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Soviet Russia is falling like a house of cards.
 
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"I came to Paris two years ago with a legion of conquering heroes. I leave it again with a troupe of gigolos and racketeers!"
- German Field Marshal August von Mackensen, on the moral effects of the German occupation of Paris during the Weltkrieg

In many ways, 1926 intervention in Russia mirrored the realities of well established interwar monarchy, full of contradictions and infighting between classes, people and ideas. It was a war, which wasn't called or deemed a one. An unprecedented arrogant aggression for liberals and social democrats and absolutely justified action which didn't need any further discussion, much like cleaning a dirty table after dinner. The Mittelstand (Middle class) experienced same rise of living standards like industrial workers did, while farmers could purchase new land extremely cheaply in Poland, Ukraine or Baltic Duchy. These facts were definitely more crucial for country's well-being than minor constitutional changes made amidst all of it. The opposition, therefore, was more seen, than heard or felt, on cultural and domestic political frontlines. The Bauhaus school of architecture battled fiercely with architects who still favoured Art Noveau or promoted imperial neo-classicism. Articles in newspapers were more daring every day, trying to get attention of "oppressed workers" or tried to expose "hedonistic aristocracy". Successes of the monarchy, however, had always an upper hand, and kept many unwelcomed incidents from happening. The traditional 1st May leftist agitation was destroyed in a very humiliating way for socialists, when Krupp, Blohm und Voss, Germaniawerft and other companies in 1921 lobbied for a new state holiday: 1st May as The Navy Day, to celebrate both Mays of 1915 (Souchon's demolishing raids against England) and 1916 (Spee's final battle and sacrifice). Paid holiday, accompanied with a lavish celebrations in major cities and all ports with naval bases. New Navy Day quickly proved popular indeed, even in Berlin, otherwise deemed a stronghold of left-wing and liberal agitation.

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The swift victory over Soviet Russia was celebrated as a triumph which crowned success of final German unification. Triumph not only for Germany, but for the continent, which is finally cured of the disease caused by a French hubris, British greed and one stupid Tsar. It was now a sole German responsibility to maintain an order and peace in Europe, as demonstrated in fall of Soviets.

There was still a summer in Russia, when both Petrograd and Moscow were firmly in German hands and the encirclement of remaining Bolshevik military forces began. Prepared for a prolonged battle and slow retreat to and likely behind Urals, even after a long march, their enemies attacked them on their flanks just as same as they were attacked in a frontal assault, with support of hundreds of armored vehicles and precise artilery strikes, especially with a help of talkative civilians, who correctly recognized the victors.

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Full motorization of the Army was still a vision of a future, but in September, there was no critical lack of trucks, horses or safe routes - and, more importantly, reasonably usable roads, which was expected to not exist when mud season, the rasputitsa, will surely come in just few weeks. The railway system was not an issue at all, due to use of Ukrainian and Baltic trains still using the Russian Empire's gauge of 5ft. There were also new German-made locomotives and wagons, specifically built for Hetmanate (by Ringhoffer-Werke) or Baltic Duchy (by Sächsische Maschinenfabrik). Therefore, the soldiers were kept fed, clothed and supplied literally as good as possible, and it showed also the veterans of White Army behind the frontlines, what kind of iron willed efficiency their tried to battle in 1914-1916.

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Unlike very first armored cars, the Panzerkraftwagen Ehrhardt was designed from the start as a true war machine, not merely an armed and armored civilian car. It's height made it a good supporting vehicle for the infantry and cavalry and was very succesfully used by a police forces throughout 1920s, still used in latter role as late as 1946. In the army it was only replaced in late 1930s by a new types of armored cars, built by Audi and Steyr.

The Russian land, however, remained a very large and not at all empty place, which is a worse nightmare to keep it than gain it. Partisans still operated behind the lines, using the depths of forests and mountainous areas no one could ever fully hold in their entirety. Popular rumour was that in some villages, they expected French troops led by a Napoleon's descendants and were extremely surprised by a soldiers of 'Prussian king'. If so, they were not entirely mistaken, of course.

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Less humorous were the actual victims of Bolshevik insurgency. Definitely the worst losses, aside from attacked trains, were losses of skilled commanders, some of them respected legends of the Weltkrieg. The loss of August von Mackensen, conqueror of England, who served the Prussia even before the first Kaiser Wilhelm I. was coronated, was comparable to losses of Graf Spee or Ludendorff combined.

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August von Mackensen (1849-1926) died during Battle of Nizhny Novgorod shot several times to his back by an armed civilian, which was of course followed by logical consequences to Bolshevik prisoners and sympathizers in the area - real or suspected. This detail was made public only decades after it, and explained further his sons' fanatical loyalty to the Hohenzollern dynasty, especially of future Generalfeldmarschall Eberhard von Mackensen and Foreign Minister Hans Georg von Mackensen.

These attempts to turn the tide were futile and only hardened the determination of country's liberators to end the fighting entirely. The most elite units, the Sturmtruppen assault companies ruthlessly pacified every city with signs of insurgency and moutaineer regiments of Gebirgsjägers scoured Urals, while regular infantrymen battled disintegrating Red Army, unable to retreat properly, attacked from every side for weeks. Division by division, Red Army slowly dissapeared.

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By the end of September, with the winter still nowhere to seen, mass desertions, mutinies or full fledged side switching, accompanied by officer and commissar 'dissapearances', kept happening all the time, in face of overwhelming odds. Some went so far as to torn their Red banners apart and replace them with Russian tricolour, sometimes denying their previous Bolshevik army service altogether.

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After failure of expensive and slow A7V tanks in the Weltkrieg, light tanks of LK series became the most usual armored vehicle in Germany, it's allies, satellite states and trade partners, including Paraguay. Armed with a 37 mm cannon or two machine guns, it offered reasonable combination of price, easy maintenance and mobility.

Like their Red Army, the government of Soviet Russia stopped existing, first virtually, then physically. Some of it's leaders preferred an exile, which was no small feat at the current circumstances, some were killed in action and the most unfortunate ones were captured and sent to Petrograd. Special court established by the Russian government dealt with them most thoroughly, preferring quick justice accompanied with confessions of corruption and other crimes against people. The 'Nepmen' and 'kulaks' on the other hand, cooperated with new authorities voluntarily in a hope, that their property, hard acquired in spite of Bolsheviks, will remain as intact as possible. The returning exiles were simply walking back into their mansions, shops and factories they legally did never lost, since everything done or declared by the Soviets was declared null and void.

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These proceedings, made in full cooperation with the German forces, reinforced the main argument for the intervention, that it's justified legal action no different from any court's lawful execution, except scale of the operation. That also explained why the captured Red Army's soldiers were not treated as prisoners of war. They couldn't be legally prisoners of war since they were, legally, all accomplices in criminal endeavour.

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The Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, wife of the Crown Prince, was as important for public support of monarchy as her husband's presence on the frontlines and military parades. Although their marriage resembled more the one of Francis Joseph and Sissi rather than the one Wilhelm II. maintained with his Dona, it was definitely one of the political pillars of interwar monarchy and the Golden Age of Kaiserreich.

The major encirclement operation, series of battles in, around and between Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod, was a major success and, along with numerous other cases on smaller scale, marked the end of the intervention. The first divisions started to leave Russia in October, and by the end of December, 95% of all German military personnel left Russia, leaving there mostly ethnic Russian troops of Skoropadsky or Bulak-Balakhovich from it's satellite states, which proved remarkably eager in finding Bolsheviks in territories not yet administred by the lawful government.

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Barring some exceptions, the intervention reached all it's goals. Mainly it proved the willingness of German Empire to force the order of things it decided. It went without discussion even in the Reichstag, that without willigness to go into war for them, any treaty is worthless. That alone was important, in view of chaos spreading through Apennine and Iberian Peninsulas, martial law in England or proclamation made by Kingdom of France that it will never morally accept loss of Alsace-Lorraine or annexation of Belgium by Netherlands.

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Painting called "Return of the Tsar", depicting Grand Duke Nicholas on his way to retake the throne as Nicholas III. Inaccurate, of course, as he arrived into Petrograd aboard the armored train, surrounded by surviving members of Imperial Guard who didn't defect to Bolsheviks and fought them instead for the entire Civil War.

In December, most of German military personnel left the Russia. Formerly envisioned Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line was abandoned in the end, since only capture of all important Ural cities and Transsiberian Railroad could ensure a total victory. Therefore, when Nizhny Novgorod or Chelyabinsk were captured, now there was absolutely no chance of continuation of any major resistance, especially combined with rebellions in Central Asia and White Russian invasion of the Far East, assisted by the Japanese.

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Now it was time to force a capitulation of remaining Bolsheviks and full establishment of a united Russian state - under reinstated monarchy. In 1926, from all remaining military leaders who survived the Civil War were Lavr Kornilov and Grigory Semyonov the most influential ones, backed not only by the Great Powers but also by the great majority of White emigré community living in the Germany, Balkans, Eastern Europe and Manchuria at that time. Formerly the ones which held the most respect and international recognition, Denikin and Kolchak, were blamed for defeat, in particular for refusal of both to create united front behind legitimate monarch, which could be more respected by population and foreign powers. The restoration itself didn't restore much beyond country's status as a monarchy. A constitution drafted in 1921 by government-in-exile backed creation of constitutional federal monarchy, with limited powers of the Emperor, who wasn't an Autocrat any longer. Vladimir Kokovtsov, prewar Prime Minister of Russia, took the office, as he was only one acceptable option for major factions for the transition period - until remnants of Soviet experiment will be extinguished and country will start rebuilding itself.

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The depiction of the previous Tsar, however, had to be destroyed even more, in order to re-establish legitimacy of the new Russian government. Nicknames used in Romanov family were now used to differ both men in public conversations: Nicholas the Short and Nicholas the Tall. It was definitely easier due to fact, that Grand Duke, when appointed Supreme Commander of Russian forces, apparently managed to invade Eastern Prussia, Czech lands and Hungary, when replaced by Tsar personally: exactly when massive German reinforcements arrived from France and started worst military defeat in entire history of Russia.
 
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Ironic that it seems that Germany's main enemies in the next war will be reactionary French and Russian monarchists. Without that pesky nationalism the King, the Kaiser, and the Tsar could have united to destroy liberalism everywhere.
 
Sounds like the intervention was remarkably useful for practical research.
 
The new Russian government has a lot of work to do both in domestic stability and in finding an agreement with the Germans on where their borders should lie.

At least they should get lots of German investment in future to develop (if that's a good idea for Germany in the long run is another question...).
 
Ooooh, is that Qing China in the north? In any case looking forwards to the Kriegsmarine and IJN vs USN

The Most Glorious and Sovereign Chinese Empire


That lone brave guy with the little red flag and that naive face... Young man, have you not learned what happens to syndies!

Let's say will get somewhat red in 1930s

Soviet Russia is falling like a house of cards.

If just destroying socialist and communist ideals was that easy and quick.

Ironic that it seems that Germany's main enemies in the next war will be reactionary French and Russian monarchists. Without that pesky nationalism the King, the Kaiser, and the Tsar could have united to destroy liberalism everywhere.

Expect some unexpected stuff.

Sounds like the intervention was remarkably useful for practical research.

Like every war is.

The new Russian government has a lot of work to do both in domestic stability and in finding an agreement with the Germans on where their borders should lie.

At least they should get lots of German investment in future to develop (if that's a good idea for Germany in the long run is another question...).

Safe encirclement all the way from Finland to Iran and then from the Far East, is preferable to limiting treaties they wouldn't honor anyway. As long as everyone involved is cool with that. If not, well, damn.

Germany is well poised to dominate in the years ahead. Do her ambitions extend to taming the American hemisphere as well?

Just making sure Atlantic Ocean is dominated by Kaiserliche Marine. Atlantik Flotte and Afrikanische Flotte with like 30-35 battleships combined should do the job.
 
Sounds very expensive and unsustainable.
Once aircraft carries become available power projection should be easier and those older hulls will have something to do
 
What å resounding victory! Hopefully the new tzar will remember who placed him there.
 
Now it will take longer, but have trailer for 1930s-1940s instead ;)

I wonder if the lyrics are to be taken literally ("zu asche, zu staub" being the fate of all the nice things shown during the first part of the song) or if it's just the mood that counts (tumultuous 1930s, like in Babylon Berlin)

I guess we'll see ;)

Great editing BTW :D
 
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Read this in a few instalments, and it's as good as I expected it would be, since it's one of yours. I just have one point of contention. You devoted a chapter to the Hapsburg collapse, and mentioned that Austria has been absorbed a few times, but you didn't say exactly how that happened anywhere. Are they an imperial state, are they an archduchy, is the former emperor still alive, or not? Other than that, very nice work, indeed.
 
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Sounds very expensive and unsustainable.
So is letting Y*nkees have rights
Indeed so. Wehret den Anfängen!
Once aircraft carries become available power projection should be easier and those older hulls will have something to do

Atlantik is German.

Read this in a few instalments, and it's as good as I expected it would be, since it's one of yours. I just have one point of contention. You devoted a chapter to the Hapsburg collapse, and mentioned that Austria has been absorbed a few times, but you didn't say exactly how that happened anywhere. Are they an imperial state, are they an archduchy, is the former emperor still alive, or not? Other than that, very nice work, indeed.

Good catch. I was planning to reveal details a little later, before appointment of new Chancellor after Hindenburg.

But in short, at least about the house: Charles I. abdicated and lives in Lower Austria, rarely seeing his son Otto, who became Apostolic King of Hungary under Horthy's regency. Habsburgs also remained Archdukes of Austria and Kings of Bohemia and newly, Kings of Poland.
 
Now it will take longer, but have trailer for 1930s-1940s instead ;)

Only noticed now, but Greece has rather odd borders. A massive Bulgaria owning all of Thrace but Greece still owns Constantinople, Asia Minor and the Pontic coast, I guess off of the virtue that Bulgaria wouldn't be able to rule all that