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Well Sergius could allways start first Orthodox InquisitionDoge Robert said:4th Dimension: I don't know about Tukhachevsky. The Kaiserreich devs have altered most tech teams and ministers, as well as some leaders in the major countries, to fit the alternate time line, although why they have made the individual choices, I don't know.. For instance, my new 'Minister of Security' is Sergius of Nizhny-Novgorod an Orthodox Archbishop, who in OT on that time was in fact Sergius I of Moscow and All Russia, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.. Now I did like the idea of having him in the government, but as a minister of security? Not really.. hence, as you can see in the newest update, I turned things around a little, to explain it all and Sergius, although not Patriarch, will be part of the 'Imperial Council', although as Councilor for Domestic Affairs, a title, which i believe, suits an orthodox Archbishop much better than the role of head of the police..
As for my land tech team, you get to choose that in early '37 I think.. I included the various choises in part 3 of the introduction. My tech team is Petr Wrangel, Skill 5 with 'Infantry Focus' - 'Large units Tactics' - 'Training' and 'Decentralized Execution'.
Hope that explains it..
Since I do no know this mod much, may you tell me what were the other options except Wrangel, skill/tech wise. And what doctrine are you following now? Soviet one? Or they changed doctrines.
And there is only one flaying tank. And it's legendary IL-2, who has probably wiped out more enemy equipment and things than all T34s together
trekaddict: Not exactly no.. But as you will see in the update after the next, I am working on chaning the situation.. Luckily I am going to have several more years, a lot really, before going up against the big guys.. That is, unless something very unexpected is happening..
4th Dimension: Hmm orthodox Inquisition.. Now that sounds sweet.. And might actually work rather well with a paramilitary group called Faith and Nation, which does its work within the game.. Although that is a story for quite another chapter..
As for the land doctrines, it's fairly complicated, but I loaded up an old save and found out for you..
Your options are:
Denikin; Which will make Anton Denikin the chief of staff as well..
Skill 5, Training, large Unit Tactics, Centralized Execution, Combined Arms Focus
Access to: Mobility Focus Doctrine
Blueprints gained: Mobility Focus, Human Wave and Large Front..
(remember, you only get this in 37, so the blueprints are a welcome addition, as you cannot have even a single tech in land tech until this time.. You have some catching up to do..)
Wrangel:
Apart from what I've already told you, this makes Wrangel chief of staff.
Access to: Firepower focus
BP gain: Grand Battle plan, trench warfare
4 Moves towards standing army.
Vlasov:
Andrei Vlasov for CoS
Firepower focus
BP: Superior Firepower Focus, Delay doctrine
7 towards standing army
Skill 5
Small unit tactics, decentralized unit tactics, Individual courage, Infantry focus
Markov
CoS Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Tech team Sergei markov
Skill 5, small unit tactics, decentralized execution, technical efficiency and combined arms.
Access to: Mobility focus doctrine
BP: Mobility focus and spearhead doctrine
9 moves towards standing army
As for my current land tech development, I chose Firepower (access granted by Wrangel) and then Superior Firepower doctrine, although that was not exactly what Wrangel was an expert in..
If you have more questions, please ask.. However i cannot promise that I can find all the major events, which let you decide on the direction of Russia..
There is one in '36, which let's you determine the industrial progress.. I searched for a savegame, but I didn't have anyone close to the date.. Sorry..
That's part of what i like about playing Russia.. Before the Kaiserreivh Devs actually developed Kaiserreich, they (or at least some of them) had developed the All The Russias Mod for either HoI2 or Doomsday.. Because of that the event chains for Russia and her neighbors are possibly the most complete and well-developed of all the major nations.. You can more or less guide Russia in any direction you please, although you cannot, as of yet, turn it into the SU, as there are still some errors with that.. But why would you want to?
4th Dimension: Hmm orthodox Inquisition.. Now that sounds sweet.. And might actually work rather well with a paramilitary group called Faith and Nation, which does its work within the game.. Although that is a story for quite another chapter..
As for the land doctrines, it's fairly complicated, but I loaded up an old save and found out for you..
Your options are:
Denikin; Which will make Anton Denikin the chief of staff as well..
Skill 5, Training, large Unit Tactics, Centralized Execution, Combined Arms Focus
Access to: Mobility Focus Doctrine
Blueprints gained: Mobility Focus, Human Wave and Large Front..
(remember, you only get this in 37, so the blueprints are a welcome addition, as you cannot have even a single tech in land tech until this time.. You have some catching up to do..)
Wrangel:
Apart from what I've already told you, this makes Wrangel chief of staff.
Access to: Firepower focus
BP gain: Grand Battle plan, trench warfare
4 Moves towards standing army.
Vlasov:
Andrei Vlasov for CoS
Firepower focus
BP: Superior Firepower Focus, Delay doctrine
7 towards standing army
Skill 5
Small unit tactics, decentralized unit tactics, Individual courage, Infantry focus
Markov
CoS Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Tech team Sergei markov
Skill 5, small unit tactics, decentralized execution, technical efficiency and combined arms.
Access to: Mobility focus doctrine
BP: Mobility focus and spearhead doctrine
9 moves towards standing army
As for my current land tech development, I chose Firepower (access granted by Wrangel) and then Superior Firepower doctrine, although that was not exactly what Wrangel was an expert in..
If you have more questions, please ask.. However i cannot promise that I can find all the major events, which let you decide on the direction of Russia..
There is one in '36, which let's you determine the industrial progress.. I searched for a savegame, but I didn't have anyone close to the date.. Sorry..
That's part of what i like about playing Russia.. Before the Kaiserreivh Devs actually developed Kaiserreich, they (or at least some of them) had developed the All The Russias Mod for either HoI2 or Doomsday.. Because of that the event chains for Russia and her neighbors are possibly the most complete and well-developed of all the major nations.. You can more or less guide Russia in any direction you please, although you cannot, as of yet, turn it into the SU, as there are still some errors with that.. But why would you want to?
Looks like the army needs some tanks...
...air force is huge!!! Great, air superiority will ensure the utter destruction of your enemies.
...air force is huge!!! Great, air superiority will ensure the utter destruction of your enemies.
From what I can see your best choices were Makarov and Deenkin, that is Blitzkrieg (GER) and Deep Operation (SOV) doctrine.
So why choose trench doctrine path, which is arguably the weakest. Storywise or gameplay.
So why choose trench doctrine path, which is arguably the weakest. Storywise or gameplay.
I've just started reading this, I still need to catch up quite a bit, but I must say excellent work and I am looking forward to catching up.
TheEnlighted1: What on earth do you mean? We already have tanks, tanks with wings too.. Yes, the army needs tanks. But there is something you should know about playing Kaiserreich and especially playing Russia in Kaiserreich. First and foremost, apart from a myriad of small or secondary wars, the really big european war only really start somewhere between 40-42, I can't remember exactly.. Further, this war includes the Internationale and MittelEuropa on opposite sides, with the Entente thrown in for good fun.. This does not include Russia in any way.. The empire can, if it choose so, stay out of the war entirely, or at least as far as 45 or so, which is as far as I've ever played without getting into the war, on my own DOW. This means that I have several years yet, to significantly build up my forces before having to face the Behemoth which is the Commune of France and that is only if Germany is defeated, which arguably they always are, at least in my games. Thus, I have several years yet and in HOI2, that is a looong time.. The time will not be dull however, as I am usually involved in several smaller wars here and there.. Of course, this story is not about wars as it is not a gameplay AAR, but still, there should be plenty of fun for all..
I chose to focus on airpower, for the exact reasons explained in the story: the vast borders of Russia. No other part of the armed forces can cover all possible frontiers in the same time the air force can do so and thus, my primary focus has been to defend the skies of Russia and provide the army with a mobile force of airborne artillery, to aid it wherever it may be needed. If I had to move tanks from Europe to Asia to face Japan, or the other way to face France, the war would probably all be over, before they got there.. A large air force is really the only way to go..
4th Dimension: Ahem.. Well, as I said on the 'front page' of the story, I would focus utterly on what made the story enjoyable and thus I've made my choices, not based on what might be the best path in a gameplay AAR, but what made the story seem most plausible and ultimately, how I wanted the foundation for the empire to be.
I'll post the text from the event in question:
Reforming the Army.
Recent military exercises have led us to one conclusion. The Russian military is a mess!
Sweepeing reforms are needed, if we are to be taken seriously by our neighbors.
Each of our top commanders have come up with a plan. Their proposals await your consultation.
Denikin: Set up a mass conscription army to overwhelm the enemy.
Wrangel: A centralized High Command, controlling a modern military.
Vlasov: Our officers should follow their own initiative on the front.
Markov: A new form of warfare, using speed and armored vehicles.
- end of event..
Now, if you look at those four and have the story in mind, there are truly but two possible choices. In the past, Russia has always followed the ideas of Denikin and that had led to disaster in the Great War, so that one's out. Secondly, Vlasov's ideas do not in any way harmonize with the fact that Denikin and his belief that 'Russia needs only one leader' is in command of Russia. How would Denikin ever accept an idea that left the military command so far from his hands?
Markov would be one viable idea, but as mentioned several times, Russia is a truly vast country and focusing entirely on armed vehicles and speed would leave Russia savagely undefended on many frontiers. Russia needs a huge infantry force, simply to defend herself. So although Markov's ideas could be used in a limited sense, as represented by the story-made 'hammer & Anvil Doctrine' (purely a story element), it could not be the base for the entire rebuilding and reformation of the armed forces..
Therefore, really, the only logical and believable choice was that of Wrangel and his modern army led by a centralized High Command. Not only does the idea of a 'modern' army, not in any way exclude a build up of tanks and other such vehicles, but the idea of a centralized High Command located in Skt. Petersburg where Denikin could keep a close eye on it, harmonized very well with the dictator's (officially president) set of mind.. So from a story perspective, I couldn't really choose anyone but Wrangel, unless I wanted to have to come up with some highly suspicious and fairly airy explanations..
That's the reason..
Brad1: Woohoo, another reader.. Welcome aboard, and may the ride be both enjoyable and entertaining all the way.. please remember to read my commentary posts, as they often have information and questions for all my readers..
Yes, the army needs tanks. But there is something you should know about playing Kaiserreich and especially playing Russia in Kaiserreich. First and foremost, apart from a myriad of small or secondary wars, the really big european war only really start somewhere between 40-42, I can't remember exactly.. Further, this war includes the Internationale and MittelEuropa on opposite sides, with the Entente thrown in for good fun.. This does not include Russia in any way.. The empire can, if it choose so, stay out of the war entirely, or at least as far as 45 or so, which is as far as I've ever played without getting into the war, on my own DOW. This means that I have several years yet, to significantly build up my forces before having to face the Behemoth which is the Commune of France and that is only if Germany is defeated, which arguably they always are, at least in my games. Thus, I have several years yet and in HOI2, that is a looong time.. The time will not be dull however, as I am usually involved in several smaller wars here and there.. Of course, this story is not about wars as it is not a gameplay AAR, but still, there should be plenty of fun for all.. I chose to focus on airpower, for the exact reasons explained in the story: the vast borders of Russia. No other part of the armed forces can cover all possible frontiers in the same time the air force can do so and thus, my primary focus has been to defend the skies of Russia and provide the army with a mobile force of airborne artillery, to aid it wherever it may be needed. If I had to move tanks from Europe to Asia to face Japan, or the other way to face France, the war would probably all be over, before they got there.. A large air force is really the only way to go..
4th Dimension: Ahem.. Well, as I said on the 'front page' of the story, I would focus utterly on what made the story enjoyable and thus I've made my choices, not based on what might be the best path in a gameplay AAR, but what made the story seem most plausible and ultimately, how I wanted the foundation for the empire to be.
I'll post the text from the event in question:
Reforming the Army.
Recent military exercises have led us to one conclusion. The Russian military is a mess!
Sweepeing reforms are needed, if we are to be taken seriously by our neighbors.
Each of our top commanders have come up with a plan. Their proposals await your consultation.
Denikin: Set up a mass conscription army to overwhelm the enemy.
Wrangel: A centralized High Command, controlling a modern military.
Vlasov: Our officers should follow their own initiative on the front.
Markov: A new form of warfare, using speed and armored vehicles.
- end of event..
Now, if you look at those four and have the story in mind, there are truly but two possible choices. In the past, Russia has always followed the ideas of Denikin and that had led to disaster in the Great War, so that one's out. Secondly, Vlasov's ideas do not in any way harmonize with the fact that Denikin and his belief that 'Russia needs only one leader' is in command of Russia. How would Denikin ever accept an idea that left the military command so far from his hands?
Markov would be one viable idea, but as mentioned several times, Russia is a truly vast country and focusing entirely on armed vehicles and speed would leave Russia savagely undefended on many frontiers. Russia needs a huge infantry force, simply to defend herself. So although Markov's ideas could be used in a limited sense, as represented by the story-made 'hammer & Anvil Doctrine' (purely a story element), it could not be the base for the entire rebuilding and reformation of the armed forces..
Therefore, really, the only logical and believable choice was that of Wrangel and his modern army led by a centralized High Command. Not only does the idea of a 'modern' army, not in any way exclude a build up of tanks and other such vehicles, but the idea of a centralized High Command located in Skt. Petersburg where Denikin could keep a close eye on it, harmonized very well with the dictator's (officially president) set of mind.. So from a story perspective, I couldn't really choose anyone but Wrangel, unless I wanted to have to come up with some highly suspicious and fairly airy explanations..
That's the reason..
Brad1: Woohoo, another reader..
Welcome aboard, and may the ride be both enjoyable and entertaining all the way.. please remember to read my commentary posts, as they often have information and questions for all my readers..
I was just about to post something along the same lines. In my own AAR I also chose to stick with Fleet in Being instead of going for Base Strike like I should have don when you consider the Carrier Navy I am building and for the very same reasons. This is the thing with Story AARs, the AuthAAR sometimes has to do what furthers the story even if it hinders the game.
Weeeeellllll... I understand it story wise, but French doctrine really really really sucks from what I know. It soly focuses on defense (only it enables building lvl10 forts), and defense sucks in HOI. Even Infiltration, Japanese doctrine is better. And Human Weave really blooms post '43, when according to some people it overtakes the Blitzkrieg doctrine. Russia needs an armored force because of it's land configuration. You simply need tanks to fight tanks in 41 onwards period.
I know that in game lots of normal infantry can defeat tanks, but what would happen in reality is that Russia will have an really rude wakeup call when Commune of France (which I suppose uses Blitzkrieg doctrine because they should try to avoid WWI casualties and are a new country so are free to think new ways to fight without Old Guard to get in the way) executes a massive armored assault in plains of Ukraine. Air force can help, but can't replace Armor, and that armor has to have good doctrines (French had tanks on par and better than Germans, but lousy doctrines so they didn't help much).
I understand the need, but it seems that from doctrine path Russians chose they are setting them selfs for a fall akin to the French one in '40. The only thing that might help them is the size of the country.
I again say that I understand the need in story, but that doctrine simply doesn't fit in the war Russia will have to fight sooner or later. A mobile war in plains of Ukraine. And I can't really see why would an basically Old Guard military support a massive Air force and not tanks. In that time air force was considered a toy more so than tanks. Tanks made their impact in WWI, while Air force only scouted and performed minor bombings, insignificant in grand picture.
It simply doesn't fit into a story if you want a believable victory.
I know that in game lots of normal infantry can defeat tanks, but what would happen in reality is that Russia will have an really rude wakeup call when Commune of France (which I suppose uses Blitzkrieg doctrine because they should try to avoid WWI casualties and are a new country so are free to think new ways to fight without Old Guard to get in the way) executes a massive armored assault in plains of Ukraine. Air force can help, but can't replace Armor, and that armor has to have good doctrines (French had tanks on par and better than Germans, but lousy doctrines so they didn't help much).
I understand the need, but it seems that from doctrine path Russians chose they are setting them selfs for a fall akin to the French one in '40. The only thing that might help them is the size of the country.
I again say that I understand the need in story, but that doctrine simply doesn't fit in the war Russia will have to fight sooner or later. A mobile war in plains of Ukraine. And I can't really see why would an basically Old Guard military support a massive Air force and not tanks. In that time air force was considered a toy more so than tanks. Tanks made their impact in WWI, while Air force only scouted and performed minor bombings, insignificant in grand picture.
It simply doesn't fit into a story if you want a believable victory.
The best compromise "Great Battleplan" has is the British tree, it gives at least some bonusses for armour.
Chapter 2 - Part 3
The Winter Palace, Skt. Petersburg, November 7th, 1938
As the Councilor for Military Affairs finished his briefing on the current state of the armed forces, Denikin spoke again. “Thank you Councilor, for your excellent brief.” This much at least was complete honesty from the Chancellor. As a former military commander himself, he liked proper and thorough briefings on the armed forces. Besides, he respected Wrangel and would do whatever he could to withdraw the chief of staff’s support of the Tsar, if at all possible. “Now, Councilor Stürmer, will you be so kind as to brief us on the state of our foreign relations?” Stürmer, still fuming from his recent lecture by the Tsar, nodded briefly, while trying without much lick, to regain his posture. “Of course Chancellor.” He said, completely neglecting to greet His Majesty, as was only proper, making Denikin wince slightly. That is not the way to keep your post, you buffoon. Denikin thought. Although the former president did not know about the coming shuffle of the Imperial Council, he expected something to happen. He tried to give Stürmer a warning glance, but the Councilor for Foreign Affairs, seemingly either ignored or did not catch it.
“The briefing will be set in several parts.” Stürmer continued. “First, I will concentrate on the relations with the major powers, secondly, I will mention the status of relations with the nations bordering Russia and lastly, Iosif Brodsky, head of the department of trade, will brief you on the current state of our trade.” With that, Stürmer motioned to one of his aides, which produced a set of large maps, which was quickly placed on the table.
Boris Stürmer, Councilor for Foreign Affairs, although for how much longer?
“First of all, our current relations with the major nations.” Stürmer said when the maps had been placed.
“I will start with Europe. Our political relationship with Germany can be said to be cordial and friendly. We have a formal pact of non-aggression, which ensures, at least in theory, that we cannot perform hostile actions against one another. No matter, the pact has had a very positive impact on our mutual relations.” Stürmer paused for a moment, quickly looking through his notes. “Our relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while far less cordial than those with Germany are still very positive. These two empires however make up the only major powers in Europe, with which we have a positive relationship, apart from one, which will be mentioned shortly, as its situation is rather special.” Once more Stürmer made a brief pause. “Our relations with the Commune of France are, to put it bluntly, on the point of a complete collapse of any diplomatic contact. To be frank, they hate the empire and anything it stands for. On the contrary, our relations with the Union of Britain are polite, if not friendly, due to the significant trade, we are currently conducting with that nation.”
On that, Tsar Vladimir turned to stare at Stürmer in shock, something which the Councilor did not notice. “The head of the department of trade will explain more on that later though. The Union of Britain is not truly a great power, although it will play a major role in any European war. It’s close political relations with the Commune of France and their similar if not identical ideologies, make it obvious, that they will support one another, should it come to conflict. However, we may be able to use our relations with the Union of Britain, to influence France, should the need arise.” Stürmer continued, still not seeing the obvious anger on the face of His Majesty. “Outside of Europe there truly are only three major powers, the Ottoman Empire, the Pacific States of America and the Combined Syndicates of America. Our current relations with the Ottomans are somewhat strained, although that might very well be because of the recent return of a Tsar to Russia. Our relations with the CSA, as it is usually called are equally strained, while those with the PSA are somewhat polite, finally, our relations with the Empire of Japan are unfriendly to say the least. I will mention one other major power, although it is not represented by a single country. The Entente, the remains of the allied powers from the Great War, while not individually accounting for much, does together make a potent military and politically force. The Entente is formally led by Canada, which houses the His Majesty in Exile, King George VIII. It is almost assured that the various nations forming the Entente would support each other in the case of war and thus they make up a major power in the world of politics. Our relations with Canada are polite, if nothing more, as are those with most of the other nations of the Entente.” Stürmer made a third pause, finding another piece of paper. “As for the nations bordering Russia, I will mention them one by one, starting with Finland.” Stürmer looked briefly at each of the other Councilors and Vladimir, for the first time noting His Majesty’s obvious anger, which caused the Councilor for Foreign Affairs to look slightly puzzled for a moment.
“The people of Finland dislikes us very much, which can be explained by several factors. First of all, Russia has in the last two years, made significant recoveries of land from the former provinces, of which Finland is one. This would of course provoke fear and even anger within the Finnish government. Another reason is the fact that Finland has official claims of some parts of Russian territory along the Finnish border. As for both the United Baltic Duchy and White Ruthenia, which are also former Russian territories bordering us, they feel much the same as the Finnish, although they do not have claims on any part of our lands. Their fears are not unreasonable, as they too have seen us regain some of the former territories and might fear a future move from us on their behalf. However, due to their alliance with Germany, such a move would be foolish indeed. To the south of White Ruthenia, the duchy of Galizien-Lodomerian, part of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire, although in a secondary manner, as they are subordinate to Poland, who are then subordinate to Austria, also dislikes us severely. Finally, between Galizien-Lodomerian and the Black Sea lies Romania, with whom we have a rather friendly relationship, as we do with both Greece and Serbia, the other two nations making up the Balkan Alliance of which Romania is the leader.” Quickly finding the next piece of paper, Stürmer continued. “To the south, Russia borders the nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Georgia, a syndicalist power, is surprisingly rather polite in their relationship with us, perhaps because of what happened to Ukraine, the other syndicalist power, which found itself bordering Russia. The recent movement of our borders in the Caucasus, due to the formal request by the Don Cossacks to return to Russia after the ascension of His Majesty to the throne…” This was in fact the first time during his brief that Stürmer directly mentioned the Tsar by his proper titular address.
“… has seen the nation of Georgia bordering us and they be using diplomatic means to try and prevent the fate of the Ukraine from happening to them as well. The second nation, Azerbaijan, like Georgia once a part of Russia, hates us with a vengeance, to put it bluntly.
And that brings us to the near and far eastern borders of Russia.” Once more, Stürmer quickly consulted his notes. Although his was a position with a very large portfolio, it had begun to annoy several of the other Councilors that Stürmer seemed more than a little ill prepared for the meeting. Whether it was because of his recent fit of anger, or because he simply didn’t take the meeting seriously, wasn’t known, but it was annoying to say the least. “From west to east, Russia is bordered by Turkestan, Mongolia, the Fengtien Republic and Transamur. Turkestan has recently joined Russia as a semi autonomous state, which has made our borders in that region more or less safe. It does however, also necessitate a closer look on the nations bordering Turkestan, which are Persia and Afghanistan, as well as Mongolia. We are currently trading fairly substantially with Persia, which accounts for our polite relationships, while our lack of trade with Afghanistan might be part of the reason, why they dislike us. Seeing their neighbor Persia strengthened by trade, while they are not, might make them regard us as an ally to a possible enemy. As for Mongolia, our relations are oddly neutral. I say oddly because we have not too far into the past had a significant heads up with the Mad baron over the state of ownership over part of the Transiberian Railway. We came out the winner of this near war, which would account for a severely negative stance towards us. However, such is not the case and we are not entirely certain why. As for the Fengtien Republic, as well as Transamur, it cannot be said in any other way than that they hate the very name of Russia. The reason for our very negative relations with the Fengtien Republic is likely due to their masters in Tokyo hating us, as they do. This might very well also be the case with Transamur, although the resent unrest within the country is likely part of the cause as well.” Stürmer looked up. “That is all from me for the time being, Iosif Brodsky, head of the Department of Trade, will now take over the briefing.”
Before the elderly man, which was seated next to Stürmer could speak up, Vladimir interrupted. “How about wars, Councilor?” he asked, his anger still evident, although tightly controlled. “What are the current wars around the world at this time?” Stürmer looked bewildered for a moment, more evidence of his seemingly complete lack of preparation for the meeting. He looked at one of his aides, who responded to Vladimir’s inquiries. “Your Majesty, at the time being, the world is more peaceful than it has been for quite some time.” The fact that the young aide had no papers in front of him nearly shouted to all the Councilors and the Tsar that this man probably knew far more about the political situation than did his boss. Most likely, this was the man who prepared all Stürmer’s briefs. “Barely two weeks ago, the lengthy war between the three Indian factions came to an end, as the Entente supported faction with its capital in Delhi, annexed both the southern Princely Federation and soon after that the syndicalist faction in the eastern part of the country. Although unrest is still high in the area, peace in India itself is assured, at least for the time being. This is not the case in Indochina however, where rebels supplied by the former syndicalist faction in india, have declared their independence from the Empire of Germany and there currently exists a state of war between the People’s Republic of Vietnam and the entire alliance led by Germany. The situation is even more complex due to the war between the German East Asian Company, based on the model of what was once the British run East Indian Company, and the nations of Shagqing Tianguo and the Yunnan Clique, which in return are also at war with each other. Germany and her allies support the AOA, as the German East Asian Company is usually called, in their wars, creating a somewhat complex entanglement of wars, which are destabilizing the entire Chinese region. In Europe we have two wars at the present, the first being between the members of the Balkan Alliance and Bulgaria. This war might drag on for a while yet, but the state of the Bulgarian forces and the vast conquests by the Romanian army in particular seem to indicate that a complete collapse of Bulgaria is rather imminent. Lastly, the civil war in Spain still continues, although the Carlist faction has pushed the Monarchist same into the far south of Spain and although the terrain, as well as the significant defensive fortresses in the area might indicate that the war will drag on for as much as another six months, it is only a matter of time, before the Carlist faction is victories. Remarkably, these are the only ongoing wars for the time being, as the world is otherwise at peace. However, this might very likely change in the near future. Although the civil war in the former United States of America has officially been declared over by both the victorious factions, war between the PSA and CSA may commence at any time and is likely to do so not too far into the future. I hope this is satisfactory to answer your question, Your Majesty?” Vladimir nodded. “Thank you.” He said, “But I didn’t catch your name?” The man seemed bewildered for a moment. Obviously he wasn’t used to being the centre of attention. “Mikhail Novikov, Your Majesty.” He quickly added. “Thank you Mikhail Novikov.” Vladimir replied, gaining a nod and a slight smile from the aide.
“Now, Councilor Stürmer, your head of trade may continue.” Stürmer nodded, even more displeased than before, with Vladimir’s interference in his briefing. He was not used to being treated like this and he didn’t like it one bit. “Brodsky.” He said simply and the elderly man, a Jew, spoke up. “Of course Councilor. Greetings Your Majesty.” He began and Vladimir nodded his reply. An angry look, although somewhat concealed, had once again entered the eyes of the Tsar. “The current state of trade is not just healthy, it is immensely so. We have agreements of trade with countless nations across the world, but the largest of our trading partners are Romania, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Britain. Due to the imminent collapse of Bulgarian forces, we may soon have to discount the nation of Bulgaria as a trading partner, although we may then, in return, enlarge the trade with Romania, as they are most likely to obtain the resources and territories of Bulgaria, once that nation falls.” The way he said it, his dry and completely objective manner, indicated that he had absolutely no political stance on the subject at all. Indeed, he might not even care in the slightest. “As for future prospects, we are currently working on gaining trade agreements with both the new nations of the former United States and we have high hopes of achieving success, once the area in question stabilizes.”
At this time, Vladimir, his voice now openly betraying his anger, interrupted. “Excuse me Mr. Brodsky.” He said, making the dry statesman look up from his papers, where he had focused all his attention until now. “Are you actually telling me that we are conduction trade with syndicalist nations?” Brodsky looked puzzled. “Why yes, Your Majesty. In fact, out single largest partner in trade is the Union of Britain.” Vladimir’s face turned a few shades darker, as his voice turned colder. “Any other nations, apart from Georgia and Britain?” Brodsky nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. We have ongoing trades with several nations following these ideals. Is this a problem?” Vladimir’s face turned even darker and his voice now hinted of the icy cold of Siberia, something which caught the immediate attention of every man around the table and for the first time seemed to make an impact on Brodsky. “This will stop immediately, Mr. Brodsky. Do you understand? I will not have the empire trading even an ounce of resource with any nation in the world, which can be considered either syndicalist or some form thereof, am I making myself clear?” Brodsky nodded, somewhat surprised by the anger in his monarch’s voice. “Certainly Your Majesty, but why?” Vladimir rose from his chair, now almost shaking with anger. “Why? You dare ask why?” he almost yelled. “Who murdered my family, who threw the empire into years of civil war?”
Brodsky was about to answer, but Vladimir wasn’t finished. “The Bolshevik scum did this and syndicalists are nothing more than Bolsheviks hiding under a different name.” he looked at the stunned men, sitting around the table. “From this day forth, every syndicalist nation in the world is to be considered an enemy of the empire!” He yelled, his voice above the mode of simple speech. “We will not trade with them. We will not conduct diplomatic missions to their capitals. Every single request made by an ambassador to any such country is to be denied. The world shall know that in the Empire of Russia stands the firmest, most resolute opponent to syndicalism anywhere.” For a moment the Tsar fell silent, as he looked every one of his councilors straight into their eyes. “I tell you this gentlemen.” He said, his voice now of normal strength, but so cold that it was almost tangible. “No matter how many years it may take, no matter what it may cost, we will eradicate all traces of Bolshevism from every corner of the world. This I swear.” With that, Vladimir sat back down, while the councilors still looked at him stunned. He turned to Brodsky. “You are no longer head of the department of trade Mr. Brodsky.” He said coldly to the old man, who sat wide-eyed staring at the Tsar. “Brief whoever is to replace you and then vacate your office within the space of one week’s time. Now leave my sight.” Brodsky hurried out of the room and Vladimir turned his attention back to the councilors. He was about to speak, but before he could do so, Count Wrangel stood up. He lifted the glass of water, which all the councilors and their aides had and looked at Vladimir, his eyes shining. ”Long Live Vladimir Romanov, Tsar of All Russia!” His voice boomed in the silence of the room. A few of the councilors and almost all the aides came to their feet at once, with the rest hurriedly following. “Long Live Vladimir Romanov, Tsar of All Russia.!” They chorused, some more fervently than others. For the first time since Vladimir had heard about the trade with Britain, he smiled.
When things had quieted down again, Vladimir spoke once more. “Thank you all.” He said and nodded to Count Wrangel. “But I am afraid not all of you will continue to bless my name, in a few minutes.” He looked around at the councilors. “There is about to be some change in the Imperial Council gentlemen and I will not hold it off any longer.” At that, quite a few of the councilors looked worried, most of them with good reason. “While Russia is grateful for all you have done in her service, the future of the empire now lies before us. To best enable me to decide upon how Russia shall venture towards this future, I have found it necessary to replace several of you with men I believe more able to ensure that the empire will shine more brightly than ever before.”
Vladimir paused for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. “I have decided to replace you Councilor Stürmer, with Vladimir Galitzine, whom I believe more capable of dealing with the many intricacies of the empire’s foreign relations.” He turned towards the councilor for armaments and industry. “While I do not believe that Russia would be what she is today without your excellent skills, Councilor Komenenov, I have regretfully decided that we need new ideas and fresh initiative within the industrial development of our nation. Therefore, I have chosen to allow you to retire and promote Georgij Brassov to be your replacement. Please do not be offended by this, as your service to Russia will not be forgotten.” Once more Vladimir turned his attention, this time to the Councilor for Security. “Councilor Tukhachevsky, I am replacing you as well, although your services to the nation have been equally as great as those of Councilor Komenenov. However, I believe that the head of the Okhrana, Nikolai Kharlamov, will be better suited to monitor the status of security both inside and outside the nation. You will of course retain your position as head of both the police and the Grenadiers, but I am afraid that from now on you will not be represented directly in the council. Please brief Councilor Kharlamov at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Vladimir turned his attention towards Wrangel. “Councilor Wrangel, although I will not make it a habit to directly interfere with the positioning of officers within the armed forces, I see it as a dire necessity to replace the Chief Commander of the Imperial Air Forces, with someone more experienced with the way it shall be utilized in the future.” This had been worded rather carefully by Vladimir, as he did not wish to offend Count Wrangel. But he could not understand why Sergei Korenev had even been promoted to his current position and he had to see him demoted at the earliest possible moment. “Your Majesty is the Sovereign of the Empire.” Wrangel replied. “The armed forces of Russia exist solely to ensure the continued security and prosperity of the Empire and we are at your command, whenever and however you wish.” The confidence with which Wrangel spoke, not only assured Vladimir that Wrangel had not been offended, it assured him even further of the count’s loyalty and his control over the armed forces.
“Thank you Councilor Wrangel. Although I will leave the final decision up to you, I would suggest Pavel Rychagov as the new Chief Commander. His views on the utilization of the air force as well as his experience seem to make him the perfect choice.” Wrangel nodded. “I agree completely Your Majesty. It shall be done.” Vladimir nodded. “Thank you Councilor Wrangel.” He said. Before he could continue however, Vasilij Von Blücher, the chief of the army, stood up. “I am afraid Your Majesty, that in light of this change, I must tender my immediate resignation and I hope Your Majesty will accept. I do not believe that I am able to fully perform my duties without Sergei Korenev as the Chief Commander of the Air Force.” Vladimir nodded, he had expected this, although he was pleased that Robert Von Wiren, the chief of the navy, did not make any comments or objections. “I accept your immediate resignation General. Councilor Wrangel, once more I will leave the decision of a proper replacement up to you, although I would like to suggest one Georgiy Zhukov for your consideration.” Wrangel nodded. “My own exact choice Your Majesty.” He replied. In fact, Vladimir had already spoken with Count Wrangel about the possibilities of changes within the upper echelons of the armed forces and they had both agreed on the possible replacements. However, it was not necessary to make this public knowledge and a further appearance of loyalty from the chief marshal did not hurt.
Pavel Rychagov and Georgiy Zhukov, the new Chief Commanders.
How would this affect the empire's look on warfare?
Vladimir arose and so did all the councilors, both present and former. “Let us take a respite and return here in two hours gentlemen.” He said. “That should give the new Imperial Councilors time to prepare themselves for the next part of the meeting, which will be about the future visions for the Empire. Thank you.” With that, Vladimir and Count Dmitri quietly left the room. Behind them talk immediately erupted, some people being louder than others. “I will not take it!” The voice of Stürmer, the former Councilor for Foreign Affairs, could be heard for quite a while, his statements both heated and sometimes completely off the mark. Whatever else, Vladimir was terribly pleased with himself for sacking that simpleminded fool.
The Winter Palace, Skt. Petersburg, November 7th, 1938
As the Councilor for Military Affairs finished his briefing on the current state of the armed forces, Denikin spoke again. “Thank you Councilor, for your excellent brief.” This much at least was complete honesty from the Chancellor. As a former military commander himself, he liked proper and thorough briefings on the armed forces. Besides, he respected Wrangel and would do whatever he could to withdraw the chief of staff’s support of the Tsar, if at all possible. “Now, Councilor Stürmer, will you be so kind as to brief us on the state of our foreign relations?” Stürmer, still fuming from his recent lecture by the Tsar, nodded briefly, while trying without much lick, to regain his posture. “Of course Chancellor.” He said, completely neglecting to greet His Majesty, as was only proper, making Denikin wince slightly. That is not the way to keep your post, you buffoon. Denikin thought. Although the former president did not know about the coming shuffle of the Imperial Council, he expected something to happen. He tried to give Stürmer a warning glance, but the Councilor for Foreign Affairs, seemingly either ignored or did not catch it.
“The briefing will be set in several parts.” Stürmer continued. “First, I will concentrate on the relations with the major powers, secondly, I will mention the status of relations with the nations bordering Russia and lastly, Iosif Brodsky, head of the department of trade, will brief you on the current state of our trade.” With that, Stürmer motioned to one of his aides, which produced a set of large maps, which was quickly placed on the table.
Boris Stürmer, Councilor for Foreign Affairs, although for how much longer?
“First of all, our current relations with the major nations.” Stürmer said when the maps had been placed.
“I will start with Europe. Our political relationship with Germany can be said to be cordial and friendly. We have a formal pact of non-aggression, which ensures, at least in theory, that we cannot perform hostile actions against one another. No matter, the pact has had a very positive impact on our mutual relations.” Stürmer paused for a moment, quickly looking through his notes. “Our relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while far less cordial than those with Germany are still very positive. These two empires however make up the only major powers in Europe, with which we have a positive relationship, apart from one, which will be mentioned shortly, as its situation is rather special.” Once more Stürmer made a brief pause. “Our relations with the Commune of France are, to put it bluntly, on the point of a complete collapse of any diplomatic contact. To be frank, they hate the empire and anything it stands for. On the contrary, our relations with the Union of Britain are polite, if not friendly, due to the significant trade, we are currently conducting with that nation.”
On that, Tsar Vladimir turned to stare at Stürmer in shock, something which the Councilor did not notice. “The head of the department of trade will explain more on that later though. The Union of Britain is not truly a great power, although it will play a major role in any European war. It’s close political relations with the Commune of France and their similar if not identical ideologies, make it obvious, that they will support one another, should it come to conflict. However, we may be able to use our relations with the Union of Britain, to influence France, should the need arise.” Stürmer continued, still not seeing the obvious anger on the face of His Majesty. “Outside of Europe there truly are only three major powers, the Ottoman Empire, the Pacific States of America and the Combined Syndicates of America. Our current relations with the Ottomans are somewhat strained, although that might very well be because of the recent return of a Tsar to Russia. Our relations with the CSA, as it is usually called are equally strained, while those with the PSA are somewhat polite, finally, our relations with the Empire of Japan are unfriendly to say the least. I will mention one other major power, although it is not represented by a single country. The Entente, the remains of the allied powers from the Great War, while not individually accounting for much, does together make a potent military and politically force. The Entente is formally led by Canada, which houses the His Majesty in Exile, King George VIII. It is almost assured that the various nations forming the Entente would support each other in the case of war and thus they make up a major power in the world of politics. Our relations with Canada are polite, if nothing more, as are those with most of the other nations of the Entente.” Stürmer made a third pause, finding another piece of paper. “As for the nations bordering Russia, I will mention them one by one, starting with Finland.” Stürmer looked briefly at each of the other Councilors and Vladimir, for the first time noting His Majesty’s obvious anger, which caused the Councilor for Foreign Affairs to look slightly puzzled for a moment.
“The people of Finland dislikes us very much, which can be explained by several factors. First of all, Russia has in the last two years, made significant recoveries of land from the former provinces, of which Finland is one. This would of course provoke fear and even anger within the Finnish government. Another reason is the fact that Finland has official claims of some parts of Russian territory along the Finnish border. As for both the United Baltic Duchy and White Ruthenia, which are also former Russian territories bordering us, they feel much the same as the Finnish, although they do not have claims on any part of our lands. Their fears are not unreasonable, as they too have seen us regain some of the former territories and might fear a future move from us on their behalf. However, due to their alliance with Germany, such a move would be foolish indeed. To the south of White Ruthenia, the duchy of Galizien-Lodomerian, part of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire, although in a secondary manner, as they are subordinate to Poland, who are then subordinate to Austria, also dislikes us severely. Finally, between Galizien-Lodomerian and the Black Sea lies Romania, with whom we have a rather friendly relationship, as we do with both Greece and Serbia, the other two nations making up the Balkan Alliance of which Romania is the leader.” Quickly finding the next piece of paper, Stürmer continued. “To the south, Russia borders the nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Georgia, a syndicalist power, is surprisingly rather polite in their relationship with us, perhaps because of what happened to Ukraine, the other syndicalist power, which found itself bordering Russia. The recent movement of our borders in the Caucasus, due to the formal request by the Don Cossacks to return to Russia after the ascension of His Majesty to the throne…” This was in fact the first time during his brief that Stürmer directly mentioned the Tsar by his proper titular address.
“… has seen the nation of Georgia bordering us and they be using diplomatic means to try and prevent the fate of the Ukraine from happening to them as well. The second nation, Azerbaijan, like Georgia once a part of Russia, hates us with a vengeance, to put it bluntly.
And that brings us to the near and far eastern borders of Russia.” Once more, Stürmer quickly consulted his notes. Although his was a position with a very large portfolio, it had begun to annoy several of the other Councilors that Stürmer seemed more than a little ill prepared for the meeting. Whether it was because of his recent fit of anger, or because he simply didn’t take the meeting seriously, wasn’t known, but it was annoying to say the least. “From west to east, Russia is bordered by Turkestan, Mongolia, the Fengtien Republic and Transamur. Turkestan has recently joined Russia as a semi autonomous state, which has made our borders in that region more or less safe. It does however, also necessitate a closer look on the nations bordering Turkestan, which are Persia and Afghanistan, as well as Mongolia. We are currently trading fairly substantially with Persia, which accounts for our polite relationships, while our lack of trade with Afghanistan might be part of the reason, why they dislike us. Seeing their neighbor Persia strengthened by trade, while they are not, might make them regard us as an ally to a possible enemy. As for Mongolia, our relations are oddly neutral. I say oddly because we have not too far into the past had a significant heads up with the Mad baron over the state of ownership over part of the Transiberian Railway. We came out the winner of this near war, which would account for a severely negative stance towards us. However, such is not the case and we are not entirely certain why. As for the Fengtien Republic, as well as Transamur, it cannot be said in any other way than that they hate the very name of Russia. The reason for our very negative relations with the Fengtien Republic is likely due to their masters in Tokyo hating us, as they do. This might very well also be the case with Transamur, although the resent unrest within the country is likely part of the cause as well.” Stürmer looked up. “That is all from me for the time being, Iosif Brodsky, head of the Department of Trade, will now take over the briefing.”
Before the elderly man, which was seated next to Stürmer could speak up, Vladimir interrupted. “How about wars, Councilor?” he asked, his anger still evident, although tightly controlled. “What are the current wars around the world at this time?” Stürmer looked bewildered for a moment, more evidence of his seemingly complete lack of preparation for the meeting. He looked at one of his aides, who responded to Vladimir’s inquiries. “Your Majesty, at the time being, the world is more peaceful than it has been for quite some time.” The fact that the young aide had no papers in front of him nearly shouted to all the Councilors and the Tsar that this man probably knew far more about the political situation than did his boss. Most likely, this was the man who prepared all Stürmer’s briefs. “Barely two weeks ago, the lengthy war between the three Indian factions came to an end, as the Entente supported faction with its capital in Delhi, annexed both the southern Princely Federation and soon after that the syndicalist faction in the eastern part of the country. Although unrest is still high in the area, peace in India itself is assured, at least for the time being. This is not the case in Indochina however, where rebels supplied by the former syndicalist faction in india, have declared their independence from the Empire of Germany and there currently exists a state of war between the People’s Republic of Vietnam and the entire alliance led by Germany. The situation is even more complex due to the war between the German East Asian Company, based on the model of what was once the British run East Indian Company, and the nations of Shagqing Tianguo and the Yunnan Clique, which in return are also at war with each other. Germany and her allies support the AOA, as the German East Asian Company is usually called, in their wars, creating a somewhat complex entanglement of wars, which are destabilizing the entire Chinese region. In Europe we have two wars at the present, the first being between the members of the Balkan Alliance and Bulgaria. This war might drag on for a while yet, but the state of the Bulgarian forces and the vast conquests by the Romanian army in particular seem to indicate that a complete collapse of Bulgaria is rather imminent. Lastly, the civil war in Spain still continues, although the Carlist faction has pushed the Monarchist same into the far south of Spain and although the terrain, as well as the significant defensive fortresses in the area might indicate that the war will drag on for as much as another six months, it is only a matter of time, before the Carlist faction is victories. Remarkably, these are the only ongoing wars for the time being, as the world is otherwise at peace. However, this might very likely change in the near future. Although the civil war in the former United States of America has officially been declared over by both the victorious factions, war between the PSA and CSA may commence at any time and is likely to do so not too far into the future. I hope this is satisfactory to answer your question, Your Majesty?” Vladimir nodded. “Thank you.” He said, “But I didn’t catch your name?” The man seemed bewildered for a moment. Obviously he wasn’t used to being the centre of attention. “Mikhail Novikov, Your Majesty.” He quickly added. “Thank you Mikhail Novikov.” Vladimir replied, gaining a nod and a slight smile from the aide.
“Now, Councilor Stürmer, your head of trade may continue.” Stürmer nodded, even more displeased than before, with Vladimir’s interference in his briefing. He was not used to being treated like this and he didn’t like it one bit. “Brodsky.” He said simply and the elderly man, a Jew, spoke up. “Of course Councilor. Greetings Your Majesty.” He began and Vladimir nodded his reply. An angry look, although somewhat concealed, had once again entered the eyes of the Tsar. “The current state of trade is not just healthy, it is immensely so. We have agreements of trade with countless nations across the world, but the largest of our trading partners are Romania, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Britain. Due to the imminent collapse of Bulgarian forces, we may soon have to discount the nation of Bulgaria as a trading partner, although we may then, in return, enlarge the trade with Romania, as they are most likely to obtain the resources and territories of Bulgaria, once that nation falls.” The way he said it, his dry and completely objective manner, indicated that he had absolutely no political stance on the subject at all. Indeed, he might not even care in the slightest. “As for future prospects, we are currently working on gaining trade agreements with both the new nations of the former United States and we have high hopes of achieving success, once the area in question stabilizes.”
At this time, Vladimir, his voice now openly betraying his anger, interrupted. “Excuse me Mr. Brodsky.” He said, making the dry statesman look up from his papers, where he had focused all his attention until now. “Are you actually telling me that we are conduction trade with syndicalist nations?” Brodsky looked puzzled. “Why yes, Your Majesty. In fact, out single largest partner in trade is the Union of Britain.” Vladimir’s face turned a few shades darker, as his voice turned colder. “Any other nations, apart from Georgia and Britain?” Brodsky nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. We have ongoing trades with several nations following these ideals. Is this a problem?” Vladimir’s face turned even darker and his voice now hinted of the icy cold of Siberia, something which caught the immediate attention of every man around the table and for the first time seemed to make an impact on Brodsky. “This will stop immediately, Mr. Brodsky. Do you understand? I will not have the empire trading even an ounce of resource with any nation in the world, which can be considered either syndicalist or some form thereof, am I making myself clear?” Brodsky nodded, somewhat surprised by the anger in his monarch’s voice. “Certainly Your Majesty, but why?” Vladimir rose from his chair, now almost shaking with anger. “Why? You dare ask why?” he almost yelled. “Who murdered my family, who threw the empire into years of civil war?”
Brodsky was about to answer, but Vladimir wasn’t finished. “The Bolshevik scum did this and syndicalists are nothing more than Bolsheviks hiding under a different name.” he looked at the stunned men, sitting around the table. “From this day forth, every syndicalist nation in the world is to be considered an enemy of the empire!” He yelled, his voice above the mode of simple speech. “We will not trade with them. We will not conduct diplomatic missions to their capitals. Every single request made by an ambassador to any such country is to be denied. The world shall know that in the Empire of Russia stands the firmest, most resolute opponent to syndicalism anywhere.” For a moment the Tsar fell silent, as he looked every one of his councilors straight into their eyes. “I tell you this gentlemen.” He said, his voice now of normal strength, but so cold that it was almost tangible. “No matter how many years it may take, no matter what it may cost, we will eradicate all traces of Bolshevism from every corner of the world. This I swear.” With that, Vladimir sat back down, while the councilors still looked at him stunned. He turned to Brodsky. “You are no longer head of the department of trade Mr. Brodsky.” He said coldly to the old man, who sat wide-eyed staring at the Tsar. “Brief whoever is to replace you and then vacate your office within the space of one week’s time. Now leave my sight.” Brodsky hurried out of the room and Vladimir turned his attention back to the councilors. He was about to speak, but before he could do so, Count Wrangel stood up. He lifted the glass of water, which all the councilors and their aides had and looked at Vladimir, his eyes shining. ”Long Live Vladimir Romanov, Tsar of All Russia!” His voice boomed in the silence of the room. A few of the councilors and almost all the aides came to their feet at once, with the rest hurriedly following. “Long Live Vladimir Romanov, Tsar of All Russia.!” They chorused, some more fervently than others. For the first time since Vladimir had heard about the trade with Britain, he smiled.
When things had quieted down again, Vladimir spoke once more. “Thank you all.” He said and nodded to Count Wrangel. “But I am afraid not all of you will continue to bless my name, in a few minutes.” He looked around at the councilors. “There is about to be some change in the Imperial Council gentlemen and I will not hold it off any longer.” At that, quite a few of the councilors looked worried, most of them with good reason. “While Russia is grateful for all you have done in her service, the future of the empire now lies before us. To best enable me to decide upon how Russia shall venture towards this future, I have found it necessary to replace several of you with men I believe more able to ensure that the empire will shine more brightly than ever before.”
Vladimir paused for a moment, allowing the news to sink in. “I have decided to replace you Councilor Stürmer, with Vladimir Galitzine, whom I believe more capable of dealing with the many intricacies of the empire’s foreign relations.” He turned towards the councilor for armaments and industry. “While I do not believe that Russia would be what she is today without your excellent skills, Councilor Komenenov, I have regretfully decided that we need new ideas and fresh initiative within the industrial development of our nation. Therefore, I have chosen to allow you to retire and promote Georgij Brassov to be your replacement. Please do not be offended by this, as your service to Russia will not be forgotten.” Once more Vladimir turned his attention, this time to the Councilor for Security. “Councilor Tukhachevsky, I am replacing you as well, although your services to the nation have been equally as great as those of Councilor Komenenov. However, I believe that the head of the Okhrana, Nikolai Kharlamov, will be better suited to monitor the status of security both inside and outside the nation. You will of course retain your position as head of both the police and the Grenadiers, but I am afraid that from now on you will not be represented directly in the council. Please brief Councilor Kharlamov at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Vladimir turned his attention towards Wrangel. “Councilor Wrangel, although I will not make it a habit to directly interfere with the positioning of officers within the armed forces, I see it as a dire necessity to replace the Chief Commander of the Imperial Air Forces, with someone more experienced with the way it shall be utilized in the future.” This had been worded rather carefully by Vladimir, as he did not wish to offend Count Wrangel. But he could not understand why Sergei Korenev had even been promoted to his current position and he had to see him demoted at the earliest possible moment. “Your Majesty is the Sovereign of the Empire.” Wrangel replied. “The armed forces of Russia exist solely to ensure the continued security and prosperity of the Empire and we are at your command, whenever and however you wish.” The confidence with which Wrangel spoke, not only assured Vladimir that Wrangel had not been offended, it assured him even further of the count’s loyalty and his control over the armed forces.
“Thank you Councilor Wrangel. Although I will leave the final decision up to you, I would suggest Pavel Rychagov as the new Chief Commander. His views on the utilization of the air force as well as his experience seem to make him the perfect choice.” Wrangel nodded. “I agree completely Your Majesty. It shall be done.” Vladimir nodded. “Thank you Councilor Wrangel.” He said. Before he could continue however, Vasilij Von Blücher, the chief of the army, stood up. “I am afraid Your Majesty, that in light of this change, I must tender my immediate resignation and I hope Your Majesty will accept. I do not believe that I am able to fully perform my duties without Sergei Korenev as the Chief Commander of the Air Force.” Vladimir nodded, he had expected this, although he was pleased that Robert Von Wiren, the chief of the navy, did not make any comments or objections. “I accept your immediate resignation General. Councilor Wrangel, once more I will leave the decision of a proper replacement up to you, although I would like to suggest one Georgiy Zhukov for your consideration.” Wrangel nodded. “My own exact choice Your Majesty.” He replied. In fact, Vladimir had already spoken with Count Wrangel about the possibilities of changes within the upper echelons of the armed forces and they had both agreed on the possible replacements. However, it was not necessary to make this public knowledge and a further appearance of loyalty from the chief marshal did not hurt.
Pavel Rychagov and Georgiy Zhukov, the new Chief Commanders.
How would this affect the empire's look on warfare?
Vladimir arose and so did all the councilors, both present and former. “Let us take a respite and return here in two hours gentlemen.” He said. “That should give the new Imperial Councilors time to prepare themselves for the next part of the meeting, which will be about the future visions for the Empire. Thank you.” With that, Vladimir and Count Dmitri quietly left the room. Behind them talk immediately erupted, some people being louder than others. “I will not take it!” The voice of Stürmer, the former Councilor for Foreign Affairs, could be heard for quite a while, his statements both heated and sometimes completely off the mark. Whatever else, Vladimir was terribly pleased with himself for sacking that simpleminded fool.
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trekaddict: That's the problem really.. And as I've said before, the story comes first.. So I did have to make some tough decissions game-wise..
4th Dimension: I completely agree with you on the question of the land doctrines.. As do someone else, which you will see in the next update.. Thank God for the 'Abandon Doctrine' button.. I know this will set me back in research, but there isn't really anything to do about that.. One of my primary rules: Whatever it takes to enhance the story...
As for the air force, I was initially in complete agreement with you. Why would the Russian Republic construct a large air force? Incidentally, at first, I decided not to construct one, but then I changed my mind, due to several reasons. First and foremost was the idea of a 'modern' army.. That might include some airplanes, if for nothing else, then since they had allready proven themselves on several battlefields and the Russian commanders would have been observing them closely.. That made me decide that well, they could have wanted to build some.. Then, with the war in Ukraine, my tactical bombers played a significant part and earned their way profoundly.. That made me think.. I argued to and fro for quite some time, but in the end, I decided that Marshal Denikin, who does not have the Old Guard trait, as far as I could see, when I checked, might actually find them very useful, especially due to the size of the nation and the speed with which they could be redeployed from one front to another and since he was a de facto dictator, with a loyal army.. at the time.. I thought it reasonable that he would force his decission through.. Another reason was actually the state of my manpower at the time.. the heavy need for reinforcements at the beginning of the game had forced me down from 1600 manpower to a mere 400. The construction of quite a few new divisions helped that along as well..
Thus, Denikin would have been forced to do some serious thinking on how to expand the armed forces without depleting the manpower pool.. Oh yes and my story-based strong focus on industrialization would have had a severe impact on the manpower too.. I actually edited the number from 1600 or so down to 1200, to represent that, while adding a significant number of new factories.. Again, all for the story.. I know it may not be completely realistic and all that when considered from a pure game-perspective, but as I've said so many times before, the game will be adapted to fit the story, whenever and however needed. As a matter of fact, I had already decided on this, when I was considering the idea of writing the story, as I wanted to describe Imperial Russia as something completely different from OTL.. Another reason was that a larger IC base would allow me to make some 'not-so-very-wise' choices in-game, to allow me a much broader spectrum of possibilities for the story.. And to be completely honest, that was the major concern.. All else was based on that decission.. I wanted to be able to build Super Heavy Battle Ships, heavy Cruisers and Battle Cruisers although we all know that only Carriers are truly effective in the game, unless you are far more skilled at naval battle than I.. yes, I took my own somewhat limited abilities into consideration as well.. Carriers will play their part as well of course and over time we might see a severe alteration in the navy's and the Tsar's view on battleships versus carriers.. The point is really, that I wanted the ability to actually make all those mistakes and more and write about them and how the empire slowly recovers from these mistakes and realizes that they need to do things different.. As a matter of fact, I consider this to be an important part of the story and one I wouldn't do without.. I wanted the ability to do all this and still be able to transform the empire into a truly modern military machine.. It is just going to take more time than usual..
So, to put it short, although that is already too late, I placed all my knowledge of which doctrines to use, what divisions to build and so forth on the shelves, to collect dust. These men do not know that their doctrines are bad. They have no idea whether or not the proud navies of the empire will be sunk when meeting a Japanese Carrier Task Force and they do not know that Tanks are the only real way to do battle in the late forties.. They don't know any of this and so, as long as I am writing this story, neither do I, figuratively speaking.. As time goes by, things will change and hopefully for the better, although I honestly don't know.. I did what I could to make this story different and hopefully entertaining.. I tried to give myself the ability to make countless in-story mistakes and still have the necessary breathing room to correct these mistakes, before it was too late.. I know it may not be completely credible when seen by experienced players, but I thought it might make for an entertaining story.. And to me, all else pales when compared to that.. Hope you agree..
4th Dimension: I completely agree with you on the question of the land doctrines.. As do someone else, which you will see in the next update..
Thank God for the 'Abandon Doctrine' button.. I know this will set me back in research, but there isn't really anything to do about that.. One of my primary rules: Whatever it takes to enhance the story... As for the air force, I was initially in complete agreement with you. Why would the Russian Republic construct a large air force? Incidentally, at first, I decided not to construct one, but then I changed my mind, due to several reasons. First and foremost was the idea of a 'modern' army.. That might include some airplanes, if for nothing else, then since they had allready proven themselves on several battlefields and the Russian commanders would have been observing them closely.. That made me decide that well, they could have wanted to build some.. Then, with the war in Ukraine, my tactical bombers played a significant part and earned their way profoundly.. That made me think.. I argued to and fro for quite some time, but in the end, I decided that Marshal Denikin, who does not have the Old Guard trait, as far as I could see, when I checked, might actually find them very useful, especially due to the size of the nation and the speed with which they could be redeployed from one front to another and since he was a de facto dictator, with a loyal army.. at the time.. I thought it reasonable that he would force his decission through.. Another reason was actually the state of my manpower at the time.. the heavy need for reinforcements at the beginning of the game had forced me down from 1600 manpower to a mere 400. The construction of quite a few new divisions helped that along as well..
Thus, Denikin would have been forced to do some serious thinking on how to expand the armed forces without depleting the manpower pool.. Oh yes and my story-based strong focus on industrialization would have had a severe impact on the manpower too.. I actually edited the number from 1600 or so down to 1200, to represent that, while adding a significant number of new factories.. Again, all for the story.. I know it may not be completely realistic and all that when considered from a pure game-perspective, but as I've said so many times before, the game will be adapted to fit the story, whenever and however needed.
As a matter of fact, I had already decided on this, when I was considering the idea of writing the story, as I wanted to describe Imperial Russia as something completely different from OTL.. Another reason was that a larger IC base would allow me to make some 'not-so-very-wise' choices in-game, to allow me a much broader spectrum of possibilities for the story.. And to be completely honest, that was the major concern.. All else was based on that decission.. I wanted to be able to build Super Heavy Battle Ships, heavy Cruisers and Battle Cruisers although we all know that only Carriers are truly effective in the game, unless you are far more skilled at naval battle than I.. yes, I took my own somewhat limited abilities into consideration as well.. Carriers will play their part as well of course and over time we might see a severe alteration in the navy's and the Tsar's view on battleships versus carriers.. The point is really, that I wanted the ability to actually make all those mistakes and more and write about them and how the empire slowly recovers from these mistakes and realizes that they need to do things different.. As a matter of fact, I consider this to be an important part of the story and one I wouldn't do without.. I wanted the ability to do all this and still be able to transform the empire into a truly modern military machine.. It is just going to take more time than usual.. So, to put it short, although that is already too late, I placed all my knowledge of which doctrines to use, what divisions to build and so forth on the shelves, to collect dust. These men do not know that their doctrines are bad. They have no idea whether or not the proud navies of the empire will be sunk when meeting a Japanese Carrier Task Force and they do not know that Tanks are the only real way to do battle in the late forties.. They don't know any of this and so, as long as I am writing this story, neither do I, figuratively speaking..
As time goes by, things will change and hopefully for the better, although I honestly don't know.. I did what I could to make this story different and hopefully entertaining.. I tried to give myself the ability to make countless in-story mistakes and still have the necessary breathing room to correct these mistakes, before it was too late.. I know it may not be completely credible when seen by experienced players, but I thought it might make for an entertaining story.. And to me, all else pales when compared to that.. Hope you agree..
Well since we now have Grigory Zhukov as Army Commander I don't doubit he'll go screaming for "MOAR" tanks.
And couple of defeats in border disputes with Empire of the Rising Sun when facing Russian troops using trench doctrine, and then a stunning victory of Zhukov (or one of Tukhacevski's disciples) using armor in a new way might help HQ realize their mistake.
And couple of defeats in border disputes with Empire of the Rising Sun when facing Russian troops using trench doctrine, and then a stunning victory of Zhukov (or one of Tukhacevski's disciples) using armor in a new way might help HQ realize their mistake.
Good update. Methinks we will hear more from that aide in the Foreign Ministry soon.
I would support Wrangels idea.
Hehe, everyone hates Russia.
I just begun learning russisch in school, and the first thing our teacher told us was that 'remember, russians are humans too'.
Hehe, everyone hates Russia.
I just begun learning russisch in school, and the first thing our teacher told us was that 'remember, russians are humans too'.
Enewald said:I would support Wrangels idea.
Hehe, everyone hates Russia.
I just begun learning russisch in school, and the first thing our teacher told us was that 'remember, russians are humans too'.
Hahaha.. I think Russian is the only language in Europe that is harder to learn than German.
trekaddict said:
Germany is easy. Finnish is hard. Russisch is like finnish. But with some different words and alphabets. And stuff.
It's probably more difficult since it doesn't belong to the same group as your language. That means words, grammar, and syntax are completely different.trekaddict said: