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A New Era

This is a rather important section so I feel that a little explanation is in order before we dive right in. It took much longer to do than the others because it involves a much longer span of time. Since there isn't nearly as much happening during peace as there is during war, I decided to just do all of 1945-1949 as one update. It will also be in two parts: the first covers the political and diplomatic happenings of the new post-war peace, while the second (which I will post later today) covers my naval buildup. Enjoy.


While the Soviet military was in a strong position following the war, they still had much to improve on before they could hope to defeat the might of Britain and America. On land the current forces were satisfactory, as the Red Army already possessed thousands of tanks and millions of battle-hardened infantry.
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The naval and air forces were not in as good of condition however. The Red Navy was incredibly backward. It's only capital ships dated back to before the First World War! While the VVS could boast of some of the world's most advanced planes, it had taken heavy losses during the war and would need many months to replenish it's numbers.
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Gangut class dreadnought. The backbone of the postwar Soviet Navy


The Kremlin also turned its eyes abroad. Stalin knew that in order to counter the Allies' global reach Soviet influence had to become global as well. While most of Europe, Asia, and Africa had already been divided up between the alliances, there was still one neutral continent: South America. A Soviet foothold in the New World would be a nightmare for the Americans, as it would allow Soviet missiles and bombers to reach the American homeland. There was a problem however. Most of the South American governments were friendly toward the Americans and would not willingly join the Comintern. Any attempt to force them to comply would mean war. Therefore the Kremlin turned to the NKVD to perform some "regime adjustments" on unfriendly governments in the region.
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The NKVD


NKVD agents were immediately sent to Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia to organize the local Communist parties and get them in a position to eventually topple the governments. In addition, operatives were sent to Sweden and Bulgaria for the same purpose. In Bulgaria they found that the local Party was already powerful, and in a matter of months the Bulgarian Communist Party was the largest in the country. On 20 December 1945 they struck, storming government buildings in Sofiya and seizing power in what was at first a relatively bloodless coup.
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The new Bulgarian government was not as friendly to the Soviets as they were expected to be, however. Moscow was enraged when the Bulgarians refused their offer to join the Comintern at once, and Konstantin Rokossovsky's II Shock Army was deployed to the border in early January.
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On the 17th negotiations broke down, and Rokossovsky's men were ordered to enter Bulgaria to protect civilians and "restore order".
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After brushing past intense but sporadic resistance, Soviet tanks entered Sofiya on the 28th, forcing the Bulgarians to see reason and return to the negotiation table.
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With Eastern Europe secure and the NKVD working on strengthening friendly political parties around the world, the Soviets' turned their attention to another of Stalin's pet projects. On the 25th of April 1946, the USSR's most secret and long-running program at last bore it's terrible fruit.
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When images of the first man-made nuclear explosion were broadcast around the world, the West was in shock. Their own nuclear programs were years behind and now the Soviet Union possessed a weapon that could level whole cities. The "Cold War", as it had become known, began to heat up. The rest of the year, and most of 1947, passed uneventfully, with massive expansion being done to the VVS and Red Navy. In February 1947 NKVD agents were dispatched to work with the Communist Parties in Argentina and Venezuela as well.

By the beginning of 1948 the Soviet military was stronger than ever, and the Kremlin decided to take another look at the map of Asia. In the event of war they needed a way to strike at China and British India, and the neutral central Asian nations of Afghanistan, Sinkiang, and Tibet presented excellent targets. In late May the IX Rifle Army was sent by sea to Persia. It then proceeded by land to the borders of Afghanistan. The terrain was horrendous and it wasn't until August that the army was in a position to attack. War was declared on August 2.
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Even in the mountainous terrain the Afghan Army stood no chance. The experienced Soviet infantry cut straight through them and on the 17th a puppet government was installed in Kabul.

In November it was Sinkiang's turn. The land was not as harsh as in Afghanistan, but it still took a month to secure the country. Tibet was attacked in January 1949, and once again the Red Army was easily victorious.
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The only other major event of 1949 was the development of the Yak-23. The VVS interceptor squadrons were equipped with the innovative new fighter in October.
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With that, the year and the decade ended. The 1940's had been huge for the USSR. It had overcome the full fury of Nazi Germany and had gone from being a backward peasant nation to one of the world's superpowers. Now, with Soviet reach spreading across the globe and war on the horizon, the new decade looked to be even more crucial.
 
The Naval Buildup

Another short preface. I guess this is kind of part two of the update. All the shipbuilding that I did took place during the 1945-1949 timeline of the last update but if I included it all in one post it would be a tome that would be too long for anybody to read.

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The most glaring problem that the Soviets would face in the coming war was their lack of a modern navy. As Stavka reviewed the situation they found that it was grim indeed. The entire Red Navy consisted of two pre-WWI battleships (formerly three. one had been lost fighting the Italians), four obsolete destroyer squadrons, an old light cruiser, and a large number of decrepit submarines. There was hope however. Throughout the last two years of the war the Soviets had been researching naval technologies at a very fast rate and had already begun construction of two escort carriers, two new battleships, and best of all, two modern full-sized aircraft carriers.
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The new ships would be outclassed by the newest American vessels, but they would provide the Red Navy with valuable practical shipbuilding experience. Finally in early January of 1946, the USSR's first aircraft carriers were finished and set to be launched at Sevastopol, the new headquarters of the Fleet.
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The Moskva and the Leningrad had been built with 1938 level technology and would be unsuitable for major fleet actions, but they could support landings and cover ground troops.


In April the Kiyev and the Minsk, both modern full-sized carriers, were finished. Their long ranges would give the Red Navy the ability to strike at Allied forces in Asia and even North America.
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Soviet carriers were being built in classes of two. Each class started would be more modern than the last. The Baku and the Tbilisi were the next generation and were a match for most American ships. Also, light cruisers were built to escort the capital ships. They were among the most advanced ships of their kind in the world.
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A year later two new battleships, Sovyetskiy Soyuz and Sovyetskaya Ukraina, were finished. Three more (with a fourth being added to the queue later) with even more advanced weapons and armor were immediately ordered.
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The Red Navy next turned its attention to acquiring decent submarines. There had been no time to research a modern domestic model so the Soviets turned to their new ally, Germany. The Germans possessed the most advanced sub designs in the world and in June six flotillas of them were purchased for $6000.
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In September 1948 the subs, and the first batch of new light cruisers, were completed. In the mean time the Germans had developed a newer model of submarine and were paid $25,000 for 8 production runs of the boat.
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Baku and the Tbilisi were completed in October and on the 1st of December, the final generation of Soviet carriers was started. The two ships of the Ulyanovsk-class, Stalingrad and Smolensk, were equipped with cutting-edge armor, engines, and radar. When they were finished in September of the next year, they would be able to outfight and outrun any adversary they might encounter. 10 heavy cruisers were also ordered.
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The hull of the Stalingrad being laid down


July of 1949 saw the next three battleships finished. They had been built with 1946 level tech and could match any American or British battleship.
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When the Stalingrad and the Smolensk were finished in September, they were the pride of the Red Fleet. Their completion brought the total number of Soviet fleet carriers to six. At last the Red Navy would be a force to be reckoned with on the high seas.
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Composition of the Red Navy at the end of 1949

Six fleet carriers - Kiyev, Minsk, Baku, Tbilisi, Stalingrad, Smolensk

Two escort carriers - Moskva, Leningrad

Five (with one more under construction) modern battleships - Sovyetskiy Soyuz, Sovyetskaya Ukraina, Arkhangelsk, Gangut, Petropavlovsk. Two obsolete pre-WWI battleships.

Ten heavy cruisers

Nineteen light cruisers (8 more under construction)

Fourteen submarine flotillas - all German-made


These were organized into fleets of:

[2 CV + 1 CA + 3 CL]

and

[2 BB + 1 CA + 3 CL]

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a brilliant concept, however i thought there were some gimmicks after 1948, even if you edit the defines.lua file that deals with the end date. nevertheless, i hope this is a great aar.
 
a brilliant concept, however i thought there were some gimmicks after 1948, even if you edit the defines.lua file that deals with the end date. nevertheless, i hope this is a great aar.

Yeah I heard something about air missions not working, but I've gotten to 1950 and nothings broken yet so hopefully that wont be an issue

glad you're following btw :)
 
Yeah I heard something about air missions not working, but I've gotten to 1950 and nothings broken yet so hopefully that wont be an issue

glad you're following btw :)

Also i would suggest keeping your CAs out of your CV fleets. The CA will bring the CV into range of enemy ships but pretty much give you nothing in return. Your CVs will take all kinds of unnecessary damage. Just a thought, of course you are the one who makes the decisions but I figured I would throw in my input.

In case you were wondering, here are my favorite fleet compositions:
2x BB 4x CL
2x CV 4x CL

If you really like CA, put them in your battleship fleets.
 
sorry for the long delay, I've been busy with college.

Anyway the war has finally begun :D should have an update out shortly

oh and thanks for the advice nightraid3r. I reorganized my fleets like you said and its working well so far
 
Cool setup, I always like this type of scenario. The only thing that bugs me is the funky border in Manchuria, haha. Subscribed nonetheless!!!
 
Looking forward. You have inspired me to play my SU game into "After Axis"...

Cool setup, I always like this type of scenario. The only thing that bugs me is the funky border in Manchuria, haha. Subscribed nonetheless!!!

Exciting! Subscribed

I really appreciate the support guys :)

I'm currently right in the middle of midterms, but expect a nice big update within the next few days
 
Red Dawn

Once again I apologize for the long delay, I've been busy with college. I'll make this update a little longer than usual to make up for the downtime.

By the beginning of 1952 it had become obvious that a new war was on the horizon. Diplomatic relations between the USSR and the Allies had completely broken down. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops moved to the Manchurian-Soviet border, and the trickle of Allied troops moving into new bases in Japan became a flood.

On paper the Soviets would be at a severe disadvantage. The combined industrial might of Britain and America tripled that of the USSR. The American Army alone nearly matched the Red Army in size. British and American ships dominated the high seas, outnumbering the Red Navy at least 3-to-1.

With all these issues in mind, the generals of the Stavka examined the situation in both West and East.
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It became clear that in order to counter the Allies' massive advantage in ships and men, the war would have to be started by a surprise Soviet offensive. The goal was to eliminate as many of the Allied nations as possible as quickly as possible, until only America remained.

The plan that was eventually agreed upon was codenamed Operation Mercury and it was divided into five stages.

Stage One:
Red Army tanks will blitz across Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium and secure all four countries' surrender before major British or American reinforcements can arrive.

An armored thrust from Mongolia and a naval landing in the Gulf of Chihli will cut off the bulk of the Chinese Army in Manchuria from their supply route.

Marine special forces units will land in Egypt to secure the Suez Canal.

Stage Two:
The trapped Chinese Army in Manchuria, now out of supplies, will be crushed.

Marine units will take Gibraltar, removing the British presence from the Mediterranean and securing Soviet supply lines.

Stage Three:
The rest of China, now vulnerable, will be swiftly overrun and a new Communist Chinese government will be installed.

Britain will be forced from the war, by invasion if necessary.

Stage Four:
Japan will be blockaded and invaded, and all Allied forces present will be destroyed.

Any remaining Allied nations in Asia (Siam, Indochina, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand) will be dispatched by forces operating from now-friendly British bases.

Stage Five:
The Panama Canal will be taken by naval forces and marines.

All strategic American islands in the Pacific (Guam, Wake, Midway, Hawaii) will be seized

The continental US itself will be attacked from both east and west.

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(Stage One in the west)

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(Stage One in the east)

[and no those aren't jellyfish, they're airborne landing sites]

At 5 in the morning of July 7, 1952, Operation Mercury was put into effect and the Third World War began.
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Attack in the West

Just hours prior, the Soviet leaders in Moscow had come to a difficult decision. They knew that if the continent was to be overrun before British reinforcements could arrive, England would have to be hit by a massive, decapitating strike.

One hour before the start of the invasion, two Tu-4 heavy bombers took off from Hamburg. Their destinations were London and Birmingham, and they carried a payload that would make the West quake in fear. They arrived over their targets four hours later and released their bombs.

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For the moment at least, no major resistance could be expected from the UK. By the following day Red Army troops had advanced deep into Holland and were preparing to link up with VDV paratroops in Belgium. Further south, the French Army fought desperately to hold the Maginot Line, knowing that if they failed their country would be occupied yet again. Despite their bravery, the Soviet tanks were through by nightfall.

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The Red Navy also gained its first victory when a British fleet attempted to attack a force of Soviet carriers in the Baltic, and was annihilated.
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The Red steamroller seemed impossible to stop as Europe found itself at war for the second time in less than a decade.


Attack in the East

The Chinese had foolishly concentrated the vast majority of their army on the borders of Manchuria, without any reserves to protect their flanks. They would soon pay dearly for this oversight.

Soviet T-54s raced south from Mongolia while the invasion fleet that would land the southern pincer was dispatched from Korea.
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It had been decided that Nanjing and Shanghai would have to be given the same treatment as London and Birmingham in order to paralyze the Chinese long enough for the flank-attack to succeed, and the bombers once again took off for their grim task.
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After brushing aside the Chinese Navy, the Red Fleet landed the invasion force near Beiping. They quickly took the city and began advancing north.
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Finally on July 20, the northern and southern pincers met, trapping the cream of the Chinese Army in a massive encirclement.
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The Allies had been caught totally unprepared, and could take little immediate action as the Red Army swept across two continents. However they would soon recover, and it would be a race to see whether Britain and China could hold long enough for American troops to pour in and check the Red advance.
 
Dastardly Soviets! Four a-bombs in 10 days?!