Permanently Operating Factors - A Soviet LAN AAR

BritishImperial: Yeah. It doesn't have all the detail it could have, because Discomb thinks it's clever to hide some things. I disagreed, but its his army and he can run it into the ground if he wants to

Delex: Map, what? And Discomb answered your question concerning Northern Ireland.

Discomb: Yes, those numerous games being exactly one

Second comment day!

Blah blah blah, Gibraltar as its uses depending on my geostrategic position

Update coming up!

And now, to match the Anglo-German OOB posted previously, here is now the Soviet OOB (and arriving in better quality)! Instead of going by geographical areas however, since my armed forces were much better organized than Discomb’s, I will be going by Fronts.

Murmansk Front
Field Marshal Gorodovikov (skill 1; experience 5; logistics wizard, offensive doctrine, old guard)
Colonel General Frolov (skill 3; experience 15; defensive doctrine, winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Kolpakchi (skill 3; experience 23; offensive doctrine, winter specialist)
Major General Fomenko P.I. (skill 2; experience 0; winter specialist, trickster)
Major General Getman (skill 2; experience 0; logistics wizard, winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Gastilovich (skill 3; experience 12; winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Kurkin (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Koptzov (skill 1; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Lieutenant General Rog (skill 3; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Falaleev (skill 4; experience 0)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Murmansk, Kajaani, Archangelsk, Tampere

Leningrad Front
Field Marshal Egorov A.I. (skill 2; experience 1; defensive doctrine, old guard)
Field Marshal Eidmanis (skill 1; experience 6; logistics wizard, winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Homenko (skill 2; experience 18; logistics wizard, winter specialist)
Major General Ivanov I.I. (skill 2; experience 0; defensive doctrine, winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Gorolen (skill 3; experience 25; offensive doctrine, winter specialist)
Major General Kirichenko (skill 2; experience 0; logistics wizard, winter specialist, panzer leader)
Colonel General Volskij (skill 3; experience 6; logistics wizard, panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Eremin (skill 3; experience 0)
Major General Gromov (skill 2; experience 0; tank buster)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Viipuri, Leningrad, Kingisepp, Narva, Luga

1st Baltic Front
Lieutenant General Berzarin (skill 3; experience 28; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Kondratchev (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Golikov (skill 3; experience 19; offensive doctrine)
Major General Galitskij (skill 2; experience 0)
Major General Koshevoi (skill 3; experience 0)
Major General Ivanov V.D. (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Belov S.I. (skill 1; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Borzikov (skill 1; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Lieutenant General Skripko (skill 4; experience 0)
2 Interceptor Squadrons
Locations: Jelgava, Riga, Opochka

2nd Baltic Front
Major General Antonov (skill 3; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Kazakov (skill 3; experience 42)
Major General Fediunski (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Major General Erastov (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Ermakov (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Gerasimov A.V. (skill 3; experience 0)
Major General Anikushkin (skill 1; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Sakhno (skill 1; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Yakovlev (skill 3; experience 0; tank buster)
Major General Savitskij (skill 3; experience 0; superior tactician)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Jekabpils, Dagaupils, Opochka

3rd Baltic Front
Lieutenant General Malinovskij (skill 4; experience 0; logistics wizard, defensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Reiter (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Zhadov (skill 3; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Glagolev (skil 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Dratvin (skill 2; experience 0; trickster)
Lieutenant General Zakharov G.F. (skill 3; experience 0; trickster)
Major General Katkov (skill 2; experience 0; logistics wizard, panzer leader)
Major General Petkov M.P. (skill 1; experience 0; logistics wizard, panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Polynin (skill 1; experience 0; superior tactician)
Major General Polbin (skill 2; experience 0; tank buster)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Wilno, Swieciany, Vitebsk

1st Belarusian Front
Field Marshal Timoshenko S.K. (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Field Marshal Chuikov (skill 4; experience 0; defensive doctrine, trickster)
Lieutenant General Khrulev (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Eremenko (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Grechko (skill 3; experience 0)
Colonel General Kirponos (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine, fortress buster)
Lieutenant General Badanov (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Baranov V.I. (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Lieutenant General Smuschkevich (skill 2; experience 0; tank buster)
Major General Khudyakov (skill 4; experience 0; superior tactician)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev

2nd Belarusian Front
Field Marshal Fedorenko (skill 4; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Bagramian (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard, offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Govorov (skill 3; experience 3; defensive doctrine, offensive doctrine)
Major General Kreizer (skill 3; experience 0)
Major General Krylov (skill 3; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Kurasov (skill 3; experience 2)
Major General Katukov (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Kravchenko (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Kutakhov (skill 3; experience 0; tank buster)
Major Generl Rygachov (skill 2; experience 0; superior tactician)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Bialystok, Bobraisk, Mogilev

3rd Belarusian Front
Lieutenant General Chistyakov M.N. (skill 4; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Gorbatov (skill 3; experience 2)
Lieutenant General Kurochkin P.A. (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Lutchinski (skill 3; experience 1)
Lieutenant General Lopatin (skill 2; experience 1)
Lieutenant General Batov (skill 3; experience 1)
Major General Rotmistrov (skill 3; experience 0; trickster, panzer leader)
Lieutenant General Pliev (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Air Marshal Novikov (skill 3; experience 0; tank buster)
2 CAS Squadrons
Locations: Bielsk, Brest-Litovsk, Slonim

1st Ukrainian Front
Colonel General Tolbulkin (skill 4; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Colonel General Malinin (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Missan (skill 2; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Boldin (skill 3; experience 2)
Lieutenant General Maslennikov (skill 3; experience 2)
Major General Mironov P.A. (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Alekseev (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Bahmetiev (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Air General Zhigarev (skill 3; experience 0; tank buster)
Lieutenant General Kharlamov (skill 1; experience 0; superior tactician)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Kowel, Lvov, Tarnopol, Kiev

2nd Ukrainian Front
Colonel General Purkaev M.A. (skill 3; experience 35)
Major General Nikitin N.A. (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Major General Biriuzov (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Chibisov (skill 3; experience 0; trickster)
Lieutenant General Muzychenko (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine, offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Ryabyshev (skill 1; experience 19; Engineer)
Lieutenant General Lelyushenko (skill 2; experience 0; defensive doctrine, panzer leader)
Lieutenant General Novikov N.A. (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Shevchenko (skill 2; experience 0; tank buster)
Major General Thor (skill 1; experience 0; superior tactician)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Stanislawow, Mogilev Podolski, Cherkassy, Kiev

3rd Ukrainian Front
Lieutenant General Vlassov (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine, offensive doctrine)
Major General Shlemin (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Tamruchi (skill 2; experience 48; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Vatutin (skill 3; experience 0)
Lieutenant General Sandalov (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Terekhin (skill 2; experience 0; defensive doctrine, offensive doctrine)
Major General Butkov (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Konovov (skill 2; experience 0; panzer leader)
17 Rifle Divisions, 1 HQ, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions, 4 Motorized Rifle Divisions; 3 corps of 2+1, 5 corps of 3
Major General Vorozheikin (skill 4; experience 0)
Major General Rudenko (skill 2; experience 0; tank buster)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Balta, Odessa, Kherson

Istanbul Front
Field Marshal Kuznetsov A.I. (skill 3; experience 30; commando)
Lieutenant General Deev (skill 3; experience 3; commando)
Lieutenant General Saladze (skill 3; experience 20; commando)
Lieutenant General Marchenkov (skill 3; experience 12; commando)
Lieutenant General Berman (skill 3; experience 31; offensive doctrine)
12 Mountain Rifle Divisions, 3 Cavalry Divisions; 5 corps of 3
Location: Istanbul

Black Sea Front
Field Marshal Vacietis (skill 2; experience 6; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Apanasenko (skill 2; experience 63)
Lieutenant General Chernyak (skill 3; experience 3)
Lieutenant General Bochenkov (skill 2; experience 70; defensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Gaj (skill 1; experience 67; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Efremov (skill 2; experience 95)
Colonel General Petrushevskij (skill 3; experience 35; offensive doctrine)
18 Rifle Divisions, 3 Cavalry Divisions; 7 corps of 3
Locations: Rostov, Stalino, Melitopol, Sevastopol, Krasnodar, Novorossisk, Kashary

Reserve (Moscow) Front
Colonel General Cherevichenko (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Major General Krivoshein (skill 2; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Kutyakov (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Kuznetsov V.V. (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard)
Lieutenant General Larichev (skill 2; experience 0; defensive doctrine)
15 Rifle Divisions
Major General Sudets (skill 3; experience 0)
Major General Goryunov (skill 2; experience 0)
2 Interceptor Squadrons, 2 CAS Squadrons; 2 Air Corps of 2
Locations: Moscow, Mozhaisk, Rzhev, Kalinin, Noginsk

STAVKA
Field Marshal Buddenij (skill 1; experience 0; old guard)
1 HQ
Location: Moscow

Manchurian Front
Lieutenant General Shapkin (skill 3; experience 7; offensive doctrine, old guard)
1 Rifle Division
Location: Vladivostok

NKVD Baltic District
Field Marshal Tukhachevskij (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine, panzer leader)
Lieutenant General Trubnikov (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine, winter specialist)
Lieutenant General Trofimenko (skill 3; experience 0)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 MP Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Gulbene

NKVD Belarus District
Field Marshal Shaposhnikov (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine)
Lieutenant General Zhmachenko (skill 3; experience 0)
Field Marshal Moskalenko (skill 3; experience 0)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 MP Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Mogilev

NKVD Ukraine District
Colonel General Shtern (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine)
Colonel General Sokolovskij (skill 3; experience 0)
Colonel General Susaikov (skill 3; experience 0)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 MP Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Zaporozhye

3rd Shock Army
Colonel General Shumilov (skill 3; experience 0; fortress buster)
Major General Korshilov (skill 2; experience 0; fortress buster)
Lieutenant General Odintsev (skill 3; experience 0; fortress buster)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 Artillery Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Porkhov

2nd Shock Army
Field Marshal Voronov (skill 4; experience 0; fortress buster)
Lieutenant General Krasnopevtsev (skill 3; experience 0; defensive doctrine, fortress buster)
Lieutenant General Zakharov M.V. (skill 3; experience 0; fortress buster)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 Artillery Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Klintsy

1st Shock Army
Colonel General Meretskov (skill 3; experience 0; logistics wizard, fortress buster)
Major General Nedelin (skill 3; experience 0; fortress buster)
Major General Kariofillij (skill 2; experience 0; fortress buster)
9 Rifle Divisions with 9 Artillery Brigades; 3 corps of 3
Location: Poltava

1st Tank Army
Field Marshal Vasilevskij (skill 5; experience 36; logistics wizard, offensive doctrine, panzer leader)
Field Marshal Rokossovsky (skill 5; experience 2; offensive doctrine, winter specialist, panzer leader)
Lieutenant General Rybalko (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
Major General Bogdanov S.I. (skill 4; experience 0; panzer leader)
4 Armored Divisions with 4 Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions with Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades, 6 Motorized Rifle Divisions with Armored Car Brigades; 4 corps of 2+1
Location: Orsha

2nd Tank Army
Field Marshal Zhukov G.K. (skill 5; experience 23; offensive doctrine, winter specialist, panzer leader)
Field Marshal Konev (skill 5; experience 0; offensive doctrine, panzer leader)
Field Marshal Popov M.M. (skill 3; experience 0; offensive doctrine, panzer leader)
Major General Cherniakhovskij (skill 3; experience 0; panzer leader)
4 Armored Divisions with 4 Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades, 2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions with Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades, 6 Motorized Rifle Divisions with Armored Car Brigades; 4 corps of 2+1
Location: Priluki

Guards Airborne Army
Lieutenant General Semenovskij (skill 3; experience 0; commando)
Major General Osade (skill 2; experience 0; offensive doctrine, commando)
6 Airborne Rifle Divisions with 6 Engineer Brigades; 2 corps of 3
Major General Raskova (skill 1; experience 0; night flyer)
Major General Danschin (skill 1; experience 0; night flyer)
6 Transport Squadrons; 2 air corps of 3
Location: Gomel

These formations were divided up into three strategic echelons. The first echelon comprised every single European Front (Murmansk through to 3rd Ukrainian) except for the Leningrad and Reserve (Moscow) Fronts and including the Istanbul Front. The second echelon consisted of the individual armies (Shock, Tank, Airborne) and the NKVD districts. The third echelon is the Leningrad, Reserve (Moscow), Black Sea Fronts and STAVKA. The Manchurian Front is completely irrelevant to everything on this good earth.

First Echelon Total
10 HQs
170 Rifle Divisions
20 Mechanized Rifle Divisions
40 Motorized Rifle Divisions
15 Mountain Rifle Divisions
3 Cavalry Divisions
18 CAS Squadrons
18 Interceptor Squadrons

Manpower Total: 2,658,000

Second Echelon Total
54 Rifle Divisions
8 Armored Divisions
4 Mechanized Rifle Divisions
12 Motorized Rifle Divisions
6 Airborne Rifle Divisions
27 MP Brigades
27 Artillery Brigades
12 Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades
12 Armored Car Brigades
6 Engineer Brigades
6 Air Transport Squadrons

Manpower Total: 1,044,000

Third Echelon Total
2 HQs
50 Rifle Divisions
2 Mechanized Rifle Divisions
4 Motorized Rifle Divisions
3 Cavalry Divisions
4 Interceptor Squadrons
4 CAS Squadrons

Manpower Total: 609,000

Grand Total (not including the one Manchurian division)
12 HQ
274 Rifle Divisions
8 Armored Divisions
6 Airborne Rifle Divisions
12 Mountain Rifle Divisions
27 MP Brigades
27 Artillery Brigades
12 Self-Propelled Artillery Brigades
12 Armored Car Brigades
6 Engineer Brigades
22 CAS Squadrons
22 Interceptor Squadrons
6 Air Transport Squadrons

Manpower Total: 4,311,000

BritishImperial: Yep, only 8. They comprise the core of two corps each of the two tank armies. As for having a bigger army than Discomb, well...yeah. On average, his divisions have 30 organization more than mine, and his leaders probably 2 skill levels.

Discomb: Yep, 12. And yep, Tolbukhin

First comment day!

TheExecuter: We'll see how I use all the assets under my command...

coz1: Yup, we're almost there now. The OOBs were for those obsessive individuals who want to know exactly what the disparity of forces was between us

Second comment day!

A barge in the middle of the River Vistula between Kielce and Zamosc
April 1, 1942

The barge, chained to both sides of the shore so that it would remain stationary, was populated by six men sitting upon its opposite sides. Three of these men represented the Anglo-German Axis and the other three, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The former three were Constantin von Neurath and his protégé Joachim von Ribbentrop, as well as the British foreign minister Anthony Eden and the latter three, Maksim Litvinov, Andrey Vyshinskij and Vyacheslav Molotov. They were emulating two great statesmen from several generations before them: the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Tsar Alexander I. They had ostentatiously settled the fate of Europe by pen on the River Nieman in 1807 in the Treaty of Tilsit—a treaty which only led to a bloody campaign in Russia in 1812—in a misguided attempt to prove that the pen was mightier than the sword.

On this day, the first of April, 1942, there would be no fooling about. The six men present on the barge would also craft a treaty to sign that would also settle the fate of Europe, and everyone expected that it would lead to a war at least as devastating as the campaign one hundred and thirty years previously. None of them, however, expected a vague five year alliance to endure between the three powers before war would be declared. This was, however, the last chance for the civilized men to converse in peace, amiably, before the matter of fate was cast before Mars, to be decided by fire and blood and carnage.

Given the equal number of men sitting on either side of the barge, it had been previously decided to break the negotiations down into rounds—three rounds, one for each of the three pairs of diplomats that were sitting and staring at each other with a variety of feelings and facial expressions. Litvinov was staring placidly at his counterpart, von Neurath, who was casting nervous glances back. Vyshinskij was staring calculatingly at Eden, who was returning his gaze with eyes flaring with ideological fervor. Molotov and von Ribbentrop were simply staring bluntly at each other, engaged in a staring contest of unmatched brute force; neither was willing to give in to the other. In the end, the issue was decided by von Neurath, who coughed. Everyone’s attention flew to him and, looking around in a panic, he nodded jerkily toward Litvinov, who languidly stood up from his seat and moved toward the table in the center. Von Neurath joined him there and they ceremoniously shook hands before sitting down upon the two opposing seats simultaneously.

Litvinov began. “We both know that any war between our two parties may only end in disaster. You know better than I the nature of your leader Hitler and I know well the nature of Stalin. It would be a total war without peer. Either our great union or your steadfast axis will fall without redemption.”

Von Neurath nodded tiredly. “Yes, very true. International law will condemn him who declares the war, for there is no cassus belli.”

“Yes, inasmuch as international law may be applied to great powers such as our two camps. Who would enforce them? The United States? Pfah, they are far too isolationist. Equatorial Africa? They have over three million men in arms, yes, but they are all concentrated in India because they have not figured out that they require a large amount of shipping to expand their armed forces to the far reaches of their global empire. No, we have little to fear from international law.”

Von Neurath raised both his eyebrows and scratched his chin. “Very well then. Why doesn’t your party declare war, then? If we have nothing to fear, not even the stigma of bringing into being such a great war as you predict, then you may have the honors, dubious as they may be.”

Litvinov frowned. “I do not begin wars, good sir. I negotiate the end of them.”

“This did not stop you in previous years. The majority of your wars were aggressive in nature. Much more of ours were defensive wars that simply ended with our territory expanding considerably.”

Litvinov snorted. “Then you obviously need to catch up with us. You declare war.”

Von Neurath smiled slightly. “You know what I’ll do?”

He scribbled furiously on one of the sheets of paper lying on the table before sliding it across to Litvinov. Interested, Litvinov picked it up and read it out loud, in a voice that would not reach beyond the limits of the table. “I, Constantin von Neurath, hereby propose a trade agreement between the Greater German Reich and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in which the latter party delivers unto the former one thousand barrels of oil per day for no material gain in return.”

He looked up at von Neurath. “You know I cannot accept this, correct?”

Von Neurath nodded seriously. “Yes, of course. It is not meant to be accepted. It is meant to paralyze the German foreign ministry. We cannot put forward any new proposals, or indeed declarations of war, for a week until our diplomat returns from Moscow.”

Litvinov stared at von Neurath with a mixture of puzzlement and rage before frowning thunderously as the man and abruptly standing up. He stormed back to his seat at the end of the barge and motioned Vyshinskij to replace him, pausing only to tell his successor that the Germans were not declaring war. At the same time, von Neurath wandered back to his side of the barge with a smirk on his face and winked at his two compatriots. “Round one: Germany!”

Anthony Eden moved to stand opposite Vyshinskij. Shaking hands, they sat down in the seats that had so recently served to support their predecessor’s bodies against the greedy pull of gravity. Vyshinskij eyed Eden warily, holding the other man’s eyes with his own as he slowly slid his hand from beneath the table to grasp the marred piece of paper resting on his side of the table. With a swift movement, he grabbed it, crumbled it and tossed it away from the table with a casual motion. Eden recoiled in surprise before glaring at Vyshinskij and hissing at him, “von Neurath may be too timid to declare war, but I’m not!”

Vyshinskij looked at Eden innocently. “Why, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you know full well! I hate you damn Bolsheviks, ever since you came to power in the aftermath of the Great War! If I had my way, I would have had you and your poisonous ilk stamped out then and there before you became entrenched like you are now! But no matter, I’ll make sure it is done now!”

Vyshinskij managed to hide his amusement at Eden’s ranting as the Briton snatched at a piece of paper and began scribbling on it. He was about to furiously cast it at Vyshinskij’s face when his face paled so badly that he took on the appearance of a corpse, and his entire body sagged in the chair he was sitting upon. Without another word, he stood up lifelessly and trudged back toward the Anglo-German side of the barge. Collapsing woefully into his seat, he sighed. “I forgot, even though we are allied with the most dictatorial government in the world—barring the Soviet Union—we remain an isolationist democracy. I still don’t understand how that works.”

Von Neurath smiled slightly as tears trickled down Eden’s cheeks. On the opposite side of the barge, a bewildered Vyshinskij sat down and conferred with Litvinov and Molotov. “Eden almost declared war, I know it. But then he just stopped and seemed to die on the inside. I’m not entirely sure why.”

Litvinov nodded. “Remember, Britain remains an isolationist democracy. Every war they’ve been involved in, in the past six years, Germany’s declared for them. Molotov, you know what to do.”

Molotov nodded confidently and strode toward the table. His opposite, von Ribbentrop, met him. They shook hands perfunctorily before Molotov quickly took a piece of paper and scribbled on it, not even bothering to sit down. Straightening up, he slammed the paper in the middle of the table with all his strength, causing it to creak worrisomely, and for good measure followed it up by a dagger that he buried into the middle of the paper. He spun around and strode triumphantly back toward the Soviet side of the barge, leaving a muddled von Ribbentrop to stare at the paper.

Vyshinskij cocked his head at Molotov. “How did you get your hands on one of my daggers? I could have sworn that I have all of them on me until I saw one in your hand.”

Molotov smiled wolfishly at Vyshinskij as Litvinov scrunched his forehead. “Did you just do what I think you did, Molotov?”

Almost as an answer, the dagger Molotov had left in the table embedded itself between Vyshinskij’s feet with a slip of paper attached. Picking up both, Vyshinskij handed the paper to Litvinov, who read it allowed. “Noted.”

He then looked up at Molotov and sighed in some despair. “You did do what I thought you did. I suppose it cannot be helped now.”

Discomb: Glad you liked the update

BritishImperial: Discomb claimed he couldn't, kind of like how von Neurath claimed he couldn't. I think they might both be lying, cheating bastards if it's the case that the trade agreement doesn't affect DoWs

First comment day!