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The new map style looks good to me :)

As usual, most of my experiences come from HoI2 and Darkest Hour, so they may not map 1:1 to HoI3, but a few things I feel confident enough to comment on:

I've only dabbled in rocket interceptors a few times. Their combat stats are certainly impressive, but their short range and fuel costs pretty much restrict them to a point defense role that doesn't really fit the way I typically play the air game (though HoI3's more granular province sizes might change things up a bit). If you've got the IC to spare they're worth playing around with just to get a feel for how they operate, but I wouldn't swap them in wholesale for more conventional fighter units.

I can't remember the last time I pulled off a successful coup, as the chances are typically pretty low no matter how much of an advantage you have in the spy game. Again, I'd certainly recommend making an attempt at one or two to see how they work, but I wouldn't rely on them as a key part of the overall strategy -- most of the ones I've tried have been either attempts to gain an ally / puppet / trading partner without having to invest resources in conquest, or else "Hail Mary" efforts to shut down an enemy that I don't think I'm ready to fight.
 
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Notes to the table:1. Supply production reached a peak of 150 IC on 12 July and kept steady at 110 IC from 15 July (when I froze it) until the end of the month.2. The cause of the ‘Convoyed out’ blip (13.20) on 13 July is currently unknown.3. I have only a glancing familiarity with the supply system, normally I simply adjust production to keep the stockpile balance at where I’m comfortable. And do supply-related research.4. I don’t really understand how to read/what drives the two big demand factors of ‘Into network’ and ‘Used’, what the latter actually depicts and why it would have fluctuated that wildly. Any expert guidance based on this info and that provided below would be greatly appreciated, as this is becoming a big factor both for general industrial effort and supply on the ground.
In short, "Into network" if I understand correctly is how many supplies are deployed to "qualified IC provinces" which are those you own and control which have IC and are connected to your capital by land. "Used" is how much is actually deployed to your capital to send out to units in the field.

The amount of supply put "into network" is apparently the supply produced minus the supply used, and will trickle its way back to the capital province and be put into your actual stockpile ("returned to stockpile"). I believe this is meant to simulate local production of supplies, but in practice just ends up being an overly-complicated system with very little actual depth to it since you can't manipulate it much if at all.

A major milestone was achieved on 2 July with rocket engines being developed – the team was rolled straight into strategic rocket development. [A question: anyone ever bother with rocket interceptors? I wasn’t going to, but if there’s any value I’d be interested in hearing.]
RINT are basically very fast, very short-range INTs. They're good if you can station them close to a crucial target if time-to-intercept is critical, e.g. Germany would like to use them to defend from STR bombing. However, they're otherwise very limited in use and generally jet planes will be a better investment.

[Note: I'd appreciate any views on whether 'our party' influence and or covert ops would be of any use and what likelihood there would be of being able to conduct a successful coup (something I've never really tried in a game) and whether it's ever really worth it. If not, what other missions would you suggest once counter-espionage has been successful?]
I can't speak too much to vanilla, but I know that I used to be very successful running three bars in counter continually to suppress AI spies (since the spy AI in vanilla is quite bad and they will not counter your counter effectively), and three bars into a mission of choice. I think a minor like Turkey should be susceptible to party support missions as they lack the leadership to fight back effectively.

Note: let me know if, with the units stripped out of the sector summary maps for simplicity, if this is enough detail for readers. If you’d like more in key sectors, I can find some way of squeezing it in, or add it by request in an appendix of space is an issue.]
You might consider using the battleplan editors to draw in the infantry, armor/mobile, and air divisions in lieu of the counters, which could provide a descriptive visual aid without being as busy as the counters (and more easily moved out of the way when needed!).
 
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Putting the reactor next to Moscow? A bold decision from the Politburo there. Even if there isn't a disaster like Kyshtym (and there probably will, every nuclear power had disasters in the early Cold War years as they were all working flat out with dodgy understanding) then Soviet safety standards will come back to bite them. The OTL early cold war soviet nuclear facility was out in the Urals so all their reckless leaks 'only' killed the staff and local peasants, and boy did they leak - the Lake they used as water source/dumping ground is now so radioactive it will give you a fatal dose in 30mins and the surrounding rivers and ground water are all contaminated.

If that happens near Moscow and gets into the water supply... well perhaps we will see Premier Kruschev announcing the construction of a new capital city built on properly Communist principles.
 
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If that happens near Moscow and gets into the water supply...
Maybe it'll mean a premature end to the cold war?
well perhaps we will see Premier Kruschev announcing the construction of a new capital city built on properly Communist principles.
Actually I'm kind of curious what this city would look like under Kruschev. Under Stalin you had all the socialist neo-classicist stuff aka. 'collumns for the people', but later on Constructivism made a bit of a comeback, with some rather interesting looking results. And, of course, they did the whole 100% standardised prefab appartement building thing. Prominent features were a strictly rationed amount of floor-space and oppressively low ceilings.
 
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Actually I'm kind of curious what this city would look like under Kruschev. Under Stalin you had all the socialist neo-classicist stuff aka. 'collumns for the people', but later on Constructivism made a bit of a comeback, with some rather interesting looking results. And, of course, they did the whole 100% standardised prefab appartement building thing. Prominent features were a strictly rationed amount of floor-space and oppressively low ceilings.
A proper Stalin Empire style new city would be quite the sight, all that 'Excess' on a grand scale. Dread to think of the human cost of building it though.

I did see a line from a Russian architect along the lines of "Kruschev struck the killing blow to Soviet architecture then it died under Breznhev." so I worry any Kruschev City would be very minimalist, lots of concrete panels and 'efficient' tower blocks but absolutely no soul. Like Brasilia but with even less style. But I'd be interested to see what a proper architect thinks about it. :)
 
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A proper Stalin Empire style new city would be quite the sight, all that 'Excess' on a grand scale. Dread to think of the human cost of building it though.

I did see a line from a Russian architect along the lines of "Kruschev struck the killing blow to Soviet architecture then it died under Breznhev." so I worry any Kruschev City would be very minimalist, lots of concrete panels and 'efficient' tower blocks but absolutely no soul. Like Brasilia but with even less style. But I'd be interested to see what a proper architect thinks about it. :)
The coincidence is crazy, but after reading this comment I opened YouTube and at the top of the page there was a video from a channel I follow about soviet architecture in different eras.

 
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Nice digression everyone! :D
 
A proper Stalin Empire style new city would be quite the sight, all that 'Excess' on a grand scale. Dread to think of the human cost of building it though.
That would be equal parts glorious and opressive.

I did see a line from a Russian architect along the lines of "Kruschev struck the killing blow to Soviet architecture then it died under Breznhev." so I worry any Kruschev City would be very minimalist, lots of concrete panels and 'efficient' tower blocks but absolutely no soul. Like Brasilia but with even less style. But I'd be interested to see what a proper architect thinks about it. :)
I guess it depends on the affinity of the architects. The early Soviet cities were planned by a German Architect named Max Weber, amongst others. It's interesting to compare the social housing projects that were built in Germany during the earlier Weimar years, and the newly planned cities in the Soviet Union. Personally, I think the constructivist period was a lot more interesting than the post-Stalin era. Some fascinating buildings came out of that era, even if they often aren't conventionally beautiful, they're definitely interesting. (see Lubetkin who emigrated to the UK and continued there, Melnikov, El Lizzitsky, Ginzburg.) The thing about modernist architecture is that it sometimes uses the pretext of efficiency to introduce new elements and justify aesthetically motivated choices. Many modernist architects wouldn't be caught dead talking about beauty or aesthetics, yet the most interesting of their buildings often sacrifice some efficiency for the sake of proportions, aesthetics, or views. Then again constructivism wasn't exactly the same as western modernism, though the similarities probably outweigh the differences if you see it in the context of what came before and after.
With Stalin everything, except for a few exceptions, became the same. More imaginative or creative architects were forced to adapt, or worse. The 'Empire' style dominated public buildings and grand urban projects with it's own strict aesthetic rules, proportions, and colours. It was monumental and unified, pictures don't do it justice. I had the opportunity to walk down Karl Marx Allee in Berlin a few years ago, and it's really quite powerful. You find yourself between two massive, uninterrupted, façades. 6 stories tall and 100s of metres long. Residential buildings that look like palaces, with collumns and some geometric ornaments, the very embodiment of the power of the state and the insignificance of the individual.
After Stalin, you get a return to the ideal of efficiency over all else, but without the same level of artistic license and creativity that existed in the constructivist years. In that sense, I do agree with your quote. The total disregard for the local climate, something the modernists 'solved' with lots of expensive technology in the west, also goes counter to the idea of efficiency.
To be fair, the one thing they did well in those Kruschev era cities is the mobility aspect. The wide roads with efficient (in theory) public transport and wide paved sidewalks combined with the fact that everyone had a School, shops, a hospital etc. within walking distance are actually good ideas. A city with a single centre just doesn't work beyond a certain scale, no matter how wide you make the roads. (see the US and the duality between suburbia (residential) and the Central Business Districts for mobility planning gone very wrong).Thanks for linking the video @diskoerekto, it helped refresh what I learned in my History of XXth Century Architecture course a couple years back.

I'll leave you with this brilliant example of creative constructivism: The London zoo penguin eclosure by Lubetkin (1934):
lubetkin-penguin-pool.jpg

You have to admit it's a lot less plain and boring than those standardised Kruschev Appartement blocks.

Edit: Weber was a sociologist, not an architect, though his influence on 1920's city planning is unmistakable. He was involved in city planning and his book 'The City' (1921) was quite influential in it's time.
 
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This is the kind of high quality diversion from the topic that makes this place so special. Thanks @roverS3 a very enjoyable read and some things for me to have a think about. :)
 
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The coincidence is crazy, but after reading this comment I opened YouTube and at the top of the page there was a video from a channel I follow about soviet architecture in different eras.

With Stalin everything, except for a few exceptions, became the same. More imaginative or creative architects were forced to adapt, or worse. The 'Empire' style dominated public buildings and grand urban projects with it's own strict aesthetic rules, proportions, and colours. It was monumental and unified, pictures don't do it justice. I had the opportunity to walk down Karl Marx Allee in Berlin a few years ago, and it's really quite powerful. You find yourself between two massive, uninterrupted, façades. 6 stories tall and 100s of metres long. Residential buildings that look like palaces, with collumns and some geometric ornaments, the very embodiment of the power of the state and the insignificance of the individual.

I do have to admit, the Empire style certainly does give off an air of power and majesty that's hard to capture in words. I've always been a big fan of the Baroque and Palladian styles, and I can see a lot of aesthetic influence from the Empire style must have been derived from those sources.
 
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I do have to admit, the Empire style certainly does give off an air of power and majesty that's hard to capture in words. I've always been a big fan of the Baroque and Palladian styles, and I can see a lot of aesthetic influence from the Empire style must have been derived from those sources.
In my opinion the stylistic result is closer to Palladio than to Baroque. Baroque is much more alive, full of movement, even joyful, while Soviet Empire style is rather static, though the sheer scale of Empire buildings is reminiscent of some Baroque era palaces. That said, Empire doesn't use the same proportions as Palladio (who based his proportions mostly on ancient architecture). Of course, all three used motifs from antiquity.

Lubyanka-min.jpg

I already posted this picture in my AAR, but it's pertinent here. This is the old NKVD HQ (left), with half of the 'new' one next to it (right). Basically, they had to expand in the 1930's (something about army officers deemed 'enemies of the people'), and they decided to build a whole new building. But of course, the work of the NKVD was too important to be interrupted, so they built part of the new building first. And then the war happened, and it took until the 1980's before they actually finished the other half following the original exterior design... The old building (left) is in a rather subdued (for baroque) neo-baroque style (it was the HQ of some insurance company before the revolution). The one on the right is pure Empire style. You can easily see the one on the right is less busy. On the left we have more depth, extra ledges over the windows, more variation between the levels. The more extreme baroque buildings tend to cram in ornamentation wherever there is space for it. On the right, we have a much flatter surface, the ornementation is simpler and more readable, more on the neo-classical end of the spectrum.
 
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Chapter 18 – August 1945
Chapter 18 – August 1945

AuthAAR’s Notes: I will try to be even more compact this time, with another tweak to the summary maps and combat descriptions.

******

Introduction

Units at the eastern part of the front were beginning to outstrip air support from the main Soviet air bases supporting the north and central sectors. Jakutsk was as yet relatively lightly populated with VVS wings.

5XUXxH.jpg


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1. Northern Sector

Four large battles took place in the Northern sector, stretching from Lazo to Enken, all in the first two weeks of August.

First, a major four-way assault on Lazo from 1-8 August, a masterful blitz and envelopment overwhelming the Japanese defenders (Soviet 372 v 1,609 Japanese casualties), won without air support.

Simultaneously, the key port of Ulya was attacked by the Soviets from Curapca and Ust’ Maja, who won a tough battle fought between 1-7 August (Soviet 1,165 v 1,028 Japanese casualties, plus 594 more killed in air raids). Overlapping both battles was another Soviet attack on Enken, immediately south of Ulya, resolved between 2-7 August (Soviet 680 v 1,172 Japanese casualties). During this battle, on 3 August it was noticed that the defending Japanese infantry division was suffering from a lack of supplies, even before being cut off. If either or both of these could be occupied, in would trap any Japanese units north of them in a pocket. And if Ulya was taken, they would be without a port to supply them.

The fourth major attack was from Ust Aldan on Susuman from 8-12 August. This far northern province was the choke point through which Soviet land supply of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet’s base in Kamchatka had been cut off by Japanese occupation. The Soviets won this battle too (Soviet 654 v 1,145 Japanese casualties).

Of note, the already slow garrison division advancing on Susman was further slowed by bad weather for most of August – at the rate it was going, it would not liberate it by April 1946! This led to 6th Army’s northern objective being switched from Ust Aldan to Susuman, in the hope that a quicker formation might be sent there.

8lG2fX.jpg

After this, the remaining battles were skirmishes only, a number of them clearing out arriving reinforcements or quickly abandoned enemy probes after the liberation of Ulya (on 23 August) and Enken (31 August) by the Soviets after their earlier victories.

The occupation of Ulya on 23 August, after many previous attempts, was a decisive blow to the Japanese position in the north. The pocket was later further isolated after Enken was taken at the end of the month.

xdz2TI.jpg

By the end of the month, the northern pocket was cut off and being closed down, with the Soviets advancing on both Susuman and Okhotsk after earlier victories there.

dDIjkF.jpg

Operational summary, Far East – Northern Sector, August 1945.

******

2. Central Sector

Operation in the Central portion of the line were marked by broad but contested Soviet victories and then advances around the middle of August, some of which were in danger of being reversed by the end of the month. Again, Soviet air support was somewhat limited, as it had been in the North. Key flash points were in Ust’ Urkima (where the Soviets had to defend a Japanese breakthrough), Nemuy (which saw heavy fighting throughout the month) and Tyndinsky (which boasted an air base) and the developing salient to its south-west.

Ust’ Urkima was attacked three times by the Japanese until they won against the exhausted defenders at the third attempt. The Soviets had earlier beaten off attacks on 4 August (Soviet 334 v 959 Japanese) and 11 August (Soviet 1,120 v 1,510 Japanese) until losing on 12 August (Soviet 114 v 255 Japanese) when they ran out of organisation. But the Japanese were attacked as soon as they occupied Ust’ Urkima on 20 August and did not have the strength to hold it, losing after a brief battle and being evicted by 24 August.

In Nemuy, the Soviets were victorious on 7 August (Soviet 823 v 879 Japanese) but unable to dislodge freshly arrived Japanese defenders between 11-13 August (Soviet 693 v 641 Japanese). But then a renewed attack was successful by 30 August (Soviet 705 v 646 Japanese) after a tough three-day fight. To its north, an attack on Ayan failed earlier in the month, but an new assault began on 31 August and continued as the month ended.

A Soviet attack on the air base in Tyndinskiy was successful on 11 August and it was occupied by the 17th. A subsequent serious Japanese counter-attack from 18-21 August was safely beaten off (Soviet 602 v 757 Japanese). At the same time, Berezitovyy was also taken on 17 August and another serious Japanese counter-attack was weathered from 17-20 August (Soviet 335 v 1,091 Japanese).

Solov’evsk (27 August) and Bomnaksk (31 August) were also taken, a Japanese counter-attack hitting the latter than day and still continuing as August finished. The Soviets were still advancing on Stanovoj Hrebet after a victories there on 21 and 23 August, with a new Soviet attack from Bomnaksk on Silka had just started.

Also of note, partisans managed to take one of the Pacific ports on 27 August, but the Soviets were not yet in a position to exploit the windfall.

neZN79.jpg

Only relatively light air strikes were launched during the month, in Berezitovyy and Tyndinsky. By 8 August, there were six VVS wings operating out of Jakutsk, increasing to nine by 18 August (including four TAC and two CAS, plus three INT or MR fighter wings), though the base could not fully support more than one or two of them. After Tyndinskiy was liberated, a two-wing MR/TAC group was deployed there by 22 August.

ww3g3D.jpg


euRXQ4.jpg

Operational summary, Far East – Central Sector, August 1945.

******

3. Southern Sector

The main action in this sector during the month was centred around Mogoca-Mogocha, Erofej Pavlocic-Yerofey Pavlovich and Vershino Darasunskiy. Gains were not as spectacular as in the neighbouring Central sector, but the Soviets emerged in the ascendant.

A battle for Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy had begun on 31 July and lasted until 3 August, ending in a victory for the defending Soviets: casualties were believed to be quite heavy, but no report of ground casualties was received. However, air raids disrupting the Japanese attackers in Vershino Darasunskiy on 102 August killed 1,634 enemy soldiers.

From 1-4 August, the Japanese (in Yerofey Pavlovich) carried out a new attack on Erofej Pavlovic, where they had been advancing after winning a battle for it in July, after fresh Soviet troops slipped in before the province was lost. The Soviets managed to fend them off with heavy casualties (Soviet 263 v 1,009 Japanese). The tired Japanese were then immediately attacked in Yerofey Pavlovich, inflicting more heavy casualties on the Japanese (Soviet 379 v 1,231 Japanese) in winning by 7 August.

With supply improving (see Section 5 below), the now small 1st Army was switched to an attacking stance on 12 August. Alas, they had made no move to attack their single objective of Bukacaca by the end of the month.

LtGMf8.jpg

A series of attempts by the Japanese to hold Yerofey Pavlovich by inserting reinforcements failed on 12 and 15 August, with the Soviets securing it on 17 August, beating off a hasty Japanese counter-attack quickly.

To the south-west, seven battles and skirmished were fought to and from Mogoca-Mogocha: not all were large enough to be tracked in the theatre summary below. The Soviets managed to take Mogocha on 20 August, with first large battle being a Japanese attack from Aksenovo Zilovskoye, which they won (Soviet 1,068 v 583 Japanese).

This completed a four-day period where the Soviet advanced in four provinces in the Central-Southern sector.

QxnKe9.jpg

Four days in August.

However, the Japanese reoccupied Mogocha on 26 August. Skirmishes were swapped between Mogoca and Mogocha from 26 to 27 August, until a major Soviet attack was launched from 27-30 August, ending in a convincing victory (Soviet 334 v 1,265 Japanese). They were still advancing by the end of the month.

In the latter part of the month, a successful Soviet attack on Vershino Darasunskiy was launched (with air support) and won on 22 August. Enemy reinforcements arrived on 26 August, but they too were defeated the next day, with the Soviets advancing on the province as the month ended.

There was only light air support for operations in the southern sector for the month, most of it in Vershino Darasunskiy.

mfzcsn.jpg

Operational summary, Far East – Southern Sector, August 1945.

******

4. Mongolian Sector

The existing Soviet attack on Ubur Khangaiin failed by 2 August, likely with fairly heavy casualties but no specific report was available. The Japanese counter-attacked immediately, putting the Soviets in Taryacin into retreat after a short skirmish.

On 14 August, VVS aircraft based in Irkutsk were supporting the Mongolian defence of Dzhirgalanta by bombing Tsetserlig, but the defence would ultimately fail, while Taryacin had already been lost to the Japanese.

kUsKhG.jpg


NT0p6P.jpg

South of Lake Baikal, a heavy Soviet attack with even heavier air support went in on Selanga Burin on 24 August. The Soviets had won by 27 August (no ground casualty report, but 3,669 casualties had been caused by air raids) and were advancing on the province – which bordered the occupied Mongolian capital of Ulaanbataar as 31 August ended.

The Mongolians fought and lost a few battles and skirmishes for which no reliable reporting was received, but by the end of the month Taryacin had been lost, they were retreating once again from Dzirgalanta and (more dangerously) the provisional capital (and last VP city) Uliastay was attacked on 31 August.

XXTOpJ.jpg

Operational summary, Far East – Mongolia, August 1945.

******

5. Logistics

Three new supply deals were offered and accepted between 6 and 18 August. Unfortunately, three more (two of them quite large) were cancelled by the other country. And not a single new supply source could be found by Molotov to replace them. On 1 August, trade deals provided 149.31 supplies per day, which was down to 139.96 by the end of the month.

umCQjq.jpg

In net terms, the supply stockpile varied up and down during the month, but gradually grew after some early draw-downs: from 50,438 to 57,976 by 31 August. The amount of IC allocated to supply production – 110 – was left unchanged for the whole month. This produced an average of 1,070 supply units per day.

TuINqi.jpg

The supply situation at the very front improved between 1 and 12 August, which was the spur to switch 1st Army to the attacking stance (even though they didn’t actually do anything with it). By the end of the month, supply at the front remained largely adequate, and was starting to ‘back up’ towards the source in the west, along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

7EJpP6.jpg

In September, the Politburo decided it would experiment by lowering supply production to 100 IC.

******

6. Naval

One Soviet convoy servicing the Kamchatka supply run was sunk on 7 August. In reinforced the desire to reopen the overland route via northern Siberia (ie Susuman).

tNks0N.jpg


******

7. Diplomacy

Sweden remained self-aligning to the Comintern all month, but remained in a three-way tug-of-war between the three factions. Tibet started self-aligning again on 30 August. The influencing effort on Republican Spain and Turkey stayed in place, but influence by others kept them in stasis in their alignment.

2OSHBT.jpg


******

8. Research

It was another month of fruitful research, from 11 August onwards. With the latest improvement to fighter pilot training, effort was directed to using the recently researched helicopters to start a medical evacuation capability for infantry-based units (clearly not something that would apply to armoured or mechanised troops! :confused: ).

bWydlD.jpg

Soon after, research was switched from cargo hold development to a pilot rescue system, also using the new helicopter capability.

xg934q.jpg

Two advances came on 16 August: medium air search radars and submarine engines. The first was transferred into complementary medium navigation radar, while the submarine engine research team was rolled into the next level.

VZ4TSw.jpg


3KeryZ.jpg

Submarine hull tech was due to progress to Level 2 on 21 September, so no new submarines would be built before then.

On 19 August, torpedo tech progressed and was also rolled forward as part of the thorough upgrade program.

63LqQU.jpg

Torpedo upgrades would soon begin on the existing boats, which at this stage were mainly of the older Series II model, with a few of the newer 1934-vintage Series V-bis boats.

UWPA8V.jpg

Heavy bomber training was rolled from ground crew back to pilot training on 22 August.

8qUMAB.jpg

The next air force modernisation effort switched from TAC ground crew training to the development of RADAR-guided missiles to augment TAC and CAS ground attacks on 25 August.

Y9zLiU.jpg


******

9. Production

During the month, the continuing high supply demand meant the production queue remained in deficit, so new deployments were simply used to reduce that deficit in most cases.

A new RArt brigade was deployed to a front-line 15th Army division (bringing it to 3 x INF, 1 x RArt).

Stalin was brought great news on 4 August: the Politburo had miraculously managed to find some ‘semi-privately run companies’ (!!) to nationalise.

ZhTNSh.jpg

Another RArt brigade was deployed that day, this time bringing a 1st Army division up to four brigades after the brigade made its march to Khantai in Mongolia to join them on 7 August. An exception was made to the temporary ‘no build’ policy on 7 August, with the now increasingly busy Jakutsk air base, which had just been upgraded to level 2 facilities, having works continued to expand to level 3 and sent to the top of the queue.

The first wing of the new STRAT bombers – Pe-8s in 1 DBAD – was deployed in Moskva on 8 August. It would stay there for now to minimise supply distribution issues. Six days later, a new NAV wing (4 MBAD) appeared and was similarly quartered in Moscow. Tyndinskiy fell to the Soviets on 17 August, and the level 2 facilities were soon being built to level 3.

The next deployments were two new infantry brigades; but instead of sending them east, it was decided to start raising the size of the western divisions facing Germany. It was thought there were already enough units now in the east, both for the fight ahead and to stop increasing the supply demand there.

9XxxFu.jpg


******

10. Intelligence

In Turkey, one of the ten Soviet spy teams was eliminated on 5 August, Turkish strength remained at five and the Soviets soon replaced the lost team from a then 14-team reserve. By 9 August, revenge had been exacted, with two Turkish teams neutralised in the meantime. Another was taken on 17 and then 26 August.

On 29 August, the Japanese managed to neutralise a Soviet team, and on investigation it was discovered their strength had built back up to four. The full Soviet effort was immediately switched from disrupting national unity to counter-espionage. At that time, Manchurian spy strength was still only at one, so the national unity mission continued unchecked there.

The Japanese Kempeitai started and finished the month with three teams, adding one and losing one to Soviet, with the one Soviet agent lost. Japanese national unity had decreased by 0.8% from 65.4% to 64.6% (some of which was likely to be from convoy losses).

Manchukuo started the month with one agent teams at home and finished with two, with no agents lost on either side and one added during the month. Manchurian national unity had decreased by 0.9% from 67.6% to 66.7%.

Turkey had five spy teams at the start of the month, losing four to Soviet action and adding one to have two by month’s end. They had neutralised one Soviet agent.

Fewer enemy agents (24) were neutralised in August compared to July (31). The Germans had five agents neutralised, the next most was the four Turkish agents previously mentioned (actually in Turkey), the UK three and the rest one each among various countries.

The Soviets had lost three but produced six new teams in August, leaving them with a reserve of 16 on 31 August. It was decided a new mission would be launched: in Republican Spain. In that case, once established, the aim would try to build the power of the local Communist party, in an attempt to bring them voluntarily into the Comintern in due course, given the climate there was more politically favourable than in Turkey. If they could not be induced diplomatically to join later, then efforts might then turn to engineering a coup. [Spain being one of the victory objectives.]

xYAgGe.jpg


******

11. Theatre Summaries

The Far Eastern Theatre saw major Soviet gains in the Central-Southern sectors, with many significant victories and more potential advances in September, while Japan’s northern divisions were now trapped and without supplies. Mongolia was the weak spot, with their provisional capital again under threat.

QRFg0F.jpg

Total confirmed Soviet losses in land combat were down by around 1,500 compared to July at 12,147, with none lost to Japanese aircraft, which made no appearance at all that month.

The Japanese and their puppets lost 20,224 men (around 3,000 more than in July) in ground combat and 10,560 to air strikes (about 9,500 fewer than July, with Soviet air tempo down significantly). Total Japanese/Axis casualties were therefore 30,784, around 6,500 fewer than in June.

******

In South East Asia and the West Pacific, there was steady progress in the Philippines, but Guam was retaken from the Americans. There was – surprisingly – no progress in Malaya.

Y1eTqQ.jpg

The Allies (under French command) only seemed to be facing HQs in the Philippines, but had not yet taken the final port in northern Luzon or southern Mindanao.

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Allied management in Malaya was derelict: they seemed to have abandoned the job unfinished and had left Singapore apparently undefended. Shocking. :eek:

erCS5U.jpg

Things still meandered in Australia, with the front again static in the north and indecisive in the south (Victoria).

K3ezT4.jpg


******

In Europe, the geography had not changed of course, but now both Republican Spain and Turkey were the subject of intense Soviet diplomatic and now intelligence efforts.

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Of note, the already slow garrison division advancing on Susman was further slowed by bad weather for most of August – at the rate it was going, it would not liberate it by April 1946! This led to 6th Army’s northern objective being switched from Ust Aldan to Susuman, in the hope that a quicker formation might be sent there.

It's normally not like me to critique the minutiae of operational deployments, but I've always felt that the main effort of an offensive would be more productively spearheaded by units capable of moving faster than an arthritic Galapagos tortoise ;)

(On a semi-related note: It actually surprises me that Garrisons are capable of moving on-map in this game at all. In the previous game, unless you make use of sea transport or strategic redeployment, they're permanently locked in place.)

Three new supply deals were offered and accepted between 6 and 18 August. Unfortunately, three more (two of them quite large) were cancelled by the other country. And not a single new supply source could be found by Molotov to replace them. On 1 August, trade deals provided 149.31 supplies per day, which was down to 139.96 by the end of the month.

Looks like the Allies might be applying some "soft power" to their junior members in an effort to keep the Soviets from getting too comfortable...

Overall, despite the touch-and-go situation in the Mongolian sector, it looks like the Red Army's overall situation is a strong one. That northern pocket should be easy to crush, which should free up the divisions in that sector to bolster their comrades further south (assuming Japan doesn't try anything truly crazy in the meantime -- but then, knowing this game...).
 
It's normally not like me to critique the minutiae of operational deployments, but I've always felt that the main effort of an offensive would be more productively spearheaded by units capable of moving faster than an arthritic Galapagos tortoise ;)

(On a semi-related note: It actually surprises me that Garrisons are capable of moving on-map in this game at all. In the previous game, unless you make use of sea transport or strategic redeployment, they're permanently locked in place.)
When I saw this I cursed the silliness of the AI 6th Army commander for using garrison troops for such a long and difficult march! :rolleyes: The best I could do (with my non-interference house rule) was put a new objective in and hope they might send someone else. It failed as badly in Mongolia too.
Overall, despite the touch-and-go situation in the Mongolian sector, it looks like the Red Army's overall situation is a strong one. That northern pocket should be easy to crush, which should free up the divisions in that sector to bolster their comrades further south (assuming Japan doesn't try anything truly crazy in the meantime -- but then, knowing this game...).
Yes, this was one of the best months yet, if not the best, with genuine ground being made and that northern pocket formed. Hard work, but finally getting there.
 
Stalin was brought great news on 4 August: the Politburo had miraculously managed to find some ‘semi-privately run companies’ (!!) to nationalise.

ZhTNSh.jpg

In fairness I reckon the 'artel' industrial co-operatives probably count as semi-privately run; worker co-operatives, collectively owned by the members and outside the scope of GOSPLAN and the Five Year plans.

Somewhat surprisingly, given their reputations, Stalin was basically fine with them existing while it was Kruschev who ruthlessly crushed them and nationalised almost all of them, so at this point there is still a bit of 'non-state controlled' industry to seize (though it was mostly craft / light industrial stuff and in no way could it give an 8% IC boost, if anything production would drop when the workers lost motivation).

As always I doubt anyone in Paradox was aware of this, but it is not quite as ridiculous an event as it first seems.
 
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The last semi private relics of Lenin's NEP have been foud by his rightful successor and stamped out!

I am sure the workers, peasants and soldiers of the republic sleep a little easier at night now.
 
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great episode! it seems like the pieces set in motions in the past 2 months are now falling into place, especially in the north and center. I see no hope for the trapped divisions, but still maybe you can patrol for any transports to get them away?

it also seems like there's a new pocket forming just south of the current one. I think the momentum gained will continue for some time.

mongolia doesn't seem nice, and that's the only negative aspect in an otherwise great month.

2 heli evac techs not reaching to all land and air units respectively is strange. I mean, if foot infantry feels better when there's chance of medevac, mot or mech infantry would too? still, i think the morale boost will be great. radar guided missiles in addition to the medevac techs, we've gone all in to secret techs this month.

good job bringing 2 victory condition countries closer to comintern by all the spectrum of soft to medium power:)

i'm not going to comment on the malayan peninsula :D
 
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Yes, the Pacific has been reached again, and we already captured a port there as well. The partisans in Nikolaevsk will help by drawing Japanese troops away from the front, allowing the Red Army to grab more beachfront real estate. If the convoys are available, I'd suggest shipping some supplies to the Partisans so they will hold out just that little bit longer.

The only shaky area is Mongolia, but even there, I'm not overly worried, as Soviet forces stand a the ready to Japanese attackers of the temporary Mongolian capital. Both from the North and from the South. The main target has to be to grab as many Japanese-held ports as possible. Mongolia needs to be kept in the fight, nothing more, nothing less, until Japanese supply routes start running dry. Once that pocket has been digested, more forces will be freed up for a southward offensive to liberate Vladivostok.

I'm also glad to see the Soviet Union at the forefront of helicopter technology. Whomever said we don't care about reducing casualties is being proven wrong by our actions in this area.

The GRU is also making great strides. Considering the current political landscape, it does look likely that the Spanish Republic might well join the Comintern, either peacefully, or through a coup.

Communism will triumph in the end, with every passing day I'm more certain of that fact. (in game, not my RL opinion.)
 
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I'm also glad to see the Soviet Union at the forefront of helicopter technology. Whomever said we don't care about reducing casualties is being proven wrong by our actions in this area.
(Casualties incurred due to rushed testing, inadequate pilot training, poor metallurgical practices, non-existent quality control, drunk pilots, prototypes being rushed into production to meet 5 Year Plan targets and people being shot by the commissar for looking at the picture of Stalin funny are all excluded. Your statutory rights are not affected, because you do not have any.)
 
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