Hearts of Iron: The Soviets

[sachmo71]

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

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

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

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

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.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Yeah! It's back!

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Yeah! It's back!

Yeah, had to get my post count back up

[Godzilla Blitz]

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

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

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.

[sachmo71]

Yay!

[klayman]

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.

[sachmo71]

Bump, comrad.

[klayman]

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.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by klayman

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.

[sachmo71]

Is it soon yet?

[klayman]

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?

[sachmo71]

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?

[klayman]

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.

[sachmo71]

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

[WSUCougar]

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

[bamcgee]

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.

[sachmo71]

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

[klayman]

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

[klayman]

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.

[klayman]

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.

[sachmo71]

YAY!!

[klayman]

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

[sachmo71]

How'd the paper do?

[klayman]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

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.

[tucker342]

I just started reading, great stuff!

[DataKing]

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.

[klayman]

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.

[Godzilla Blitz]

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*

[klayman]

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.

[damnMikeBrown]

Was a great rune, Klayman.

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