A Tournament of Shadows - Soviet AAR
By Didz
Note: This AAR has been created as a Steam Community Guide. As far as I know this is the first steam has been used to host a HOI3 AAR, or at least I've not found any others and so this is very much an experiment to see if its possible and allowed.
See:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=605516691
Soviet AAR for Hearts of Iron III
Start Date: 1st January 1936.
Game Version: Hearts of Iron III - Their Finest Hour Expansion Version 4.02
Scenario: Standard 1936 The Road to War Scenario, Single Player, Normal Difficulty
Style: This AAR will use a combination of first person and “history book”-style narratives to tell the story.
Campaign Goal: To pursue the vision of the Third International and use all available means, including armed force, to overthrow the international bourgeoisie and progress the COMINTERN vision of world communism and the creation of an International Soviet Republic as the initial stage towards a complete abolition of the state.
Personal Goal: To enhance my gaming experience by immersing myself in the history of the period, researching the historical motivations and events portrayed and presenting an enjoyable reading experience for my readers.
House rules to be employed in the playing of this game.
1. No cheating.
2. Nothing too gamey.
3. Ignore the benefits of hindsight and my historical knowledge of world events as far as humanly possible.
4. Have as much fun as possible.
As a case in point I am going to try and forget that WW2 ever happened.
'Peace for our time'
On 30 September 1938, two years after the start date of this game, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced confidently that
'we shall have peace for our time'.
Of course we all know that he was wrong. But there is no justification for assuming that Stalin and the other members of the Soviet leadership had any clearer insight into the storm that was heading their way. And yet, players of Hearts of Iron 3 typically begin planning for the start of WW2 from the 1st January 1936.
I'm going to try not to do that, or at least not to make it too obvious.
Work on this AAR began on Thursday 21st January 2015.
Notes to readers:
I am more than happy to discuss the content of this AAR, and the history behind it in a polite and civilised manner.
However, please be aware that this is just a game and the opinions expressed in the narrative are intended to be in keeping with the attitudes of the characters portrayed and in the interests of making it a good story and are not necessarily my own.