History of the Modern Red Army - Soviet Union Total War AAR

Well, more troops mean more supplies necessary. Forts are an one-time investment, but also useful for only one time as well. It all comes down to if I can make the enemy play according to my wishes.

Update on the Armoured Forces


The current formation system of the Red Army armour is based on Army level command to effectively guide and centralize the force from it's armoured forces according to top-level strategic need. Currently, two Mechanized Armies, the 1st and the 2nd, are formed and in operational readiness.

The 1st Mechanized Army currently consists of 10 tank and 5 motorized divisions, formed into 5 mechanized corps'. The Army is lead by Marshal Ivan Konev and is positioned in the Kaunas-Wilno area.

The 2nd Mechanized Army currently consists of 8 tank and 7 motorized divisions, formed into 4 mechanized corps'. The Army is lead by Marshal Georgy Zhukov and is positioned in the Minsk-Smolensk area. It is not fully formed and is presumed to be at full battle readiness by the 5th of June.

In addition to two independent armies, there are also tank, armoured car and self-propelled artillery brigades in the various Fronts, subjugated to infantry divisions, motorized or otherwise.

The full count of all armoured assets in the end of February 1941 is as follows.


Total armoured vehicles - 8923

of which in active service - 8570
of which being formed into units - 353​

Model T-28 tanks - 2527
Model BT-7M tanks - 1963
Model BA-20 armoured cars - 1443
Model BT-5 tanks - 1400
Model KV-1 tanks - 850
Model SU-76 self-propelled artillery guns - 314 (of which unassigned - 34)
Model T-34 tanks - 303 (of which unassigned - 303)
Model BA-10 armoured cars - 123 (of which unassigned - 16)


The T-28 is our most numerous tank, but slowly being replaced by the BT-7 model. It was designed for an infantry-support role rather than a divisional level tank force one, and as such, is obsolete in our current military doctrine. However, taken on its own right, the tank is a formidable medium tank comparable to the german Pz-IV series after being improved minding the lessons from the Soviet-Finnish war. Technical details is as follows:

Weight: 27,8 tons
Engine: 450 hp
Armour (front/side): standard (de jure) 30/20 mm, improved (de facto) 80/50mm
Speed: 40 km/h
Operational range: 220 km
Main gun: 76.2 mm
Supporting armaments: 4x7.62mm machine guns

The BT-7M is a cavalry tank, lightly armoured and very fast and mobile. It is designed to cover land quickly and efficiently with reasonable firepower. However, it is insufficient for engaging enemy heavy armour and is being phased out in favour of the T-34.

Weight: 18 tons
Engine: 500 hp diesel
Armour (front/side): 30/30 mm
Speed: 52 (tracked) to 72 (wheeled) km/h
Operational range: 230 to 900 km, depending on configuration
Main gun: 45 mm
Supporting armaments: 7.62mm machine gun

The BA-20 is a light armoured car, meant for scouting, communications and light support roles. It is only in brigade level-formations, attached to infantry, motorized or tank units. It is being phased out in favour of the BA-10

Weight: 2.5 tons
Engine: 500 hp diesel
Armour: 10 mm
Speed: 85 km/h) km/h
Operational range: 450 km
Main armaments: 7.62mm machine gun

The BT-5 is essentialy an inferior version of the BT-7 and the most obsolete tank in service.

Weight: 11.5 tons
Engine: 365 hp
Armour: 13 mm
Speed: 53 (tracked) to 72 (wheeled) km/h
Operational range: 150-200 km, depending on configuration.
Main gun: 45mm
Secondary armaments: 7.62mm machine gun

The KV-1 is our leading heavy tank, meant for sheer breakthrough power on the field. All of these tanks are currently formed into brigades supporting infantry. The tank is the most modern heavy tank available to us at the moment.

Weight: 45 tons
Engine: 600 hp
Armour: 90-75 mm
Speed: 35 km/h
Operational range: 335 km.
Main gun: 76mm
Secondary armaments: 3x7.62mm machine guns

The SU-76 is a simple and effective self-propelled artillery piece, and is the only model of its class in use by the Red Army. It is designed for high-level mobile artillery support for divisions to which they are attached, and can be used as assault guns and anti-tank weapons.

Weight: 10 tons
Engine: 2x85 hp
Armour (front/side): 35/16 mm
Speed: 45 km/h
Operational range: 320 km.
Main gun: 76mm ZiS3 gun

The T-34 is our most modern tank available, and is planned to replace all but the heavy armour tank class models. Currently no formations field the weapon, but the first tank division to be formed from solely T-34s will be operational approximately on 04.04.1941. It is revolutionary in many aspects, especially it's sloped armour, which allows for mcuh moe protection regular armour would.

Weight: 26 tons
Engine: 500 hp
Armour: 45 mm
Speed: 53 km/h
Operational range: 400 km.
Main gun: 76.2 mm F-34 gun
Secondary armaments: 2x7.62mm machine guns

The BA-10 is an upgraded version of the BA-20, and is to fulfill the same role. It features a formidable main gun for an armoured car.

Weight: 5 tons
Engine: 500 hp
Armour: 6-15 mm
Speed: 53 km/h
Operational range: 300 km.
Main gun: 45 mm
Secondary armaments: 2x7.62mm machine guns

In time it'll all be T-34. As for now, I'm a bit puzzled as to how did Paradox put the T-28, by all means a more powerful tank, as inferior to the BT-7M, which is a light tank altogether. But all the numbers you see there are real - calculated from the amount of divisions/brigades I've got, how many are upgraded, how many are in production. At best, I'll have two divisions of T-34s up by Barbarossa.

One interesting bit about my game is that apparently Shaposhnikov was purged as a general in my game, but stayed as a minister. Let's call it a promotion.

Well, I'm very close, give or take, to your numbers, but their technological quality is not the best... not to mention that while my air force is powerful, the intel report scared the crap out of me, as the Luftwaffe is a beast.

The World in 1941

The world in 1941.

Europe has been completely reshaped. The fall of France in 1940 resulted in total german hegemony over mainland Europe, yet with a Britain unconquered and a strong USSR on it's eastern border, the status quo was sure not to last. The Axis war machine continued to rage in Europe throughout the year, conquering not only the Low Countries and France, but also Denmark, Norway, Yugoslavia and Greece. Following the entry of Italy into the war, the focus was shifted from Europe to North Africa, where the Italians and British met in desert warfare. Britain struggled to keep their presence in Egypt, and had no way to take on the Axis on their own terms.



The same was true for China. From 1937, they had been fighting a losing battle, and their losses were nearing a million men. Japanese offensives continued to stride on deeper into the chinese heartland, conquering the Nanjing areas, as well as striking a wedge between the communist stronghold and the nationalist one.



However, in February, possible salvation came for both Britain and China.



The Empire of the Rising Sun was now at war with the USA, UK and the exiled government of Netherlands. The strongest industry in the world was now at war with Japan, as well as Germany due to Adolf Hitlers declaration of war a few days after the japanese one. While this was very welcome news for Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek, it also meant that their situation in the Far East would start to deteriorate quickly. In a massive operation, the Japanese sweeped into Burma, Malaya, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Pacific chain of islands. Japan was dominating over their opponents, and by the fifth month of 1941, Singapore was under siege, the Philippines had completely fallen to Japan, the island base of Wake Island was in japanese hands, japanese advance units were nearing Brahmaputra with little to no british resistance. China was becoming increasingly isolated and the British commonwealth was struggling to respond. The US loss in the Philippines and Wake Island was temporarily forgotten after the first US amphibious attack in Eniwetok, where a rare victory was achieved, yet a phyrric victory as the operation saw the loss of the heavy cruiser USS Minneapolis to the bombs of japanese carrier air groups.

The Soviet Union in 1941

The Soviet Union in 1941

With the prospect of war looming ever closer, the Soviet Union was making it's final steps to be ready for the struggle that lay ahead. Factories, kolkhozy and mines were all working at three shifts to turn the Soviet utopia into a well-armed machine of war. And it payed off. In 1941, Soviet production was second only to that of the US.





Technologywise, the Soviet Union had entered the fifth decade with a bang. KV-1s and T-34s were becoming ever more of a familiar sight in the divisions, modern IL-2 and Yak-7 aircraft were constantly paraded over the heads of the Red Army, but never as much as was necessary. Still the comissar was an important character in the command structure, still soldier had little to rely upon except his Nagant.



But the numbers told a different story. The Soviet Union had more than 2 million men to deploy on it's western border alone, and in pure numbers rather than proportion, it was the most mechanized army in the world with 20 tank and 15 motorized divisions.

Allright, two of the last minor updates. As it is the 24th of May, from now on our updates will start to adhere to a different tone. Believe me, with over 200 divisions, it's gonna be a bitch to write the huge armageddon that'll erupt soon.

Well, when I started this AAR, my whole aim was to create an AAR that deals with every battle that goes on in game. None of that crap about "organized retreat" and "massive offensive", every battle will be brought up, examined, put into context and be detailed for the readers pleasure. It's very uninteresting to talk of a military operation with millions of participants in such a broad sense like most history books actually do.

Japan, japan. Those bastards always manage to steamroll China at some point no matter what I do. Still, I will believe Sorge, and I will engage Japan on my terms. It seems it'll be renamed though - not the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, but the Chinese Strategic Offensive Operation.

Prelude to the summer

By the 1st of June, the Soviet Union totaled over 2 million men in active service on its western border. Despite theoretical shortcomings, for all intents and purposes, the Red Army was nearly ready for war. A massive amount of fuel and supplies was amassed to caches right behind the front, and a large amount of it went directly to combat units themselves. Even though mobilization itself was not yet declared to the public, de facto it was already well underway under the guise of "strategic drill" and "war games". In the very same time did Soviet forward units report increased radio and transport activity despite best attempts to shield them by the Axis side. It was blatantly obvious that behind the facade of the MRP were two men determined to kill one another.

Most importantly, a few weeks into June, a spy by the name of Richard Sorge reported in to the GRU from Japan. He claimed to know of german intentions to attack the Soviet Union in the timeframe 20th-22nd of June. A date only weeks away. Due to the sheer amount of traffic already on the western front, it is difficult to say whether this information was acted upon or not, but his info was nonetheless invaluable. Perhaps just as importantly, he also managed to send over convincing data, backing up his second claim about japanese intentions - namely that no offensive in Far East Siberia would be planned by the Kwantung Army unless the Soviet Union suffers a true military disaster in its heartland.

The main question in Stavka was if the Red Army should adopt a defensive or an offensive posture in Poland in case of a conflict with Germany. The political comissars, still a force present after the reforms meant to reduce their power, firmly believed that "the Red Army is the most attacking army in the world". Most of the political leadership outside the officer class thought this as well, most notably Stalin himself. Until then, all Soviet operations had been done far away enough - in Finland, Poland, Manchuria. It was pshycologically hard for civilian leadership to accept the possibility of a defensive war. The officer corps mostly favoured a flexible strategy - one that would exploit any weaknesses in the German lines, but not one that would overextend itself. Yet even they believed the war would be carried into german-occupied Poland, as the "red envelopes" and the officer maps would later show. Yet in a glaring oversight, Stavka forgot to note how it was alredy in foreign lands. Polish, ukrainian and baltic nationalists had been operating in the areas since 1939, and they were no small threat to the occupiers.

Admittedly it's easier to heed Sorge in hindsight, but for now, let's just say Manchuria only has mongol/tannu troops, and the men in Poland are in battle formation.

The remark about "the most attacking army" is a small in-joke about the commissars. Although gone through the rigors of translation twice. The core of the joke is that the commissars had been indoctrinated (and -ing) about how indestructible the Red Army was, and how it would always attack... until 1941, of course.