Introduction & Summary
'Odin' and Stalin's Secret Committee
Introduction
After the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, then General Secretary Joseph Stalin moved to consolidate his power. One of the ways he subverted his enemies was through a personal spy network he had started to create in 1922, after Lenin retired. I am the first among these nameless spies, I am referred to as 'Odin' (Russian number 1, not the norse god) by those who know of my existence.
I joined, let's call them 'Stalin's zombies', from the very beginning in 1923. My Identity before this is not relevant, and will not be divulged, the only thing of importance is that I had been close to Stalin, but not really in the public eye. The Secretary General explained to me his need for a loyal group of secret envoys and internal spies within his strategy to gain and keep control over the country. We determined that the best way too keep this secret was to make sure every operative was not registered anywhere, and so in the eyes of the administration, they didn't exist. This was achieved through the faking of ones death upon entering the 'Zombies'. I went first and died in a terrible train accident near Leningrad, I had of course never been on the train in the first place.
My death, in this 1923 train accident, 149 reported victims, of which 148 are actually dead
I write this account because I want people to understand what happened far behind the curtains of Stalin's rule. I want this story to be read only when communism has taken over the world and Stalin is dead and buried. (This account was written in code and very well hidden, it was only recently deciphered)
4th of January 1937, 9 pm Moscow Time
In a secret facility in the woods close to Vologda and it's Air Base, less than 300 km from Moscow, and less than 500 km from Leningrad, preparations were being made for the arrival of a group of high ranking clever gentlemen considered to be primordial to the future of the Soviet Union. These men's death was to be faked the very next day in an effort to integrate them into Stalin's secret intelligence network as personal advisors, they would 'die' in a plane crash, making Stalin seem smarter and better prepared in his dealings with the Central Committee and the Army. This will be called Stalin's Secret Committee, and for now will consist of the following members:
_______________________________________________________________________________
This is my first attempt at an AAR. I am playing vanilla TFH on moderate and will be picking up the action on the 4th of January 1937. I will be using the 'secret reports' to keep you updated on the state of the Soviet Union. (expect the first one within a week). I will use AI at Army or Army Group Level depending on the size of the war, this in keeping with the fact that Stalin can't order every single Division/Corps around the map all the time, and because I find it tedious myself(especially on the scale of (counter-)Barbarossa. Let's say this alternate history may allow Stalin to make some better decisions (If I'm up to it). I might also take account of your suggestions, as I will try to update you as I play, and you can be part of Stalin's big secret Committee helping him towards victory...
I'd also like your suggestions on other historical figures which aren't represented in game, which could add some flavour by joining the secret committee(like great scientists or spies for example)
Edit 19/09/17:
If you are new to this AAR, this might help you navigate the 100+ reports and other updates:
This AAR has evolved, while keeping the same framework, with time more narrative has crept in, and new characters have appeared, the 10-day reports have become more to the point, highlighting the things you really need to note. An alternative starting point if you want to catch up quickly would be the 1.000day reports (t'Dva', review of the Red Army), as they bring you up to speed, in detail, right before the start of the Winter War and the inclusion of more in depth narrative. Looking over the AAR while composing the summary below I found hat some parts before this update are just one report after the other (you'll see what I mean), it's not a bad thing per se, if you like that sort of thing.
However, with the Winter war I started writing more narrative to add flavour to the statistics and the analysis. I won't say any more, you'll have to read for yourselves, and I'm sure there are several ways to read this AAR, the Summary should help you navigate the countless updates more easily.
Summary:
Introduction
After the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, then General Secretary Joseph Stalin moved to consolidate his power. One of the ways he subverted his enemies was through a personal spy network he had started to create in 1922, after Lenin retired. I am the first among these nameless spies, I am referred to as 'Odin' (Russian number 1, not the norse god) by those who know of my existence.
I joined, let's call them 'Stalin's zombies', from the very beginning in 1923. My Identity before this is not relevant, and will not be divulged, the only thing of importance is that I had been close to Stalin, but not really in the public eye. The Secretary General explained to me his need for a loyal group of secret envoys and internal spies within his strategy to gain and keep control over the country. We determined that the best way too keep this secret was to make sure every operative was not registered anywhere, and so in the eyes of the administration, they didn't exist. This was achieved through the faking of ones death upon entering the 'Zombies'. I went first and died in a terrible train accident near Leningrad, I had of course never been on the train in the first place.
My death, in this 1923 train accident, 149 reported victims, of which 148 are actually dead
I write this account because I want people to understand what happened far behind the curtains of Stalin's rule. I want this story to be read only when communism has taken over the world and Stalin is dead and buried. (This account was written in code and very well hidden, it was only recently deciphered)
4th of January 1937, 9 pm Moscow Time
In a secret facility in the woods close to Vologda and it's Air Base, less than 300 km from Moscow, and less than 500 km from Leningrad, preparations were being made for the arrival of a group of high ranking clever gentlemen considered to be primordial to the future of the Soviet Union. These men's death was to be faked the very next day in an effort to integrate them into Stalin's secret intelligence network as personal advisors, they would 'die' in a plane crash, making Stalin seem smarter and better prepared in his dealings with the Central Committee and the Army. This will be called Stalin's Secret Committee, and for now will consist of the following members:
- Head of Intelligence Yan Berzin (aka 'Starik'), Technical Specialist
- Chief of the Navy Vladimir M. Orlov, Indirect Approach Doctrine
- Chief of the Air Force / Air Lt. General Yakov V. Smushkevich, Skill 2-9 Tank Buster / Army Aviation Doctrine
- Field Marshall / Chief Of Staff Michail N. Tuchatjevskij, Skill 2-5 Offensive Doctrine / School of Manoeuvre
- Field Marschall A. I. Egorov, Skill 2-8 Old Guard, Defensive Doctrine
- General Eideman Skill 2-6 Logistics Wizard and Winter Specialist
- General Primakov Skill 1-8 Logistics Wizard
- Army Lt. General Strepuhov Skill 2-6 Fortress Buster
- Army Lt. General Belov S.I. Sill 1-6 Battle Master
_______________________________________________________________________________
This is my first attempt at an AAR. I am playing vanilla TFH on moderate and will be picking up the action on the 4th of January 1937. I will be using the 'secret reports' to keep you updated on the state of the Soviet Union. (expect the first one within a week). I will use AI at Army or Army Group Level depending on the size of the war, this in keeping with the fact that Stalin can't order every single Division/Corps around the map all the time, and because I find it tedious myself(especially on the scale of (counter-)Barbarossa. Let's say this alternate history may allow Stalin to make some better decisions (If I'm up to it). I might also take account of your suggestions, as I will try to update you as I play, and you can be part of Stalin's big secret Committee helping him towards victory...
I'd also like your suggestions on other historical figures which aren't represented in game, which could add some flavour by joining the secret committee(like great scientists or spies for example)
Edit 19/09/17:
If you are new to this AAR, this might help you navigate the 100+ reports and other updates:
This AAR has evolved, while keeping the same framework, with time more narrative has crept in, and new characters have appeared, the 10-day reports have become more to the point, highlighting the things you really need to note. An alternative starting point if you want to catch up quickly would be the 1.000day reports (t'Dva', review of the Red Army), as they bring you up to speed, in detail, right before the start of the Winter War and the inclusion of more in depth narrative. Looking over the AAR while composing the summary below I found hat some parts before this update are just one report after the other (you'll see what I mean), it's not a bad thing per se, if you like that sort of thing.
However, with the Winter war I started writing more narrative to add flavour to the statistics and the analysis. I won't say any more, you'll have to read for yourselves, and I'm sure there are several ways to read this AAR, the Summary should help you navigate the countless updates more easily.
Summary:
1937
5th of January starting reports:
10-day reports:
Additional updates:
1938
10-day reports:
Additional updates:
1939
10-day Reports:
1st of October, 1.000 days of the Committee, special conference
The Winter War:
Additional updates:
1940
10-day Reports:
The Winter War:
Additional updates:
The Vatutin Letters:
'Odinatsat', the mystery woman:
1941
10-day Reports:
Additional updates:
Finnish Partisans:
The Vatutin Letters:
'Odinatsat', the mystery woman:
1942
10-day reports:
The Great Patriotic War:
'Odinatsat', the mystery woman:
Additional updates:
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