and by the 25th had occupied the province with minimal losses. They spent the next two weeks chasing the remnants of the German invasion force through Narvik and into Mo i Rana, where the Germans ran into the southern Norwegian forces. By August 10th, the last of the German forces capitulated.

The Finns for all their help, quickly turned would be conquerors of their own. With the Germans removed from the Norwegian soil, the Finns refused to concede the provinces they occupied, namely Hammerfest, Narvik and Mo I Rana. The Allies and Norway protested, but the Finns held the upper hand with a fully mobilized army against Norway’s battered and depleted forces. Eventually the Allies conceded that the Finns would occupy those provinces through the conclusion of the war. Especially important were the steel mills at Narvik that would now supply the Communist war machine through Finland.

The Manchukuo Invasion
The victory at Seishin had further demoralized the Japanese forces. Although they had scored several convincing victories against the Nationalist Chinese in the south of China, the Japanese were unable to advance against Soviet backed Communist China, and the defeat against Soviet troops in Seishin only increased Japanese concerns about the Red Army.

Despite the western front being in shambles, the Far East was very secure, thanks to Stalin’s own intervention in supply troops to the Far East despite his General’s misgivings. The battle plan for the Far East called for the quick elimination of Manchukuo, and towards the end of April the Soviet forces mobilized and crossed the border. The 1st Mountain Infantry Group under General Opadchy invaded Tonghua, capturing the province on April 30th, while the 4th and 5th Infantry Corps met little resistance in Jiamusi, claiming the province on the same day.

The quick success against the poor equipped Manchukuo troops encourage the Soviets to continue to push east, and by May 13th, the Soviets had pushed as far east as Jixi, threatening the Manchukuo capital of Changchun. The Japanese, unable to relieve or support Manchukuo tried to shift the focus of Soviet intentions by invading Ocha on the next day. The Japanese were able to overrun the small garrison there, capturing a large supply of Soviet coal and steel stores. The Soviets remained focused however, and by the end of June, Romanenko’s forces had closed from the north, easily taking Nenjiang, Hegang, and Harbin, placing them on the footsteps of Changchun. Despite reinforcement from Japan by way of Korea, Manchukuo were not able to withstand the entire Army Group East as it marched through the capital of Changchun on July 11th, liberating Manchuria from Japanese oppression.

Due to secret agreements between Mao Tse-tung and Stalin, Manchuria became part of Communist China, although the Chinese did not enter the battle at any point. This allowed the Soviets to concentrate on pushing southwards into Korea instead of worrying about occupying Manchuria (which was now up to the Communist Chinese forces).

YAY!

Soviet Research
Through the summer of 1941, Soviet research continued to roll on, although it concentrate more on improvements to troops and equipment after the losses suffered on the Western Front against the Germans. The airforce was upgraded with 'Basic MR Fighter Prototype Tests' and 'Basic LR Fighter Prototype Tests' in early June as well as 'Gliders' which led the way to paratroopers. 'Amphibious Crossing Equipment' further increased the river attack capabilities of the Red Army while the 'Improved Battlefield C3I' theory would provide breakthroughs in communication and battlefield intelligence. By July, 'Improved Decimetric Anti-Air Artillery Radar' helped identify enemy aircraft, increasing flak power and the ‘Basic Tube-Launched Rocket' provided simple attacks against armoured vehicles. The 'Late War Experience Analysis' Land Doctrine would provide advanced applications for ground forces, 'Improved Decimetric Airborne Fighter Radar' provided better air detection and night fighting for aircraft, and the 'Advanced Light Tank (70+mm)' (Model T-70’s) replaced the T-60’s in the production plants.

Closing out August, Soviet scientists developed 'Sloped Armour' paving the way for modernized tanks, while Communist China shared 'Jungle Warfare Equipment' with us, improving our organization in jungle environments. 'Improved Short Range Fighter Engines' opened the door on new fighter models, while the 'Light Assault Gun (30+mm)' added some offensive punch to motorized units.

Lend-Lease
The Americans continued their passive aggression by supply the German enemies with supplies and equipment. On April 29th, the US included the Soviet Union along with the UK in their shipments, providing much needed supplies and manpower to the Communist struggle. In October the USA would send their second of Lend-Lease shipments to the Soviets.

The Rock
At the height of their naval strength, the Germans were able to take Gibraltar from British hands. Now that their fleet had been decimated in the war against the UK, they found it difficult at best to keep those forces in supply. Cut off from the father land from Republican Spain, the remaining forces of the Spanish Expeditionary Force invaded the fortress stronghold in late May. They met strong opposition from the 2 German divisions heavily entrenched there, and were pushed back into the safety of Spain. While the Soviet forces could regroup and reinforce, the Germans could not, thanks to a Soviet blockade and lack of naval resources by Germany. The Second battle for Gibraltar took place on July 19, and was a decidedly one-sided affair in the Soviets favor.

Western Front
The Soviets employed a systematic retreat when met with German aggression on the Western Front through out the early months of 1941. While the Soviets reorganized the front to protect the hole that the invasion of Lwow had caused, the Germans invaded the Polish marshlands in Bialystok and Brzesc nad Bugiem in late May. The Soviets engaged the Germans, slowed their advance, and then retreated further into the Soviet Union. The Soviets were hoping to exhaust the limited manpower of the Germans by stretching the front over as many provinces as possible. By July 1941, this strategy looked largely ineffective. The Germans had continued to push eastward, taking Pinsk on June 28 and Rowne on July 6. By the end of July, Zjitomir had fallen to the German offensive with little German losses. Stalin abandoned this strategy, and ordered his generals to stand fast in early August. In the south however, where the Soviets were weaker, they were unable to match the Germans in manpower build up and lost Kotovsk (Aug 5), Vinnytsa (Aug 8), and Mozyr (Aug 14) in the early weeks of the month, without really engaging the enemy. That was about to suddenly change however…

:) Sorry.

I couldn't get into HOI but I do like reading this report. Always loved reading and watching the History channel on WWII.

The Battle of Minsk

Minsk was the ideological focal point of the Russian revolution, and was an important railway hub to the western Soviet Union. Therefore it was of strategic and symbolic importance to the Soviet Union. Most of the Army Group Central had retreated to Minsk and the surrounding areas, and as a result was one of the strongest concentrations along the German front. On August 18th, the Soviets had expected the Germans to continue to move south into Odessa area, or concentrate north along Memel, so they were caught off guard when a heavy German force moved into the province at 1:00pm. Field Marshall Blucher had command of the defenses with the 10th Army. With him he had the 3rd Armor Group under General Bogdanov consisting of top of the line T-60 Soviet Tanks. The Soviets felt confident they could handle the small Germany army led by Kesselring that crossed the border, and were wondering if the attack was a feint while the Germans concentrated on another target. By 1:30, Blucher engaged Kesselring’s Infantry 40km outside the city and pushed the Germans back 10km in under an hour and looked secure in repelling the German invasion. By 4:00 however, all hell had broke loose for the Soviets, and Blucher was feverishly rushing back into the city. German panzer units under Von Rundstedt had been delayed by poor weather, and joined the battle late while Blucher was pushing forward. The reinforcements cut through the Soviet ranks, and Blucher was forced to call in reinforcements of his own as he retreated towards the city.

By the next day the Germans had pushed the Soviets back into Minsk, and began a siege of the city with heavy bombardment. Blucher held the city gates from German invasion, but took heavy casualties on the 19th. The next morning he was relieved with the 8th Army, and the 1st Motorized Corps and 1st Infantry Corps from the Army Group North. The Germans had amassed an invasion force of 29 divisions by August 20th, while the Soviets defenses numbered 35 divisions. Blucher was able to relieve the siege on by the afternoon, forcing the Germans back until they were reinforced with 11 more Panzer divisions from Grondo. The tide had once again turned to the German favor, and they begin inflicting heavy casualties on the Soviets, pushing them back into the city. At 11:00pm on August 21, Zhukov’s 2nd Armor Group arrived along with the 11th Army. The Soviets had thrown everything they could at stopping the Germans at Minsk…if Minsk fell so would the Soviet Union.

In the morning of the 22nd, Zhukov led the breakout from the city. The reinforced Soviet divisions (now numbering 55 divisions strong) took the Germans by surprise, and Zhukov broke their ranks. By the end of the day, the Germans were in full retreat from Minsk, suffering their first tactical defeat of the war. Although a majority of the German divisions were destroyed (over 20 units wiped off the map), the victory was severely costly for the Red Army. They had lost over 75% of the Army Group Central’s manpower, and although almost all the divisions remained intact (although understaffed), they were depleted and in no shape to hold the center front. They had succeeded in stopping the German advance and had taken a sizeable chunk out of the German army in the process, but it wasn’t nearly enough, and on August 27th, the Soviets began a full retreat.

Thanks...it was a lot better with the pictures :(

Odessa
The expected invasion in the south would eventually come in the form of a Romanian invasion of Odessa. The Romanians had taken advantage of the Soviets in full retreat, and as the Romanian forces crossed the border, the Soviets fell back to the Dniepr River to reorganize conceding Odessa to the Romanians.

Far East
While the western front lay in shambles, the Japanese launched a surprise invasion on Vladivostok on July 25, catching the Soviets unprepared behind their lines. They would only be able to hold it for 8 days however, as a vicious counter attack by the Soviets expelled the Japanese invasion force, slaughtering many of them on the beaches of Vladivostok as they tried to retreat. The Vladivostok battle decidedly put the Soviets in control on the Eastern Front. On August 14th, the Soviets successfully invaded Kanko, followed by the capture of Kange on the 20th. The occupation of Sinuiju on September 2 cut Korea in half as the Japanese stronghold began to crumble.

Soviet Research
'Airborne Glider Training' was developed at the start of September which was another step in developing paratroopers. The 'Resonance Magnetron Device' provided advancements in radar while 'Improved Equipment and Ordinance' provided new artillery applications.

October saw the development of 'Improved Bomber Engine and Airframe Design', 'Radar Scout Doctrine' improving small aircraft organization, 'Centimetric Radar' which provided superior long range radar, 'Improved Tube-Launched Rocket', 'Improved Halftrack Troop Carrier', and 'Basic Signal Interception and Jamming Units' increasing our battlefield intelligence.

In November Soviet scientists developed 'Corps LR Recon Battalion', which improved knowledge of enemy forces, while 'Advanced Welding Techniques' improved ship building techniques. 'Paratroopers' provided a new division of the Infantry and 'Improved Divisional Signal Command System', 'Improved Corps Signal Command System', and 'Improved Army Signal Command System' improved our battlefield intelligence and defense efficiency. 'Improved Logistics' opened new supply applications, while 'Advanced Man Portable Radio Sets' increased field communication.
'Improved Optical Sights' increased armor attack values, 'Vehicle Radio Intercoms' increased armor defense values, and 'Advanced Tank Gun Ammunition' provided more attack for tanks as well.

December advancements included the 'Field Artillery Gun 170mm+' increase artillery brigades attack values, and 'Improved Amphibious Tank' which increased armor shore attack efficiency.

No need to apologize, Klayman. I'll keep reading no matter how long it takes.

Western Front
The Soviets knew they would not survive another encounter like Minsk again, and therefore fell back into more strategically defensive points along the front. This included behind the Dniepr River, forcing the Germans into a river attack, and the Daugara River in the north. As the Soviets retreated, the Germans easily occupied the fleeing territories. As a result, through August and September the Germans captured several provinces… August 24, Memel. August 27, Siauliai. August 28, Liepaja. September 1, Daugavpils. September 2, Minsk. September 3, Wilno. September 5, Mogiljov. September 12, Bobrujsk.

By mid September the Soviets had achieved what they had originally planned to do, and that was stretch the front so far that the Germans didn’t have the manpower to man it. The Germans were outmanned along the entire western front for the rest of the year, and front remained static for over 3 months while both sides continued to build up their forces.

The Occupation of Tarbes
The Soviets had pleaded with the Allies to start a separate front on the Germans west flank to relieve some pressure of the German-Russian front, but the Allies were unable to accomplish it. In early May, they launched a successful invasion of Caen, and held the province for over a month, but were unable to reinforce the initial invasion properly, and eventually the Germans were able to push the invaders out. In late September, using their diplomatic advantages gained in the Spanish Civil War, the Soviets invaded Southern France from Spain. The Spanish Expeditionary Force was able to occupy the province for over 3 weeks and withstood several counter attack from German, Italian, and French forces, before finally being forced to withdraw back into Spain on November 4th. With a large enough force, Soviet invasion of Southern France and German could be a possibility, as this occupation showed, and the Germans had to reorganize their forces to cover the threat.

Romania
As the German-Soviet Front froze to a standstill, the Soviets took advantage of the situation to launch an offensive against Romanian forces. The Soviets still controlled the Black Sea, and used it to their advantage on October 4th, when they launched a successful amphibious assault on the Romanian province of Dobrich. They now had forces in the heart of Romania, and the Romanian-Soviet front became scattered around Odessa as the Romanians were forced to pull their forces back. On October 11th, the Soviets retook Odessa from the disorganized Romanian forces, and threatened the Romanian capital of Bucuresti. As more and more Soviet troops landed in Dobrich, the Soviets launched an invasion on Bulgaria, another German ally, successfully occupying Ruse on October 21st. A failed push into the swamplands of Constanta in late December, slowed Soviet intentions in Romania, but the Soviets although vastly outnumbered were still very much in control by the new year.

Far East
The Soviets continued to push the Japanese off the mainland as 1941 came to a close. On October 11th, they pushed east capturing Mukden and by November 1st had secured Dalian. The result had was the Japanese forces in China were now cut off from being supplied from Korea. While it wasn’t a problem for the Japanese Navy to supply the forces in China from some other port, it was a major inconvenience and concern for the Japanese military. The Soviets continued to push south into Korea as well, routing the Japanese forces in Genzan on October 17th, and Heijo on November 18th, before being slowed by winter weather.

In late December, the Japanese counter-attacked the Soviet forces, launching an invasion on the Petropavlovsk-Kamtjatskij peninsula. The invasion succeeded in forcing the Soviets back, but with the poor infrastructure of the Far Eastern provinces, the Japanese quickly found themselves stranded with nowhere to go.

Chapter Seven: The Patriotic War (1942)


1942 Almanac

Stalin made no changes to his ministry in 1941.

As the war grew to a global scale in 1941, the Soviets were able to cover their losses against Germany, with gains in the Far East and industrial advantages gained through the Americans Lend-lease act. This enabled the Soviets to reach a IC output of 607.0 despite losing a handful of provinces in Eastern Europe. They also managed to increase coal and steel production thanks to occupations in the Far East. Concentration in enrollment and manufacturing led to the Soviets reclaiming the mantle of largest army, and their 29 armor divisions are the largest in the world.

The MiG-3's proved a success in the air over Europe and Asia, while the IL-4's and IL-2's proved less then effective. The T-28's saw limited action in the Battle of Minsk, and only a couple of divisions were produced, so their effect on the war has yet to be determined. However with the T-70's offering a larger turret, and new advancements in tank technology just around the corner, the T-28's will probably not play that much of a role in the coming months, at least not as much as their predecessors (T-60's and T-26's) did.

National Army Comparison
Soviets rank 1st, 196 Infantry divisions, 4 Cavalry Div, 10 Motorized Div, 29 Armor divisions, 11 Mountain Div, 250 Total divisions.
Top 5: Soviets (250), Germany (214), USA (147), Italy (137), UK (114)

National Navy Comparison
Soviets rank 5th, 3 Battleships, 5 Cruisers, 4 Destroyer Groups, 13 submarines flotillas, 4 transport flotilla.
Top 5: USA(136), Japan(103), UK (69), Italy(47), Soviets (29)

National Air Force Comparison
Soviets rank 6th, 12 fighter squadrons, 7 tact bomber squadrons, 4 Dive Bomber squadrons
Top 5: USA (92), Germany (43), Japan (39), UK (28), Italy (24)

Economic Information
Total IC: 607.0
Daily Production for:
Coal: 1447.0 units
Steel: 785.0 units
Rubber: 0.0 units
Oil: 246.0 units

Manpower: 382.0 units

The Second Battle for Odessa
As winter fell into its full fury, movement along the German-Soviet border froze to a standstill. The Germans, ever over confident of their abilities, launched an offensive into Odessa in the final week of January. The makeshift German-Hungarian-Romanian battle group were seriously outnumbered, and Field Marshall Shaposhinikov’s 6th Army withstood the offensive while General Rokossovsky’s 1st Armor Group of now antique T-26s along with the Il-4’s of the Western Bomber Command decimated the invaders ranks, throwing them out of Odessa and back into eastern Europe. The Germans and Soviets had now met in two major conflicts of the war, and the Soviets had come out on top both times, although to be fair to the Germans, the battle group consisted of a majority of Hungarian and Romanian divisions.

Fearful of losing even more men to the harsh winter conditions and the now seemingly impenetrable Soviet defenses, Hitler withheld any further troop advances until spring had thawed the frozen grounds.

Far East
With the weather proving more an ally than an enemy, the Soviets launched several offensives of their own through the opening months of 1942. A failed invasion of Shunsen (modern day Ch’unch’ŏn) in mid January stalled the Soviets push into southern Korea, due largely to misinformation gathered on the enemy there. A much later push eastward in Jinzhou met success on March 19, when combined Soviet and Mongolian forces captured the city. The Mongolians paid a heavy price, however, as over 4/5 of their standing army was destroyed in the attack.

Romania
At the cost of not supplying the German-Soviet Front with more troops, the Soviets continued to solidify their position in Romania by continuing to transport new formed divisions into the eastern European country. Stalin was furious at the Romanians for entering the war against the Soviets, and the Red Army’s foothold into the country had opened the door for Stalin’s revenge. Another important factor was the oil-rich provinces supplying the German Army that could be put to much greater good supplying Communist forces instead. Although Stalin wanted a victory in Bucuresti, the harsh winter and consolidation of Romanian forces prevented that from happening anytime in the near future. Instead, the Soviets concentrated on the surrounding areas, invading Craiova on the edge of the Transylvanian Alps. Their first offensive, poorly undermanned was thrown back in early January, but after reinforcements arrived in Romania, the second offensive into Craiova in late February captured the city. With the Romanian defeat at Craiova, the Soviets had broken through their lines, and now most of the country was exposed to Soviet Occupation. The Romanians only hope was to hold Bucharest and pray for German intervention…

Soviet Research
Through the opening three months of 1942, the Soviets developed 'Advanced Tube-Launched Rocket' (improved attack vs. armored targets), 'Improved Aerodynamic Design'(leads to advanced light aircraft designs), ‘Airborne Assault Training' (increase Paratroopers attack efficiency), 'Deep Penetration Bombs' (higher bomber attack efficiency against forts), 'Standardized Ammunition' (lower supply consumption), 'Standardized Cargo Spaces' (lower supply consumption), 'Advanced Vehicle Radio Sets' (leads to better battlefield intelligence), and 'Elastic Defence Doctrine' (improved ground units defense) in February.

By March Soviet scientists had applied the 'Anti-Tank Gun 80mm+' (increase AT brigades attack), the 'Anti-Air Gun 120mm+' (increase flak power), and 'Tank Transportation Trucks' (lower supply consumption) to the battlefield, as well as developing 'Improved Medium Range Fighter Engines' (leads to advance light aircraft designs), and 'Mechanized Airborne Doctrine' (increasing Paratroopers organization), as well as 'Fluid Catalytic Cracking' (leads to advanced industrial applications), and 'Rocket Artillery 100mm+' (increase A brigades attack values).


Another Lend-Lease from the USA arrived in February bringing more supplies and more industrial power for the Soviets. What they really needed was a second front to distract the Germans, but the Lend-Lease would suffice for now. To continue to provide an irritant in Hitler’s side, the Spanish Expeditionary Force once again invaded Tarbes from Northern Spain in early February. Not to be outdone, the Japanese invaded the undefended island of Commodore, taking possession from the Soviets in early March.

Far East
A Japanese counter attack by forces fleeing the Jinzhou invasion into Mukden proved successful in routing the Mongolian forces defending the province on March 22. This opened up the Northern Chinese front to the Japanese, which could have allowed them to retake parts of Manchuria had they not been so depleted of men and willpower in Northern China. As the Communist Chinese scrambled to guard their front and the Japanese struggled to reorganize, the Soviet’s 2nd and 4th Infantry Corps moved into Mukden and retook the city only a week later, ending the threat and eliminating the last of the Japanese forces in Northern China.

After Mukden, the Soviets looked to continue their push into southern Korea, and reorganized toward that goal. The Japanese continued to assault Jinzhou by amphibious assaults, but were repelled several times in late March/early April as the Soviets reinforced their position. However, the drive into southern Korea was put on hold indefinitely on April 17th, when Persia entered a Military Alliance with the Axis powers and declared war on the Soviets. A majority of the eastern force was redeployed westward in light of the new threat, leaving the Soviets with no offensive options in the Far East for the time being.

Persia
One of the many goals of Operation Barbarossa for Germany was the acquisition of the oilfields in the Caucasus. In the early months of the attack, this goal looked to be realized as combined Romanian and German forces pushed to the mouth of the Crimean Peninsula. The Germans had hoped in being able to capture and destroy large pockets of Soviet forces while they pushed eastward through the Ukraine, thus leaving the Soviets with low manpower and supplies to defend the oil rich fields in the south. The Soviet’s policy of strategic withdrawal throughout the year however, thwarted those plans and in fact it was the Germans who now lacked the manpower to defend the front against the Soviets. The Germans, with their oilfields in Romania now threatened by Soviet invasion, turned to German-friendly Persia and Reza Shah Pahlavi to fill their oil needs. On April 17th, the Persians declared war on the Comintern and Allies.

Research
Soviet research made several breakthroughs during this time, including a ‘Ship Assembly Construction Process’, which cut costs and building time of Red Navy shipping, as well as ‘Mechanized HQs’ which led to a reform in command operations providing new mechanized infantry units to the Soviet Red Army. In April, the Soviets completed ‘Improved Medium Tank Prototype Tests’ and ‘Improved Long Range Fighter Engines’ which both allowed advances in their respective disciplines, and ‘Improved Electromechanical Decryption Device’, which improved intelligence operations.

Yeah! It's back!

Romania
The Germans threw a weak offensive into Soviet held Romania in early April, but they were easily repelled by the Soviet occupiers in Craiova, stunting the German offensive. The Romanians continued to pull their troops from the German-Soviet front for protection against the Soviet invaders in the south, weakening the German position along the front. The poorly organized Bulgarians could do nothing as well, as their weakly equipped armies were no match for the now fortified Soviet positions in Eastern Europe.

By May, the Soviets had pushed further west, taking Arad, Timisoara and the mountain fortresses of Sibiu, before a Hungarian counter attack stopped the offensive and threw them out of Arad. The Hungarians pushed their advantage and by June crossed the Romanian border into Timisoara, engaging Soviet forces there. After 8 days of intense fighting, however, the Hungarian offensive was broken, thanks to timely Soviet reinforcements, and Timisoara was held by the Soviets.

The Romanians continued to supply oil to the Germans through Soviet occupation, and received a mass shipment of oil on June 4, infuriating Stalin. Plans and operations were drawn up that would hopefully eliminate Romania from the war by the end of the summer and cause a major blow to the German Army.

Persian War
Before those plans could be put in place, however, the small problem of Persia kept the Red Army occupied. The Persians had caught both the Soviets and Allies off guard with their declaration of war, and by late May they had made great strides against Iraq. The poor infrastructure of the country made an invasion a difficult task as well as the fact that they caught both enemies without adequately enforced borders. On June 13, the Persians were successful in a northern invasion into Kirovabad, securing the province from the Soviets. A quick counter-attack, however, retook the city and the oil fields 10 days later on the 23rd. With success against the Iraqis in Kirkuk and Mosul, the Persians pushed south into An Nasririyah, threatening Bagdad and pushing west into French controlled Palestine.

The Soviets reorganized, with much of the Far Eastern Army stationed around the Persian border, and equipped with the new T-70’s, marched into Persia securing Tabriz in early June.
By June 30th, the 1st Mountain Infantry Group, fresh from driving the Japanese out of northern Korea, pushed into Kirkuk and easily handled the poorly equipped Persians. Hitler’s Persian plans were not off to a very good start.

The 2nd and 3rd Battles for Tarbes
By late March the Germans and French had retaken Tarbes from the Soviets, who fled into the comfort and safety of neutral Spain. The Spanish Expeditionary Force were able to complete parts of defense fortresses in the mountains however, and as the Germans and French once again left Tarbes relatively undefended in early June, the Soviets once again invaded. This time they pulled the Mountain Infantry units defending Gibraltar and were able to complete the defensive forts covering the mountain passes before the Germans could counter attack. With the stronger force along with defensive fortifications, the Germans surrendered any plans they had on retaking the province for the third time, and instead set on defending the surrounding borders against further Soviet aggression.

Research
Continuing into the summer, the Soviets developed ‘Advanced Long-Range Radio Sets’, ‘Anti-tank Gun 90mm+’, ‘Improved Airframes’, ‘Advanced Decimetric Radar’ and ‘Refuel and Ammo teams’ (which reduced supply and fuel consumption) in May. By the end of June, ‘Improved Aerodynamics’, ‘Improved Medium-Range Bomber Engine’, ‘Improved Medium Bomber Airframe’, ‘Airborne Tank’ (which improved hard attack values of Paratroopers), ‘Medium Assault Gun 70+mm’, and ‘Improved Manoeuvre Artillery Doctrine’ (increasing land units organization) had been developed by the Soviet Scientists.

Yeah, had to get my post count back up ;)

Just caught up with everything tonight. This is really a great read. I look forward to the next installment!

Summer on the Eastern Front
The Germans were in dire straights by the summer of 42. Not only had they failed to destroy large parts of the Soviet Red Army, but now the Ploesti oil fields, their only source of oil, was in serious danger of falling into the Soviet hands. With the Romanians, Hungarians, and Bulgarians focused on the defense of their home provinces, the eastern front’s upkeep fell squarely on the German’s shoulders, and they lacked the manpower to fully man it. In their favor however, the Soviets were concentrating on reinforcing the armies in Romanian, and as such the front remained static in terms of manpower throughout most of the year.

Although the Germans outnumbered the Soviets in aircraft, their strategic bombers were unable to penetrate the Khudyakov line, a string of MiG-3 fighter squadrons placed behind the front and named after the Air Marshall who implemented it. They were also unable to launch successful bombing campaigns against the Soviet forces spread out along the front without suffering heavy losses to the Khudyakov line as well. The Soviet invasion in the south however, provided new targets, unprotected by the impenetrable MiG-3’s and in the summer started an aggressive strategic and tactical bombing campaign against Soviet controlled Romania, much to the Romania’s protest.

Still, the Germans were running short on time. They needed to break the front and drive the Soviets back or otherwise find themselves severely outnumbered along the front in the coming months. What the Germans didn’t know was that the Soviets had no strategic reserve, and if the Germans were to break the front they would have free access to the entire interior of the Soviet Union. Over the summer, the Germans made several offensives against the front in the North and South. Each time the Soviets pulled surrounding forces from the front to defend and the Germans aborted the offensive, fearing for another Minsk disaster that they would not be able to overcome. In the end it was mostly a ‘smoke and mirrors’ defense by the Soviets, as had the Germans pushed their offensive and inflicted casualties upon the Soviets, they in all likely hood would have broken the front and changed the course of the war.

Romania
Summer brought about the Soviet offensive that Stalin demanded, and by mid July the Red Army pushed westward into Beograd, Valjevo, and Arad were they met fierce opposition by the Hungarians. After several weeks of fighting, the Hungarian/Romanian army was pushed out of Arad but the offensive stalled due to the causalities inflicted. This opened a combined German and Hungarian counter offensive that retook Valjevo on July 29, and engaged Soviet forces in Beograd on the 30th. A counter attack by the Romanians surprised the Soviets on August 7th, and reclaimed the province of Timisoara, cutting off Soviet supply lines in the west, and forcing the Red Army back. By August 16th, the Hungarians had recaptured Beograd and the Romanians had pushed east engaging Soviet forces in Sibiu. The initial gains of the July offensive had been lost and by mid August the Soviets were in a serious threat of being pushed back into the Black Sea.

Field Marshal Pavlov, in control of the Soviet invasion of Romania, on the brink of being booted out of Romania, made some daring offensive moves on the 17th, quickly retaking Timisoara and moving against the Romanian capital of Bucuresti, throwing the Romanian forces once again into disarray. Pavlov pushed his advantage, relieving the siege of Sibiu on the 22nd, as well as by the next day, after a week of close combat, had wrestled Burcresti from the Romanians, and by the 25th had invaded the Ploiesti Oil fields, securing them and a large stockpile of oil by August 28th and dooming the German Army.

As September rolled around, the desperate Romanians counter attacked first in Ploiesti and then in Bucuresti, but to no avail. Pavlov held his ground and by mid September was ready to go once again on the offensive.

Iran
As the Soviets secured the Romanian oil fields, they were making strides in Persia as well. The Persians offensives stalled in Syria with their supply lines cut off and both the Iraqis and Soviets scored successful attacks against the Persians. In mid August, the Soviets captured Rasht just south of the Soviet owned Baku oil reserves. The capture of Rasht lead the path open to Teheran, the Iranian capital, and on September 1st, the Soviet T-70’s rolled triumphantly through the capital, easily forcing the defenders into the vast desert.

On September 8th, the Iraqis destroyed the Persian force in Syria, ending the Iranian threat to the French and British controlled middle east, and by the 12th had reclaimed Kuwait for the British as well as invading Iran itself, capturing Qahremanshahr on the same day.

By mid September, the Persians were on the run, fleeing Esfahan from invading T-70 tanks on the 10th and invading Iraqis from the west. The demoralized Iranian troops looked unlikely to last out the year.

Research
In July Soviet scientists developed 'Improved Fighter Development' (providing new fighter designs), 'Fluid Catalytic Cracking Plants' (increasing supply efficiency), 'Modular Assembly Ship Production' (allowing quicker and cheaper build transports), and 'Light Tank Destroyer (50+mm)' (increasing AT attack values).

In August, 'Advanced Infantry Weapons' opened new technologies for the infantry, 'Armour Skirts' provided new and improved tank designs, 'Imp. Electromechanical Encryption Devices' provided better counter-intelligence and the 'Force Concentration Doctrine' improved defense and organization of ground units.

September saw only the development of the 'Iso-Octane and Alkylate Process', which paved the way for improved synthetic oil plants, and 'Advanced Decimetric Radar Warning Sites' providing better intelligence.

Romania and Bulgaria
By mid September, Pavlov’s forces had been re-enforced, and he quickly moved against both Romania and Bulgarian forces. By September 13th, Brasov had fallen to the Soviets while the Bulgarian fortresses in Varna fell under attack on the 14th. The Romanians counter attacked Brasov, but they were thrown back with little effort by the Soviets, while Varna fell after 3 days of fighting on the 17th. The Bulgarians were just no match for the vastly superiorly equipped Soviet troops.

With the Persians on the run in Iran, most of the Persian invasion force was transported via the Black sea into Romania. On the 23rd, the Soviets launched the largest campaign of the Romanian war, attacking Chisinau (via Odessa), Constanta and Bulgarian Plovdiv on the same day. The Germans, undermanned in the south, were forced to watch idly while Rokossovsky’s 1st Armour group rolled through Romanian defenses in Chisinau. By September 25th, the invasion force was being outfitted with new Mechanized Infantry units and by the end of the month all three provinces had fallen to the Soviet invaders.

The Bulgarians held out until October 3rd, when their capital Sofia fell to Pavlov and they capitulated three days later. The lightning quick offensives Pavlov pulled off on the 23rd crushed Romania’s resistance as well, and while they held out until the 10th, they eventually folded and succumbed to the Soviet force. Both countries were officially annexed into the USSR.

Iran
The Persians fared better in September, capturing Bandar Abbas and Esfahan, however they lost a majority of their armed forces in a battle against Soviet forces in Gorgan on October 2, and they were unable to make any further gains. As the Soviets turned their attention in mid October towards Hungary and the former Yugoslavia, the limited manpower they employed in Persia dragged the conflict well into December, where the last of the Iranian resistance finally succumbed and Persia was annexed into the USSR.

Yay!

Southeastern Europe
The victories in Romania and Bulgaria transformed the climate of war along the Soviet’s Western Front. The re-heartened Soviet commanders recognized that they were now on the offensive and the addition of more American supplies and equipment in another Lend-Lease shipment on October 1st, only reinforced the matter.

Pavlov formed two spearheads in his offensive into Southern Europe, one spreading north into Hungary, and the other spreading west into the former Yugoslavia. By mid October, he had captured Beograd and Nis in the south and Cluj-Napoca from the Hungarians in the north. Pavlov’s army group was greatly depreciated in strength - due to the need to patrol the northern Romanian border against German counter attacks, and the southern Bulgarian border against the threat of a fascist (although not yet part of the Axis) Greece state – but he encountered nominal resistance in the German protectorate of Yugoslavia, and his advance through the country was at a quick pace. By October 16th, his forces in the south had pushed through the hills of Novi Pasar and Kraljevo to the banks of the Drina River, threatening Italian controlled Albania.

The Defense of Tirana
On October 19th, the Soviets crossed the border of Albania and engaged Italian troops. The Germans had a small army of defenders in neighboring Pristina, and as such the Italians did not believe that the Soviets would strike Tirana from the north, exposing their northern flank to counter attack. However, that exactly what Pavlov did, and with 2 infantry divisions (the 206th and 217th under Lt. General Badanov), and 4 Mountain infantry divisions (9th and 28th under Lt. General Kurasov, and 72nd and 30th under Lt. General Terekhin) against the 4 regular Italian infantry division stationed in the mountainous and fortified province. The Italians had concentrated their fortifications on costal installations (a decision that would haunt them later), and as thus were not as prepared for the land invasion from the north, they did however control the Adriatic Sea and reinforcements were shipped as quickly as possible. It wasn’t quick enough however, as after several days of fighting, the poorly equipped and demoralized Italians fled into Vlore suffering heavy casualties.

The Soviets had suffered moderate casualties in the battle but found themselves in a precarious position with the Germans east in Pristina and the Italians south in Vlore, not to mention boatloads of Italian reinforcements on their way from the mainland. Reinforced with only 1 mechanized unit and 1 T-70 armor division, Pavlov split his force with 2 mountain divisions defending Tirana, while the majority of the forces chased the Italians to the south.

Those 2 divisions (the 9th and 28th) were still licking their wounds from the capture of Tirana by October 24th when the first of 3 Italian assaults began from the sea. The first wave, only 2 divisions strong, were meant as nothing more than reinforcements to the Italian defenders who, unfortunately and fatally for those 2 divisions, had abandoned the province a five days previously. The next two waves however, on October 26th and October 27th, were full blown invasions consisting of 13 Italian infantry divisions (8 on the 26th, 5 the next day). Lt. General Kurasov was able to use the Italian build costal fortress to his defense, and his battered and bruised defenders held the province after 4 days of intense fighting, driving the Italians off.

Stalin decreed the creation of units of ‘Guards’, a symbol of the revolutionary movement, and any armies, divisions, or regiments that resisted the Germans and Axis powers would add ‘Guards’ to their titles. On November 1st, Lt. General Kurasov’s Tirana Red Guards were the first such divisions to earn such a commendation. By October 26th, the Red Army’s southern push had eliminated the Italians from Albania and the Germans in Pristina found themselves hopelessly encircled.

Bump, comrad.

Sorry Sach. I'm taking a History class this semester, and in prep I read John Keegan's The Second World War over the holidays. Combined with an hour lecture every day plus assigned readings, I'm just a bit burnt out on war right now, but I'll get back to it soon.

Ohhhh...good book! I understand. I'll be around. Waiting. Patiently.

Is it soon yet?

Yes it is. My topic for my term essay is Operation:Barbarossa, so I'm collecting some resources right now. The bonus is that it's got me in the mood to play again, so I should have something up in the next couple of days.

BTW, can you recommend any good books on Barbarossa that you might have read?

Yes. I'll post there here when I get home. For some basic reference on the battle, go to the library and see if they have a copy of The Encyclopedia of Military History. Great place to get an overview of the Eastern Front. How much of it do you have to cover?

It's open ended. I haven't come up with a specific topic but out of the list of suggested general topics, that was the one that most appealed to me. The course deals with society and war, and the relationship between political, social, technological, and economic influence on the development of military art, so there is quite a lot of room to manouver.

Yes, and focusing on the Soviet Union will pretty much write the paper for you.

Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War 1943-1944
By: Paul Carrell
ISBN Number: 0887405983 (February 1994 reprint).

on a slightly smaller scale, I thought "Stalingrad" was an excellent book. I believe it was written by Antony Beevor or Cheevor or something of that ilk. The book effectively makes the phrase "military art" look pretty silly.

Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45 by Alan Clark

Thanks a lot everybody, I'll check them all out.

The Hungarian Offensive
As Pavlov prepared to drive the Germans out of Pristina in Southern Yugoslavia, the offensive in the north pushed into southern Hungary, capturing Arad on the 21st of October. The Hungarians counter-attacked and broke the Soviet front in Timisoara on the 29th. With most of Pavlov’s forces engaged in hostilities against the Italians and Germans in southern Yugoslavia, the Hungarians had opened a hole that threatened the Soviet hold on Southeastern Europe.

As the Hungarians readied to push their attack, backed by German and Croatian troops, only the quick action of General Khetagurov, in charge of the 21st Mech Corps, prevented Soviet losses in southeastern Europe. Khetagurov’s forces, consisting of 2 Mechanized Infantry division and 1 T-70 Armor division quickly closed the gap the Hungarians had created, and as the Hungarians prepared to further their advance, Khetagurov’s forces engaged the unprepared enemy in Timisoara, retaking the province by the end of the week preventing Hungary from taking advantage.

Khetagurov’s actions allowed Pavlov to engage the German army in Prestina without complications, and by November 8th, the Germans had surrendered.

Iran
By November, Iran was all but beaten by combined Soviet and Iraqi forces. However, while their army fought on they secured impressive victories against both the Iraqis in Qahremanshahr and against the Soviets in Kerman. Their guerilla tactics and nomadic society proved difficult for the Soviets to fully contain and by December, the Persian War was still being waged by a sizeable chunk of the Red Army.

Croatia
With the Germans removed from the southern part of former Yugoslavia, the Soviets turned their attention towards the northern half now controlled by the Croatians. In their way, however, was a combined German-Italian army in the mountains surrounding Podgorica and it provided a stumbling block against the Soviet offensive. Pavlov was unprepared to engage the heavily fortified forces there, and a November 9th invasion was thrown back with heavy Soviet losses. The Soviets were in a precarious position after the failed invasion. They needed to bring their Southeastern forces back up to full strength, and had the Germans invaded from the North through Hungary, the Soviets would have been decimated. The Germans, however, were more concerned with keeping the status quo on the Eastern Front, and thus missed a glorious opportunity to drive the Soviets out of the Balkans. By mid November, Pavlov’s forces had been reinforced, and by November 26th, had captured Podgorica against a sizeable German and Italian army.

With the Germans and Italians no longer a threat in the Balkan region, the defense of Croatia was left solely up to the Croatians themselves, and it was a task they were inadequately prepared for. By December 2nd the Red Army had pushed north into Mostar, and by mid December pushed west capturing Split and Sarajevo with minimal casualties.

Research
By mid October, Soviet scientists had developed 'Basic Armour Skirts', leading to advanced tank designs, 'Improved Wading Equipment' (better river attacks), 'Advanced Synthetic Materials', a 'Medium Tank Destroyer (70+mm)' and an 'Improved Submachinegun'.

November saw 'Telemetric Guidance', 'Basic Centimetric Radar', 'Self-Propelled Artillery 70mm+', 'Synchronized Artillery Doctrine', 'AT Recoilless Rocket Launcher', “Improved Magnetic AT Mine', 'Improved Bomber Development', 'Improved SR Fighter Prototype Tests', and 'Point Anti-Air Defence Doctrine' all being developed for use by the Red Army.

In December Soviet scientists developed 'Advanced Decimetric Anti-Air Artillery Radar' which aided the ground batteries against air attack.

Christmas in Sarajevo
By the end of 1942, the balance of power had shifted in war, and the Soviets were now on full offensive. They continued to push north against Croatian forces and by December 14th had captured Banja Luka and the port province of Dubrovnik. In the north they engaged the Hungarians in Oradea, and in the south crossed the Drina River engaging against Croatian forces in Osijek.

By December 20th the Soviets had controlled all of Southeastern Europe south of the Drina River and east of the Tisza River. The Croatians, back by German divisions launched a successful counter-attack against the forces in Split on the 21st, but a Christmas day invasion by General Khetagurov and the 21st Mech Corps out of Sarajevo recaptured the province securing the Soviet’s hold.

Iran
The Persians forces, scattered along the Iranian frontier launched a counter attack into the heart of Iraq itself, invading Bagdad in mid December. It proved to be the fatal blow against the Iranians, however, as their weak offensive was decimated by Iraqi troops, thus eliminating the last of the serious threats in Persia. On December 18th, Soviet tanks rolled through Kerman, the last pocket of Iranian defense, and on December 20th, the Iranians capitulated to the Soviets and Persia was annexed into the USSR.

YAY!!

Chapter Eight: The Patriotic War (1943)


1943 Almanac

Stalin made no changes to his ministry in 1942.

1942 was a successful year for the Soviet Red Army. While they faced extinction at several turns, they prevented the Germans from fully realizing those opportunities, and by the end of the year, were in full control in Southeastern Europe. They outnumbered German troops along the Eastern Front, had captured sizeable portions of Southeastern Europe, and easily held the Japanese at bay in Korea. They were also able to inflict a damaging death blow to the German war machine, by capturing the Ploiesti Oil fields in Romania, depriving the Germans of much needed oil.

Technologically the Soviets made great strides. The introduction of the mechanized infantry division to match that of the Germans, proved more than decisive in Croatia and Hungary, despite its late introduction towards the end of the year. Although limited in their deployment the ‘Motostrelk’ were able to plug holes in the front that the Hungarians and Germans would have been able to capitalize on without their presence. The other major advancement was the introduction of the T-70 Armored Tank, which had great success against Axis powers in Southeastern Europe and Persia and had established itself as the driving force behind the Red Army.


National Army Comparison
Soviets rank 1st, 236 Infantry divisions, 4 Cavalry Div, 10 Motorized Div, 2 Mechanized Infantry, 39 Armor divisions, 16 Mountain Div, 307 Total divisions.
Top 5: Soviets (307), Germany (243), USA (200), Italy (153), UK (153)

National Navy Comparison
Soviets rank 6th, 3 Battleships, 5 Cruisers, 4 Destroyer Groups, 13 submarines flotillas, 4 transport flotilla.
Top 5: USA(163), Japan(103), UK (65), Italy(48), Germany (44)

National Air Force Comparison
Soviets rank 5th, 13 fighter squadrons, 7 tact bomber squadrons, 5 Dive Bomber squadrons
Top 5: USA (111), Germany (53), Japan (38), UK (37), Soviets (25)

Economic Information
Total IC: 862.0
Daily Production for:
Coal: 1647.0 units
Steel: 875.0 units
Rubber: 0.0 units
Oil: 360.0 units

Manpower: 450.0 units

How'd the paper do?

Oh, it's not due till mid March. I just started researching it this weekend, but I'll let you know.

I just started reading, great stuff!:)

Glad to see this is back up and running, klayman. It really makes me want to dust off Hearts of Iron and give it another go. :)

I lost this save game as well, but I do think I have an older copy of it on cd somewhere. I'll look for it this weekend and let everybody know.

Not this one too! Aargh! Hope you can recover it. Crappy start to the weekend, eh?

*rushes to back up X-COM saved games to flash drive*

I'm sure I saved this somewhere on cd. In fact I know I did, cause I transfered it to a different computer at one point. But I looked all week and can't find the cd at all. Sigh.

Sorry everybody. In case you didn't know the outcome, the Soviets would go on to conquer Europe, only to have communism collapse upon itself half a century later. The very depressing end.

:( Was a great rune, Klayman.

I went shopping for the game a couple weeks ago. Nobody had it.