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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On the 17th negotiations broke down, and Rokossovsky's men were ordered to enter Bulgaria to protect civilians and "restore order".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On the 17th negotiations broke down, and Rokossovsky's men were ordered to enter Bulgaria to protect civilians and "restore order".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.