Съ нами Богъ! White Russia in the KaisAARreich UnivAARse

[Der_Leprechaun]

October 1, 1939

“The intervention in Georgia has gone better than was initially anticipated. The Caucasus Front broke through their entire line of defenses and reached Tblisi in a matter of weeks…”

The lone voice echoed throughout the large, dim room of the Kremlin. Despite the ornate décor of the place, the room had but a single long table at its center, surrounded by a myriad of chairs, their occupants poring over the latest reports from around the nation. At the head of the table stood one of the greatest heroes or the greatest villains of the modern world, depending on one’s perspective. Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak, the ‘Prime Minister’ of Russia, was certainly a figure whose personality evoked a strong response, and his current report was no exception.

“Reports indicate that the Georgian forces were aware of the abhorrent structure created by their leader, and surrendered in large numbers, some even offering to fight alongside our forces.”

“We are well aware of the nature of the Georgian government, Admiral,” spoke up the figure seated at the opposite end of the table. General Anton Denikin, the President, scowled darkly at the figure across the table from him. “I would prefer if reports were entirely about the results of our operations, and not your personal opinions.”

“They are not my opinions, President Denikin, but those of the Russian people,” replied Kolchak quickly, to the nods of several figures seated at the table.

“In any case,” continued Kolchak, “The traitorious government of Georgia has been disposed of. Beria, the pig himself, was convicted of crimes against God and our Orthodox Georgian brothers, and was executed one week ago. The Abkhazian and Ossetian people were placed directly under the protection of the Russian state, and a suitable government has been formed in Tblisi, with the possibility of further integration with Russia a priority of theirs.”

“I would argue that the Russian nation should view this as a grand opportunity to bring relief to the people of Armenia, who are living under the crushing domination of the Ottoman Turks. The people of Armenia are crying out for assistance from their Russian brethren!”

“I agree,” said a third voice, this time Field Marshall Petr Wrangel. “We must immediately prepare to liberate the people of Armenia from their foreign oppressors.”

“Not yet,” growled Denikin, turning the attention of the entire group back to the old general. “Not until we understand the nature of this great war in the West.”

 

[Der_Leprechaun]

Ok, so this is going to be something very different on my part. I'm going to write this half as dialogue between the important figures, and half as almost a historybook, which will be the more 'traditional' AAR way of doing things.

As you can see, Russia is very different even from its position at the start of Kaisserreich. More will be explained, but suffice it to say that Kolchak, Denikin, and Wrangel are all going to play huge roles, each of them representing a different political view and with their own band of friends and supporters.

 

[Soulstrider]

Interesting , going to keep an eye on this one

 

[MastahCheef117]

Great so far, will watch.

 

[Davisx3m]

Good Luck!

 

[unmerged(358653)]

Мы русские! С нами Бог! Good luck with this AAR, I'll follow

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

If only I could speak Russian too...

In any case, I like Kaiserreich, and I like Russia, so add two and two together...and you got me in this too.

 

[Deus Eversor]

trying to rival with Falconette are we?

ya soglasen ;-)

 

[Milites]

Let me guess, Denikin assumed dictatorial powers after the '36 assassination of Kerensky and imposed a White junta government on the republic? Following a series of consolidations, the generals of the civil war retook Primorsk and took Kolchak on as prime minister as a compromise with the far eastern magnates... and now they're about to knock the Turk's door in through Cappadochia, Constantinople and the Dardanelles being not too far away.

I fondly remember your German story. I hope this one will be equally good

Also, Up the Commune - long live Syndicalism!

 

[Nikolai]

Good start.

 

[Der_Leprechaun]

Thank you all so much for your comments. It's really nice to see people interested in something like this. I love writing on its own, but people's responses are always the best part.

Let me guess, Denikin assumed dictatorial powers after the '36 assassination of Kerensky and imposed a White junta government on the republic? Following a series of consolidations, the generals of the civil war retook Primorsk and took Kolchak on as prime minister as a compromise with the far eastern magnates... and now they're about to knock the Turk's door in through Cappadochia, Constantinople and the Dardanelles being not too far away.

I fondly remember your German story. I hope this one will be equally good

Also, Up the Commune - long live Syndicalism!

Well, it's going to be far more complex than just the generals and military leadership. The civilian politicians, the remnants of the Bolsheviks, the soldiers themselves and the Russian people are all going to have a role to play in this AAR. And Russia is going to be in for a few insane decades. It should be really awesome, I'm looking forward to writing it. And glad to see you remember that German AAR, even though I don't think I got past 1930, it still lasted for something like 15 or 20 pages. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or bad. xD

Which leads me to either a warning or an endorsement of sorts, depending on your perspective. This AAR IS going to have gameplay elements in it, as my game choices are going to effect what happens, but it's going to be a very story and plot-run AAR. I'm American, but I'm mostly Irish and Russian by background, so I daresay long-winded storytelling is genetic Just letting all of you know, since I prefer being clear about AARs before they really get going.

And on that note, it's time for a historical update

 

[Der_Leprechaun]

Chapter One: Russia and the Great War

​

It has often been said that Russia is a nation unlike any other in the world, a truly unique society for an untold number of reasons. As a result, it is impossible to view Russian history from the standpoint of the Western nations. Instead, the story of the Russian people must be appreciated for what it is; a unique tale created by the circumstances of the land that gave them their identity.

The Russian Empire in 1914, on the eve of the Great War. Its borders would change dramatically in the ensuing decades.​

The first few decades of the twentieth century were not kind to Russia. Already racked by dissent and revolution in 1905, the country found itself at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1914, ostensibly to protect its Serbian allies. While many in the Tsarist government and General Staff expressed their optimism for a victory over the Austrians and Germans, the disaster at Tannenberg in 1914 revealed the crippling weaknesses the Russian military faced, when two entire Russian armies were nearly destroyed by more mobile and disciplined German forces.

Russian prisoners taken during the Battle of Tannenberg. Russia never recovered the initiative after its defeat there in 1914.​

While the Russian leadership was prepared for a long war of attrition, the Russian people proved unwilling to accept the price of the war. Even in peacetime, Russia was hobbled by a lack of infrastructure, food, and adequate consumer goods. The war stretched these resources even thinner, and the people were pushed to the breaking point. Many of them opposed the Tsar outright, joining antiwar protests and sympathizing with a wide variety of groups ranging from Socialists to the Bolsheviks, all of which demanded the Tsar’s abdication.

All these forces came together in the year 1917, a more chaotic year for the Russian nation than any other before or since. In March, huge protests against the war forced the Tsar from power, and propelled the Russian parliament or State Duma into full leadership of the nation. Under Alexander Kerensky, this Provisional Government debated signing a peace treaty with the Central powers, which would inevitably turn over vast tracts of land to Germany. The Duma was unable to form a decision on the treaty, but it sparked off intense debate in Russia over the war.

Many members of the Russian General Staff were infuriated. With the stroke of a pen, they claimed, Kerensky would reverse the efforts of hundreds of years’ worth of Russian leaders. However, a few Russian generals quietly admitted that by 1917, Germany had become an opponent Russia was incapable of defeating. At the same time, most Russian military leaders began theorizing the source of Russia’s underwhelming performance in the Great War. Some, like Denikin, believed it to be a result of the military structure. A better-supplied and paid military would not have seen the massive mutinees and desertions of early 1917. Others, like Kolchak and Wrangel, believed the problem lie with the Russian economy. Russia had a fraction of Western Europe’s industry at the outset of the Great War, they argued. Without the industrial capacity that had propelled Europe into world leadership, Russia would be doomed to languish in the shadow of Germany and Britain.

Either way, the Russian elites had but a few short months to theorize and plan, as in November a second revolution exploded, tearing the Russian nation apart and pitting its countrymen against each other in a bitter Civil War. The Bolsheviks, led by the charismatic Vladimir Lenin, seized power in many Russian cities and declared a Soviet Communist government. They signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers on behalf of Russia, handing over most of Russia’s western possessions to the Germans. Though Russia had extracted itself from the Great War, it was now facing something far worse.

The Bolshevik forces were centered in the industrial heart of Russia, a region stretching from Petrograd to Moscow and the regions east and south of it. The anti-Communist forces, a loose coalition of monarchists, conservatives, militarists and even the leftist government of Kerensky coalesced into what became known as the White Movement. Initially, it seemed as if the Communist victory was inevitable, until the victorious Cental Powers intervened on the side of the White Movement. The various factions were forced to accept the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in exchange for German intervention, a fact that aggravated the likes of Denikin, though by this point even he recognized it was necessary. At the same time, the White factions put aside their ideological differences and united behind Kerensky’s government. It was a bitter pill for the conservatives and monarchists in Russia to swallow, but compared to a Bolshevik victory, Kerensky’s Socialist-Revolutionaries seemed to be a superior alternative.

With the fall of Petrograd (soon to be renamed St. Petersburg) and Moscow in September 1921, the anti-Communist forces prevailed in the Russian Civil War, though at great cost. Even with German assistance, Russia was reduced to a fraction of its former size. Most of the Russian Empire’s ethnic minorities used the chaos as an excuse to break away and form their own republics. In the West, the Republics—Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states—were under German domination, as per Brest-Litovsk. Though Russia had survived and defeated Lenin’s Revolution, the massive loss of life and collapse of the Empire left a massive trauma on the nation.