An excellent update! The news of a new Rifle division are most welcome, as is the deployment of a new generation of AA guns.
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That's quite interesting, I might read/skim some of those free war diaries, especially Wehrmacht ones from the Eastern Front. I can read Dutch, French, English, and German. You have graciously offered to translate Finnish. Russian might be more tricky, on the other hand...
Good choice. Over many years, I seen Gimp is the choice of a serious Graphic-modders in HoMM. In my case, the 'basic' Paint is easy to use and didn't require too much time to invest but there are issues with auto-blend. i.e. I never use the brush for HoI3 and always use the pencil.To get these kinds of effects, and to possibly tinker with colour balances etc. I tend to use Gimp, which is freely available image treatment software.
Touché. I just hope no french spies are reading 'Odin's reports..."Now with a Soviet Carrier, based on 'borrowed' French and British Blueprints"
And maybe read us?
Every little bit counts...An excellent update! The news of a new Rifle division are most welcome, as is the deployment of a new generation of AA guns.
Good to know, thanks for the info, that solves that... no glorious tales of Russian Heroism told by the heroes themselves...The Russian might not be tricky at all as Red Army soldiers were forbidden to keep diaries (per Ivan's War). I got
the impression there were very, very few likely due to the punishment for getting caught with one being rather more grim than KP duty.
I learned to use Gimp in the context of my studies, and have been using it ever since. I've actually never used paint for anything remotely serious, mostly because I only switched from Apple to PC about a year ago, and I already pretty much mastered Gimp at the time.Good choice. Over many years, I seen Gimp is the choice of a serious Graphic-modders in HoMM. In my case, the 'basic' Paint is easy to use and didn't require too much time to invest but there are issues with auto-blend. i.e. I never use the brush for HoI3 and always use the pencil.
The Russian might not be tricky at all as Red Army soldiers were forbidden to keep diaries (per Ivan's War). I got
the impression there were very, very few likely due to the punishment for getting caught with one being rather more grim than KP duty.
Interesting... I'm currently reading "Russia at War" by Alexander Werth, which I picked up second hand some time ago. While the book is dated, the author actually spent a considerable amount of time in the Soviet Union during the war, he spoke with quite a few officers and Generals. And the book thus retells the war from the perspective of the Soviet Union. So I'll surely take some inspiration from there... once the war is there...There are later accounts, though, that could be useful. But are there really no war diaries? (A war diary is very different from a regular soldier's diary and details the actions and orders of a unit during a conflict.) I was under the impression there was a large collection of those held in the Russian national archives, although whether they are accessible to the public or not, even if those diaries are there, is something I don't know.
There are later accounts, though, that could be useful. But are there really no war diaries? (A war diary is very different from a regular soldier's diary and details the actions and orders of a unit during a conflict.) I was under the impression there was a large collection of those held in the Russian national archives, although whether they are accessible to the public or not, even if those diaries are there, is something I don't know.
No... 5th of March, 'Odin', 10-day report #6, and the end of horses on the front line, all Cavalry Units were converted, most to L Arm, Motx2, AC, long ago.Do you have any old cavalry units left, or have they all been converted? Relatively quick, but don’t need fuel. Few divisions of two brigades each distributed centrally may be enough. Paratroopers do seem a bit like overkill.
My first thought too. It's handy to pick a L-0 Commando and try to get to L-2.The Red Army is happy to use the Paratroopers here, as it gives them valuable experience
Well, in this case it's a SK2 Cdo who will gain some xp and is going to get some progress towards Ranger and Winter Specialist, both desirable traits... We'll keep sending lower-skilled leaders on partisan-duty in Finland so they can learn a thing or two... Whether in the context of Paratroopers, or Mounted Military Police (Cavalry).My first thought too. It's handy to pick a L-0 Commando and try to get to L-2.
Well, that could easily fit in the production queue, the first binary Division will start training as soon as possible... One thing, we can't call them Cavalry as they need to be perceived as a police force on horses (and steroids), rather than Red Army Units. Also, Stalin pledged never to have horses on the front lines again, 'Cavalry' is now used to denominate rapid exploitation Divisions based around L Arm... So to avoid confusion and the comrade Secretary General being perceived to be backtracking, 'Mounted Military Police', or some other name has to be used...I agree with @Bullfilter in that cavalry is the way to go. MPs are more effective in reducing revolt risk, but not enough IMO to outweigh the benefits in speed that cavalry units bring in the woodlands of Finland. Three binary cavalry divisions should be able to handle it easily, two might be enough if you can accept longer reaction times.
Well, that could easily fit in the production queue, the first binary Division will start training as soon as possible... One thing, we can't call them Cavalry as they need to be perceived as a police force on horses (and steroids), rather than Red Army Units. Also, Stalin pledged never to have horses on the front lines again, 'Cavalry' is now used to denominate rapid exploitation Divisions based around L Arm... So to avoid confusion and the comrade Secretary General being perceived to be backtracking, 'Mounted Military Police', or some other name has to be used...
Interesting concept, I'll figure out the right acronym for some kind of Mounted, Finnish NKVD units...I can't remember if there is an NKVD in TTL, but that would be my go-to. Mounted NKVD, if you want to distinguish between mounted troops and militia+MP. Or you could cook up some fancier name, like "Mounted Security troops of the People's Commissariat for State Security" (also not too far from reality) or "Mounted Security Comrades of the ̶M̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶r̶y̶ Commissariat of Internal Affairs and Repression", which I think has a very nice ring to it.
I am in control of the Paratroopers, and the Navy, as there was currently no AI running operations in Finland... (Operations is a big word, it's more like Garrisons sitting in strategic Ports and Air Bases...)Game question - is the AI still in control of the paratroops or are you? I never saw the AI use paratroops properly.
I didn't think Partisans would be much of a problem to be completely honest, but this is a good reminder that low revolt risk does not equal no revolt risk... With a collaboration government in place, and no Ministers that give Partisans a boost, I thought Finland would remain calm for a long time... Now that we will be training Mounted Finnish NKVD-style units, I'll might as well give them an HQ, and have the AI run anti-partisan operations in Finland... I'll figure out how to get that to work through the AI.
Seeing you seem to have some experience with this. How did you organise this? what setting did you put the AI too? What level of HQ did you use? Did you create a separate Theatre for Anti-Partisan operations in order to make sure the Anti-Partisan troops remain within a certain territory?Funny enough a AI HQ with a few fast units assigned to it is not bad at handling revolts if the area given to it is somewhat small.
That might be just a tad too reminiscent of the time of the Tsars...Pity they can’t be called Cossacks
Indeed. It was just a whimsical non-suggestionThat might be just a tad too reminiscent of the time of the Tsars...