• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Well, a real waiting game while you watch Axis aggression around the world. On your earlier question on which units to move where, etc, I don’t think I have enough to offer that would be of specific use. Just a general comment that without Japan being at war with China, I feel trying to defend Vladivostok seriously while fighting off the Germans from the heartland is probably futile. It would be gamey perhaps just to surrender that entire extended salient now, but at the least I’d be making sure there were enough forces left at the potential choke points on the line of retreat to facilitate the withdrawal of the units stuck there. Maybe leave a few to delay while the rest SR back to safety and you try to defend a consolidated line from Mongolia to the north-west, then revenge yourself on the Japanese once Germany has been thrown back - and they have to contend with a more rearmed America.

Edit: ps, thanks for the Russian Bullfilter mention in the earlier post - I did notice. :)

Bull should always be well and truly filtered, in my book! :D
 
Last edited:
That bulge in the Czech/Hungary/NW Romania sector looks a pocket waiting to happen when the shooting starts...

That does look bad.. However, the AI is running deployment of forces on the border, and Romania is quite far removed from the Axis diplomatically (We didn't claim Bessarabia in order to not antagonise them, and it seems to have worked...). 4ya Armiya has 3 full Rifle Corps ( (Infx3, AT)x5, Infx2, TD ) and it's objectives are Debrecen and Budapest, so it's all on the Hungarian border, badly distributed, with a gaping hole on the South-Eastern end of the line... If the Winter War is anything to go by, troops will be redeployed to cover the whole front, as soon as hostilities start... On the Romanian border, the line is pretty thin, with 8ya Armiya having 2 Rifle Corps. (this reflects the non-threatening diplomatic situation) We'll have to see how that plays out...

Well, a real waiting game while you watch Axis aggression around the world. On your earlier question on which units to move where, etc, I don’t think I have enough to offer that would be of specific use. Just a general comment that without Japan being at war with China, I feel trying to defend Vladivostok seriously while fighting off the Germans from the heartland is probably futile. It would be gamey perhaps just to surrender that entire extended salient now, but at the least I’d be making sure there were enough forces left at the potential choke points on the line of retreat to facilitate the withdrawal of the units stuck there. Maybe leave a few to delay while the rest SR back to safety and you try to defend a consolidated line from Mongolia to the north-west, then revenge yourself on the Japanese once Germany has been thrown back - and they have to contend with a more rearmed America.

The Eastern Strategy is meant to be somewhat realistic, not giving up Vladivostok without a fight, but also preparing to hold the Japs north of Mongolia, if (when) our forces get overwhelmed... to that effect, we have a full corps of Mountaineers, and a brand new Air Base North of Mongolia. In order to address the chokepoint issue, one of the Rifle Corps is on it's way to Khabarovsk. I agree that the risk of encirclement is real, but as you say, it seems gamey to just give up that prime Pacific Coast real estate without a fight. If the situation gets hairy, the VVS could also fly interdiction and/or targeted Logistical Bombing Missions from several of our Air Bases in the region to keep the road west open just a little bit longer.

Bull should always be well and truly filtered, in my book! :D

I wholeheartedly agree.
 
The Eastern Strategy is meant to be somewhat realistic, not giving up Vladivostok without a fight, but also preparing to hold the Japs north of Mongolia, if (when) our forces get overwhelmed... to that effect, we have a full corps of Mountaineers, and a brand new Air Base North of Mongolia. In order to address the chokepoint issue, one of the Rifle Corps is on it's way to Khabarovsk. I agree that the risk of encirclement is real, but as you say, it seems gamey to just give up that prime Pacific Coast real estate without a fight. If the situation gets hairy, the VVS could also fly interdiction and/or targeted Logistical Bombing Missions from several of our Air Bases in the region to keep the road west open just a little bit longer.
Noted re keeping the strategy realistic, but I think you can permit some flexibility for yourself in that the game almost never represents the game realistically re Japan-China, therefore the strategic situation that prevented Japan attacking Russia, and also (related) them having such power to deploy on the border. Some (not gamey, I agree) adjustment should be reasonable. Such as a contingency plan for a strategic withdrawal to consolidated lines in event of a massive attack. As they were forced to do in Europe against the Germans. But your call - I know you’re a stickler for ‘ethical play’ against the AI and admire that. :):cool:
 
Comrades, if I may make a suggestion? The Far East Strategy is looking bad because the Japanese could focus much of their mainland forces onto our borders - if it comes to war.

Is there any nations in Asia, right now, that could be influenced to join the Comintern? My idea being that even a small nation could divide the attention of the Japanese forces.

It is, how do the Capitalist say it...a long shot, but I feel it may be something to look into. Just a suggestion.
 
Last edited:
Noted re keeping the strategy realistic, but I think you can permit some flexibility for yourself in that the game almost never represents the game realistically re Japan-China, therefore the strategic situation that prevented Japan attacking Russia, and also (related) them having such power to deploy on the border. Some (not gamey, I agree) adjustment should be reasonable. Such as a contingency plan for a strategic withdrawal to consolidated lines in event of a massive attack. As they were forced to do in Europe against the Germans.

A withdrawal remains a possibility. There will be no 'not one step back' orders, but right now, withdrawal is still a 'worst case scenario'... Some contingencies are (or will be) in place, but there will be no withdrawal without at least attempting to make a stand. I will very probably be using the 'withdraw' stance for Far East AIs, as soon as the situation becomes untenable. I guess we'll see how well that works...

Comrades, if I may make a suggestion? The Fat East Strategy is looking bad because the Japanese could focus much of their mainland forces onto our borders - if it comes to war.

Is there any nations in Asia, right now, that could be influenced to join the Comintern? My idea being that even a small nation could divide the attention of the Japanese forces.

It is, how do the Capitalist say it...a long shot, but I feel it may be something to look into. Just a suggestion.

Besides the fact that the diplomatic influencing of another country through (outside of trade), is probably so expensive in leadership that it becomes counterproductive, as better technology and/or a higher officer ratio would probably do more for our strategic interests once war breaks out... As for possible candidates:

Sinkiang is close enough to join, but their neutrality is too high, so they can't join until war breaks out, unless we start raising threat in the region through espionage which is a dangerous game if you want the region to stay quiet a little while longer... Also, Sinkiang is too far away, as they don't border Japan, nor it's puppets... all they really have to offer is their Army... (Probably half a dozen of mostly Militia Divisions at most, with ancient equipment)...

Communist China is roughly in our corner (not close enough to join, even if their neutrality was lower), but they are actually naturally drifting toward the axis, mostly due to their close proximity to Japanese soil and Japanese puppets Mengkukuo and Manchukuo. Influencing them might get them into our corner (unless the Japs react and pull them the other way...) We could try to close the gap through trade, but that will take time, and/or a huge boost in leadership for diplomatic purposes. Substantially improving relations with Communist China could do the trick.

Tibet and Afghanistan are drifting towards the Comintern on their own, and neither would be of much use.

Guanxi Clique, Yunnan, and Xibei San Ma are firmly in the Axis corner, having both proximity and ideological similarity on their side.

Nationalist China is sort of in the middle, but it is naturally moving towards the Axis, and on top of that, it is being influenced by Germany...

Persia could be swayed through extensive trade but wouldn't be much use...

Looking at the diplomatic picture, it's more likely that a Chinese state will help the Japs fight us than that one will fight the japs on our side...
The only realistic long shot here are the Communist Chinese, and without outright diplomatic influence, they're far from a sure thing...
Getting Sinkiang might help get us a higher 'proximity' to these Chinese states.
 
Comrades, if I may make a suggestion? The Fat East Strategy is looking bad because the Japanese could focus much of their mainland forces onto our borders - if it comes to war.

Is there any nations in Asia, right now, that could be influenced to join the Comintern? My idea being that even a small nation could divide the attention of the Japanese forces.

It is, how do the Capitalist say it...a long shot, but I feel it may be something to look into. Just a suggestion.
I had been thinking, and almost said, something similar about influencing. I refrained because things may be getting a bit towards the sharp end for it to be of use any time soon.

But, on the other hand .... Yes, it is a bit expensive in LS, but not so bad for a great power such as the SU. I’d go big and aim for the biggest and most useful of the Chinese powers, even after their previous defeat by Japan: the Nationalists. Yes, a couple of LS, but imagine the effect if they were on your side in the Far East and splitting the Japanese effort there? Not that gamey I think, as they were at war with Japan in OTL of course, and the Allied AI will never do its job correctly here by itself.

And if you stick at it continuously, alignment can act surprisingly quickly: look what happened in my Turkey game: we went from miles away to almost joining the Comintern in a year or so, then way back again with Japanese influence (sporadic by them and continually opposed by us) then all the way back again, to allow us to join the Comintern by the end of 1939. And than was after not even touching the influence mechanics until a few months into 1937! You could describe it as fomenting pro-Communist influence in China (the game mechanics don’t quite have the subtlety or flexibility to represent it accurately, so it may look like the KMT turning pro-Communist, but if the game allows it, it is a valid approach in this circumstance and would bring things closer to a historical equivalence in the effect).

Even now, it may not be too late to start swinging China your way, and work on a later intervention by them even if you can’t bring them on as a deterrent before Japan attacks. The influence by Germany is a drawback, but they may not persist, and you certainly wouldn’t want China joining the Axis!
 
I had been thinking, and almost said, something similar about influencing. I refrained because things may be getting a bit towards the sharp end for it to be of use any time soon.

It's never too late to suggest something, even if it's to late to act on the advice, at least it would be a guide on what to do differently. Don't hold back...

But, on the other hand .... Yes, it is a bit expensive in LS, but not so bad for a great power such as the SU. I’d go big and aim for the biggest and most useful of the Chinese powers, even after their previous defeat by Japan: the Nationalists. Yes, a couple of LS, but imagine the effect if they were on your side in the Far East and splitting the Japanese effort there? Not that gamey I think, as they were at war with Japan in OTL of course, and the Allied AI will never do its job correctly here by itself.

And if you stick at it continuously, alignment can act surprisingly quickly: look what happened in my Turkey game: we went from miles away to almost joining the Comintern in a year or so, then way back again with Japanese influence (sporadic by them and continually opposed by us) then all the way back again, to allow us to join the Comintern by the end of 1939. And than was after not even touching the influence mechanics until a few months into 1937! You could describe it as fomenting pro-Communist influence in China (the game mechanics don’t quite have the subtlety or flexibility to represent it accurately, so it may look like the KMT turning pro-Communist, but if the game allows it, it is a valid approach in this circumstance and would bring things closer to a historical equivalence in the effect).

Even now, it may not be too late to start swinging China your way, and work on a later intervention by them even if you can’t bring them on as a deterrent before Japan attacks. The influence by Germany is a drawback, but they may not persist, and you certainly wouldn’t want China joining the Axis!

All right, I just checked, and it's Nationalist China that is aligning itself towards the Axis... But considering that they are currently slightly off centre to the left, it might simply be to remain neutral...
Now, remaining neutral is an AI tactic I've noticed, with countries like Sweden, Switzerland, and even Turkey, repeatedly changing alignment, to stay in their own 'sweet spot', and those are the ones I noticed. Trying to influence them to our side is a risky business, as Germany has repeatedly tried to drag Turkey into the Axis corner, but every time, Turkey self-aligns with the Allies, until Germany stops pulling, and then Turkey shoots straight back to where it came from... The only reason Germany even has a shot at dragging Turkey into the Axis Corner is because it has ideological similarity, proximity, and even relations working in it's favour. We don't have any of those on Nationalist China.

One silver lining considering timing... aligning a country to your side doesn't really matter until you can invite them to join... as all of these Chinese states don't seem to feel threatened enough to join a faction, there is a chance that it will only be possible to invite them once war breaks out... Theoretically, that means that we have some time left.

If we really invest, Communist China is an attainable goal. Nationalist China is a very long shot, but maybe keeping them out of the axis might be worth the effort... although there is still some time before they get anywhere close... Even if it isn't worth it, it might be worth a try... Maybe the dice of Stalin making up his mind need to make a return... 1/2, no influencing; 3/4, We influence Communist China; 5/6 We go for Nationalist China, aka the long shot,...

Independently of the result, the Communists might still be swayed by improving relations in a significant fashion.
 
I like the idea of the dice. I have something involving them in mind for a future project, but I need to get two of my other three AAR projects out of the way before I embark on it. Though I might road test it on a game in the interim before embarrassing myself with it in a ‘live’ AAR!
 
12th of January 1941, 'Tri' Diplomatic options in the Far East and Stalin's Decision.
The 12th of January 1941, The Kremlin, Moscow, -10.7°C, 11pm Moscow Time,

'Tri' called me over to the Kremlin for an exceptional meeting with Comrade Stalin himself, he said something about having a plan to relieve the pressure on the Far Eastern Theatre.

MapOfChina12-1-41.jpeg

A comprehensive map of the nations of China, note Communist China, which is so small that we couldn't fit it's name on the map...

I entered the office of our Comrade Secretary General at 11pm, the Kremlin was quiet, but here 'Tri' had hung a large map of China on the wall, and as soon as I entered the room, he embarked on a resume of what he had been explaining to Comrade Stalin:

"To summarise, As our military situation in the Far East is worrisome to say the least, and an eventual withdrawal seems near inevitable in case of a Japanese attack, I believe that a diplomatic effort in China should be contemplated. Candidates for a diplomatic effort need to border Japan, or at least one of it's puppets. The main contenders are Communist China and Nationalist China.

Communist China is ideologically close to us, the clue is in the name, this means that just by showing some interest and a bit of influencing here and there, we should be able to get them squarely into the Comintern's orbit, and as soon as things get more threatening, into the Comintern itself. The drawback of Communist China is that they are relatively small, and would probably need some support in order to remain a nuisance to the Japanese until we can send more troops into the Theatre.

Nationalist China is larger and more powerful, even after losing large chunks of territory to the Japanese in the Armistice following the first Sino-Japanese War. The annoying part is that they are a Right Wing Autocracy, this means that they would need to shift to a left wing Autocracy, which, if you think about it, isn't such a large step to take... Nationalist Diplomats are also currently actively trying to get closer to the Axis. As part of the Armistice, Nationalist China has a non-agression pact with Japan, which means that it is extremely unlikely that we would be dragged into a war with Japan by the Nationalists if we manage to get them into the Comintern. This all sounds very promising, but getting them into the Comintern will require a long term commitment, and even then, it's not a sure thing.

By far the cheapest option would be to increase our trade with Communist China to pull them closer in the long run, but this will take more time than outright influencing, meaning that it might come too late to be of any real help.

Now, I'm sure 'Odin', that you have a better idea of the associated costs, but I would like to note that other Major Powers all have at least one team of Diplomats out there, trying to influence minor and regional powers. As far as we know, right now, the Germans are influencing the United States of America, the Japanese are influencing Turkey. The British are influencing the Dominican Republic. The French are in Exile, and the Italians aren't bothered."

AlignmentsAsia12-1-41.jpeg

An artistic representation of Diplomatic alignments of Asian nations. Turkey is slightly worrying, but they are still some way from feeling threatened enough to join, and are actively countering Japanese influence, meaning that there is a good chance that they will return to a more neutral position sooner rather than later.
I took out my ledger filled with all kinds of data, and after a couple of minutes, I came up with some numbers...

"Under current our current laws, an active influencing mission will mean than 9 to 10 fewer officers can be trained every day, or two fewer Research Teams are available, or a mix of both. This cost is significant, but probably manageable, especially keeping in mind the fact that our main rivals are also spending leadership on similar pursuits. This kind of thing would have been unthinkable during the re-organisation of the Officer Corps, but now, with a new Minister helping out, and the addition of clever people from Finland, it's a real option. Now, comrade Stalin, you have the facts, several possibilities and related costs and implications, we in the Secret Committee couldn't agree on which to follow or propose, what shall be done?"
Comrade Stalin sat back in his chair, looked over the numbers I had compiled for him, then at the map, then at 'Tri', and finally at me, with the whole process taking a solid ten minutes. Then he said:

"Like the Americans say: Go big or go home,

Let's go try to get Nationalist China on our side."
The Secretary General has decided. 'Tri' shortly put in motion the expansion of the Diplomatic Service, with the explicit goal to start influencing Nationalist China in a few days... Competent people were poached from the Officer training programme and the spy training programme, reducing the amount of officers being trained to 50 per day. Before starting the influencing campaign, a reserve of diplomatic points will be built up in order to improve relations through small trades. Before the end of the month, influencing will start.

That's all, we embark on a diplomatic endeavour, hoping to improve our strategic situation in the Far East.

Greetings,

'Odin'
OOC: Once again, the dice of Stalin making up his mind have been thrown, it came back a six. These dice really like to go big...
 
Cleverly written little segment there - here’s hoping you make some headway with Stalin’s bold direction!
 
The Communist Chinese may be small but if I remember from my last AAR they caused the Japanese so much trouble!


But Nationalist China is a bigger threat IF they can be turned to the Red Side.
 
I'm not convinced that you're going to have the Germans invade in 41. I recently had a game as the Soviets where the Germans never tried to invade, and I didn't enter the war until 1945 or maybe even 46. Part of the problem was the Czechs put up a fight, so Munich never happened and the war started a year early for Germany and therefore the MR pact never fired, (one of the weirdest games I've had in TFH) but the biggest problem seemed to be the German invasion of Norway, where they ended up with half a million troops bogged down (in and around Narvik instead of near Oslo) and couldn't seal the deal. I helped them out with the console when I was concerned that I had built the largest army in the world for nothing. Incidentally, they also ended up successfully invading both Romania and the UK, Italy had divisions in Baghdad, Japan had taken India, Australia, and New Zealand, and Persia had joined the Axis. Watch Norway closely, or you might end up making ten day reports for another five years of peace time.

Its a little late now, but Sinkiang can be a decent ally if you give them some Lend-Lease once the war starts. They have more manpower than you'd think and they tend to built mostly regular infantry once they have the IC for it. They aren't ever going to be a decisive threat to Japan, but they can help a little and they aren't in danger of getting steamrolled like the Nationalists or Communists.
 
I'm not convinced that you're going to have the Germans invade in 41. I recently had a game as the Soviets where the Germans never tried to invade, and I didn't enter the war until 1945 or maybe even 46. Part of the problem was the Czechs put up a fight, so Munich never happened and the war started a year early for Germany and therefore the MR pact never fired, (one of the weirdest games I've had in TFH) but the biggest problem seemed to be the German invasion of Norway, where they ended up with half a million troops bogged down (in and around Narvik instead of near Oslo) and couldn't seal the deal. I helped them out with the console when I was concerned that I had built the largest army in the world for nothing. Incidentally, they also ended up successfully invading both Romania and the UK, Italy had divisions in Baghdad, Japan had taken India, Australia, and New Zealand, and Persia had joined the Axis. Watch Norway closely, or you might end up making ten day reports for another five years of peace time.

That is one crazy game...

Norway might be an issue here, as the Germans have placed significant forces in their Baltic ports. Their problem seems to be that the RN sank all of their transports after the first landings... They are still moving forward ever so slowly, and are very close to Oslo... The Germans probably have 3-6 Infantry Divisions in Norway and no way to ship in reinforcements (except airlifting Paras) Other strange things are that a France led by a democratically elected government of Generals and a member of the house of Bourbon (more on this in a future update on France) remains in exile, and that there was no Vichy or early surrender. I also didn't trigger the Soviet claim on Bessarabia...
On the side of the timeline being on schedule: The Balkans are on fire with a joint Bulgarian-Italian invasion of Greece, and a high probability of Germany invading Yugoslavia soon. (Giving back transit rights, and moving units away from the southern end of the Soviet-German Border... seemingly towards the Balkans)

Of course, the AI might attack later, but the idea is that we consider it likely they will attack soon, and it's better to be prepared for the worst case scenario. If the Germans wait another year, or two, their numerical disadvantage will be much worse. The SU has an embargo on all European Axis Members... The Germans have to start shutting down factories sooner or later, or build a ton of convoys to keep US trade going despite the constant Royal Navy Patrols, or both... To avoid things becoming unfair we should maybe set a year and/or situation in which the Soviet Union will attack the Axis... For example, we could guarantee Romanian and Swedish independence to make war more likely, or just say that we'll charge in 1943, or even 1942, if the Germans , nor the Japs, have come for us yet... Alternatively, a distracted Japan could provide a window of opportunity to avoid a bad two front war... it's all to be seen...

Norway will remain under close watch...

Its a little late now, but Sinkiang can be a decent ally if you give them some Lend-Lease once the war starts. They have more manpower than you'd think and they tend to built mostly regular infantry once they have the IC for it. They aren't ever going to be a decisive threat to Japan, but they can help a little and they aren't in danger of getting steamrolled like the Nationalists or Communists.

It's never too late, if it doesn't serve this game or AAR, it will be included in the list of things one could/should have done differently, but in this case it's a good reminder to keep a close look on Sinkiang.

Sinkiang is too far away from the action to open a second front on the Japs, they could provide some units though, but not the kind of distraction that makes Japan move units across China to react to it. It's a double edged sword of course, as them being far away pretty much guarantees that they don't get steamrolled. In any case, they are really close diplomatically, and as soon as they feel threatened enough I'm sure we can convince them to join. If we really want to seal the deal, they are even receptive to demands for cheap production licenses (for MPs or TP's...), so that might seal the deal and really bump up relations to the point where they really have nowhere to go... even in the current situation, Sinkiang joining the Comintern is pretty much a sure thing... At most they require the tiniest of nudges to make them absolutely stick to the Comintern corner...

Thanks a lot for your input, it's always nice to get some fresh eyes and new perspectives on things, not to mention stories about strange SU games with half a Million Germans in Norway...
 
Norway might be an issue here, as the Germans have placed significant forces in their Baltic ports. Their problem seems to be that the RN sank all of their transports after the first landings... They are still moving forward ever so slowly, and are very close to Oslo... The Germans probably have 3-6 Infantry Divisions in Norway and no way to ship in reinforcements (except airlifting Paras)

This is a weird question but, knowing the German convey system is having issues, can their soldiers in Norway get ENOUGH supplies from the local provinces they have captured to support their Divisions? And be warned I HAVE seen the German AI use Paras as reinforcements.
 
This is a weird question but, knowing the German convey system is having issues, can their soldiers in Norway get ENOUGH supplies from the local provinces they have captured to support their Divisions? And be warned I HAVE seen the German AI use Paras as reinforcements.

Considering the Germans have annexed Denmark, and that their invasion is in the south of Norway, they only need a few convoys to supply the few Divisions that are there. It's one thing to supply fewer than 40.000 soldiers through a port 200km away, and another thing entirely to import large amounts of rare Materials from across the Atlantic. Considering their recent advances I'd say they are still in supply. Alternatively they could be getting supply by Air, as they must be within range of Danish Air Bases. When our submarines go on scouting missions around Norway, they rarely encounter more than a couple of British Subs... which makes sense as the Germans most likely have some Nav ready to bomb any fleet that lingers near their shores, especially away from Britain-based Air Cover... I tagged to Norway to make sure, and it doesn't look like they have long, the German Infantry is closing in on Oslo, and the Norwegians have two Divisions trying to recuperate lost ground in the Northern part of the line... Oslo is still held by two Divisions (one of them is an expeditionary British Par Division)
 
14th of January 1941, 'Odin', 10-day Report #147
The 14th of January 1940, Vologda, -10,9°C, 10am Moscow Time,

Report on the state of the Soviet Union for the ten day period between the 5th and the 14th of January 1941,

by 'Odin'

Army:
No changes to Army numbers for the last 10 days
Officers: 79.517 + / 87.360 needed / 91,022 %
Active Leaders: 242 / 181 more available
2 More Artillery Regiments have started production, they will be added to another two Rifle Divisions on the Western Front
Air Force:
100 brand new LaGG-3+ interceptors have been delivered to the VVS, they will form 101. IAD-PVO, and be deployed together with 73. IAD in now Air Lt. General Rog's VI. IAK.
100 Il-2M Shturmoviks Close Air Support Bombers have been delivered to the VVS, they will form 9. ShAD, and are to be part of the new III. ShAD.

Aeroplane Numbers (Wings/Planes):
Interceptors: 23 / 2.300
Multi-Role Fighters: 3 / 300
Close Air Support: 5 / 500
Carrier Air Groups: 6 / 600
Single Engined: 37 / 3.700
Tactical Bomber: 4 / 400
Total Bombers: 9 / 900
Transport Planes: 2 / 200
Total VVS: 37 / 3.700
Total Navy: 6 / 600
Total Airplanes: 43 / 4.300
Active Leaders: 15 / 29 Reserve
The production lines continue churning out LaGG-3+'s, the next 100 will form 106. IAD-PVO, and will complete VI. IAK.
100 more Il-2Ms have also started production, they will form 11. ShAD, the first bomber wing of IV. ShAD.
Navy:
Another five Sevastopol-Class Destroyers have been delivered and they will form 11. Flotiliya Esmintsev, part of I. Avianosets Flote
Navy Numbers (Flotillas / Ships)
Transports: 2 / 10
AG-boat Class (I): 11 / 55
Series II Class(II): 9 / 45
Series V-bis Class(III): 3 / 15
Submarines: 23 / 115
Norvik-Class (I) : 3 / 15
Gnevnyi-Class (II): 2 / 10
Kiev-Class (IV): 1 / 5
Sevastopol-Class (IV+): 4 / 20
Destroyers: 10 / 50
Light Cruisers / Profitern-Class (I): 3
Escorts: 13 / 53
Heavy Cruiser / Krasnyi Kavkaz (I): 1
Battleships / Gangut-Class (I): 3
Escort Carriers / Moskva-Class (I): 2
Capitals: 6
Total combat ships: 19 / 59
Total Navy: 44 / 184
Leaders: 13/ 21 Reserve
No follow-up project was started, workers and factories have been diverted to Army production.
Politics / International:
The Norwegian Front
Norway (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 85,1
Germany (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 84,5
GNW14-01-41-min.jpeg

The German advance seems to have sped up, it's not clear where this sudden burst of activity comes from, but it could be related to supply being plentiful, or Norwegian attrition and/ incompetence. The Wehrmacht has linked up the beachhead of Kongsberg with the rest of the front to the north by capturing Rollag. In the North, they have taken Fagernes getting ever closer to potentially cutting off any Norwegian Units to the north of there from supplies and their capital. Additionally, our submarines have detected that Tonsberg is about to be taken without a fight, and that the Norwegians in Drammen are moving North, opening up the way to Oslo for the Southernmost German troops. It is unclear what the Norwegian Infantry in Fredrikstad is trying to achieve, but since it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, it might not get to Oslo in time to prevent the end of Norway as we know it... The line has been broken, let's see how long Norway will survive... British Airborne Infantry is still guarding Oslo together with a single Norwegian Infantry Division.
British North Africa Front
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,7
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 79,5
index.php

Still no movement here
French North Africa Front
France is a Government in exile.
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 79,5
FNAF14-01-41-min.jpeg

The Italians now concentrated their advance along the coast, towards Oran, reaching Ténès, 150km from the last African Mediterranean port in french hands. We will have to see where the French ships will go next... Bets are open on how long the Italians will need to reach Oran, and later, Casablanca...
East Africa & Ethiopia Front
Ethiopia (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 75,9
France is a Government in exile.
United Kingdom (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,0 / 77,7
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 79,5
EEAF14-01-41.jpeg

British forces have now taken back the province of Lodwar, to the West of Buna. It seems the British are the only ones taking territory here, which makes them the front runner by default in this meaningless theatre.
The Greek Front
Greece (Surrender Progress / NU): 25,00 / 87,3 The loss of Salonica.
Bulgaria (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 71,8
Italy (Surrender Progress / NU): 0,00 / 79,5
GRF14-01-41-min.jpeg

The Bulgarian advance continues, Salonica has been taken, as well as Meliki, to the West of the city. On the Albanian front, the Italians seem to have shifted their focus and they are moving Eastward now, taking the Mountains of Florina. Only 60km now separates the Italian and Bulgarian lines. The race for Athina is on, with the Blugarians having to cover 270km with no natural obstructions, and the Italians having to cover only 210, including Mountains and a river crossing. Whoever takes most of Greece and wins the race, the Greeks are clearly losing either way. An analysis of the resources present in Greece suggests that Bulgaria will be getting more out of the conquest of Greece than the Italians, unless the latter get to Athina first.
Industry:
Working Industrial Capacity / available capacity: 238 / 321
IC Usage: ( Allocated IC / Need )
Upgrades: 10,60 / 10,66
Reinforcement: 1,20 / 1,25
Supplies: 50,79 / 36,19
Production: 229,52 / 229,52
Consumer Goods: 28,89 / 28,89
Stockpiles:
Energy: Maximum tonnes =
Metal: 92.212 tonnes +
Rares: 32.417 tonnes +
Crude: Maximum barrels =
Supplies: 19.401 tonnes -
Fuel: 98.446 barrels -
Money: 2.183 +
Intelligence:
Spy numbers, spies in (active / added / lost / caught by us)
France (Covert Operations / Counterespionage): 5 / 0 / 0 / 0
{ Germany (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ Japan (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }
{ UK (/): 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 }​
Other: 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
Total: 5 / 0 / 0 / 1
Reserves: 14
Spy training leadership expenditure: 0,20
We have so far recruited 15 like-minded Covert Operatives in our French sleeper cell.
A spy from Romania was caught by the KGB, otherwise, no luck.
The UK mission will start within the next few days.
Research:
No completed research projects, no new projects.
LS Distribution:
Research: 19,00 =
Espionage: 0,20 (-0,08)
Diplomacy: 2,14 (+1.89)
Officers: 10,00 (-1,80) (50 officers / day)
Total: 31,33 =
Our new Chinese Diplomatic offensive means that our best and brightest have been moving around again, towards the Diplomatic Service.
Statistics:
National Unity: 83,083 (+0,01)
Neutrality: 0,00 =
Dissent: 0,00 =
Manpower:
Available: 2.087.000
Men To reinforce(need): 1.830
Men To mobilise(need): See above
Monthly gain: 48.200 Men (1 fully mobilised Infx3, AT Division every 7 days)​
Party Organisation:
- Communist Party: 74,92 (+0,62)
- Trotskyite: 10,40 (-0,1)
- Bukharinite: 5,50 (-0,1)

- Octobrist: 6,00 (-0,1)
- Trudoviks: 2,80 (-0,1)
- Social-Revolutionary: 0,00 =
- Kadets: 0,00 =

- Tsarists: 0,00 (-0,1)
- NTS: 0,30 (-0,1)
- POA: 0,00 =
This Information is accurate on the morning of the 14th of January 1941, I hope it serves you well in fine-tuning your possible suggestions.

'Odin'
 
Last edited:
The tide slowly rises, but no big waves yet. At least Greece is proving a thorny obstacle hard to take unless crushed by the Wehrmacht. Will be interested to see if the Chinese diplomacy shows signs of success. :)
 
Finally I'm caught up! Whew, all those reports sure took their sweet time... A new external committee member signing in!

Whichever general suggested the emphasis on artillery on the west front had the right of it, if you ask me. Fearsome as the panzers may be, they will not move up alone, and artillery will hit the Wehrmacht where it hurts: its manpower. Placing those aircraft in their operating bases can only help, too, allowing supply stockpiles to be built (never underestimate how long it takes to get supply after rebasing) and our glorious interceptors and ground attack aircraft to swarm the skies above the front as soon as the first shot rings out! The sight of 4ya Armiya's left flank makes me uneasy, though; perhaps the next Strelkovaya Korpus should be deployed there?

About the Far Eastern Theater, I would advocate deploying the II KK there. We already have significant armoured reserves in the West, and they could really do miracles against Japanese infantry.

Edit: I of course referred to the II KK, but mistakenly forgot one of the I's. This error has been rectified.
 
Last edited:
Training and deploying one or more new L Arm based Divisions (possibly lighter less supply- and fuel-hungry variants i.e. (L Arm, Mot, Eng, AC) ) directly into Siberia, leaving 2 KK to shore up reserves on the southern end of the German Front. This would take some time but is better than doing nothing

It might be desirable to increase training levels to advanced training when the war starts so that new units can jump in with some more experience when they have to face an already battle-hardened foe.

Sorry for my delay. Those two I'd favor a little more than the others.
 
The tide slowly rises, but no big waves yet. At least Greece is proving a thorny obstacle hard to take unless crushed by the Wehrmacht. Will be interested to see if the Chinese diplomacy shows signs of success. :)

Greece is a slow grind for the Axis, with probable high casualties o both sides.

Finally I'm caught up! Whew, all those reports sure took their sweet time... A new external committee member signing in!

Glad to have you on board... I respect the effort catching up. (Any advice on measures that might make catching up easier for new readers?) I will also continue to take my sweet time churning out data, story lines, and some other odd bits that seem fun, interesting, or essential to the fate of the Soviet Union...

Whichever general suggested the emphasis on artillery on the west front had the right of it, if you ask me. Fearsome as the panzers may be, they will not move up alone, and artillery will hit the Wehrmacht where it hurts: its manpower. Placing those aircraft in their operating bases can only help, too, allowing supply stockpiles to be built (never underestimate how long it takes to get supply after rebasing) and our glorious interceptors and ground attack aircraft to swarm the skies above the front as soon as the first shot rings out! The sight of 4ya Armiya's left flank makes me uneasy, though; perhaps the next Strelkovaya Korpus should be deployed there?

Artillery is the first order of business in the plan to increase Army Production (see the previous report for the first modest steps)
Aeroplanes are being rebased, along with the reorganisation of the AG Level command structure (there will be an update on this in the future, probably February in Game terms)
4ya Armiya has enough units to cover the entire Hungarian border, it's General just seems to have decided that he wants to concentrate all of them on the Western end of the border, hence, the gap... (Army level AI with Budapest and Debrecen as objectives). Adding another corps here will in all probability just add units to the Western end of the line... the General doesn't even seem to be asking for many more men... it's a strange situation of the kind that is sorted out only when war happens, and that particular AI goes into panic redeployment mode...

About the Far Eastern Theater, I would advocate deploying the I KK there. We already have significant armoured reserves in the West, and they could really do miracles against Japanese infantry.
Sorry for my delay. Those two I'd favor a little more than the others.

All right, so considering what others have stated on this subject, I think that extra production is the way to go. @Eurasia did propose to prioritise adding Engineers to the existing Infx3, Art Divisions currently in the Theatre, but the Light Armour might give us an edge the Japanese can't match... So some Engineers, and some Light Armour. Moving I KK to the East would be time and supply consuming, and in the Southern Part of the front, we could use a mobile reserve... Moreover, the L Arm, Motx2, AC, structure isn't ideal for the far east. I'd rather suggest something like L Arm, Mot, AC, Eng or even L Arm, Mot, Engx2, (AC) to make them very agile in tough terrain and still relatively cheap to supply...

You can expect an update this weekend, I haven't determined what it will be, probably either a report on the French Government, or a report on '11' and the start of her British adventure... (I have some research, and rough outlines on both...I'll just have to pick which one I feel like fleshing out), I might also play on to the 24th of January 1941 and publish another 10-day report... #148 and counting...
 
Last edited: