What an amazing AAR, Russia is by far my favorite KR nation, I even wrote some events for Russia.
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If you go back a couple pages and look for the event where the Tsar chooses the HoG, I wrote that event.
What attachable brigade type are you using to represent assault guns for your infantry?
This, it seems fairly logical that self propelled assault guns and artillery would go hand in hand
In the case of the Russians isn't it all pretty much the same thing?
The SU-76 was used as an assault gun, artillery piece and anti-tank gun. The Soviets were often happy to just see a gun as a gun, particularly when times were tough, a gun that can fire at a tank is an anti tank gun, a gun that can move with the infantry is an assault gun almost by default.
ISU-152 is a classic case in point here. Tank-Destroyer, Assault Gun and even Artillery piece all rolled into one.
It has been some time since I played Darkest Hour so I forget if there is an advantage to attaching self propelled artillery to infantry units vs normal artillery brigades. I think SPA might do more damage but I am uncertain.
Also, I love SU-76. It is a tie-up between that and the StuGs as my favorite assault guns of the war.
Also, I love SU-76. It is a tie-up between that and the StuGs as my favorite assault guns of the war.
When you flee from a wolf, you run into a bear
The Conquest of Finland
The shelling of Viipuri
For several months Finnish intelligence had taken note and with growing concern listed the build up of Russian forces along their border from the Gulf of Finland right up too the Arctic circle. Relations between the two powers had never been anything more than hostile, Russia grudgingly accepted Finnish ''sovereignty'' under terms from the German interventionist forces but crucially Russia never relented to accept Finnish independence. In return the Finnish kingdom considered and annexed the Karelia during the civil war, over the years since Finland took control the Russian population had dropped severely via expulsions conducted by the Finns. By early March 125,000 Finns under arms or around 80% of the Finnish military faced over a million Russians across the Karelian border.
Finnish troops advance to the border
While the question of Russian positions on Finnish independence was ambiguous, the position on Karelia was not. Russian policy for years had been to dispute Finnish ownership of the Karelia and to challenge at every possible opportunity. The strategic position of Karelia was great for Russia, Finnish neutrality couldn't be counted on, as a hostile power they could shell Saint Petersburg with heavy artillery from the border and the fear of a strengthened enemy aligned Finland could take the city in an invasion down the Isthmus and into wider Ingria, with the Russian government convinced that who ever wins the war in Europe will invade in the west, they needed breathing space and security in the North. As such the Russians managed to bring the Finns to the table to negotiate the future of Karelia a conference hosted by the Polish. The Krakow conference began on March 1st amid a gloomy atmosphere in Finland that war was likely, the Russians refused to debate the issue of Karelia and demanded its handover, the Finns went as far as to concede a plebiscite, however the expulsions of Russians over the years would have resulted in an anti Russian vote. The Russian attitude in the talks exasperated and insulted the Finns and ever the Polish mediators, a Russian diplomat had become drunk on one of the nights of the discussions and insinuated that the Polish themselves were living on borrowed time till Russia came to reclaim its domain. In Finland it became clear that the talks would fail and the Russians would soon cross the border, Helsinki instructed delegation to buy them as much time as they could as general mobilisation and preparations were made to prepare for the eventual Russian assault.
Helsinki prepares fearing Russian bombers will destroy the city
By the 9th the Russians had figured out the Finns game and had placed their forces on alert and issued their final terms to the Finnish delegation in krakow, ''Surrender Karelia to the Russian Empire or face punitive military action'', the Finns refused to budge and by midnight the Russians delivered a declaration of war upon the Finns.
So began the Summer war
For 8 hours from midnight on the 9th till morning on the 10th of March, Russian artillery subjected the Finish border forces to a ferocious battering. The Finns managed to hit Saint Petersburg's outskirts with several artillery rounds resulting in a dozen injured and some property damage, also Finnish commando units managed to infiltrate across the border under the dirge of the artillery and sabotaged infrastructure. Through out the later morning the Russian advance began, supported by armour and artillery the spearheads collided with well entrenched Finnish positions and heavy fighting ensued. In the South the 6th army led by Wrangel saw 6 independent armour divisions support the main infantry advance, however the artillery had turned the land into tough terrain that slowed the advance and almost halted the armour, by the 19th the first lines of the Finnish defence had been breached all along the front apart from those around Suoyarvi, the combination of heavy woodland, strong defence layout and veterans of the Finnish legion fresh from the European war held the Russians at bay.
Russian artillery looses itself upon the Finns
Over the coming days the sheer weight of Russian forces overcame Finnish defences in the north however the defensive positions in Eastern Karelia were holding strong and Russian losses were climbing with little to no gains to show for it, on the Karelian Isthmus the Finnish lines began to buckle. Russian tank doctrine was put to the test as light T-70's and T-26's exploited break through to rush into the enemies rear and isolate enemy strong points as heavy ''siege tanks'' the KV-1's and 2's lumbered up to these points and proving impervious to the Finnish 37mm anti tank guns, tore apart the strong points and bunkers as the infantry mopped up. By the 14th of April Viipuri had fallen after a small skirmish and with it the Karelian Isthmus was under Russian control as the Finnish forces retreated back into Finland proper, with the attack in Eastern Karelia running in serious difficulties a large portion of Army Group South moved to strike the Finns in the rear as the light armour divisions began the race along the undefended highway to Helsinki.
KV-1's advancing into Finland
By the 22th the Finnish army was in a state of collapse, their only combat worthy troops where in Eastern Karelia and by now encircled and Russian army divisions barrelling along the undefended Finnish coast towards Helsinki. Seeing the bleakness of further resistance the Finns sought terms with the Russians, they offered Finnish neutrality and the ceding of Karelia, however Moscow was not impressed. The Finnish refusal to hand over Karelia peacefully irritated Russia and it was decided that the Duchy of Finland would be restored and the question of Finnish independence given a resounding answer, the Finnish offer was rebuffed and informed that only complete surrender would do.
Complete capitulation will suffice
By the 27th Helsinki fell after a short but vicious battle centred around the government buildings, in the far north Oulu had fallen to Army group North and Russian troops moved to occupy the Swedish border, the Finnish forces in Eastern Kareli surrendered after a vicious mauling. All that remained was to take the city of Tampere and Finish organised resistance would end.
The Finnish parliament burns after the battle of Helsinki
Remaining Finnish resistance organised around Tempere in preparation for the oncoming Russian assault. A Russian amphibious operation secured the Aland islands to prevent any Swedish ideas of occupying them. For the remainder of April and all of June Russian forces mopped up isolated Finnish units and occupied most of the country and then surrounded the last bastion of the Finns in Tempere, on June 23rd the final attack began, battered, demoralised and under-supplied the Finns put up resistance till June 10th when the city finally fell. The remains of the Finnish state and military surrendered and Finland became the latest portion of the vast Russian empire. Russia would now not have to fear a hostile Finland, Saint Petersburg was now safe and Russia had met a German armed and trained nation in battle and proved the superior. 80,000 Russian causalities were sustained mainly in Eastern Karelia and the Isthmus to 60,000 Finn losses.
Tempere, and with it, Finland falls
The war was resounding a one sided affair, Finland couldn't hope to last against the Russian invasion for long. The war brought much combat experience needed in Russia for the advancement of doctrine and tactics needed to engage in modern warfare, the first Russian tank on tank combat happened during the war. German made Stug and Panzer III's had proved effective against Russian light tanks, however their 50mm and shortbarrel 7.5cm proved completely impotent against the armour of Russian heavier tanks and the slanted armour of the T-34, several examples of captured Finnish armour would be taken to the Yekaterinburg proving grounds for testing and evaluation. With the war won, Moscow had to win the peace in Finland, this was done by maintaining Finnish autonomy. While the Finnish Parliament was abolished, a Finnish Diet was instituted, the Finish army was integrated as an army corps within the wider Russian army, Finland would become a Kingdom within the Russian empire instead of a grand duchy and the elderly King Fredrik was permitted to keep his throne, however upon his death the crown would pass to the Russian Tsar. Finland became an autonomous Kingdom with in the Russian empire, and also the first democratic part of the Russian empire when regional elections to the Diet were carried out.
Now it remains to be seen if Russia could win the peace
The Russian Kingdom of Finland
The Conquest of Finland
The shelling of Viipuri
For several months Finnish intelligence had taken note and with growing concern listed the build up of Russian forces along their border from the Gulf of Finland right up too the Arctic circle. Relations between the two powers had never been anything more than hostile, Russia grudgingly accepted Finnish ''sovereignty'' under terms from the German interventionist forces but crucially Russia never relented to accept Finnish independence. In return the Finnish kingdom considered and annexed the Karelia during the civil war, over the years since Finland took control the Russian population had dropped severely via expulsions conducted by the Finns. By early March 125,000 Finns under arms or around 80% of the Finnish military faced over a million Russians across the Karelian border.
Finnish troops advance to the border
While the question of Russian positions on Finnish independence was ambiguous, the position on Karelia was not. Russian policy for years had been to dispute Finnish ownership of the Karelia and to challenge at every possible opportunity. The strategic position of Karelia was great for Russia, Finnish neutrality couldn't be counted on, as a hostile power they could shell Saint Petersburg with heavy artillery from the border and the fear of a strengthened enemy aligned Finland could take the city in an invasion down the Isthmus and into wider Ingria, with the Russian government convinced that who ever wins the war in Europe will invade in the west, they needed breathing space and security in the North. As such the Russians managed to bring the Finns to the table to negotiate the future of Karelia a conference hosted by the Polish. The Krakow conference began on March 1st amid a gloomy atmosphere in Finland that war was likely, the Russians refused to debate the issue of Karelia and demanded its handover, the Finns went as far as to concede a plebiscite, however the expulsions of Russians over the years would have resulted in an anti Russian vote. The Russian attitude in the talks exasperated and insulted the Finns and ever the Polish mediators, a Russian diplomat had become drunk on one of the nights of the discussions and insinuated that the Polish themselves were living on borrowed time till Russia came to reclaim its domain. In Finland it became clear that the talks would fail and the Russians would soon cross the border, Helsinki instructed delegation to buy them as much time as they could as general mobilisation and preparations were made to prepare for the eventual Russian assault.
Helsinki prepares fearing Russian bombers will destroy the city
By the 9th the Russians had figured out the Finns game and had placed their forces on alert and issued their final terms to the Finnish delegation in krakow, ''Surrender Karelia to the Russian Empire or face punitive military action'', the Finns refused to budge and by midnight the Russians delivered a declaration of war upon the Finns.
So began the Summer war
For 8 hours from midnight on the 9th till morning on the 10th of March, Russian artillery subjected the Finish border forces to a ferocious battering. The Finns managed to hit Saint Petersburg's outskirts with several artillery rounds resulting in a dozen injured and some property damage, also Finnish commando units managed to infiltrate across the border under the dirge of the artillery and sabotaged infrastructure. Through out the later morning the Russian advance began, supported by armour and artillery the spearheads collided with well entrenched Finnish positions and heavy fighting ensued. In the South the 6th army led by Wrangel saw 6 independent armour divisions support the main infantry advance, however the artillery had turned the land into tough terrain that slowed the advance and almost halted the armour, by the 19th the first lines of the Finnish defence had been breached all along the front apart from those around Suoyarvi, the combination of heavy woodland, strong defence layout and veterans of the Finnish legion fresh from the European war held the Russians at bay.
Russian artillery looses itself upon the Finns
Over the coming days the sheer weight of Russian forces overcame Finnish defences in the north however the defensive positions in Eastern Karelia were holding strong and Russian losses were climbing with little to no gains to show for it, on the Karelian Isthmus the Finnish lines began to buckle. Russian tank doctrine was put to the test as light T-70's and T-26's exploited break through to rush into the enemies rear and isolate enemy strong points as heavy ''siege tanks'' the KV-1's and 2's lumbered up to these points and proving impervious to the Finnish 37mm anti tank guns, tore apart the strong points and bunkers as the infantry mopped up. By the 14th of April Viipuri had fallen after a small skirmish and with it the Karelian Isthmus was under Russian control as the Finnish forces retreated back into Finland proper, with the attack in Eastern Karelia running in serious difficulties a large portion of Army Group South moved to strike the Finns in the rear as the light armour divisions began the race along the undefended highway to Helsinki.
KV-1's advancing into Finland
By the 22th the Finnish army was in a state of collapse, their only combat worthy troops where in Eastern Karelia and by now encircled and Russian army divisions barrelling along the undefended Finnish coast towards Helsinki. Seeing the bleakness of further resistance the Finns sought terms with the Russians, they offered Finnish neutrality and the ceding of Karelia, however Moscow was not impressed. The Finnish refusal to hand over Karelia peacefully irritated Russia and it was decided that the Duchy of Finland would be restored and the question of Finnish independence given a resounding answer, the Finnish offer was rebuffed and informed that only complete surrender would do.
Complete capitulation will suffice
By the 27th Helsinki fell after a short but vicious battle centred around the government buildings, in the far north Oulu had fallen to Army group North and Russian troops moved to occupy the Swedish border, the Finnish forces in Eastern Kareli surrendered after a vicious mauling. All that remained was to take the city of Tampere and Finish organised resistance would end.
The Finnish parliament burns after the battle of Helsinki
Remaining Finnish resistance organised around Tempere in preparation for the oncoming Russian assault. A Russian amphibious operation secured the Aland islands to prevent any Swedish ideas of occupying them. For the remainder of April and all of June Russian forces mopped up isolated Finnish units and occupied most of the country and then surrounded the last bastion of the Finns in Tempere, on June 23rd the final attack began, battered, demoralised and under-supplied the Finns put up resistance till June 10th when the city finally fell. The remains of the Finnish state and military surrendered and Finland became the latest portion of the vast Russian empire. Russia would now not have to fear a hostile Finland, Saint Petersburg was now safe and Russia had met a German armed and trained nation in battle and proved the superior. 80,000 Russian causalities were sustained mainly in Eastern Karelia and the Isthmus to 60,000 Finn losses.
Tempere, and with it, Finland falls
The war was resounding a one sided affair, Finland couldn't hope to last against the Russian invasion for long. The war brought much combat experience needed in Russia for the advancement of doctrine and tactics needed to engage in modern warfare, the first Russian tank on tank combat happened during the war. German made Stug and Panzer III's had proved effective against Russian light tanks, however their 50mm and shortbarrel 7.5cm proved completely impotent against the armour of Russian heavier tanks and the slanted armour of the T-34, several examples of captured Finnish armour would be taken to the Yekaterinburg proving grounds for testing and evaluation. With the war won, Moscow had to win the peace in Finland, this was done by maintaining Finnish autonomy. While the Finnish Parliament was abolished, a Finnish Diet was instituted, the Finish army was integrated as an army corps within the wider Russian army, Finland would become a Kingdom within the Russian empire instead of a grand duchy and the elderly King Fredrik was permitted to keep his throne, however upon his death the crown would pass to the Russian Tsar. Finland became an autonomous Kingdom with in the Russian empire, and also the first democratic part of the Russian empire when regional elections to the Diet were carried out.
Now it remains to be seen if Russia could win the peace
The Russian Kingdom of Finland
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Another upstart breakaway state returned to its proper place. Where shall the beast's hungry gaze turn next? My money's on Poland and Bessarabia.
The Union State Rising
The American Miracle
The war flag of the American union state
Russian perceptions of global industrial domination quickly fell away as the American union state began to pull itself together economically. The American economic miracle shocked the world and outstripped the Russian miracle, massive rebuilding of the devastated Northern American states coupled with a massive expansion of industrialisation and urbanisation of the deprived Southern states resulted in a colossal increase in American industrial capacity. Funded by the confiscated wealth of the many tycoons who had failed to support the AUS in the civil war and the nationalisation of their various enterprises, the new government had begun funding the biggest dispersal and transfer of wealth and industry in human history. The vast majority of the industrial might and machinery in the areas of the mid west that supported the CSA was transferred to the South, Northern states formally the industrial power house of America found their industry moving south.
A ''life train''[1] going to the Southern train
As a result the American national economic landscape was turned upside down. The Southern was rapidly becoming the industrial belt and the north was losing its industry, while not stripping it clean of industrial works the ''national regeneration'' policy took much of it away. While officially the policy was to equalise the industrial burden and wealth across the entire nation as opposed to just benefiting the north, what was often felt to the Northerners was that the policy was to concentrate not just political but economic power around the South where Long's regime had found itself strong support and a bastion of its followers during the civil war, in-effect it moved the custodianship of the American destiny away from the ''Yankee'' North to the ''Dixie'' South. America was now the nation of Dixie.
Birmingham, Alabama blooms to life as a new industrial powerhouse
An extensive series of protectionist tariffs and measures to ensure American consumers buy American helps to carry on funding the recovery and build and sense of American pride in the new system and fosters the isolationist policy and mindset of the American people and government. American goods now flowing overseas to fill the gap left by the Weltkreig and compete with often lesser quality more expensive Russian products assures American economic recovery via exports and the internal American market. To begin this process, to provide the capital and to dispel the growing northern simmers of dissent to the new southern centric government, Long began his flagship ''every man a king'' policy, he issues a $150 ''catastrophe rebate'' to all citizens and enforced a generous minimum wage of $2,000 per annum, almost double that of the pre war government. These measures won over the majority of the population, even in the north to the new regime, excessive distortion of the banks and finical system enabled Long to be able to pull off this feat. They shocked the more free market minded northern intelligentsia, the new minimum wage was deemed to exterminate entrepreneurship, a new tax system was instituted, a flat tax of 20% would be set at the average wage and then a .5% would be added for every 5% increase a person earned over the average wage which would level out eventually at 90% for those lucky enough to be successful to reach such a benchmark. However it was evident that America had clearly emerged as the worlds largest economy, buoyed up even more so by their new Mexican puppet being fully integrated into their economic sphere and system.
Russia had some way yet to reclaim its short lived throne.
the new constitution also was evolving more so towards a final draft, while freedom of religion was still permitted Christianity was adorned the status as ''national faith'', while no denomination was selected as the state church it was clear that the new regime was very in tune with the southern Baptist tune. Some more liberal observers of the new developing state seen a sway towards a more fundamentalist Christian view on society and even a possibility of theocratic tendencies in the new commonwealth governments and the executive branch. While the right to bear arms was carried over from the defunct US constitution the new edition stated that the ''people only retained the right when the national good is at stake and if it is key to the prosperity and well being of the individual'', in practice an individual had to be a member of a government authorised militia or prove to the government that they hunt for food or to support their family in order to secure a license. The new state began forming a pseudo police state to ensure the national good and the continued repression of sympathetic thought towards Syndicalists, foreigners or the former federal state. The state began a systematic persecution of syndicalists and propaganda campaign to in-still the people that while Syndicalism had been defeated in the civil war, the foreigner had given Reed shelter and their ''Every waking moment is to return and bleach America red!'', the anti left crusading Mid West Commonwealth senator Joseph McCartney due to his brutal ''De-Reedinisation'' of the Mid Western states was appointed to lead Americans hold crusade against the syndicalist taint where ever it hid in American life, often the victims of this policy were political opponents and undesirables from the former Republican and Democratic parties, many tens of thousands of Mexicans from the former Mexican syndicalist regime fell to it in the new Mexican national state and anyone who spoke against the new AUS government. Paranoia spawned paranoia and by Autumn Americans believed a syndicalist revolt or a French/Centro-American/UoB invasion with Reed at its helm was an imminent possibility. Often the process of ''de-syndicalistising'' America was forced labour, or death in the Montana/Mexican ''reducation camps''.
''Diamond'' Joe McCartney ran an effective nation wide psyops campaign
Militarily speaking, America was a mixed bag, still rebuilding a standing army and integrating the militia into the army was progressing at a steady speed, however the army was entirely built on a pre Weltkreig model, infantry and cavalry ruled the day with token mechanisation here and there. The captured stocks of federal tanks had long since lost out to the attrition of the civil war and the Mexican conflicts and with the key thinkers in weaponary and armoured warfare long since left to seek refugee in Canada the US army was suffering from a sluggish technological pace in weapons design, however the appointment of George S Patton as head of the army might change this, Patton has vowed to modernise and bring the US Army to a position to ''Chase any red bastard to the ends of the earth''. The army air corps was in a similar position, still flying by planes of yesteryear but at 20 squadrons strong it was a force to be reckoned with in the western hemisphere, but far out matched by the technological, organisational and professionalism of the Royal Canadian Airforce. America's military strength lay in its navy, having most of the former federal navy defect to them or being able to capture the US navy capital ships at port in Norfolk had ensured the AUS retained the lions share of America's navy might. With 37 hundred capital ship afloat and many fleets of destroyers and submarines the US navy was bested only by the combined Commonwealth navy, British Republican navy and German Kaiserliche Marine the US navy was an imposing force, while technological innovation lags behind others due to the civil war and its battleship fleet is mainly an assortment of dreadnought class ships, it does have 4 ships of the North Carolina class and future expansion plans prove to make it an even more formidable force, and with work due to restart on the keels abandoned by during the civil war at the Norfolk naval yard Dakota and Iowa class battleships it will be a threat to the uneasy state of power in the Atlantic.
The American armed forces
The first cabinet of the first Long presidency of the American Union State
[video=youtube;5SGwYVhbX2Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SGwYVhbX2Y[/video]
[1]-life trains were so called because Northern Americans watched their livelihoods leave on them
The American Miracle
The war flag of the American union state
Russian perceptions of global industrial domination quickly fell away as the American union state began to pull itself together economically. The American economic miracle shocked the world and outstripped the Russian miracle, massive rebuilding of the devastated Northern American states coupled with a massive expansion of industrialisation and urbanisation of the deprived Southern states resulted in a colossal increase in American industrial capacity. Funded by the confiscated wealth of the many tycoons who had failed to support the AUS in the civil war and the nationalisation of their various enterprises, the new government had begun funding the biggest dispersal and transfer of wealth and industry in human history. The vast majority of the industrial might and machinery in the areas of the mid west that supported the CSA was transferred to the South, Northern states formally the industrial power house of America found their industry moving south.
A ''life train''[1] going to the Southern train
As a result the American national economic landscape was turned upside down. The Southern was rapidly becoming the industrial belt and the north was losing its industry, while not stripping it clean of industrial works the ''national regeneration'' policy took much of it away. While officially the policy was to equalise the industrial burden and wealth across the entire nation as opposed to just benefiting the north, what was often felt to the Northerners was that the policy was to concentrate not just political but economic power around the South where Long's regime had found itself strong support and a bastion of its followers during the civil war, in-effect it moved the custodianship of the American destiny away from the ''Yankee'' North to the ''Dixie'' South. America was now the nation of Dixie.
Birmingham, Alabama blooms to life as a new industrial powerhouse
An extensive series of protectionist tariffs and measures to ensure American consumers buy American helps to carry on funding the recovery and build and sense of American pride in the new system and fosters the isolationist policy and mindset of the American people and government. American goods now flowing overseas to fill the gap left by the Weltkreig and compete with often lesser quality more expensive Russian products assures American economic recovery via exports and the internal American market. To begin this process, to provide the capital and to dispel the growing northern simmers of dissent to the new southern centric government, Long began his flagship ''every man a king'' policy, he issues a $150 ''catastrophe rebate'' to all citizens and enforced a generous minimum wage of $2,000 per annum, almost double that of the pre war government. These measures won over the majority of the population, even in the north to the new regime, excessive distortion of the banks and finical system enabled Long to be able to pull off this feat. They shocked the more free market minded northern intelligentsia, the new minimum wage was deemed to exterminate entrepreneurship, a new tax system was instituted, a flat tax of 20% would be set at the average wage and then a .5% would be added for every 5% increase a person earned over the average wage which would level out eventually at 90% for those lucky enough to be successful to reach such a benchmark. However it was evident that America had clearly emerged as the worlds largest economy, buoyed up even more so by their new Mexican puppet being fully integrated into their economic sphere and system.
Russia had some way yet to reclaim its short lived throne.
the new constitution also was evolving more so towards a final draft, while freedom of religion was still permitted Christianity was adorned the status as ''national faith'', while no denomination was selected as the state church it was clear that the new regime was very in tune with the southern Baptist tune. Some more liberal observers of the new developing state seen a sway towards a more fundamentalist Christian view on society and even a possibility of theocratic tendencies in the new commonwealth governments and the executive branch. While the right to bear arms was carried over from the defunct US constitution the new edition stated that the ''people only retained the right when the national good is at stake and if it is key to the prosperity and well being of the individual'', in practice an individual had to be a member of a government authorised militia or prove to the government that they hunt for food or to support their family in order to secure a license. The new state began forming a pseudo police state to ensure the national good and the continued repression of sympathetic thought towards Syndicalists, foreigners or the former federal state. The state began a systematic persecution of syndicalists and propaganda campaign to in-still the people that while Syndicalism had been defeated in the civil war, the foreigner had given Reed shelter and their ''Every waking moment is to return and bleach America red!'', the anti left crusading Mid West Commonwealth senator Joseph McCartney due to his brutal ''De-Reedinisation'' of the Mid Western states was appointed to lead Americans hold crusade against the syndicalist taint where ever it hid in American life, often the victims of this policy were political opponents and undesirables from the former Republican and Democratic parties, many tens of thousands of Mexicans from the former Mexican syndicalist regime fell to it in the new Mexican national state and anyone who spoke against the new AUS government. Paranoia spawned paranoia and by Autumn Americans believed a syndicalist revolt or a French/Centro-American/UoB invasion with Reed at its helm was an imminent possibility. Often the process of ''de-syndicalistising'' America was forced labour, or death in the Montana/Mexican ''reducation camps''.
''Diamond'' Joe McCartney ran an effective nation wide psyops campaign
Militarily speaking, America was a mixed bag, still rebuilding a standing army and integrating the militia into the army was progressing at a steady speed, however the army was entirely built on a pre Weltkreig model, infantry and cavalry ruled the day with token mechanisation here and there. The captured stocks of federal tanks had long since lost out to the attrition of the civil war and the Mexican conflicts and with the key thinkers in weaponary and armoured warfare long since left to seek refugee in Canada the US army was suffering from a sluggish technological pace in weapons design, however the appointment of George S Patton as head of the army might change this, Patton has vowed to modernise and bring the US Army to a position to ''Chase any red bastard to the ends of the earth''. The army air corps was in a similar position, still flying by planes of yesteryear but at 20 squadrons strong it was a force to be reckoned with in the western hemisphere, but far out matched by the technological, organisational and professionalism of the Royal Canadian Airforce. America's military strength lay in its navy, having most of the former federal navy defect to them or being able to capture the US navy capital ships at port in Norfolk had ensured the AUS retained the lions share of America's navy might. With 37 hundred capital ship afloat and many fleets of destroyers and submarines the US navy was bested only by the combined Commonwealth navy, British Republican navy and German Kaiserliche Marine the US navy was an imposing force, while technological innovation lags behind others due to the civil war and its battleship fleet is mainly an assortment of dreadnought class ships, it does have 4 ships of the North Carolina class and future expansion plans prove to make it an even more formidable force, and with work due to restart on the keels abandoned by during the civil war at the Norfolk naval yard Dakota and Iowa class battleships it will be a threat to the uneasy state of power in the Atlantic.
The American armed forces
The first cabinet of the first Long presidency of the American Union State
[video=youtube;5SGwYVhbX2Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SGwYVhbX2Y[/video]
[1]-life trains were so called because Northern Americans watched their livelihoods leave on them
The AUS is starting to look more than a bit scary. Good thing they will likely continue with their isolationist trend
Dunno about that, the intense paranoia can surelly fuel foreign interventions; you know, get the Reds before they get us sorta thing
Fun stuff.
Love your AAR, hope to see Russia's stamp on the world much further down the time-line!
Love your AAR, hope to see Russia's stamp on the world much further down the time-line!
AUS is amusing. Wonder if they'll be pulled into the conflict somehow. What happened to Fritzy Kuhn & that whatsitsname-Catholic-Preaher?
Looks like they've gone a more Protestant route w/ Gerald. Are there in fact any theocratic events for AUS - either associated with Gerald K. Smith or that Catholic Preacher who's name I seem to have forgotten?
Looks like they've gone a more Protestant route w/ Gerald. Are there in fact any theocratic events for AUS - either associated with Gerald K. Smith or that Catholic Preacher who's name I seem to have forgotten?