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As 1942 began, socialism was riding boldly forward on every front. The decadent western powers had no answer for the Red Army's post-modern military. Within weeks, Spain had fallen under the Soviet hoof:
This opened the road to Gibraltar, sealing the western end of the Mediterranean from Allied ships, while in the east, Soviet cavalry had forded the Suez canal and were moving into Cairo:
These advances meant that; under the guidance of that great Hero of the Soviet Union, Levchenko of Arabia; the peoples of Iraq, Syria and Egypt were able to declare their independence from the exploitative and decadent rule of the western allies.
This success was particularly pleasing to Stalin, due to the well-known Arabian love of cavalry units, though he felt that their suggestion to introduce "Camelry" was dangerously revisionist.
Meanwhile, an increasingly bedraggled and hungry gaggle of French units had been holding out in Copenhagen, despite being cut off from any meaningful supply of food or ammunition. Now, as elite Soviet divisions swept the last remnants of Allied forces from Sweden and Norway, the Copenhagen garrison surrendered.
Seeking Scandinavian support and supplies, Stalin started a satellite state. Seriously!
Although the creation of the autonomous Socialist Scandinavian Republic created some unrest among the party faithful, it did little to dent the Red Army's success in the field: mainly because on many fronts the fighting was all but over. Soviet forces dominated Europe, with her satellite states now contributing to the war effort, even if they still didn't seem to have grasped the military superiority of cavalry:
The only blemish on Soviet successes was that an invasion of the United Kingdom seemed impossible, due both to the strength of the Allied navies, and the number of divisions piled up like tottering skyscrapers in militarily useless locations like Cornwall. Even the Red Navy enjoyed some successes however, once the difficulties of loading horses onto submarines was overcome.
With the Allied war effort almost non-existent outside of India, and slow but steady progress continuing in Manchuria, Stalin decided that he could afford to establish more Soviet satellites. These socialist nations would not be allowed to handle foreign affairs matters, of course: after all, the only nations with whom they could have contact were run by enemies of the revolution, and therefore any interaction would smack of anti-social(ist) wrecking.
Besides, once India finally fell and peace was signed he'd probably have to give back a bunch of territory to the west, and anything he'd claimed for puppets would stay under his control.
Thus were created the proud new states of Indochina:
And Flanders:
This opened the road to Gibraltar, sealing the western end of the Mediterranean from Allied ships, while in the east, Soviet cavalry had forded the Suez canal and were moving into Cairo:
These advances meant that; under the guidance of that great Hero of the Soviet Union, Levchenko of Arabia; the peoples of Iraq, Syria and Egypt were able to declare their independence from the exploitative and decadent rule of the western allies.
This success was particularly pleasing to Stalin, due to the well-known Arabian love of cavalry units, though he felt that their suggestion to introduce "Camelry" was dangerously revisionist.
Meanwhile, an increasingly bedraggled and hungry gaggle of French units had been holding out in Copenhagen, despite being cut off from any meaningful supply of food or ammunition. Now, as elite Soviet divisions swept the last remnants of Allied forces from Sweden and Norway, the Copenhagen garrison surrendered.
Seeking Scandinavian support and supplies, Stalin started a satellite state. Seriously!
Although the creation of the autonomous Socialist Scandinavian Republic created some unrest among the party faithful, it did little to dent the Red Army's success in the field: mainly because on many fronts the fighting was all but over. Soviet forces dominated Europe, with her satellite states now contributing to the war effort, even if they still didn't seem to have grasped the military superiority of cavalry:
The only blemish on Soviet successes was that an invasion of the United Kingdom seemed impossible, due both to the strength of the Allied navies, and the number of divisions piled up like tottering skyscrapers in militarily useless locations like Cornwall. Even the Red Navy enjoyed some successes however, once the difficulties of loading horses onto submarines was overcome.
With the Allied war effort almost non-existent outside of India, and slow but steady progress continuing in Manchuria, Stalin decided that he could afford to establish more Soviet satellites. These socialist nations would not be allowed to handle foreign affairs matters, of course: after all, the only nations with whom they could have contact were run by enemies of the revolution, and therefore any interaction would smack of anti-social(ist) wrecking.
Besides, once India finally fell and peace was signed he'd probably have to give back a bunch of territory to the west, and anything he'd claimed for puppets would stay under his control.
Thus were created the proud new states of Indochina:
And Flanders:
Stalin celebrated the New Year 1943 by getting absolutely schnockered on vodka with General Semyon Budyonny, the renowned Soviet general and a fellow horse enthusiast.
"This new breed of horses are some of the strongest we've ever had." Budyonny assured the Great Stalin. "With them, we are unbeatable."
Thus assured, Stalin was able to turn his full attention to comparing moustache growing techniques with Budyonny, for that was most definitely one of the General's other talents.
Budyonny's forecast of victory quickly proved accurate. Even equipped with their inferior non-Collectivised horses, the Soviet Union's middle eastern allies were quickly asserting their dominance over the decadent western puppets of the Arabian peninsula.
Eventually, the string of defeats became all too much for the western democracies. Realising that their strategic bombers, mechanised vehicles and other fandangled modern weapons of war were no substitute for good old Soviet courage, determination and a really fast horse, the British, French and Americans offered terms.
On the whole, these terms were acceptable to Stalin, though he pouted mightily over being forced to return almost all of metropolitan France to the Allies.
"We conquered it!" he complained, "It's ours! Our precious!"
However in the end, the promise of domination over India (marvellous curries) won out over the change to keep France (don't they eat snails?).
This is not to say that Stalin let the deal signed by his diplomats go completely unchanged. They'd neglected to include certain provinces under Soviet control, in most cases because they'd probably never heard of them before.
There were in all three key changes that Stalin made to the peace treaty, in what became known as the "Extremely Urgent Gains" or "EUG" edits.
Firstly, the people of Spain rightly demanded that Gibraltar, conquered during the course of the war, finally be returned to them.
Second, Stalin thought the borders between France and his newly-created client states in Europe were ridiculous (mainly because there were French provinces cut off behind his lines, like Lech and Liege).
Finally, he insisted that the Arabian Federation (great horse lovers that they were) be allowed to keep all the lands they had conquered during the war.
Stalin also announced that Polo would now be the national Soviet sport, and be required to be played at every Olympic Games, but most people didn't take that terribly seriously. Then he purged a few people, and they started to.
The defeat of the west did not mean that the Red Army was bereft of enemies, however. Not only did the perfidious Japanese menace still fester in the east, but the Soviet Union and her allies were still opposed in the western hemisphere by the mighty alliance of Peru, Honduras and Venezuela.
Venezwherela?
Even as the EUG Articles were being agreed, news reached Moscow of the latest development in this matter.
Venezuelan troops had invaded Spanish Africa, despite the efforts of a nearby Communist Chinese fleet to prevent their landings.
And you thought an army of all Cavalry was a silly idea!
"This new breed of horses are some of the strongest we've ever had." Budyonny assured the Great Stalin. "With them, we are unbeatable."
Thus assured, Stalin was able to turn his full attention to comparing moustache growing techniques with Budyonny, for that was most definitely one of the General's other talents.
Budyonny's forecast of victory quickly proved accurate. Even equipped with their inferior non-Collectivised horses, the Soviet Union's middle eastern allies were quickly asserting their dominance over the decadent western puppets of the Arabian peninsula.
Eventually, the string of defeats became all too much for the western democracies. Realising that their strategic bombers, mechanised vehicles and other fandangled modern weapons of war were no substitute for good old Soviet courage, determination and a really fast horse, the British, French and Americans offered terms.
On the whole, these terms were acceptable to Stalin, though he pouted mightily over being forced to return almost all of metropolitan France to the Allies.
"We conquered it!" he complained, "It's ours! Our precious!"
However in the end, the promise of domination over India (marvellous curries) won out over the change to keep France (don't they eat snails?).
This is not to say that Stalin let the deal signed by his diplomats go completely unchanged. They'd neglected to include certain provinces under Soviet control, in most cases because they'd probably never heard of them before.
There were in all three key changes that Stalin made to the peace treaty, in what became known as the "Extremely Urgent Gains" or "EUG" edits.
Firstly, the people of Spain rightly demanded that Gibraltar, conquered during the course of the war, finally be returned to them.
Second, Stalin thought the borders between France and his newly-created client states in Europe were ridiculous (mainly because there were French provinces cut off behind his lines, like Lech and Liege).
Finally, he insisted that the Arabian Federation (great horse lovers that they were) be allowed to keep all the lands they had conquered during the war.
Stalin also announced that Polo would now be the national Soviet sport, and be required to be played at every Olympic Games, but most people didn't take that terribly seriously. Then he purged a few people, and they started to.
The defeat of the west did not mean that the Red Army was bereft of enemies, however. Not only did the perfidious Japanese menace still fester in the east, but the Soviet Union and her allies were still opposed in the western hemisphere by the mighty alliance of Peru, Honduras and Venezuela.
Venezwherela?
Even as the EUG Articles were being agreed, news reached Moscow of the latest development in this matter.
Venezuelan troops had invaded Spanish Africa, despite the efforts of a nearby Communist Chinese fleet to prevent their landings.
And you thought an army of all Cavalry was a silly idea!
Akaki said:
It may depend upon the order oif release but it may also be the EUG.
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Haha well, what can I say. Collectivised horses beat everything every time.
I wasn't thinking about game mechanics. It's just that Wallonia is a French-speaking region...
The French were lucky to get their own country back, let alone any ex-bits of Belgium (a state which no longer exists). 
Yes. SMEP has an event to give the USSR the option of peace with the Allies once they've captured either:
* all of Afghanistan and India; or
* London
You can continue the war if you wish (there's no negative for doing so) but it suited my strategic goals to end the conflict with the Allies.
For now.
* all of Afghanistan and India; or
* London
You can continue the war if you wish (there's no negative for doing so) but it suited my strategic goals to end the conflict with the Allies.
For now.
woo you sank a carrier! with all those puppets, youre gonna get alot of non calvary divs or did you change the ai files?
with all those puppets, youre gonna get alot of non calvary divs or did you change the ai files?I've tweaked most of my puppets' build strategies in the save game. Most have at least some CAV in their queue now (the Arab Federation has particularly high %). Those with high IC (e.g. Arabs, ChiCom, DDR, Scandinavia, India) also have air units and/or ships added to their strategies.
Hence the ChiCom destroyer floating off the west coast of Africa. I probably need to add some sea zones to their "ignore" lists next time I do that.
Hence the ChiCom destroyer floating off the west coast of Africa. I probably need to add some sea zones to their "ignore" lists next time I do that.
Stalin contemplated his next move. The war in the west was over, and the war in the east could not be far behind. Soviet and Chinese forces were now pushing into Korea, which was Japan's last stronghold on mainland Asia.
There was also some rumour of the western democracies fighting the Japanese, but Stalin suspected this was merely American or British propaganda.
While it was gratifying to have beaten up both the west and east; at the same time, no less; Stalin was acutely aware that a substantial part of the Soviet populace was unhappy with his decision to establish "independent" (ha!) client states. Having a war to fight kept those malcontents distracted. Of course, there was always the Counter-Revolutionary South American Alliance of Doom. But that wasn't really a challenge now was it? No: the Red Army needed a real tough nut to crack.
Well, maybe not all that tough.
During Stalin's war with the Allies, he had often opined that it was a good thing Mussolini didn't join the war. The Red Army had been able to focus its entire energy on defeating the French and British while massive numbers of Italian troops simply loitered in the Alps, drinking espresso and eating pasta.
Mmmmm, pasta.
After all, any country too timid to strike when its enemies were already fully engaged in a multi-front war didn't deserve to be left alive. Besides, Stalin had heard that Mussolini looked at him funny.
The war with Italy proved short and not terribly impressive. The Red Army swarmed through Italian-controlled and undefended Greece, Libya and Ethiopia without a fight. In Italy itself, the war was something of a stalemate. Soviet troops took Venice, got pushed out of it again by the Italian Army – which had some hundred divisions in the area – captured it again, lost it again, captured it again, lost it ... there was no telling how long this might have gone on. Fortunately, Stalin had far more stomach for war than il Dunce, or whatever it was Mussolini called himself. The Soviet leader sternly told Mussolini that peace would not return until Italy had joined the Soviet International Brotherhood. Immediately, the Italian leader capitulated, more than willing to forgo his powers of international diplomacy provided he was given back his African holdings, which had been overrun while Venice was changing hands repeatedly. Graciously, Stalin accepted this surrender.
Speaking of surrender, the Japanese also gave up. Manchuria was annexed to its rightful Chinese controllers, while Korea was separated into two countries: one corrupt and capitalist, one courageous and communist. What could possibly go wrong with an idea like that?
With all his major foes defeated or forced into alliance, Stalin turned at last to the task of punishing his most perfidious and egregious enemies. The vile war-mongers who had insulted himself and the Soviet Union.
The War of South American Liberation was about to begin!
Game Notes: Honestly, the Italians were probably slightly stronger than me in the Venetian area. I was having to do flanking attacks to keep them from pushing out of Italy. I declared war too soon, with my dissent still too high after the liberations. I can only assume that the AI agreed to puppet status because Italy had lost all its African VPs and Albania.
On another note, thank goodness the Venezuelans decided to send their divisions to fight the Spanish in Africa: they left a nice empty beach behind for me to invade. Empty beaches are pretty much the only way Cavalry can get ashore.
There was also some rumour of the western democracies fighting the Japanese, but Stalin suspected this was merely American or British propaganda.
While it was gratifying to have beaten up both the west and east; at the same time, no less; Stalin was acutely aware that a substantial part of the Soviet populace was unhappy with his decision to establish "independent" (ha!) client states. Having a war to fight kept those malcontents distracted. Of course, there was always the Counter-Revolutionary South American Alliance of Doom. But that wasn't really a challenge now was it? No: the Red Army needed a real tough nut to crack.
Well, maybe not all that tough.
During Stalin's war with the Allies, he had often opined that it was a good thing Mussolini didn't join the war. The Red Army had been able to focus its entire energy on defeating the French and British while massive numbers of Italian troops simply loitered in the Alps, drinking espresso and eating pasta.
Mmmmm, pasta.
After all, any country too timid to strike when its enemies were already fully engaged in a multi-front war didn't deserve to be left alive. Besides, Stalin had heard that Mussolini looked at him funny.
The war with Italy proved short and not terribly impressive. The Red Army swarmed through Italian-controlled and undefended Greece, Libya and Ethiopia without a fight. In Italy itself, the war was something of a stalemate. Soviet troops took Venice, got pushed out of it again by the Italian Army – which had some hundred divisions in the area – captured it again, lost it again, captured it again, lost it ... there was no telling how long this might have gone on. Fortunately, Stalin had far more stomach for war than il Dunce, or whatever it was Mussolini called himself. The Soviet leader sternly told Mussolini that peace would not return until Italy had joined the Soviet International Brotherhood. Immediately, the Italian leader capitulated, more than willing to forgo his powers of international diplomacy provided he was given back his African holdings, which had been overrun while Venice was changing hands repeatedly. Graciously, Stalin accepted this surrender.
Speaking of surrender, the Japanese also gave up. Manchuria was annexed to its rightful Chinese controllers, while Korea was separated into two countries: one corrupt and capitalist, one courageous and communist. What could possibly go wrong with an idea like that?
With all his major foes defeated or forced into alliance, Stalin turned at last to the task of punishing his most perfidious and egregious enemies. The vile war-mongers who had insulted himself and the Soviet Union.
The War of South American Liberation was about to begin!
Game Notes: Honestly, the Italians were probably slightly stronger than me in the Venetian area. I was having to do flanking attacks to keep them from pushing out of Italy. I declared war too soon, with my dissent still too high after the liberations. I can only assume that the AI agreed to puppet status because Italy had lost all its African VPs and Albania.
On another note, thank goodness the Venezuelans decided to send their divisions to fight the Spanish in Africa: they left a nice empty beach behind for me to invade. Empty beaches are pretty much the only way Cavalry can get ashore.
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Stalin woke up with a hangover. He'd had a few too many vodkas the evening before, and ended up having a very strange night: he dreamed he'd spent a long weekend in Melbourne, then a week helping his father with the family business. And also a week or two just goofing off and watching DVDs, which was a real anachronism in 1946.
Clearly, such inefficient use of his time could not be allowed to continue. So he declared war on Portugal.
This seemed as good a way as any to celebrate the Red Army's rapid conquest of Venzuela (that'll teach those South Americans!).
As always, however, Stalin was generous in his (inevitable) victory. Rather than simply annexing the reactionary and antiquated Portuguese nation, he allowed the freedom-loving Socialist workers of this region to finally take charge of their destiny. This new socialist government immediately demonstrated their commitment to freedom by handing over a small portion of Africa to the newly established People's Republic of Congo. The Congans (Congites?) had refused to get organised without it. It's possible this was even the real reason for the war.
Unfortunately, the rapid defeat of Portugal and Venezuela did spoil the ambitious Scandinavian Plot to annex East Timor (at least, Stalin assumed that was the Scandinavian Navy's reason for puttering around South-East Asia). Points for thinking outside the box though, Scandinavians!
These victories left Stalin with only Peru and Honduras as enemies. Both nations now seemed keen for peace, but the Soviet dictator knew he could not trust rogue nations such as these, who had declared war on the peace-loving Soviet people without cause or provocation.
Actually, he probably couldn't trust any Central Americans. Best to deal with them all.
Although not sure whether Mexico qualified as Central or Northern America, Stalin decided to play it safe.
Towards the end of the year, Stalin was pleased to learn that Soviet Science had further improved the already dominant military force of Cavalry. It's true, the new horses looked rather odd, but he'd heard good things about their performance.
A few more months ticked by, and as Red Army units very sloooooooooooooooowely advanced in Peru, Stalin got bored and declared war with the Allies. The non-aggression pact had lapsed, and he had all these units with nothing better to do.
Belize and the Panama Canal were quickly overrun, and Stalin celebrated by establishing a new Soviet Republic of Central America.
Meanwhile, although France was falling as quickly as it had the time before, the Red Army was finding it very difficult to get ashore in the UK. But Stalin had an answer to the problem.
Within weeks, the United Kingdom, which had stood inviolate through two previous wars, was no more. Metropolitan France had also been swept aside.
With Africa and Asia also a part of the ever-growing Socialist Bloc, only a few reactionary regimes were left. It would be many more months before the last remnants of despised capitalism were extinguished, but their defeat was inevitable.
After all, the historical dialectic said so.
Game Notes: The Central American Union was a country I created myself, mainly to see how it was done. I added an event that halved the country's IC after it was created, since otherwise it was way too strong. After the halving, the CAU was about equal to Mexico.
After winning the war in Europe and the UK, I decided to call the game. It was beginning to run very slowly, and becoming more of a chore to play than it was fun.
Clearly, such inefficient use of his time could not be allowed to continue. So he declared war on Portugal.
This seemed as good a way as any to celebrate the Red Army's rapid conquest of Venzuela (that'll teach those South Americans!).
As always, however, Stalin was generous in his (inevitable) victory. Rather than simply annexing the reactionary and antiquated Portuguese nation, he allowed the freedom-loving Socialist workers of this region to finally take charge of their destiny. This new socialist government immediately demonstrated their commitment to freedom by handing over a small portion of Africa to the newly established People's Republic of Congo. The Congans (Congites?) had refused to get organised without it. It's possible this was even the real reason for the war.
Unfortunately, the rapid defeat of Portugal and Venezuela did spoil the ambitious Scandinavian Plot to annex East Timor (at least, Stalin assumed that was the Scandinavian Navy's reason for puttering around South-East Asia). Points for thinking outside the box though, Scandinavians!
These victories left Stalin with only Peru and Honduras as enemies. Both nations now seemed keen for peace, but the Soviet dictator knew he could not trust rogue nations such as these, who had declared war on the peace-loving Soviet people without cause or provocation.
Actually, he probably couldn't trust any Central Americans. Best to deal with them all.
Although not sure whether Mexico qualified as Central or Northern America, Stalin decided to play it safe.
Towards the end of the year, Stalin was pleased to learn that Soviet Science had further improved the already dominant military force of Cavalry. It's true, the new horses looked rather odd, but he'd heard good things about their performance.
A few more months ticked by, and as Red Army units very sloooooooooooooooowely advanced in Peru, Stalin got bored and declared war with the Allies. The non-aggression pact had lapsed, and he had all these units with nothing better to do.
Belize and the Panama Canal were quickly overrun, and Stalin celebrated by establishing a new Soviet Republic of Central America.
Meanwhile, although France was falling as quickly as it had the time before, the Red Army was finding it very difficult to get ashore in the UK. But Stalin had an answer to the problem.
Within weeks, the United Kingdom, which had stood inviolate through two previous wars, was no more. Metropolitan France had also been swept aside.
With Africa and Asia also a part of the ever-growing Socialist Bloc, only a few reactionary regimes were left. It would be many more months before the last remnants of despised capitalism were extinguished, but their defeat was inevitable.
After all, the historical dialectic said so.
Game Notes: The Central American Union was a country I created myself, mainly to see how it was done. I added an event that halved the country's IC after it was created, since otherwise it was way too strong. After the halving, the CAU was about equal to Mexico.
After winning the war in Europe and the UK, I decided to call the game. It was beginning to run very slowly, and becoming more of a chore to play than it was fun.