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18th of July 1940, 'Odin', 10-day report #129
The 18th of July 1940, Vologda, 6,4°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 9th and the 18th of July 1940,

by 'Odin'

Army:
No changes to Army numbers
Officers: 70.124 + / 81.840 needed / 85,684 %
Army Leadership:
6ya Armiya:
Maj. General Tamruchi SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Rudny SK1, WS as leader of 6. SD, IX SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
New Maj. General Hadeev SK2, FB will be replacing Maj. General Lavrinovich SK1, BM as leader of 19. SD, IX SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.

New Maj. General Dratvin SK2, Trck will be replacing Maj. General Zherdiy SK1, Cdo as leader of 120. SD, X SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
New Maj. General Horujenko SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Gorodnianskij SK2 as leader of 61. SD, X SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.

Now Maj. General Potapov SK2, WS will be replacing Maj. General Skvirskij SK1, Eng as leader of 52. SD, VIII SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
New Maj. General Kariofilli SK2, FB will be replacing Maj. General Zherdev SK1, DD as leader of 53. SD, VIII SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.

New Maj. General Kriuchenkin SK2, WS will be replacing the recently promoted Lt. General Lebedenko SK3, LW, WS as leader of 73. SD, XXIII SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
1ya Armiya:
New Maj. General Krivoshein SK2, LW will be replacing Maj. General Belous SK1, WS as leader of 71. SD, II SK, 1ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.

Maj. General Melnik SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Zygin SK2 as leader of 164. SD, XVII SK, 1ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
3ya Armiya:
Maj. General Pavlov D.G. SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Vatutuin SK4 as leader of 43. SD, III SK, 3ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
New Maj. General Remizov SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Rodin A.G. SK3, BM as leader of 78. SD, III SK, 3ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
XXXI SK:
Maj. General Petrushevskij SK2, OD will be taking command of 90. SD, XXXI SK, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
7ya Armiya:
New Maj. General Krutikov SK2, WS will be replacing Maj. General Spiridonov SK2 as leader of 42. SD, XI SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Rivkin SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Kuznetsov F.F. SK2 as leader of 49. SD, XI SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.

New Maj. General Lazarev SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Vishnevskij SK2 as leader of 45. SD, XIII SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Rogachev SK2, Trck will be replacing Maj. General Laskin SK2 as leader of 62. SD, XIII SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.

New Maj. General Leselidze SK2, FB will be replacing Maj. General Romanov M.T. SK1, DD as leader of 11. SD, XII SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Sergatskov SK2, WS will be replacing Maj. General Varennikov SK2 as leader of 2. SD, XII SK, 7ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
4ya Armiya:
New Maj. General Mitofranov SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Shvydkoi SK1, Eng as leader of 48. SD, IV SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Shtevnev SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Panin SK2 as leader of 10. SD, IV SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.

New Maj. General Erastov SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Filatov SK2 as leader of 184. SD, VI SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Obukhov SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Lopatin SK2 as leader of 181. SD, VI SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.

New Maj. General Ermakov SK2, OD will be replacing Maj. General Iakovlev SK2 as leader of 143. SD, VII SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Pavelkin SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Podlas SK2 as leader of 55. SD, VII SK, 4ya Armiya, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
XVI SK:
New Maj. General Glazunov SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Garnov SK1, DD as leader of 197. SD, XVI SK, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
New Maj. General Pushkin SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Smirnov SK2 as leader of 140. SD, XVI SK, 3rd Army Group, Brjansk HQ.
Air Force:
No changes in the VVS nor the Navy Air Fleet for the last 10 days
Navy:
No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days
Politics / International:
No legislative changes for the last 10 days.
Ethiopia has followed it's puppet master Italy in declaring war on the Allies, not that they will be the ones to sway this war...
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,3
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
GNW18:07:40.jpeg

The Germans have capture some more unimportant territory North-East of Bergen, no other movement in Norway...
The Western Europe Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 27,60 / 48,8 loss of Lille, Metz, and Haguenau.
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FranceFront18:07:40.jpeg

The Germans have crossed all of the French border between Dunkerque on the channel coast and Haguenau, on the Maginot line,150km north of Switzerland.
In doing this they have captured Lille, Metz and Haguenau. Their southermost units behind the Maginot line are only 100km from the Swiss border, and encircling whatever Garrison is left between Strasbourg and Mulhouse.
The Italians still haven't managed to cross the French border.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
BNAF18:07:40.jpeg

It seems the British did Garrison El iskandarîya, and the Italian advance towards Suez has stalled on the outskirts of the City, there have also been some reports of the Iraqi Army marching west towards the front, this could possibly hold back the Italians indefinitely, unless they get heavy reinforcements...
French North Africa Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 27,60 / 48,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FNAF18:07:40.jpeg

The Italians have reached and taken the small Mediterranean port town of Sousse, less than 80kms from Tunis. In the Desert, they have reached the shores of the Medjerda river in El Oued.
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,8
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 27,60 / 48,8
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
EEAF18:07:40.jpeg

We have not paid much attention to this slow and insignificant front, but with Ethiopia's entry in the war, we take a look...

Even before Ethiopia's DOW, the Allies had successfully cut them off from the Red sea by taking the Italian port of Edd, and all the Italian provinces around it.
The Italians, on their part have reached the outskirts of the UK base at Berbera.
The French have already reached the outskirts of Addis Abeba, the Ethiopian capital by taking Diredawa, of course they have troops here as well...
Industry:
Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 236 / 318
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 29,60 / 29,69
Reinforcement: 1,60 / 1,65
Supplies: 10,39 / 34,35
Production: 247,79 / 247,79
Consumer Goods: 28,62 / 28,62
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 83.793 tonnes +
Rares: 30.018 tonnes +
Crude: 93.980 barrels +
Supplies: 28.450 tonnes -
Fuel: 99.759 barrels +
Money: 1.986 -
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 10 / 0 / 0 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Total: 10 / 0 / 0 / 1
Reserves: 7
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,19
We have so far recruited 7 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell...
Research:
A new Light Tank Engine (Level 3) design, the GAZ 202, is ready for production. These engines will be used in all matter of vehicles: Trucks, Armoured Cars, and Light Tanks.
This means our Light tanks are now pretty much T-60's though this is not modelled in game, the BT-7 being the only model included... Anyway, the T-70 had a 20mm TNSh cannon with a 750 rounds/min. fire rate, as well as a 70hp GAZ 202 Gasoline Engine.
T-60-Tank-Rush-Hour.jpg

A traffic jam of T-60's with their brand new engines...
Research has now started on a better Light Tank Gun (Level 3)
Land Combat theorists at our Military Academies have successfully delivered a way to cram more tanks in the same amount of Frontage, they call this the Spearhead Doctrine, and this development should allow us to use our tanks in a more concentrated way.
Now, they are looking into improving our Delaying tactics, especially the efficient use of Artillery and AT Artillery within this Doctrine (Level 4), this should have a positive effect on the moral of gun based support units.

No changes to LS Distribution
Statistics:
National Unity: 82,913 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 1.958.000 Men
To reinforce(need): 2.910 Men
To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 45.100 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7,5 days)​
No changes in Party Popularity in the last 10 days
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 68,00 (+0,01)
- Trotskyite: 11,50 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 6,60 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 7,10 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 3,90 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,90 (-0,1)
- NTS: 1,40 (-0,1)
- POA: 0,00 =
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 18th of July 1940, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
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I was wondering, Comrade, what our border with the Germans look like? Is there any way to guess or count their divisions facing us and to decide what kind of equipment and tanks we would be facing in a few years by what they have right now?
 
I was wondering, Comrade, what our border with the Germans look like? Is there any way to guess or count their divisions facing us and to decide what kind of equipment and tanks we would be facing in a few years by what they have right now?

Not really, we can only sort of see what's on the border, and that's no more than a stack of 3 or less per province, but that might include HQs, and the size of said Divisions is unknown (Binary or Triangular?, amount of Support Brigades?)...
Of the unit types deployed, all we know is that an unknown amount of Heavy tanks is sitting in Gorlice, and an unknown amount of Medium Tanks is sitting in Debica, the two southernmost provinces on their side of the border. Otherwise we know there are some SSers in Biala Podlaska, and otherwise there is at least one fallschirmjäger DIvision and as well as several Gebirgsjäger DIvisions. Motorised infantry seems to be absent, except for the SS and the provinces with the Armour in them (these could be the Mot brigades of the Armour units). So it's really mostly Infantry.
The Hungarians have Deployed about 4 Divisions per province, but we know there are HQ's in there (counted as Division in the stack), and it's only infantry..

The Soviet Union has exactly 60 Infantry Divisions on the Border plus their 12 Corps HQ's which all have Infx2, TD attached...
These are spread out in classic AI fashion, with 5 Divs in certain areas of the front and single Divisions in other places...
Another 10 Divisions guard the Hungarian Border.
This means that, right now, we outnumber the Germans very slightly on the border, but we don't outnumber the Hungarians
Now we can't see behind the front, but on the Soviet side, we have Infantry corps digging in in Kaunas, Kyiv, and Riga, as well as our toughest nut, XXIX GvSK, a Regiment of heavy tanks, and Guards in 5 triangular Divisions digging in in Minsk.
Considering where the Germans are putting their Panzers I'm tempted to send them to the fortified city of Lwow, 1 province behind the border, right across from the German tanks...
A Motorised corps sits in Dubrouna, next to Vitsyebsk.

We have 3 more Rifle corps on the Romanian Border, and Romania seems to be staying neutral.

And then there is 2ya Tankovaya Armiya, for which a deployment strategy still has to be decided on. If you need a reminder, right now, this Army has 5x (Armx2, Mot, Eng, (SP Art)), 5x (Arm, Motx2, (Eng, TD) ), 5x (L Arm, Motx2, AC), and 5x (Motx3, TD (Eng) ). (not many of the Regiments in brackets are delivered, but most are already in production, as well as another Arm, Motx2, Eng, TD Divison)
The plan was to have a huge concentration of firepower in one area of the front, and some units to exploit the breach in the lines. Now, this Army will also be run by the AI, as soon as we decide what objectives to give it...
Now this can be used in 2 ways:

Defensively, sending this Juggernaut to whichever Area of the front way be facing a collapse or encirclement and turning the tide by brute force: Objectives just inside German-held territory in the wider Area affected and putting the Army on Attacking stance.
Offensively, sending the unit to whatever seems to be the weakest Area on the German side, with favourable terrain, and set the Army on Blitzing stance with objectives on Cities and strategic provinces, these would all be on the same theoretical axis of advance, alternatively, an attempt at a large encirclement could also be made (but the AI isn't really very good at that...)
Right now this highly lethal and mobile Army is sitting 150km South-West of Moskva as a strategic reserve, and not to waste too many supplies and fuel on it...

There is also another, independent Cavalry Corps (L Arm, Motx2, AC) sitting near Stalingrad in the eventuality we would have wanted to invade Turkey, or Romania.

That's what we know, and how prepared we are, in an nutshell.

Don't hesitate to suggest minor or even major changes to the Soviet Deployment strategy...

I will do a more detailed update on this when the game reaches the beginning of 1941, or when the Germans attack (If they do so before then)

Greetings,

RoverS3
 
28th of July 1940, 'Odin', 10-day report #130
The 28th of July 1940, Vologda, 6,4°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 19th and the 28th of July 1940,

by 'Odin'

Army:
A Garx2 Division has finished training. 7. Garnizon DIviziya, consisting of Finnish soldiers and Soviet Officers will keep the peace in Oulu.
7. Gvardeskaya Tankovaya Divisiya, our 5th Armx2, Mot, Eng Division has been delivered to Lt. General Gorelen's I GvTK, 2ya Tankovaya Armiya, Armoured Army Group, STAVKA.

Army numbers (Brigades/Personnel) Reserves included (these numbers don't include regiments being upgraded):
Front line troops: 576 / 1.728.000
Support troops: 189 / 189.000
Total fighting troops: 765 / 1.917.000
Headquarters: 56 / 56.000
Total Army Personnel: 821 / 1.973.000
Officers: 70.624 + / 82.300 needed / 85,813 %
Active Leaders: Under advisement, will be updated after the leadership reshuffle..
Production of 2 Regiment's worth of Su-122 SP Art Guns has started
A Regiment of Su-85 Tank Destroyer crews and a Regiment of Engineers will be trained together before joining a Tank Division once the Su-85s have been delivered.
Army Leadership:
6ya Armiya:
New Maj. General Vasilev SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Ozeryakin SK1, Cdo as leader of 34. SD, IX SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.

New Maj. General Zaev SK2, BM will be replacing Maj. General Puganov SK1, BM as leader of 17. SD, VIII SK, 6ya Armiya, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA.
8ya Armiya:
Maj. General Panin SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Afrosimov SK1, FB as leader of 176. SD, XIX SK, 8ya Armiya, 4th Army Group, Odessa HQ.
10ya Armiya:
Maj. General Marchenkov SK2, Cdo will be replacing Maj. General Magon SK1, Eng as leader of 66. SD, XXIV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Ponedelin SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Malinovsk SK1, DD as leader of 39. SD, XXIV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

Maj. General Saladze SK2, Cdo will be replacing Maj. General Rykov SK1, FB as leader of 26. SD, XXV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
New Maj. General Reshetov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Potaturchev SK1, OD as leader of 21. SD, XXV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

New Maj. General Haritonov SK2, Cdo will be replacing Maj. General Nikitin I.S. SK1, LW as leader of 92. SD, XXVI SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Nikolaev SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Zverev SK1, DD as leader of 93. SD, XXVI SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

Maj. General Varennikov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Alexandrov SK1, FB as leader of 94. SD, XXVII SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Kuznetsov F.F. SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Kirilov SK1, Eng as leader of 157. SD, XXVII SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
XX GSK:
Maj. General Spiridonov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Dedaev SK1, DD as leader of 69. GSD, XX GSK, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Podlas SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Karmanov SK1, DD as leader of 95. GSD, XX GSK, Far East Theatre HQ.
XXI GSK:
Maj. General Lopatin SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Iuchimchuk SK1 as leader of 44. GSD, XXI GSK, 9ya Armiya, 5th Army Group, Stalingrad HQ.
New Maj. General Ahmanov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Kiselev SK1 as leader of 58. GSD, XXI GSK, 9ya Armiya, 5th Army Group, Stalingrad HQ.
All leadership changes (except for GarDs) have been completed for STAVKA, Brjansk HQ, and Odessa HQ, no changes were needed for Leningrad HQ. Only the Far East, and Stalingrad HQ remain to be wrapped up
Air Force:
No changes in the VVS nor the Navy Air Fleet for the last 10 days
Navy:
No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days
Politics / International:
No legislative changes for the last 10 days.
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,3
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
GNW28:07:40.jpeg

The Germans have captured some more unimportant territory North of Bergen. But they have been pushed away from Oslo, when the Norwegians took back Kongsberg.
The Western Europe Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 42,90 / 48,7 loss of Calais, Reims, and Strasbourg.
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FranceFront28:07:40.jpeg

The Germans are now moving into France all over the front. They are slowly rolling up the Maginot line with the capture of Strasbourg. They have moved south along the Channel coast down to Boulogne. And they have reached the outskirts of Troyes. 180km from the Belgian Border, and 220km from the German one. The French seem to be holding them back a bit in the vicinity of Paris, where the Wehrmacht is still more than 100km away from the French capital, but it's not looking good...
The Italians still haven't managed to cross the French border.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
BNAF28:07:40.jpeg

The British have pushed the Italians back to the West by retaking El Hammâm, it seems the Italians won't cut off Suez anytime soon after all...
French North Africa Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 42,90 / 48,7 loss of Tunis.
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FNAF28:07:40.jpeg

The Italians have taken Tunis, this will probably hasten France's eventual Surrender. In the Desert, they haven't moved.
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,8
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 42,90 / 48,7
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
EEAF28:07:40.jpeg

The French have not captured Addis Abeba, but they have now taken the insignificant province of Tandaho as well, making our analysts believe that the French have more than one Division down in Eastern Africa, while the hun overruns the homeland...
The British have now taken to the stage here as well, they have pushed north from British-held Kenya and taken Mega, they are also on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital.
Industry:
Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 236 / 318
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 37,81 / 65,41
Reinforcement: 3,20 / 3,26
Supplies: 6,60 / 34,75
Production: 241,77 / 241,77
Consumer Goods: 28,62 / 28,62
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 83.793 tonnes +
Rares: 30.018 tonnes +
Crude: 93.980 barrels +
Supplies: 28.450 tonnes -
Fuel: 99.759 barrels +
Money: 1.986 -
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 8 / 0 / 2 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Total: 8 / 0 / 2 / 0
Reserves: 7
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,19
Minor members of the Allies are now hunting spies in France... we lost two spies, one to the South Africans, and one to the Canadians. These will not be replaced, as the fall of France is getting closer by the day...
We have so far recruited 8 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell...
Research:
A new range of Infantry Small Arms (Level 4) is ready for production. The new standard issue rifle for all of our riflemen is the SVT obr. 1938.
SVTY-38.jpg

A gas-operated rifle designed by Fedor Tokarev, it had a magazine with 10 standard 7.62mm calibre rounds. It is a very light weapon (3.85kg unloaded), but it is quite complex by Soviet standards and requires frequent cleaning, especially when firing corrosive rounds. It is very versatile, with a detachable reloadable magazine, and rails for the possible addition of a telescopic sight for long range shooting. There is also a sniper rifle version with an additional locking notch for an open sight. With a scope and/or the sniper sight, the effective firing range was over 1.000m. This example has all the bells and whistles: Sight, Bayonet,...
Researchers are now looking into better Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons (Level 4).
Improved Assault Weapons (Level 2) should help our engineers negotiate difficult terrain and fortifications even better.
A better AT Barrel & Sight (Level 4) is now in development, this should increase the staying power of our Rifle Divisions, especially when faced with Panzers

No changes to LS Distribution
Statistics:
National Unity: 82,923 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 1.962.000 Men
To reinforce(need): 2.750 Men
To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 45.100 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7,5 days)​
No changes in Party Popularity in the last 10 days
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 68,60 (+0,60)
- Trotskyite: 11,50 =
- Bukharinite: 6,60 =

- Octobrist: 7,10 =
- Trudoviks: 3,90 =
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,90 =
- NTS: 1,40 =
- POA: 0,00 =
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 28th of July 1940, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
So you too have been beset by Allied fellow travellers apprehending your spies in France, as has occurred to Turkey in my parallel world. Because I hadn't previously tracked this much, I hadn't realised it is a 'thing' in HoI3. I'm wondering if these additional spies add to the c-e score that is reported, or it's just an invisible extra factor.
 
So you too have been beset by Allied fellow travellers apprehending your spies in France, as has occurred to Turkey in my parallel world. Because I hadn't previously tracked this much, I hadn't realised it is a 'thing' in HoI3. I'm wondering if these additional spies add to the c-e score that is reported, or it's just an invisible extra factor.

It's clearly extra, as having entirely destroyed the Sûreté, the C-E number is still at 0 and hasn't budged for a while now... I don't even know if you can catch these Allied spies with C-E missions of your own... I might give that a try, and I'll be sure to report on the progress (Which should be hard to track, as the game never says if you caught a spy on the home front, or somewhere else...)

I'm sure the Allies had their reasons... Axis spies are messing with their NU, and that's the last thing they want so it isn't entirely surprising they would go to the length of hunting spies in an Allied country, especially if that country is essentially helpless on this. (thanks to the GRU...)
 
7th of August 1940, 'Odin', 10-day report #131
The 7th of August 1940, Vologda, 2,4°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 29th of July and the 7th of August 1940,

by 'Odin'

Army:
A Garx3, Art Division has finished training. 8. Garnizon DIviziya, consisting of Finnish soldiers and Soviet Officers will keep the peace in Turku.
Army numbers (Brigades/Personnel) Reserves included (these numbers don't include regiments being upgraded):
Front line troops: 579 / 1.737.000
Support troops: 190 / 190.000
Total fighting troops: 769 / 1.917.000
Headquarters: 56 / 56.000
Total Army Personnel: 825 / 1.983.000
Officers: 71.124 + / 82.490 needed / 86,221 %
Active Leaders: 232 / 115 more available
Army Leadership:
10ya Armiya:
Maj. General Vishnevskij SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Mihajliv SK1, Cdo as leader of 59. SD, XXIV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Smirnov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Proshkin SK1, OD as leader of 22. SD, XXIV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

Maj. General Iakovlev SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Ogurtsov SK1, Trck as leader of 20. SD, XXV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Golubovskij SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Prohorov SK1, Eng as leader of 29. SD, XXV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Gorodnianskij SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Rubtsov SK1, LW as leader of 12. SD, XXV SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

Maj. General Gidov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Ryabchev M.E. SK1, Cdo as leader of 40. SD, XXVI SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Filatov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Zhatkov SK1, DD as leader of 65. SD, XXVI SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Remezov F.N. SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Shestopalov SK1, LW as leader of 32. SD, XXVI SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.

Maj. General Ershakov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Sudec SK1, LW as leader of 114. SD, XXVII SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
Maj. General Laskin SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Horolenko SK1, OD as leader of 136. SD, XXVII SK, 10ya Armiya, Far East Theatre HQ.
XX GSK:
Maj. General Zygin SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Karpezo SK1, LW as leader of 83. GSD, XX GSK, Far East Theatre HQ.
XXI GSK:
Maj. General Bikzhanov SK2 will be replacing Maj. General Kutlin SK1, Cdo as leader of 101. GSD, XXI GSK, 9ya Armiya, 5th Army Group, Stalingrad HQ.

Maj. General Zhuckov SK1, LW will be replacing Maj. General Budennij SK1, OG as leader of 1. GarD, 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Leningrad)
Maj. General Ryhlin SK1, WS, Cdo will be replacing Maj. General Goryahov SK1, OG as leader of 2. GarD 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Murmansk)
Maj. General Zherdiy SK1, Cdo will be the first leader of 5. GarD 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Viipuri)
Maj. General Nikitin I.S. SK1, LW will be the first leader of 6. GarD 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Helsinki)
Maj. General Ryabchev M.E. SK1, Cdo will be the first leader of 7. GarD 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Oulu)
Maj. General Sudec SK1, LW will be the first leader of 8. GarD 1st Army Group, Leningrad HQ. (Turku)

With this list of leadership changes 'Dva' sent me a cheerful message rejoicing about the fact that the big reshuffle of the Red Army Leadership is finally over...
He also noted that just shy of 50 Maj. Generals were demoted to the level of Regimental Commander or were simply thanked for their service and sent to the Red Army's retirement resort near Yalta, on the Black Sea Coast. They had done nothing wrong, there was just someone smarter and more cunning than them available.
Air Force:
No changes in the VVS nor the Navy Air Fleet for the last 10 days
Navy:
No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days
Politics / International:
No legislative changes for the last 10 days.
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,3
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
GNW07:08:40.jpeg

The Germans have captured even more unimportant territory North of Bergen. Meanwhile, the Norwegians took back Rollag, pushing the Germans even further to the West and away from Oslo.
The French Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 46,00 / 48,6 loss of Troyes.
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FranceFront07:08:40.jpeg

The Wehrmacht has reached the Outskirts of Dieppe, the outskirts of Besancon... , and the outskirts of Paris... The Germans have all but encircled what is left of the Maginot line.
The Italians still haven't managed to cross the French border.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
BNAF07:08:40.jpeg

The British are still pushing the Italians back to where they came from, retaking El Alamein, Abu Haggag, and Bi'r Abu al Hudum the British now clearly have the advantage here, let us hop it lasts...
French North Africa Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 46,00 / 48,6
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FNAF07:08:40.jpeg

The Italians crossed the Medjerda river in Tunis, and they have now reached, but not yet conquered the small Mediterranean Port Town of Annaba. The Italians seem to have slowed down a bit here, but they keep moving West inexorably.
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,8
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 42,90 / 48,7
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
EEAF07:08:40.jpeg

With the British now Attacking from the North-West as well, the Allies have encircled the province of Makale. The Ethiopians haven't been sitting idle either, they have taken Malakal from the British. All of these provinces have no strategic interest whatsoever...
The Italians, have taken the Port of Berbera, which gives them a small port in the Gulf of Aden,... it's something, but without Italian access to the Suez canal it probably won't last...

That's what is really mind-boggling about all these forces fighting in Eastern Africa, the fight that will decide the fate of these nations is in Europe, the fight that will decide the fate of their empires is in Northern Africa, around the Suez-Canal, and maybe later, Gibraltar as well as naval Domination in the Med. What are all those troops doing down there?
Industry:
The Air Bases in Demjansk, Berezan and Homel have been expanded again (Level 6), and can now host and repair 600 VVS Aircraft at any one time...
The addition, now underway, of a Fourth Runway and a series of Hangars for our recent Li-2 Transport planes (Level 7), will boost that number to 700 for all three Airbases.
The expansion (Level 3) of the Air Base of Lwow has been delivered
Construction continues with a tarmac surface for the second runway and a Pilot's Mess (Level 4)
The Air base in Reznzke now has a hardened Runway (Level 2),
a second dirt runway will be constructed newt to it as well as some maintenance hangars (Level 3)

Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 236 / 318
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 44,63 / 71,50
Reinforcement: 0,80 / 0,85
Supplies: 7,13 / 34,80
Production: 236,84 / 236,84
Consumer Goods: 28,62 / 28,62
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 84.549 tonnes +
Rares: 30.038 tonnes +
Crude: 96.190 barrels +
Supplies: 29.106 tonnes +
Fuel: 99.733 barrels -
Money: 1.974 -
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 8 / 0 / 0 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
Total: 8 / 0 / 0 / 2​
Reserves: 8
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,19
We have so far recruited 8 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell...
Research:
An entirely Soviet Small Warship Radar (Level 1) design is ready for production and installation on board our Destroyers and Cruisers, this should give our fleets a certain visibility over the horizon.
Improvements in the Design of our Aircraft have been implemented, some are calling the new standards "Advanced"... The main benefit of this Design is that it allows for the possible installation of Radar-type systems.
Members from both these teams have now teamed up to develop a Air Search Radar (Level 1) system Small and light enough to fit in our smallest, redesigned, planes.
The others have started the development of a new Aero Engine (Level 2), potentially increasing the speed of all of our Aeroplanes.
Our Industrial specialist have improved the yields of our Agriculture (Level 6) yet again, this time through better irrigation techniques.
They have now started looking for ways to make our Military Supply Production (Level 6) industry more efficient
A team of tank designers tasked with making our Medium Tanks and their TD and SP Art variants more Reliable (Level 3). They seem to have come up with an entirely new design for a Tank Destroyer as well as one for a more coherent SP Gun:

su_100.jpg

The new Su-100 Tank Destroyer is Designed for a 100mm AT Gun, but this gun is still in Development. The rest of the Design was so good, that the Red Army decided to start fielding them right away, with the current 85mm Gun. This model improved on the Su-85 by having the Gun integrated, instead of having a separate gun turret on top of a slightly modified tank (Historically a T-34) body.
The picture in HOI3 shows an Su-85 for the Su-100...
Su-152SPArt.jpg

The Su-152 Zveroboy was built from the start to have a 152mm howitzer, and this eliminates quite a few reliability problems with our current "up-gunned" Su-122's. Historically this beast became known as "Zveroboy"(Beast Slayer) as it could slay Tigers, Panthers etc. all day long with non-AP rounds (at relatively close range, usually in ambushes or urban terrain) thanks to it's huge calibre. It only had some trouble with Elephants at medium range, and it seems that this prompted Su-152's to deal with Elephants by blowing the entire turret off at close range... With only 20 rounds of 152mm ammunition on board, every shot had to not only hit, but destroy it's intended target...
The clever tank Designers are now looking into making our Light Tanks more Reliable (Level 4).
No changes to LS Distribution
Statistics:
National Unity: 82,933 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 1.974.000 Men
To reinforce(need): 2.310 Men
To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​
Party Popularity:
- Communist Party: 58 =
- Trotskyite: 1 =
- Bukharinite: 7 (-1)

- Octobrist: 4 =
- Social-Revolutionary: 8 (+5)
- Trudoviks: 2 (-1)
- Kadets: 10 =

- Tsarists: 1(-3)
- NTS: 0 =
- POA: 11 (+1)
Not much has changed since last month, with German spies convincing all people with serious Right wing leanings that National-Socialism is the way forward, the POA is becoming a thorn in our side, when it comes to a unified government... The Capitalist are more split than last time, so no one is feeling entitled to government representation there...
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 69,12 (+0,52)
- Trotskyite: 11,40 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 6,50 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 7,00 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 3,80 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,80 (-0,1)
- NTS: 1,30 (-0,1)
- POA: 0,01 (+0,01)
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 7th of August 1940, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
Meanwhile, the Norwegians took back Rollag, pushing the Germans even further to the West and away from Oslo.

Well, not that I think the Germans have the smarts or the transports to take advantage, but by pushing the Germans further west don't the Norwegians also empty Oslo of some of its defenders? Like I said the Germans might not have the transports to do anything about it.

The Wehrmacht has reached the Outskirts of Dieppe, the outskirts of Besancon... , and the outskirts of Paris... The Germans have all but encircled what is left of the Maginot line.

Paris is where the center of the whole war is at and, to be honest, I can't see them beating back the German divisions at this point. We MUST assume that the Soviet Union will be fighting a German occupied Europe within two to three years. In other words, worst-case scenario, no outside help from the Allies.
 
Heh. Just like the real war...

Yep, the Italians, doing their best at being useless in the fight for France...
To be fair, they did capture Tunis, which should hasten a French Surrender... Let's see if they get to keep it...

Well, not that I think the Germans have the smarts or the transports to take advantage, but by pushing the Germans further west don't the Norwegians also empty Oslo of some of its defenders? Like I said the Germans might not have the transports to do anything about it.

Yes that is probable, although I suspect the Norwegians will still keep a Division to guard the capital. On the other hand, I'm sure the chance to push those Germans into the sea is very alluring... The only real hope for Norway is to cut off the Germans from their Supply by retaking Kristiansand, Stavanger, and Bergen, depending on where the German troops are, taking Bergen alone might already be devastating. The Germans seem quite a bit overextended, so I'm sure a human player could pull that off... But then again, a human player as Germany would have captured Oslo by now...

I believe the Germans must have some Ju-52's, but they seem to really want to keep their Fallschirmjäger Division (If they have only one) on the Soviet border, instead of flying it into Bergen, or airdropping it on Oslo. As for naval transports, they are probably all out of those, and their navy isn't worth much right now either, they seem to have only the Tirpitz left for a big gun capital ship... So even if they have the transports, it's pretty risky to cross with both the RN and the French Navy on your tail...

Paris is where the center of the whole war is at and, to be honest, I can't see them beating back the German divisions at this point. We MUST assume that the Soviet Union will be fighting a German occupied Europe within two to three years. In other words, worst-case scenario, no outside help from the Allies.

That has been the assumption since the Germans went for the Netherlands... We saw pitifully low interest from the British to actually send troops to fight for France, let alone the Benelux, and even the French continue to fight Ethiopia while the Germans are outside Paris... The Allies are clearly pulling out of Continental Europe, they are being replaced by fascists, and hopefully later on by Communists... It would not surprise us if we get only token assistance from the Allies once the Germans are on our doorstep, knocking really hard. The Soviet Union is a big independent nation, and I'm sure we can weather the storm (if Japan gets involved it might be a bit tougher...)

With the forces now on the border, we're not really that worried, but who knows what the Germans will bring back from France once that fight is over...
 
8th of August 1940, Infrastructure update #9
The 8th of August 1940, Petsamo, 1,8°C, 9am

I have myself travelled to
Petsamo to see our new Arctic railway line in action, this should allow our troops facing the Norwegian border to advance into Norway with less potential Supply issues as the small port of Petsamo doesn't quite have the capacity to supply more than a Division or 2. Between Murmansk and here, the railway only has a single track, but construction has already started on a second track. I actually took a small rail transport train from Murmask to here.

ArcticRailroadConstruction.jpg

Building the Arctic railway in Summer is tough enough, it will be tougher still by November, when the second track is due to be delivered... The workers are being pressed to work hard now and many locals and prisoners are have being enrolled to help speed things up. This job is much is easier while the daytime temperature is above the freezing point... 'Devyat' has already noted that Infrastructure expansion here will have to stop until spring after this second track has been laid... Railway snow ploughs and snow blowers are already being produced and the amount of points is kept to a strict minimum as keeping them Ice-free is time consuming and expensive. Experienced crews from the original construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad are also present to speed things up.​

Another meeting reviewing our Infrastructure has been concluded, I was present as an aide of 'Devyat', and things are shaping up nicely, slowly our Infrastructure is improving, even to near western European levels in some places.


The 20 Infrastructure projects on which only the final touches are still to be done are the following:

-Transsiberian railroad, Kuybyshev-Omsk:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Sengiley and Kuzkino.

-Memel Northern Bank, Minsk-Kaunas-Memel railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Jeremicze and Iwje.

-Eastern Finnmark Coast, Murmansk-Petsamo railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 3' in Polyarny, Zapadnaya Litsa, and Petsamo.

-String of Lakes/Rivers around lake Salvijärvi, Petsamo-Lulea railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 3' in Kolosjoki, Nautsi, and Ivalo.

-Kholm-Pskov railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Izborsk.

-Don East Bank, Stalingrad-Voronezh-Tula-Moskva railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Kalach, Dubrovskiy, Elanskaya and Bukanovskaya.

-Lake Ladoga East Coast, Tihvin-Sortavala-Viipuri-Leningrad Railroad
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 4' in Olonets and Svirstroy.

-Neva North Bank, Finnish border railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 8' in Osinovets.

-Volkhov East Bank railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 8' in Novaya Ladoga and Volhov.

'Level 2' fortifications in Krasne have been delivered.
Work has started on the first Machine Gun Bunkers (Level 1) in Izborsk.​


The same strategy has been followed to decide on the next 25 projects which will now start.
Some new projects have started in Northern Finland in preparation for a possible Norwegian Front, in Southern Finland, work has started on an alternative supply line for the Southern Finnish coast and Leningrad around Lake Ladoga.
To improve the flow of supplies from our central Depots in Moskva to everywhere else, infrastructure is now being improved around the capital, this is done through additional investment adding another 5 projects to the list...
Provinces are being upgraded to 'Level 8'.
In the following 25 provinces work will begin (17), or continue (8), adding an extra track or another hardened road.

-Transsiberian railroad, Kuybyshev-Omsk:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Melekes and Iskaly.

-Eastern Finnmark Coast, Murmansk-Petsamo railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 4' in Polyarny, Zapadnaya Litsa, and Petsamo.

-String of Lakes/Rivers around lake Salvijärvi, Petsamo-Lulea railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 4' in Kolosjoki, Nautsi, and Ivalo.

-Lake Ladoga East Coast, Tihvin-Sortavala-Viipuri-Leningrad Railroad
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 5' in Olonets and Svirstroy.

-Volkhov East Bank railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 8' in Malaja Vishera and Proletariy.

-Lovat East Bank Demjansk-Vitsyebsk railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 8' in Parfino, Marevo, Andreapol, Toropets, Velikie Luki and Haradok.

-Dvina North Bank Riga-Vityebsk railroad:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 8' in Dominikovo and Drozdy.

-Moskva peripheral railway network:
Infrastructure will be upgraded to 'Level 7' in Istra, Taldom, Dmitrov, Podolsk and Yegoryevsk.
We are making good progress towards the 'Level 8' objective for our Defensive line, as well as in Finland. The First Defensive line that is being upgraded is the Leningrad-Novaya Ladoga-Vityebsk-Homel-Kyiv-Dnipopetrovsk-Zhaporizhzhya-Mykolaiv defensive line, a continuous river line with only two already fortified gaps less than 100km wide.

Greetings,

'Odin'
 
9th of August 1940, Nikolaj to Afnasy #1
The 9th of August 1940, Minsk, 8,1°C, 6am Moscow Time

Dear Afanasy Fyodorovich, dear brother,

It has been a long time since we last spoke,

I have been busy, but I take the time to write to you now as I have a feeling something is big is going to happen soon, and that that war in Finland was just a warm up round...


First there was the huge amount of changes in appointments for commands on the Division level and above, not that I will complain about that,
I swapped my trusted 43. SD for 3. Tyazhelaya Tankovaya Gvardeskaya Diviziya, arguably the most powerful Division in the entire Red Army.
Moreover my direct superior is Lt.General Markian Mikhailovich Popov, another Winter war veteran who was in the thick of the fighting, why he was promoted and I wasn't remains a mystery to me, but it's just as well...
I get to play with 50 huge KV-1 tanks and 6.000 Guards under my direct command. I'm not wanting for support either, with a full Artillery Regiment with hundreds of 152mm howitzers and a Regiment of Engineers to keep all of this heavy machinery moving, and to blow stuff up on the way, this really is a great Division.


The reshuffle didn't worry me that much, as it seems only proper that able veteran commanders from the Finland campaign were shown the recognition they deserved.
But, in combination with Yesterdays Strategic redeployment order for the entire
XXIX GvSK, it seems STAVKA is preparing for the worst.
My KV-1's are being loaded on trains as we speak, the destination is
Lodz, a fortified city 80km from our German border in Southern Poland, we're not being told why we are moving, but considering the path we are taking, I suspect we will be facing the Germans quite soon.

RoadToLodz09:08:40.jpeg

High command has gone through the trouble of making our trains take a detour, so that our tanks would not be visible to the German troops on the border... The redeployment, and the location of our KV-1's is to remain a closely guarded secret...

Our Military intelligence suggests that sector will be hit the hardest once hostilities begin. I have no idea whether we will be attacking the Germans, or they will be attacking us, but considering what I have heard, the Germans have quite a few tanks facing the Area, and who knows how many they will be able to add once the fight for France is over? My children have both moved out and that's a good thing as things might get hairy sooner rather than later where I'm going.

<his daughter>
Jelena, she's 20 now, is currently studying Journalism in the Lomosov Moscow State University, and she has promised to send me newspaper clippings, especially those about the Military, with her commentary, so that I know what she thinks of them, and I can compare the contents to facts on the ground and my knowledge about the situation of the Red Army... She does not know where I will be posted, and I'm not allowed to tell her, but I'm sure she can find that out for herself and be subtle about it.

<his son>
Viktor, now 18, seems to have vanished of the face of the earth after having gone to Moscow to study Military Strategy, I have heard nothing of him in months, I hope he will turn up again soon...

<his wife>
I will take only Tatiana Romanovna with me to Lodz, so we can at least spend some time together, Lt. General Popov M.M. has told me I will be busy, making sure my Division is well dug in, and taking trips to the Border to evaluate the Enemy's strength for my Lt. General.


I'll write again when I get there,


I wish you much success in your Military career,

Hope to see you again soon,

Nikolaj Fjodorovich Vatutin
Maj. General, commander of
3. Tyazhelaya Tankovaya Gvardeskaya Diviziya and your dear brother.

P.S. I have set up this uncensored and confidential line of communication through a childhood friend in the VVS, this should allow us to communicate freely, even in times of war... I know I can trust you to keep everything discussed in these letters to yourself
The co-pilot of this childhood friend thinks he is working for the NKVD when he intercepts the Maj. General's confidential letters and takes microfilm photographs of them. He'sreally a Secret Committee Asset, and he should continue delivering all of Maj. General Vatutin's private correspondence, meaning it will inevitably end up on my desk...

This could get interesting, and I will keep picking out the interesting letters we intercept,

Greetings,

'Odin'

What is real, and what's not, a note from your WritAAR:
All the names of his family members are correct. I discovered that his daughter was a Journalist and Editor who emigrated to Prague in 1958, all I could find about her was the fact that she had studied Journalism in Moscow. (No year) and that she had set up at least one Russian Language paper in Prague. This information comes from a 2014 Bachelor's Thesis:
"Enrichment of cultural life in the Czech Republic by Russian immigrants in the second half of the 20th century" by Petra Vítečková from the department of Russian Language and Literature of the University of Brno.
It seems some information was gathered about Jelena Vatutina, then still alive in Prague (She died in 2016). None of the sources for this thesis seems to mention her in the title, and it was already a Google translation from Czech. I speak 3.5 languages, but Czech and Russian are not among them...
The son remains a mystery, with only his date of birth to be found anywhere online. About the brothers, all that I could find was that both his brothers fought in the Red Army and that they died in 1944, close to Vatutin's own untimely demise. I'm sure that if I had to write a thesis about this, I would be able to come up with more info, but this is an AAR, and several hours of internet searches (Google and my University's academic literature search engine) is all you get...
Of course Vatutin's rank and posting are not historical (he was a Lt. General by 1939...), I will try to write a 'photographed letter' from Vatutin from time to time, especially to illustrate the Great Patriotic war... There are some hints in the letter as to how I would frame that...
 
17th of August 1940, 'Odin', 10-day report #132
The 17th of August 1940, Vologda, 2,4°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 8th and the 17th of August 1940,

by 'Odin'

Army:
No changes to Army numbers for the last 10 days
Officers: 71.624 + / 82.490 needed / 86,827 %
Active Leaders: 232 / 115 more available
Air Force:
100 La-5 Multi-Role Fighters, forming 47. IAD have been deployed, they have joined Air Lt. General Novikov's II. ShAK to give it some protection from enemy Fighters.
Aeroplane Numbers (Wings/Planes):
Interceptors: 19 / 1900
Multi-Role Fighters: 2 / 200
Close Air Support: 3 / 300
Carrier Air Groups: 5 / 500
Single Engined: 29 / 2.900
Tactical Bomber: 4 / 400
Total Bombers: 7 / 700
Transport Planes: 1 / 100
Total VVS: 29 / 2.900
Total Navy: 5 / 500
Total Airplanes: 34 / 3.400
Active Leaders: 12 / 18 Reserve
Production continues, on another La-5's, they will form 78. IAD and join I. BAK
Navy:
No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days
Politics / International:
No legislative changes for the last 10 days.
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,3
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
GNW17:08:40.jpeg

The Germans seem to have stopped expanding to the north, and now they seem to be countering the Norwegians offensive, taking Kongsberg, but losing Tonsberg. Maybe they will be able to clear the road to Oslo once more
The French Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 52,30 / 48,5 loss of Besancon. and Sélestat.
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,4
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FranceFront17:08:40.jpeg

The Germans have taken Besancon, effectively cutting off what is left of the Maginot line, as for the Fortified line itself, they have continued rolling it up with the capture of Sélestat, just south of Strasbourg.
The Wehrmacht is still in the Northern Outskirts of Paris, more troops are closing in on the capital from the East as well, and they are only 60km away. Soon, the city could be enveloped. Near the coast, they have reached the edge of Rouen, and thereby reinforced their position for an attack on Dieppe.
The Italians still haven't managed to cross the French border.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
BNAF17:08:40.jpeg

The British counter-offensive continues, with no sign of running out of breath, retaking everything up to Ra's Abu Lahw, Qara, and Ayn Tumayrah. The British are now 90km from the original border, and if they continue at this rate, they might reach Tobruk, now only 130km away, in less than 20 days.
French North Africa Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 52,30 / 48,5
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FNAF17:08:40.jpeg

Not much has happened here, except for the Italians encircling the province of L'Ariana, just South-West of Tunis, no real progress has been made. Our analysts suspect that the Italians are pulling troops from here to face the British threat to the East...it might explain the lack of progress...
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,8
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 52,30 / 48,5
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
EEAF17:08:40.jpeg

The encircled province of Makale has been cleared out, and integrated into the British empire. The Italians took the province of Bohotleh, south of Berbera. None of this has any strategic implications whatsoever, short of taking ports and scarce resources, there really isn't that much to gain down here, but they fight on regardless...
Industry:
20 Infrastructure upgrades were delivered, work has started on another 25 (see previous update)
Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 236 / 318
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 43,70 / 71,22
Reinforcement: 1,10 / 1,13
Supplies: 7,01 / 36,13
Production: 237,58 / 237,58
Consumer Goods: 28,62 / 28,62
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 84.923 tonnes +
Rares: 30.040 tonnes +
Crude: 97.295 barrels +
Supplies: 28.682 tonnes -
Fuel: 99.723 barrels -
Money: 1.969 -
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 8 / 0 / 0 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 2
Total: 8 / 0 / 0 / 3
Reserves: 8
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,19
Our spy hunters seem to be back on the job now...
We have so far recruited 9 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell...
Research:
No completed projects, no new Research for the last 10 days
No changes to LS Distribution
Statistics:
National Unity: 82,943 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 1.986.000 Men
To reinforce(need): 340 Men
To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​
No changes in Party Popularity
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 69,22 (+0,1)
- Trotskyite: 11,30 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 6,40 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 6,90 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 3,70 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,80 (+0,1)
- NTS: 1,20 (-0,1)
- POA: 0,00 (-0,01)
It isn't clear how yet, but the Tsarist are becoming more organised. Traditionally this would be the work of Japanese spies, but we haven't caught one of those in ages...
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 17th of August 1940, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
27th of August 1940, 'Odin', 10-day report #133
The 27th of August 1940, Vologda, 2,4°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 18th and the 27th of August 1940,

by 'Odin'

Army:
A new Infx3, Art, AT Division has finished training. 80. Strelkovaya Diviziya has been deployed to Lt. General Rodin G.S.'s XXXI SK, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA. Currently in Riga.
Army numbers (Brigades/Personnel) Reserves included (these numbers don't include regiments being upgraded):
Front line troops: 582 / 1.746.000
Support troops: 192 / 192.000
Total fighting troops: 774 / 1.938.000
Headquarters: 56 / 56.000
Total Army Personnel: 830 / 1.994.000
Officers: 72.124 + / 82.990 needed / 86,907 %
Active Leaders: 233 / 114 more available
Another Infx3, Art, AT Division has started training, this one will also join XXXI SK in Riga.
Army Leadership:
New Maj. General Feklenko SK2 has taken command of 80. SD, XXXI SK, 2nd Army Group, STAVKA
Air Force:
No changes in the VVS, nor in the Navy Air Fleet for the last 10 days.
Navy:
No changes in the Navy for the last 10 days
Politics / International:
No legislative changes for the last 10 days.
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,2
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,2
GNW27:08:40.jpeg

Now the Norwegians have shifted their attention north, the have retaken Tyin and Gol , bringing the front slightly closer to Bergen. No changes in the south, no visible initiative from the Germans.
The French Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 60,30 / 48,4 Besancon back in French hands. Loss of Le Havre, Rouen, Dieppe, and Nice.
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 86,2
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FranceFront27:08:40.jpeg

The French have retaken Besancon, what is left of the Maginot line is still cut off however.
The Wehrmacht has progressed mostly along the Channel coast, they have taken Dieppe, Le Havre, and Rouen, in quick succession have reached the outskirts of Caen.
In this coastal push, they have also taken Vernon, directly North-West of Paris as well as Melun South-East of the capital. The Germans now have 4 axis of attack into the capital, while the French have only two ways to retreat left, they are enveloped.
Surprise! The Italians have taken Nice.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
BNAF27:08:40.jpeg

The British counter-offensive went even better than expected, they have already crossed into Libia, and have taken Bardia and Ridotta Capuzzo, meaning they have reached Tobruk from both the East and the South, let's hope they can take the fortified Port city, that would be a significant blow to the Italians in Northern Africa.
French North Africa Front
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 60,30 / 48,4
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
FNAF27:08:40.jpeg

The Italians have entirely stopped advancing here, probably to send the troops to defend Tobruk from the British.
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,8
France (Surrender Progress / NU): 60,30 / 48,4
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 79,6
EEAF27:08:40.jpeg

The French have taken Dessye from Ethiopia, while the Italians have taken all of British Somalia / Somaliland.
Industry:
The latest fortifications in Moskva have been delivered, they include underground ammunition storage space, and heavy Artillery Bunkers.(Level 6)
Now, fortifications in Leningrad will be improved with the addition of a large command bunker and underground tunnels linking the main fortifications.(Level 4)
The planned concrete trenches (Level 2) in Chalopienicy have been completed.
Now Machine Gun Bunkers (Level 1) will be built in Maloryta, on the Polish border, just south of Brzesc-Litewski. This could help by stopping an initial breakthrough in the South spill over into the North and vice versa, and should slow down the possible encirclement of Brzesc-Litewski.

Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 236 / 318
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 42,90 / 61,32
Reinforcement: 1,20 / 1,26
Supplies: 8,00 / 35,32
Production: 237,28 / 237,28
Consumer Goods: 28,62 / 28,62
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 85.301 tonnes +
Rares: 30.045 tonnes +
Crude: 98.400 barrels +
Supplies: 28.181 tonnes -
Fuel: 99.683 barrels -
Money: 1.964 -
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 7 / 0 / 1 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
Total: 7 / 0 / 1 / 2
Reserves: 8
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,19
Australian Spy hunters caught another one of our spies in France.
We have so far recruited 10 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell...
Research:
No completed projects, no new Research for the last 10 days
No changes to LS Distribution
Statistics:
National Unity: 82,953 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 1.990.000 Men
To reinforce(need): 3.250 Men
To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​
No changes in Party Popularity
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 69,62 (+0,4)
- Trotskyite: 11,30 =
- Bukharinite: 6,40 =

- Octobrist: 6,90 =
- Trudoviks: 3,70 =
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,80 =
- NTS: 1,20 =
- POA: 0,00 =
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 27th of August 1940, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
1st of September 1940, 'Tri', call about Dobrogea claims, review of Kerch fortifications
The 1st of September 1940, Kerch Coastal Fortifications, 9. Garnizon Diviziya HQ, 4,3°C, 9am Moscow Time,

I had gone down to Kerch, on the West Coast of the Kerch Strait. Officially as an NKVD officer to make sure the new recruits of 9. Garnizon Diviziya have the right political convictions. 'Devyat' ' was also there, posing as my assistant, he was actually there to asses the Fortification of the Strait as he was our agent in the department responsible for all types of Military and Infrastructure Construction: Infrastructure, Fortifications, Air Bases, Naval Bases... . Analysts and planners in Vologda had been asking for an unbiased assessment of the Fortifications there, as they has a feeling the official information was grossly overstating the scale and effectiveness of what was present. The results were disappointing to say the least:

Kerch_Eni_Kale_OttomanFortress.jpg

The oldest part, the fortress of Eni Kale was built by the Ottoman empire in 1699-1706. It's pretty, but entirely useless against anything but small arms fire...

Kerch_RussianFort.jpg

The best parts were from 1857, and even those were on the wrong side of the Strait, they would be somewhat effective against a naval invasion, but against an attack overland they would be entirely useless as they have been oriented entirely towards the Sea.
Officers of 9. Garnizon Diviziya had just finished installing a telephone line in the room of the 1857 Fortress they had selected as headquarters, when the telephone rang. The number had not even been included in any government telephone books or written down by any telephone operator, but somehow, as always, 'Tri' had found a way to get to me...

"The Bulgarians seem to be quite full of themselves, as well as being quite close to the Axis. Taking a leaf from the Axis playbook, they demanded the Area known as 'Dobrogea' from their larger neighbour Romania. Amazingly, the Romanians decided that they couldn't afford to waste their Army on a war with Bulgaria, having a border with both the Soviet Union and the Axis... They reluctantly gave the three provinces to their annoying neighbour...
Now... what does this mean for us? ... The Soviet Union has some claim to the land north east of the Prout river, and north of the Donau Delta, this area is also known as 'Bessarabia'... Many in the diplomatic service now believe we could easily take Bessarabia without firing a shot, just by demanding it... There is however a problem here... right now Romania is on the fence between the Allies and the
Axis. Taking Bessarabia from them would probably result in them attacking us in retribution, possibly with Axis support, as soon as there is a reasonable chance of success, so when we can least face it...
With this Bulgarian land grab, their relations with their neighbour have significantly soured, and as
Bulgaria is close to the Axis, there is a good chance that the Romanians will keep out of an Axis-Comintern war, or even Join in to retake 'Dobrogea'... All that would go out of the window if we claimed that resource-less strip of land along the border... My opinion, and that of our analysts in the Committee, is that it's not worth it,... so tell our Comrade Secretary General that taking over Bessarabia would give us only a very marginal short term gain for a possibly catastrophic stab in the underbelly when the Germans Attack... Tell him that if the Romanians don't join the Comintern, we can still Annex the entire country once we have dealt with the Axis... Taking the entire country now would lengthen our front with the Axis enormously, so that would also be pretty counterproductive... Right now, we have to limit the amount of potential enemies we create...And maybe some of our neighbours can be thorns in the Axis side, instead of ours..."
As always, 'Tri' has a lot of interesting things to say, this should indeed prove helpful to our Comrade Secretary General,

BulgariaClaimsDobrogea01:09:40.jpeg

A map with the new border, Bulgaria has gained
Dulovo, Dobrich, and Cavarna, none of them of any strategic value... This might prove the mistake that ultimately sinks the German prospects in the East...Especially as Romania is swimming in oil, and the more hostile to the Axis they get, the less Oil they will sell to them...
As for our fortifications, 'Devyat' ' is talking about building some modern Coastal fortifications in Anapa, East of the Kerch strait to contain any conquest of the Crimea to the peninsula itself, and thus protect our crucial Oil supply in the Caucasus. Work on this is not a very high priority, so it might take some time before anything significant gets built here, but if the Germans were to get close to the Crimea, the priority level will surely be increased.
In addition he made the suggestion of building an Air Base in
Novorossijsk in order to provide Air cover, but as Air bases are built a lot faster than Fortifications I'm sure that's even further away... And we will have our carriers to provide Air cover if the Base isn't finished or even built in time.

I'm going to go and visit some more of these old fortresses now and then enjoy a nice black sea beach before going back to
Vologda,

Greetings,

'Odin'


 
While we wait for the fall of France may I ask how our Soviet Air Force looks like when compared to the German Air Force? Do we have any information on the German Air Force?

Also any tours planned to see what the Soviet Far East looks like in the way of fortifications, supply lines, and air bases?
 
I like your choice of added-voices (the family) in telling some of the future-story...this should be very interesting to both write and read. Cheers!

Thanks for the support. Especially when trying out something new it's always nice to get some feedback. I liked writing that way, and I think it will continue being interesting enough for me to come back to and add some flavour to the story, straight from the battlefield...

While we wait for the fall of France may I ask how our Soviet Air Force looks like when compared to the German Air Force? Do we have any information on the German Air Force?

Our Air Force is doing quite well, and is expanding rapidly (right now 1 CAS, 2 Int, 1 Ftr, 1 CAG and 1 Tra wing are being produced, and when they are done, more Aeroplane production will take their place). We should have at least 6 x Intx4, 3x CASx2,Ftr, 2x Tacx2,Ftr, 1x Trax2,(Ftr) by mid 1941. So 6 large Fighter Corps, 5 Bomber Corps and 1 Transport Corps.
As for the Luftwaffe, we are pretty clueless, we've heard it's pretty big from our spies in France, and it seems they work in squadrons of 3, for their interceptors anyway. 15 Wings are visible from the Level 3 Radar station in Dover. Right now two Squadrons with each 2 wings of Stuka's are bombing France, as well as two Italian Tacx2 wings. The French Air Force is pretty beaten up with many wings around 50% strength so it's probably a turkey shoot for those bombers... I will not tag to Germany to look at their numbers, we want Barbarossa to be a real surprise... I might tag to them for other reasons, but if I were to do so, I would go straight to whatever I was already supposed to know, and probably even have someone else do it, tell them what to do and what to look for, so I don't notice things I shouldn't.
I have no scruples tagging to France however, as our spies there have a good foothold, and there is no Sûreté left to provide counter-intelligence, and I do so from time to time...

Also any tours planned to see what the Soviet Far East looks like in the way of fortifications, supply lines, and air bases?

The demand has been noted, I'm sure a trip can be arranged within the context of something or other, maybe in combination with the next infrastructure report... I'll keep it in mind, and when it is possible to do so without attracting attention or losing too much time, 'Odin' will make that trip... or maybe someone else is already there... or both... I'll come up with something.

Enjoyed that info on Kerch. I always wondered about that important area but never researched...thanks.

I think this AAR is a learning experience, I am only learning most of this stuff a couple of hours before you read it... but knowing these details makes the experience feel that much more involved... I'm glad you enjoy reading it, people in real life tend to find me a bit pedantic. But for HOI3 I think that's actually a good thing. You're welcome.
 
The demand has been noted, I'm sure a trip can be arranged within the context of something or other, maybe in combination with the next infrastructure report... I'll keep it in mind, and when it is possible to do so without attracting attention or losing too much time, 'Odin' will make that trip... or maybe someone else is already there... or both... I'll come up with something.
:eek: Odin, beware any offers from the General Secretary for a long train trip to Siberia!
people in real life tend to find me a bit pedantic. But for HOI3 I think that's actually a good thing.
Agreed! Its not pedrantry, just accuracy ;)