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Mark down another one that I've caught up on, now! :D

I've only missed a few updates, but it does seem that things have gone from bad to worse for the Soviets as the Allied AI somehow managed the once-in-a-century feat of executing a successful naval invasion. Tragic from the perspective of the authAAR, but as a readAAR this puts the player country into quite a predicament which should make for an entertaining and thrilling read in the coming months!

As far as the wargoals go, I'm not 100% sure. Usually they are sorted out by a priority system, such that special territorial claims are parceled out before puppet/conquer goals for instance. However in this case there's faction mechanics at play so I'm really not sure how the resolution would shake out. Hopefully the Soviets can get these various territorial claims out of the Allies - for the price paid in blood if nothing else!
 
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Yes, the STRAT bombers need to be in range of the target.
Thanks for confirming mate!
Mark down another one that I've caught up on, now! :D
Lovely to have you back, Professor. :)
I've only missed a few updates, but it does seem that things have gone from bad to worse for the Soviets as the Allied AI somehow managed the once-in-a-century feat of executing a successful naval invasion. Tragic from the perspective of the authAAR, but as a readAAR this puts the player country into quite a predicament which should make for an entertaining and thrilling read in the coming months!
Yes, it's tough, but then I wanted a challenge for this game. o_O The Allies have now successfully invaded Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan! Wonders will never cease.
As far as the wargoals go, I'm not 100% sure. Usually they are sorted out by a priority system, such that special territorial claims are parceled out before puppet/conquer goals for instance. However in this case there's faction mechanics at play so I'm really not sure how the resolution would shake out. Hopefully the Soviets can get these various territorial claims out of the Allies - for the price paid in blood if nothing else!
It will be interesting to see what eventuates and I'm happy to be surprised - all part of the 'different experience' of a less usual situation in a difficult strategic position.
 
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Chapter 28 – June 1946
Chapter 28 – June 1946

Foreword

In the constant quest to make this AAR a bit quicker and dirtier, and also for other reasons that will become obvious, I will treat the whole chapter as a single theatre broadly chronological update this time. I’ll also go a little lighter again on the individual battle descriptions, especially as there is some other material to be covered.

******

[Note: battle summary map towards the end of the chapter.]

As noted at the end of the May 1946 chapter, 1 June saw the first Soviet A-Bomb 70% complete: it should be finished by 1 July. It was understood that among the Allied powers, the most advanced research had been conducted by Germany, with Civil Nuclear Research (CNR) finished to level 4, but no bomb-making research commenced yet as they did not possess a nuclear reactor. The USA was currently researching CNR 4 and was the only country other than the Soviet Union known to have a nuclear reactor. The UK had completed CNR 3, but was not researching the next level and did not have a reactor. France had researched isotope separation, Italy nuclear research and Japan atomic research, but none were conducting any more at present.

From the forward-most Soviet air base in Europe, at Brzesc Litewski on the Polish border, Soviet STRAT bombers (current range 1,050 km) could cover all targets in Germany (out to Köln at 991 km), but Paris (1,363 km) and London (1,456 km) remained well out of range. More capable bombers and/or closer bases would be needed to strike either of those with a completed atomic bomb.

In Japan, the Allies were poised to take Tokyo and the other key Honshu urban centres – the loss of which would likely cause them to surrender.

Mrd4ce.jpg


******

In the east, 15th Army’s objectives were amended to add Vladivostok.

RETN5d.jpg

The smaller 6th Army was also assigned Vladivostok, while Ohka was removed.

KiM226.jpg

The period 1-3 June saw the successful defence of Obluchye (an attack begun on 30 May – no report) on 1 June and of Tyrma (1-3 June). The latter saw both sides using air support, with the VVS causing far more casualties (defensive strikes in Zavitaya and Bureya). The VVS kept the enemy raiders away after a single enemy sortie got through but was intercepted over Tyrma early on 2 June.

DY24c4.jpg

Then a large Japanese attack on Dzhuen was also beaten back from 2-4 June and Orlovka was retaken on 3 June.

On Sakhalin, a light probe on 2 June was all it took to sweep aside previously retreated Japanese troops in Maoka, which was taken that night.

b9yARy.jpg

The fast-moving 57 Motor Rifle Division then hit Toyohara the next day, a quick attack all that was needed to defeat the last Japanese resistance on the island and subsequently bag a number of divisions that had been trying to flee south to the port.

******

In the west, a short skirmish saw victory in Mandal on 1 June and in Chita the next day, also a Soviet victory. Goryachinsk and Petrovsk Zabaykal'skiy were both occupied on 2 June, the latter pushing the liberation of the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) further east.

X68WYK.jpg

These successes led to 7th Army’s objectives being updated, removing defensive goals and seeking to keep freeing the TSR via Chita and Mildigun.

sifYUX.jpg

7th Army responded well, with a slightly longer battle for Chita fought and won on 4-5 June. This battle brought two important developments in the sector: the enemy was now having supply problems and the wings in Irkutsk were now back to full strength and had enough supplies to start flying missions. They hit Chita during this attack and remained heavily engaged in the western sector for the rest of the month.

F4YCVZ.jpg

The capture of another enemy spy early on 4 June reminded the NKVD to change the so far fruitless political influence mission in Spain to technical espionage, on the off-chance something useful might be turned up.

******

By early on 5 June, supply was generally good in the western sector, though patchy in some parts of the eastern zone, which caused some problems for the Soviets in attack and defence.

3IdFEV.jpg

This came to the fore in Tyrma, when another Japanese offensive began on 6 June, with the Soviet defenders out of supply, lasting until 8 June. Fortunately, the VVS was able to provide heavy defensive air support again, with the Soviets emerging victorious. It ended up being the largest land battle in the Far East for the month: the Soviets lost 1,181 men killed, the Japanese 2,367 plus another 3,449 to air strikes on Bureya.

The Japanese also attacked Dzhuen over the same period (6-8 June), in another major battle that the Soviets eventually won: the second largest of the month (Soviets 855, Japanese 1,798 killed). As that was going on, on 6 June the Soviets ran into a fresh Japanese division as they advanced on Troitskoye. This time, the Japanese defenders prevailed on 10 June, after four days of heavy fighting. The Japanese 16th CAG made a couple of appearances over the Soviet attackers in Orlovka, giving as good as it got to the VVS interceptors, but only causing light casualties in a couple of raids over 9-10 June.

rfrcPA.jpg

Toyohara was occupied on 6 June and soon had a basic air base built there, with an expansion ordered immediately.

NW0qkd.jpg

By the afternoon of 8 June, the Allies reported they had taken both Sendai and Fukushima, cutting off the east coast of Honshu north and south of Tokyo from the rest of Japan.

DTyX2q.jpg

A large Soviet attack began on Huma on 9 June with heavy VVS air support and was won by 11 June. A follow-up Japanese attack on Dzhuen, supported by heavy enemy air strikes and where the Soviets had now run out of supplies, saw a defeat on 10 June. However, a Soviet attack on nearby Troistkoye from 10-11 June saw a win after the previous unsuccessful attempt, even though the attackers were unsupplied.

By this time, Stalin was very concerned the Japanese were about to collapse – with the Allies likely to get the lion’s share of the territory. Two interceptor wings were transferred from Kaluga on the Western Front to the new air base at Toyohara early on 10 June. They were within range of Sapporo and could reach as far south as Akita on northern Honshu if required.

******

On the Chinese Front, Japan and Manchukuo seemed to be doing better, even retaining a couple of key Chinese cities since the beginning of the month.

Zj85Gd.jpg

Note: the yellow lines represent Chinese positions as at 1 June.

With good supply, renewed air support and thinning enemy numbers, the western sector continued to see extensive progress during the month. Victorious skirmishes were fought in Romanovka on 9 June and Ust’ Karsk (after Japan had previously occupied the latter on 5 June) on 11 June. Mangui had fallen to Soviet troops on 6 June, Ushumun and Mandal on 7 June. And the VVS provided heavy air support to a Mongolian attack on Ikhe Khid from 9-11 June (1,830 enemy casualties).

Supply remained good to fair in most areas by the afternoon of 10 June, except for the new ‘blind spot’ in the east around Tyrma and Suluk.

gqYrFD.jpg

Still in the west, Bukacaca had been liberated on 9 June, Khilok followed on 10 June and Chita on 12 June. With the fall of Chita, 7th Army objectives were again adjusted to keep the TSR clearance operation going.

475KFu.jpg

Major battles were fought for Romanovka, Telemba and Vershino Darasunskiy (all three from 12-15 June), each with heavy Soviet air support flown from Irkutsk and ending in Soviet victories. Meanwhile, Ust’ Karsk was retaken by Soviet forces on 13 June after the victory there the week before.

******

Supply around Tyrma and Suluk finally began to improve by 13 June, with the ‘blind spot’ moving a bit further west, into less critical provinces.

lFSJk8.jpg

Better supply in the east helped achieve victory in Elban (a defence from 13-15 June) despite heavy Japanese air support, which was finally discouraged by VVS interceptions on the afternoon and evening of 15 June.

Bttvx8.jpg

Gornoy (12 June) and Sarapulskoye (14 June) were both occupied by the Soviets without a fight. And 15 June Soviet probe on Dzhuen, which had been reoccupied by the Japanese two days before, was also quickly won.

On the diplomatic front, options were explored to implement policies that might help draw the Turks a little closer to Soviet influence. While and alliance or even non-aggression pact were still out of the question, Stalin could at least proclaim a guarantee of Turkish independence, which was given on 14 June.

t7DHWY.jpg

With Tokyo still holding out but Japan close to surrender, the remaining non-motorised Soviet divisions on Sakhalin were taking too long to get to Toyohara, where they might be loaded up and used for a final daring amphibious operation.

CecvyT.jpg

With Turkish domestic spies now thoroughly cowed, on 16 June a greater emphasis could be put on Communist Party support there (currently hovering on 9%) from 16 June.

Soviet attacks on Mildigun (18-19 June) and Byrka (18-21 June) were successful, both of which received heavy VVS air support that killed far more enemy than in the ground fighting.

******

News came through at 0800 hr on 16 June that the province of Chigasaki, due south of Tokyo, had been taken by the Allies after holding out for many days. The end there must surely be near.

This led the two Soviet fleets to set sail that day to rebase in Toyohara; the Red Banner Pacific Fleet brought the now worked-up marines of 2 DMP with them from Nikolaevsk na Amure. And another three INT wings were also ordered from Moscow to Toyohara, where one of the stockpiled radar installations was deployed.

0NdqHw.jpg

On their way into Toyohara, the Soviet fighters of 73 IAD were jumped by a single Japanese INT wing. The plane-for-plane superiority of the Japanese Ki-201 fighters over the Yak-15s led to a detailed comparison between the two to see what was giving them the edge. It was a night engagement, where superior Japanese radar gave them a decided advantage. Soviet training also lagged significantly, though this related more to morale and organisation.

92p3nI.jpg

The Soviet fleets (now the Red Banner Pacific Fleet and the re-named 2nd Pacific Battle Fleet) arrived in Toyohara on the afternoon of 17 June, with 57 MRD joining 2 DMP on the ships, ready for an amphibious raid as soon as it might be ordered.

But after previous problems, two INT wings were first sent to establish air superiority over Sapporo, where they were engaged by a single enemy CAG at 1700hr. There were two dogfights that evening, with both sides taking heavy damage. A carrier – probably the Kaga – and a couple of other minor flotillas were spotted in the port. No ground troops had been spotted.

Q3Yf2a.jpg

The 14th Air Wing was rested and air superiority mission was taken over by the recently arrived (and still partly damaged and disorganised) 73 IAD at 0100 hr on 18 June. They were unopposed this time over Sapporo, spotting more ships (mainly landing craft and transports) in the port.

PxWU48.jpg

This led to two NAV wings being ordered over from Voronezh in the West to the now very overcrowded Toyohara ‘bare base’. They were in place by 1300 hr on 19 June and immediately sent out to conduct a port strike on Sapporo, with 73 IAD still providing cover.

The first raid went in at 1400 hr and was intercepted by two Japanese CAG wings, both of which were already damaged. It was the Kaga they discovered in port, among others.

Ik2mDm.jpg

A second port strike was launched that night and this time was not intercepted, with one of the wings apparently taking a little AA damage. The Kaga had slipped away.

lxcTbi.jpg

With the fighters remaining on air superiority over Sapporo, the invasion fleets in Toyohara were put on alert.

******

But the order for another amphibious invasion attempt was never sent, because as the NAV bombers were returning to Toyohara word came through that Japan had surrendered to France. The ensuing peace settlement was a disaster for the Soviet Union – and, incidentally, very poor for the Nationalist Chinese too. Not only were none of the Soviet war goal claims honoured, but even the territory they had physically occupied on Sakhalin was lost as well.

zjCoGT.jpg

Manchukuo was now the leader of the Axis, with recently joined Afghanistan the only other member that was not a government in exile. A check of war goals confirmed that, as with Mengukuo and Japan, both the Soviets and France had goals of changing their governments and puppeting Manchukuo.

Japan was now a member of the Allies as a French puppet government – meaning all their remaining forces would now be available to fight for the Allies in due course. The Soviet plan had been for Japan – with its still appreciable navy – to be put under Soviet control. The puppeted Japan retained all its occupied Chinese and Korean territory – despite the Chinese having taken most of it by the time of the treaty.

All the Soviet land, sea and air units were forced to evacuate southern Sakhalin – and the Allies gain the benefit of the new air base and radar in Toyohara. The queued air base upgrade was soon cancelled, of course!

It did mean that, for the continuing fight against the Manchurians, with the recent clearance operations in the west the entire length of the TSR through to Vladivostok was again in Soviet hands.

BhpWnf.jpg

The Army HQs in the east were soon moving formations (many by strategic redeployment) to the new border, as Japanese divisions now made for neutral territory back to Japanese-controlled lands.

Si4WG7.jpg

The objectives of the 6th and 15th Armies were adjusted to the new situation.

1kOtee.jpg

Early on 21 June, all Soviet agents in Japan were switched to technical espionage. Their national unity had plummeted to around 30% after the Allied victory, so if they needed to be fought again it should not take too much to once again force a surrender: perhaps a nuke on Tokyo or another major centre may come in handy one day after all!

By 1500 hr on 21 June, the AI had overloaded Vladivostok, adding another nine wings to the five that had been transferred from Toyohara the day before, with 14 wings now jammed into a base with the capacity to repair ten. And they should come in handy later when the war was being brought to southern Manchuria.

At this time, the formations of the Caucasus Theatre HQ were still en route through Persia to the Afghan border – no combat had occurred or advances made by either side into opposing territory.

******

On 21 June, some fighting continued in the western sector against Manchurian forces. Byrka was liberated on 21 June and a Manchurian probe on occupation quickly halted. Munkhu Khany was similarly liberated and a Manchurian probe quickly defeated on 24 June. At this point, the western army objectives were also refined, with old defensive goals removed and the key centres of Manchuria targeted by one or both 1st and 7th Armies.

zocD7M.jpg

The same day, one sortie of VVS air support was provided for a Mongolian attack on Kharyata and another on Garbun Dzagal on 29 June. There was no other fighting or air action in either sector of the Far Eastern Front for the rest of the month.

By 25 June, a noticeable drop in supply demand allowed supply production to be cut back significantly. This freed up a significant amount of industrial capacity, which was soon diverted into spending for all three services (including a new class of submarine) and a new reserve air base.

m6d9f6.jpg

The focal points of fighting, mainly up to 20 June, are summarised below. Japanese (including Manchurian) casualties were massive by comparison to the Soviets, especially from VVS air raids.

z2pqpp.jpg

Combat and the resulting advances for June 1946 are shown above. Advances by the Soviets and Mongolian territory automatically liberated after the armistice with Japan are not recorded. The green and (for China) yellow lines show the front line as at 1 June, the blue line shows the new border as at the armistice on 20 June.

As the month ended, Soviet forces were still en route to the Afghan front.

1ybphw.jpg


******

Technical advances had progressed through the month, with the added bonus of a tech stolen from Japan on 29 June, only days after the agents had been instructed in that direction.

BXvHdV.jpg

NB: I’ll have to remember to research acoustic torpedoes next time a spare slot arises. Supply transportation was not persisted with, as it would have been a couple of years in advance. Fighter ground crew and pilot training will need to be persisted with, so too radar.

As at midnight on 1 July, the world’s first atomic bomb was completed and the next one commenced (30%/month). A new STRAT wing (4 DBAD) was ready to deploy, along with the five V1s and a remaining new radar station.

More foreign spies (42, topped by the UK with six) were captured in June than in any previous month since March 1944. In the four overseas missions, enemy spy strengths were run right down, the Soviets only losing two of their own in the process. The fall in Japanese NU was due to their surrender, with no Soviet action decreasing it this month. The NU effort on Manchuria did continue.

hkSEFG.jpg

Pleasingly, the earlier shift back to political influence in Turkey seems to have had a definite effect (from 9 to 12% Communist popularity). And even more intriguingly, Spanish Communist popularity rose from 0 to 3%, despite no action from Soviet spies at all! It may be that a renewed political effort there might be warranted in July.
 
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The peace treaty was such a massive shafting to us (and also to the NatChi)! Leaving those brand new radar station and airfield felt like a a thorn! I wish it was possible to dynamite them before handing over. Now we'll need to quickly finish the remnants of the Axis to focus on the Allies.

On the plus side (but shadowed by the Japanese surrender), we finally got the supply situation (and in turn airpower) fixed and started firing in (nearly) all cylinders.

By the way, the new builds still show airplanes with no jet engines. I thought we researched that, am I mistaken or is it still under research and not finished?
 
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Who will be the target for the first atomic bomb?
 
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Ah, the absolute shit peace system of HoI3 strikes yet again at everyone.
 
As noted at the end of the May 1946 chapter, 1 June saw the first Soviet A-Bomb 70% complete: it should be finished by 1 July.
Vur h--no, wait, wrong ATL...

I may have been spending too much time in the Bullfilterverse lately.

This came to the fore in Tyrma, when another Japanese offensive began on 6 June, with the Soviet defenders out of supply, lasting until 8 June. Fortunately, the VVS was able to provide heavy defensive air support again, with the Soviets emerging victorious. It ended up being the largest land battle in the Far East for the month: the Soviets lost 1,181 men killed, the Japanese 2,367 plus another 3,449 to air strikes on Bureya.
Those are some impressive casualty rates for vanilla HoI3!

By this time, Stalin was very concerned the Japanese were about to collapse – with the Allies likely to get the lion’s share of the territory. Two interceptor wings were transferred from Kaluga on the Western Front to the new air base at Toyohara early on 10 June. They were within range of Sapporo and could reach as far south as Akita on northern Honshu if required.
One can tell a madman by his repeated insistence on trying the same thing over and over again, assuring everyone it will totally work this time, for certain!

Supply around Tyrma and Suluk finally began to improve by 13 June, with the ‘blind spot’ moving a bit further west, into less critical provinces.

lFSJk8.jpg

Looks like the infrastructure improvements made in previous months are finally starting to have an effect as supply shifts towards the East.

On the diplomatic front, options were explored to implement policies that might help draw the Turks a little closer to Soviet influence. While and alliance or even non-aggression pact were still out of the question, Stalin could at least proclaim a guarantee of Turkish independence, which was given on 14 June.

t7DHWY.jpg

Less charitably known as announcing to the world that Turkey falls into the Soviet sphere of influence.

With Turkish domestic spies now thoroughly cowed,
Such statements present the jarring contrast between various ATLs, much to the diconcertment of the readership. :p


It was a night engagement, where superior Japanese radar gave them a decided advantage.
Words never before spoken.

But the order for another amphibious invasion attempt was never sent, because as the NAV bombers were returning to Toyohara word came through that Japan had surrendered to France.
Of course. Ah, well, probably wouldn't have gone very well anyways.

The ensuing peace settlement was a disaster for the Soviet Union – and, incidentally, very poor for the Nationalist Chinese too. Not only were none of the Soviet war goal claims honoured, but even the territory they had physically occupied on Sakhalin was lost as well.
Curse the name of perfidious France!

Frankly you'd at least have expected to get Sakhalin out of that deal, and most players not as committed to the iron laws of Paradox warfare would use the console to correct at least that critical oversight...

It did mean that, for the continuing fight against the Manchurians, with the recent clearance operations in the west the entire length of the TSR through to Vladivostok was again in Soviet hands.
Frankly, I imagine the Allies felt they were being generous by allowing Stalin to regain all that land he lost due to incompetence and not because of, I dunno, bleeding white on two fronts to hold back the Axis while the Allies mucked about for four years.

Early on 21 June, all Soviet agents in Japan were switched to technical espionage. Their national unity had plummeted to around 30% after the Allied victory, so if they needed to be fought again it should not take too much to once again force a surrender: perhaps a nuke on Tokyo or another major centre may come in handy one day after all!
This could be a good plan. A rapid nuclear assault against Japan with a puppet wargoal would hopefully quickly give the Soviets a respectable (?) Far East naval presence to hold the line against the overstretched Allies. At least distracting the Americans for long enough to Bagration the hell out of Germany and France.

The peace treaty was such a massive shafting to us (and also to the NatChi)! Leaving those brand new radar station and airfield felt like a a thorn! I wish it was possible to dynamite them before handing over. Now we'll need to quickly finish the remnants of the Axis to focus on the Allies.
Perhaps more comforting to realize how easily we can seize that province back and immediately have our air + radar capabilities ready to go, for as much use as those will be.

Ah, the absolute shit peace system of HoI3 strikes yet again at everyone.
There's a good reason a lot of authAARs who make it this far spend a couple days in the dev console flipping provinces around. Although our valiant authAAR will likely instead choose to soldier on, muttering something about "steel rules of argument" or something along those lines. :p
 
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The peace treaty was such a massive shafting to us (and also to the NatChi)! Leaving those brand new radar station and airfield felt like a a thorn! I wish it was possible to dynamite them before handing over. Now we'll need to quickly finish the remnants of the Axis to focus on the Allies.

On the plus side (but shadowed by the Japanese surrender), we finally got the supply situation (and in turn airpower) fixed and started firing in (nearly) all cylinders.

By the way, the new builds still show airplanes with no jet engines. I thought we researched that, am I mistaken or is it still under research and not finished?
This was certainly a blow to our Far East plans, to have Japan on our side if things came to blows with the Allies: ah well, another burden to bear for the bear!

Yes, jet engines are under research, will no doubt be a large upgrade cost when they are introduced.
 
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Loath as I am to defend Paradox, massive and bloody sacrifice to achieve absolutely nothing useful is an exceptionally Stalinist thing to do. S on that level the peace treaty had a level of karmic fairness that may not have originally been apparent. There is however never any excuse for France doing well.

Away from the main issues this did catch my eye;
It was a night engagement, where superior Japanese radar gave them a decided advantage. Soviet training also lagged significantly, though this related more to morale and organisation.

92p3nI.jpg
I do feel for the Soviet pilots. I imagine them climbing into the Yak-15 which quite clearly is a jet fighter, only to be told it does not have a Jet Engine. Instead it has a knock-off copy of a pre-war French V12 which wasn't very good in 1938, let alone 1946. However no-one complains (for they would then be shot as wreckers) and they try to take off. At which point the lack of propeller issue raises it's ugly head.

Frankly the Politburo should not be disappointed at their performance, they should be amazed the pilots even got them to fly at all.

Amusingly the Japanese side are equipped with Ki-201s which, despite the protestations of the info screen and indeed the pictures, actually was a jet fighter, one of the many Me-262 clones Japan was working on in 1945.
 
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Who will be the target for the first atomic bomb?
Good question. At this stage it’s still likely to be Germany, but Japan could still be a candidate. I don’t plan to waste one on Manchuria!
Ah, the absolute shit peace system of HoI3 strikes yet again at everyone.
Good summary! :mad:
Vur h--no, wait, wrong ATL...

I may have been spending too much time in the Bullfilterverse lately.
:D A huzzah in this case!? Or ourah?
Those are some impressive casualty rates for vanilla HoI3!
Some single air raids were killing around 650, though that was rare.
Looks like the infrastructure improvements made in previous months are finally starting to have an effect as supply shifts towards the East.
And there are quite a few more in the pipeline - which will now be largely redundant I suppose. Still, that was always likely one way or another.
Less charitably known as announcing to the world that Turkey falls into the Soviet sphere of influence.

Such statements present the jarring contrast between various ATLs, much to the diconcertment of the readership. :p
Concertment should always be dissed, just for the dramatic effect. :D
Words never before spoken.
Perhaps not! :D
Of course. Ah, well, probably wouldn't have gone very well anyways.
Although this time we at least had air superiority over the target area and its sea approaches. In any case, I’m assuming even a complete conquest of Hokkaido would have been immaterial anyway.
Curse the name of perfidious France!

Frankly you'd at least have expected to get Sakhalin out of that deal, and most players not as committed to the iron laws of Paradox warfare would use the console to correct at least that critical oversight...
I was very surprised I didn’t at least get that. Given what had happened in Poland and Romania in the west, for example, but there will have been some line of code somewhere ... :confused:
Frankly, I imagine the Allies felt they were being generous by allowing Stalin to regain all that land he lost due to incompetence and not because of, I dunno, bleeding white on two fronts to hold back the Axis while the Allies mucked about for four years.
The capitalist running dogs will get their kicking one day ... even if I discover the boot is soon on the other foot - especially given my vesting of AI army commanders with so much discretion. :eek:
This could be a good plan. A rapid nuclear assault against Japan with a puppet wargoal would hopefully quickly give the Soviets a respectable (?) Far East naval presence to hold the line against the overstretched Allies. At least distracting the Americans for long enough to Bagration the hell out of Germany and France.
The US AI seems to get distracted by moths flapping around a light bulb, so that could be right!
There's a good reason a lot of authAARs who make it this far spend a couple days in the dev console flipping provinces around. Although our valiant authAAR will likely instead choose to soldier on, muttering something about "steel rules of argument" or something along those lines. :p
I am at least considering forcing Japan to release Korea as a (still puppet) country, per the previous decolonisation policies of the French-led Allies. They can inherit the mess they’ve made in China, however.

And yes, I’ll consider Sakhalin to be another grudge against the imperialists. :D Iron Laws of Paradox and all that jazz ...
 
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Loath as I am to defend Paradox, massive and bloody sacrifice to achieve absolutely nothing useful is an exceptionally Stalinist thing to do. S on that level the peace treaty had a level of karmic fairness that may not have originally been apparent. There is however never any excuse for France doing well.
There is something to that argument! It did capture the zeitgeist of this game, ever since I switched to the Soviets, expecting a tough time, but ...
I do feel for the Soviet pilots. I imagine them climbing into the Yak-15 which quite clearly is a jet fighter, only to be told it does not have a Jet Engine. Instead it has a knock-off copy of a pre-war French V12 which wasn't very good in 1938, let alone 1946. However no-one complains (for they would then be shot as wreckers) and they try to take off. At which point the lack of propeller issue raises it's ugly head.
The irony was not lost on me - it would have been neat if they could have had different models and/or pictures depending on whether jet engines had been researched yet or not. But that would be expecting too much.
Frankly the Politburo should not be disappointed at their performance, they should be amazed the pilots even got them to fly at all.
True.
Amusingly the Japanese side are equipped with Ki-201s which, despite the protestations of the info screen and indeed the pictures, actually was a jet fighter, one of the many Me-262 clones Japan was working on in 1945.
Looks like they couldn’t be bothered sourcing a pic so just stuck with a generic one. Though the Japanese don’t have jet engines either, so at least it’s realistic.
Man, that peace arrangement sucks toads. I agree you should edit Sakhalin to be Soviet.
Ooh, I’m tempted, but I’ll just let it go for now and see if I can take my revenge in WW3!
 
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Cocertment should always be dissed, just for the dramatic effect. :D
I like the cut of your jib, sir.

The capitalist running dogs will get their kicking one day ... even if I discover the boot is soon on the other foot - especially given my vesting of AI army commanders with so much discretion. :eek:
Truly the single worst decision one can make, although of course poor decision makes for far more interesting viewing.

Looks like they couldn’t be bothered sourcing a pic so just stuck with a generic one. Though the Japanese don’t have jet engines either, so at least it’s realistic.
I believe the game is supposed to be set up to work this way, but I can't recall if it actually works, or if it does whether or not Paradox bothered to properly set the default images for everything as this would have required them to do actual work.
 
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Yes, jet engines are under research, will no doubt be a large upgrade cost when they are introduced.
Have we researched the one-time tech droptanks? Also let's try keeping other types of fuel tanks current as well, the jet engine is great but will hurt range a bit (by less than half a level of fuel tank tech for each level of jet engine tech)
 
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I like the cut of your jib, sir.
I'll let my tailor know of this handsome compliment! Without dissing his concert. ;)
Truly the single worst decision one can make, although of course poor decision makes for far more interesting viewing.
Using reverse logic, it was a great decision meant to make it even harder to play, adding another de-buff to an already difficult hand. But I didn't quite want to live in quite so interesting times. What's done is done, iron laws, solemn undertakings to myself and the readership, etc. Though this undertaking could bring on the undertaker for the Soviets!
I believe the game is supposed to be set up to work this way, but I can't recall if it actually works, or if it does whether or not Paradox bothered to properly set the default images for everything as this would have required them to do actual work.
The Paradoxian Law of HOI3 (I think it's been proven and the experiment repeated enough times to no longer be a theory :D )
Have we researched the one-time tech droptanks? Also let's try keeping other types of fuel tanks current as well, the jet engine is great but will hurt range a bit (by less than half a level of fuel tank tech for each level of jet engine tech)
Yes, we have drop tanks and will keep doing longer range techs when 'in time'. I think I'll need the performance edge more than the range though, as I'm afraid what the Allied (incl German) air forces will have by the time I'm tangling with them.
 
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Though this undertaking could bring on the undertaker for the Soviets!
You've been on a roll lately, which I suspect is attributable largely to spite at the l'audace of the French, as is the way of the world.
 
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Now the Soviet Union really has a casus belli against the Allies. The Red Army fought long and hard against the Japanese, and all they got was.. nothing, not even Sakhalin, or a sliver of Machuria. At this point, the only way for the Soviet regime to survive this is to go on the offensive against those greedy western imperialists who failed to reward the valiant sacrifices of the Soviet people. In other words: nuke... them... all. I'm looking forward to the titanic struggle to come.
 
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The next session is played and images edited - now for a quick write-up. Feedback for the most recent comments:
You've been on a roll lately, which I suspect is attributable largely to spite at the l'audace of the French, as is the way of the world.
Wait till you see the next episode - rolls (baguettes?), the French and l'audace will feature prominently. But for good or ill? Hmm, that is the question ...
Now the Soviet Union really has a casus belli against the Allies. The Red Army fought long and hard against the Japanese, and all they got was.. nothing, not even Sakhalin, or a sliver of Machuria. At this point, the only way for the Soviet regime to survive this is to go on the offensive against those greedy western imperialists who failed to reward the valiant sacrifices of the Soviet people. In other words: nuke... them... all. I'm looking forward to the titanic struggle to come.
Oh yeah. All that fighting (including what went on before I took them over as well) only to have the Allies come in and grab it all at the end. <gnashes teeth>

With only one nuke completed at the moment, I'll need some time to build some more. How many do people reckon I'd need to take Germany down, for starters? I'm not sure of the morale effect of them when dropped. Is it more if dropped on a larger VP city, or a flat rate?
 
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Believe it to be a flat rate, and that the first hits the hardest. Subsequent nukes do less NU damage.
 
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Chapter 29 – July 1946
Chapter 29 – July 1946

Foreword


Not enough fighting in this one to warrant a separate battle summary map, will just go with ordinary screenshots to tell the story this time. Without further ado, let’s get into it, shall we?

******

1 July

The month began with the Japanese withdrawing from formerly occupied Soviet territory and the Soviets approaching the new border with Manchuria in the east. Most of Mongolia had been liberated by the end of June. The Soviets had their first nuke fully completed as at 1 July. Delivery was taken of a new strategic bomber wing (4 . DBAD, L3 model) in Moscow.

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3 July

Medium tank guns were improved to level 6, with medium tank armour being the next project started (a visual monthly tech summary is provided later).

4 July

At 0900hr, the first Soviet division crossed into north-eastern Manchukuo at Fuyuan (just across from Khabarovsk).

5 July

A couple of Soviet spies had been apprehended in first five days of July, both to non-Japanese agents who were now helping them (Japan still had no agents of their own at that point), leaving eight in-country, all assigned to tech espionage. It was decided to stop sending any more into Japan, allowing the presence there to run down. The Spanish operation was switched back to 2/3 Communist Party support, 1/3 counter-espionage.

6 July

The Afghan Army made a sortie, occupying the Soviet frontier province of Kala I Mor, just north of Herat.

7 July

The Soviets attacked a Manchurian division in Gen He (north-western Manchukuo) in a battle that would end in a Soviet defeat on 9 July, with 442 Soviet and 363 Manchurian troops killed.

8 July

The spies in Japan stole some blueprints for coal to oil conversion, though lost another agent doing it.

In Central Asia, the Caucasus Theatre’s lead elements had closed up to the western Afghan border by that afternoon, with more on the way, but the northern border was still sparsely manned.

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10 July

By 1100hr, divisions of the 6th and 15th Armies had made more inroads into north-eastern Manchukuo and were so far unopposed. Their primary objective was Harbin (4 VP), the other key city being Mukden (2 VP). Also, the [AI] army commanders had crowded Vladivostok with air wings – though some were Japanese outfits that had yet to evacuate [didn’t check how many at the time]!

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11 July

A short battle to retake Kala I Mor on the Afghan border was fought, the Soviet victory costing only one soldier, the Afghans losing 133.

13 July

After more spy casualties, the mission in Japan was down to six teams.

A new transport flotilla joined 2nd Pacific Battle Fleet in Nikolayevsk na Amure, just in time to travel with the Pacific fleets to concentrate in Okha, where the bulk of the dedicated amphibious force would soon arrive after being forced out of southern Sakhalin. They would be on immediate notice to redeploy south, for an amphibious landing in southern Manchukuo, to then strike north to Mukden.

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That night, the drive on Harbin was progressing well, still without any opposition.

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14 July

The day began with a new production project, one of five between then and 25 July as new units were deployed and supply demand continued to fall rapidly.

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And noting the submarine production cost and time came down with the second flotilla.

Then late on 14 July, a diplomatic cable from Paris to Moscow announced a development that changed everything in the east – again.

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15 July

The danger to Soviet interests of the Japanese entry into the war against Manchukuo for the Allies was soon obvious. Their units that had been transiting back through Manchukuo under truce now became active belligerents – mostly as French expeditionary forces! It also built a ‘wall’ of impassable French-controlled provinces in the path of the Soviet units driving on Harbin.

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In the south, there was an Allied occupied pocket next to Mukden and two viable ports to supply the planned Soviet naval invasion – which was now even more urgent than before.

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By that time, the four divisions of the amphibious corps had reached Okha and were loaded up. They would rebase to Vladivostok, then immediately set off for their next attempt at an amphibious invasion – against a country with no know navy or air force!

Kah I Mor was retaken by the Soviet 9th Tank Div at 1800hr. At that time in the east, 15th Army was given orders to try to ‘shoot the gap’ to Harbin, through a narrowing corridor between Allied-controlled territory.

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An attack began that night on Tamsog Baluk (in Mongolia) and had been won by the Soviets by early the next morning (30 Soviet and 124 Manchurian casualties).

And at 2300hr, the Afghans took another Soviet border province – Tagtbazar, to the north-east of Kala I Mor.

16 July

Bad news came at 1300hr, with Allied forces (nationality unknown) seizing one of the two ports south of Mukden – Dandong, on the border with Japanese-controlled Korea. There was a range of mountains between there and Mukden anyway which would have slowed the advance, and another port south-west of Mukden: these would be the target of the approach naval landings.

At 1900hr, the two fleets arrived in Vladivostok and set off again for the invasion beaches, having (instantaneously) rebased closer to their target: The open terrain of Dawa, on the quickest route to Mukden.

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17 July

An attack on Yituhile (northern Manchuria) began at 1600hr, with three Soviet divisions (tanks, mechanised and motorised) attacking a single dug-in Manchurian infantry division. The battle would be the largest conducted in the east for the month, lasting three days until the Soviets triumphed on 19 July (171 Soviet, 1,569 Manchurian casualties).

At 1500hr, Nancha was taken, but so too had Anda – by the Allies. The gap was now just one province wide, with the Japanese Allied troops marching to close it and the Soviets still two provinces away.

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18 July

6th Army had simultaneously been ordered to make a desperate and very unlikely hook around the southern end of the ‘Allied fence’, but their lead units were still not in position on the approach from Vladivostok.

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And that night, the naval invasion of Dawa began. The idea was to then strike north to take Mukden using the supplies they brought ashore with them, while sending one division west to take Huludao for a resupply base. Later developments would cause the 1st Marine Corps commander, LTGEN Ivanov, to wish he’d thought of sending one of the divisions directly ashore to Huludao in a separate landing. But perhaps it wouldn't make any difference.

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19 July

The Soviets began an attack to liberate Tagtabazar from the impudent Afghan Fascists that evening. It would last until the following morning, with the Soviets winning (114 Soviet, 111 Afghan casualties). This would prove to be the last combat action on either front for the rest of the month. None of the battles had received any VVS air support, which must have been either out of range or deemed unnecessary.

20 July

The Soviet troops were all ashore (except for the corps HQ, which would follow) in Dawa early that morning. They quickly fanned out to their respective objectives. And duly noted Allied forces had made progress from the border of Japanese-occupied China, now closing in towards Huludao.

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21 July

A day later, the northern approach to Harbin had been cut off by the Allies at Daqing. The only remote chance was a ‘hook’ from the south. But that corridor was long, narrow and no Soviet troops were nearby, while the Japanese EFs were within easy striking distance of Harbin.

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In the south, it was a close race to see who could seize Huludao first. In a ‘double-play’, the Red Banner Pacific Fleet sailed from Nikolaevsk na Amure, where they had returned to pick up the follow-up force of three more divisions. In the unlikely event they may be able to get Huludao before either Allied or Soviet ground forces.

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22 July

Submarine interdiction doctrine was improved to level 3, allowing unrestricted submarine warfare doctrine to be researched.

23 July

Then the mission in Japan came up with another – this time rather useful – tech coup. As it happened, this would be the last new tech discovered for the month.

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After this second success for the month and with seven spare spy teams in reserve, a decision was taken to reinvest in the Japanese tech mission after all, even though Soviet strength there was down to only four. One way or another, Manchukuo would soon be out of the war and the mission there would no longer need to be maintained.

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Espionage training was raised from 1.00 to 1.23 LS, at the expense of diplomacy, which was reduced from 10.32 to 10.10 LS (ten of those being used for foreign influence missions).

The Allies yet again showed they were a step ahead of the plodding Soviet war machine when Japanese marines to Huludao at 0700hr. On the positive side, Soviet marines arrived in Liaozhong two hours later and began the river crossing to Mukden.

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Not that it would be ready for another 104 days, but work on a new deployable naval base was started at 0900hr. Recent events had shown one could be very handy in any future Soviet naval landing where a local port could not be secured.

24 July

A lot more IC was being progressively freed up from supply production and the completion of a new ‘heavy’ tank division (1 x ARM, 3 x MECH, 1 x SPART deployed on the German border) on 27 July, and now it was the turn of the Red Army to place a bagfull of new units into the production queue from 24 to 27 July. All three ‘fast’ divisions were designed for breakthrough operations in Europe.

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25 July

By 1500hr, Harbin had been sealed off by the Allies on three sides, with now no hope for the 6th or 15th Armies to breakthrough from the east, while the western armies were still many hundreds of kilometres distant.

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Two hours later, having just missed on taking Huludao and with units beginning to run out of supplies, the long-denied marines of 1 DMP finally had their moment in the sun: Mukden was taken!

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26 July

The inevitable happened at 2300hr on the 26th: the Allies marched into Harbin.

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27 July

It only took one hour for Manchukuo, the latest (and least) of the leaders of the Axis so far, to surrender unconditionally.

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And once again, the Soviets were shafted by the settlement, forced to surrender all the territory they had seized to that point, not even getting a consolation prize. [At this point it occurred to me that perhaps @Wraith11B had hacked into my game with one of his 18 spare computers and was running the French remotely, such was their ability to forestall my every move :D.]

The Allies would get All the Manchurian territory and remaining ground forces, creating a large and difficult barrier for any potential Soviet attempt to get to Korea and China in a future war against the Capitalist-Imperialist Pig-Dogs! [And I'm still wondering why, unlike say in Romania when the French got their slice, the Soviets don't get to keep any of the territory they seized when the peace came.]

The now evicted 1st Marine Corps was put on trucks and began streaming east to Vladivostok, as the Allies would not grant them any nearby port access.

28 July


At 0100hr, Ethiopia finally gave up its status as a government-in-exile and formally surrendered to France, which installed a democratic regime and brought them into the Allies as well.

Then the Soviets retook the briefly-occupied Tagtabazar on the border with Afghanistan at 1000hr.

29 July

The rapidly dwindling Axis lost another government-in-exile when Finland surrendered to the Soviet Union at 0200hr. They were given the unalloyed benefits of a Communist government and brought into the Comintern. At last, a small Soviet diplomatic victory!

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But it was very far from a New Comintern World Order!

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I’m beginning to wonder whether it is even remotely possible, even with nukes. But we’ll try, anyway! Though if the eastern campaign is anything to go by, we’ll get absolutely pasted.

At 0300hr, another naval base was put in the queue: optimists in the Navy and Marines thought they might one day need them in a future War in the East.

31 July

Afghanistan was now left as the sole Axis member. And they were only at war with the Comintern. This apparently led (rather ironically and/or humorously) to the US Government decided to give the USSR a massive boost in lend lease! It increased from around 70 IC to 183.7 IC over night! This raised Soviet IC to a total of 514, from 400, at a time when supply demand was at all-time lows, upgrades were around 37 IC and consumer goods about 31 IC and reinforcement requirements minimal.

A massive production program was therefore commenced, for as long the US was prepared to bankroll it. Three more divisions and a deployable heavy AA battery were started for the Army.

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The VVS got a mix of three wings while the navy got another flotilla of submarines.

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The month ended with units making for their new defensive lines in the east and no new battles in Afghanistan.

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******

Intelligence Summary

The intel situation saw Soviet spy numbers one under their required strength, with none in reserve, having lost nine teams in Japan during the month, five to Allied collaborators working for the Japanese police and four to the locals. National unity in Japan and Manchukuo were no longer being monitored. Tech remained the target in Japan while a new mission focus would need to be found for Manchukuo (currently split 50/50 between counter-espionage and disrupting NU).

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Despite Soviet efforts (renewed in Spain) there was no change to Communist support in either Turkey or Spain. Foreign spies caught infiltrating the USSR had fallen from the high of June back to 31 in July.

******

Diplomatic Situation

Afghanistan remained at war, but only with the Soviets, Mongolia and Sinkiang (Romania, Persia and Finland remained uncommitted). Turkish alignment was under 100 distant from the Comintern, but still well off the 50 required to invite them to join. The Allies were now influencing Xibei San Ma, but were not yet trying to do so with the Guanxi Clique of Yunnan.

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In terms of a potential future war with the Allies, the Western frontier spanned the border with the various Western European Allied puppets (Sweden being neutral). In the Middle East and Central Asia, Turkey was neutral, while Allied puppets Iraq and Pakistan bordered Comintern member Persia and of course the anti-Fascist war continued with Afghanistan.

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In the East, the Soviet Union was back to ‘square one’, the old frontier with the Asian Axis partners now replaced with Allied puppets in Mengukuo (via Mongolia), Manchukuo and Japanese-occupied Korea and the land border with Japan in Sakhalin.

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All these theatres would need to be considered in a new war with the West. As would the best place to position strategic bombers for nuclear strikes on major front-line enemies, such as Japan and Germany.
 
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